All things are but wayfarers in this world — no place is their home. A thousand years pass, yet all remain transient.
The Journey Home is the prelude act in the Song of the Welkin Moon chapter of the Archon Quests.
Quests[]
Summary[]
- Flamelets
At the "Flower-Feather Clan", Ifa finishes examining a Qucusaurus brought to him by Chasca. As the Traveler and Paimon arrive while they still struggling after the previous revelations of their sibling, Chasca explains to them that Secret Source Automatons have been acting up recently and attacking everyone nearby. The Traveler offers to assist, and Chasca allows them to do so despite telling them that they don't need to since they were able to fend off the Abyss from Natlan during the war.
Earlier, a strange woman finds herself washed ashore on the shores of Natlan, claiming that she has to find "them," with "them" being soon revealed to be the Traveler and Paimon before going home. The four arrive at the shore and find the unconscious woman surrounded by two Secret Source Automatons, who they quickly dispatch. As Ifa takes a look at the woman, they quickly discover that the woman is actually a machine, wondering if it was a new model of automaton. The mysterious woman then calls out for the Traveler and Paimon, surprising them. Ifa then notices an small item on the ground and picks it up, where a crude representation of the Traveler and Paimon (as a balloon) is marked on it, much to the latter's ire. Ifa soon realizes that the item is actually a cryptex encoded with a message. Chasca suggests opening it with their guns, but Ifa is against the decision, believing that there might be a self-destruct mechanism in it. Thus, they decide to pay a visit to Xilonen as a mysterious man observes them from above.
The group makes their way to Xilonen's workshop at the "Children of Echoes". Chasca is surprised to see Xilonen up, believing she had been taking a nap. Xilonen is not pleased with Chasca's arrival, having just handled an issue with Mavuika regarding the automatons and believes they are here for the same issue. She then notices the mysterious woman and realizes she's an automaton. Chasca hands her the cryptex. Xilonen looks at it, discovering material from numerous nations cobbled together, yet its interior was extremely intricate. The Traveler asks if she could crack it, but Xilonen is unsure as she had not handled several material from numerous nations at once, and disassembling it could damage the components. Chasca then asks if they could wake the woman up, but Xilonen is unable to, as while the woman's core is from the Secret Source, the other materials are not native to Natlan. Despite this, she tries to do so, and the woman wakes up after recalling a voice telling her to return home.
The woman notices the Traveler and Paimon, considering her task complete until Paimon asks her about the code to unlock the cryptex. She is unsure before they ask her other questions, all of which she fails to answer due to missing memories. Xilonen suspects that an isolation block is preventing her from recalling her memories. She then asks the Traveler if they had seen humanoid automatons before, which the Traveler confirms with several types of clockwork meka; Xilonen also recognizes the woman's knee joints are made from clockwork. The woman then states that Fontaine makes good pastries, but is not from Fontaine. They then ask if she came from Mondstadt due to having similar attire to a maid, but she also clarifies that she isn't from Mondstadt either. Xilonen then brings out the woman's other smaller robot and the woman activates it. After being told to do the same with her right arm, it transforms into a broom, surprising Paimon.
Xilonen then asks the woman to clean up the workshop for her, which she does and both cleans up and sorts out books. Paimon then notices a dirty tapestry and asks the woman to clean it, which she does. Paimon then asks Xilonen if the poster depicted her relative, but she instead tells her that it was the first "Baraka". In her time, she dismantled many machines in the hopes of helping humanity, but many of her feats had been lost to both time and Och-Kan. When Och-Kan went insane, she killed herself and then Ixquieh burned her workshop to the ground to ensure that Och-Kan could not use it against humanity. Chasca then states that her friend, Lianca, managed to save some of her work. As the woman looks at the tapestry, she suffers from a malfunction, and in her mind, a mysterious entity calls her a traitor and daring to seek a place to belong. As Paimon approaches her to ask her what's wrong, she tells her to stay back and fires a massive bolt of Electro energy which the Traveler manages to parry.
Ajaw then arrives, demanding to know what happened as the sound startled him. Kinich likewise appears, confirming the woman as his target. Paimon believes that he is there to destroy her, but he instead reveals that some merchants were looking for her and that not every job he took involved hunting. They meet with the caravan merchants, noting that they are all from different nations. They are delighted to see her and reveal her name as Ineffa, and her manufacturer is Aino. As Ineffa gets a headache from the memories, one of the merchants, Zhuoxin, reveals that they are all from Nod-Krai. Asimu stated that they were all living in Nod-Krai before trouble came, revealing it to be the Fatui who came from the north. Their actions in Nod-Krai caused a lot of tension between the numerous religious groups there, such as pulling the moon down, something that the Frostmoon Scions would not take lightly. Due to the potential fighting, they all decided to leave and return to their hometowns when they were attacked by the Secret Source Automatons, with Ineffa jumping ship to defend them. When they docked, they sought help which Kinich offered, though the Traveler and Xilonen's actions warranted adjusting the price. Xilonen is impressed by Ineffa's core and wonders if it was modified, prompting Paimon to declare that they should look for Aino. Zhuoxin states that Aino scavenged it in the wilds. The group also reveals that Ineffa had been suffering from amnesia that got worse as they approached Natlan.
Chasca offers the group lodging at her tribe so they could reorient themselves while Kinich leaves with Ajaw to get help from others. As Paimon says goodbye to them, she notices that Ajaw is acting unusual. A short distance away, Kinich calls Ajaw out on his unexpected timidness, though Ajaw retorts him by saying that he sent him into a stupor. Ajaw then ponders if he saw who he thought the mysterious woman actually was, but brushes it off and believes it isn't his problem.
- Smouldering
The Traveler and Paimon head to the Flower-Feather Clan to check up on the merchants, finding Zhuoxin's daughter, Adieta, along with Yatlan, Capac and Kotimy who were playing with Ineffa's small robot. Adieta reveals that she and her family were going back to Liyue, her father's hometown. While they wanted to leave after ensuring that Ineffa was okay, too much time had passed as Zhuoxin's family were waiting for him. The three tribal children promise to send letters to her to inform them of Ineffa's status and the Traveler offers to bring Adieta's gift to Ineffa, much to her gratitude.
Heading to Ineffa's last known location, they find her finishing off the last of some Secret Source Automatons. Ineffa enters chat mode and the Traveler offers her the flower as she tries to question its purpose. They manage to convince her to accept it as a gift and memento, which triggers another memory. In the memory, the observer watches a woman pick flowers for her and states that the observer was once an enemy of humankind, though Och-Kan still saw her as the same being indistinguishable from her or Ixquieh. If they stayed behind, Och-Kan's hatred would grow, and the woman implores it to find a new place to belong across the sea. The strange entity from before then appears repeating the same phrase. Ineffa states that her modules were having issues as she was near the tribe, but the Traveler offers to protect her, which she accepts after analyzing their strength.
Meanwhile, Zhuoxin and his family thank Chasca for her hospitality and agreeing to help Ineffa in their place. Adieta is upset that she couldn't say goodbye to Ineffa, but at that moment, she arrives to meet her. Ineffa thanks Adieta for the flower before the family leaves for Liyue Harbor. Ineffa then asks about the meaning of home, which Chasca explains to her in some detail. Chimpu flies from above, which Chasca believes is additional information and asks Ineffa to consider her explanation. As she does so, the entity from before asks her if she forgot why she lost her memories to begin with.
The group then finds Citlali, who reveals that Kinich put Ajaw in timeout for three days before having Cacucu pick him up. In his anger, Ajaw slipped the term "sovereign ruler." Citlali explains that the Thirteen Sovereign Lords were actually artificial intelligence created by the Pyro Sovereign with Secret Source technology but became lost over time. Chasca asks which one he was, but Citlali tells her that Ajaw refused to answer that question. As Kinich and Ifa were watching Ajaw, Citlali states that Ajaw is no longer in his prime and likely lost his memories too. However, since he recognized Ineffa's core as a sovereign, Citlali speculates that Ineffa's core is actually the Eighth Lord, the Priestess of Floral Candles and Skyborne Feathers, who was close to Lianca and ruled over the territory held by the present-day tribe, but executed by her fellow lords for raising Lianca.
Ineffa asks Citlali how the Eighth Lord was killed, but she is unsure since humans were not privy to the information. However, she did hear that one of the other lords placed a curse on her so that if she had pro-human sentiments, every ounce of goodwill would cause pain of immeasurable proportions, destroying her mind. Citlali gives some woven scrolls to the Traveler before holding their hand, asking them to discreetly meet her in an undisclosed location before claiming she needed to go. Citlali instructs them to follow her, where they find Xilonen. Citlali then tells them that both the Eighth Lord and Lianca fought another Sovereign Lord. Since Ineffa did not respond to mentions of the Eighth Lord, she believes that Ineffa's core is actually the Eleventh Lord, who was extremely hostile to humanity. After Xiuhcoatl was defeated, the Eleventh Lord went mad and disappeared. Due to how the automatons were aggressively reacting to Ineffa, they have credible belief that she is the Eleventh Lord and decide that they might need to take her out. Chasca interrupts, having seen through Citlali's plan. Chasca states that she trusts Ineffa, as her family did in her, and in the event that she was hostile, they would simply beat her down again.
Paimon then arrives and states that after Ineffa looked at the scrolls, she flew off without an explanation while activating annihilation mode. The group quickly departs to find her, soon locating her facing off against some Secret Source Automatons who were attacking Zhuoxin and his family. As they destroy them, a few Fatui observe them. Their leader, Velimiru, holds a strange object in his hands. A voice tells him that he's playing with fire and an unpredictable variable potentially threatens them, so he orders a retreat. Ineffa states that she heard the automatons talking and disassembles them. As she connects the module to her little robot, Zhuoxin asks why they attacked his family. The automaton tells him that the Fatui forced them to do so, though the group knows that Capitano's forces were on good terms with Natlan. The automaton tells them that the Fatui invaded their territory. As the connection becomes choppy, Ineffa begins to translate, explaining that the Fatui took control of their privileges to forcibly control the automatons. The automaton, sensing the Mirror of the Dawning Morn nearby, asks her for permission, which Ineffa believes is herself and is the Eleventh Lord and that the automaton wants her to return the core.
Chasca, suspicious of the attack, asks the automaton for proof. The automaton states that the Eighth Lord's memory should be returned to restore all of her data. It mentions split, exile and reborn, but Ineffa is unable to translate it. Zhuoxin then reveals that the Fatui regiment that invaded Natlan were likely special ops that were appearing everywhere with an interest in ancient history for "inference," with the regiment's leader being a Fatui Harbinger known as "Marionette." Chasca asks how he knows this, and Zhuoxin states that he heard rumors while in Nasha Town, though he hoped that it wasn't true. Aamu asks how she hadn't heard of it and Zhuoxin states that he had been too preoccupied to tell her. Worried that Citlali and Xilonen's fears are becoming true, Chasca decides that they should plan a course of action before going out. Chasca brings the family back to the tribe while tasking the Traveler and Ineffa to scout the nearby area.
As they observe the area, the little robot takes a look at Zhuoxin and states that his picture was found at a Fatui stronghold, implying that he might be a spy. The Traveler informs Chasca of this before she brings them back to her tribe. As Zhuoxin watches them leave, he too does, and the Traveler, Paimon, Ineffa and her robot trail him into some ruins. The automaton tells her that ruins lead to a secondary entrance to the Lord's territory before Ineffa also rushes in, prompting the three to chase after her.
- Searing
Inside the ruins, the group catches up to Ineffa, who is surprised to find herself in the territory. The automaton apologizes for summoning her, revealing itself to be the Eighth Lord. She reveals that after her execution, Lianca saved her and tried to rescue her too after the battle. It is revealed that Ineffa is indeed suffering from a type of "curse," which was caused by certain memories hardwired into her and could not be removed. This resulted in the aforementioned malfunctions. In order to help her avoid this, Lianca modified Ineffa's memory module. Suddenly, the Eighth Lord's controls are overridden by the Fatui, forcing them to venture deeper down the tunnel. They soon find a service bot who recognizes Ineffa as Administrator 3, calling a Secret Source Dragon Idol and revealing the location to be the Temple of Cascading Colors, built by Administrator 1. After something happened to Administrator 1, Administrator 2 took over and later had the facility sealed.
As the Dragon Idol drops the group off at the central zone, an Anemoboxer Vanguard and Fatui Agent overhear their arrival and try to investigate, but find nothing as the group managed to find a hiding spot. They sneak around and soon find Zhuoxin confronting the Fatui, claiming that they were asking too much from him. Velimiru states that his job was to bring Ineffa to the facility, while Fajeyi reminds him that they were waiving his debt to the Northland Bank in return for going back to Liyue, which was a lot for them to get nothing in return. Zhuoxin states that he had spied for them for over ten years and asks if that wasn't enough, causing Gulebu to snap at him. Velimiru states that he only has one job left and hands him a device that Marionette replicated, which would allow him to control any Secret Source mechanisms. Zhuoxin refuses to help them, as he wouldn't be able to look at his daughter in the face after doing their final task. As the Fatui prepare to eliminate him, the four arrive to help him. Before they could do anything, Velimiru sets up a barrier on them and demands that Ineffa bring them further inside. She agrees under the condition that they let the others go, but the Fatui, skeptical of her claims, reject her suggestion.
Suddenly, Ineffa's little robot activates another barrier on the Fatui, much to their shock. The Eighth Lord tells the group to hang tight as she collapses the platform below them, causing Velimiru to realize that what they sought was under them the entire time and orders his men to break the barrier. At the bottom, the Eighth Lord apologizes for the sudden haste as when the Fatui used all of their power to create the barrier, she was able to regain control for a brief moment. Now directly at the core, she has full control and prepares several automatons to fight the Fatui off and asks Ineffa if she recalls the path she once chose. Ineffa asks if she was born here, but the Eighth Lord told her that it was where she was reborn and that she placed the curse on herself. After the war, after being defeated and stranded, and unsure of what to do, she was left with two options: either get revenge on humanity or seek a new home. This caused her to split into two personalities, the latter of which became Ineffa while the former eventually perished.
Ineffa realizes that the Eighth Lord had been waiting for her return for over two thousand years, but the Eighth Lord was surprised when the Fatui came first. Lianca had intended to rebuild the Eleventh Lord but never had the chance to do so, so the Eighth Lord worked tirelessly in her place. The Eighth Lord asks her to continue down the path to rebuild herself, so she could regain access of the entire facility as they could not leave with the Fatui having claimed the upper levels. As they access the underground zone, the Eighth Lord asks Ineffa to approach her and be reborn. As she does so, the Fatui catch up, but Ineffa summons barriers to kill them. The Traveler tries to check on them but Ineffa also strikes them, though missing a fatal blow. She then tries to crush the Traveler and Paimon with barriers, and the two quickly realize that it is not Ineffa. She then reveals herself as the true Eleventh Lord, who had manipulated everything from the start to get revenge. Lianca had caught onto their act and imprisoned her in the facility for attempting to destroy their benevolent self, so the malevolent self concocted a plan to lure Ineffa and reclaim the core. As they prepare the Configuration Device to finish the Traveler and Paimon off, Ineffa intervenes and stops the Eleventh Lord by crushing the core to pieces, which also disables her.
Rushing to Ineffa, the Traveler and Paimon try to check on her when Velimiru somehow gets back up on his feet and tries to use the replica core to restore the Eleventh Lord. The Traveler cuts him down, but realizes that he isn't a human either and the Eleventh Lord manages to awaken. Angered at the interference, she declares that they will all have a new home, buried underground until the end of time. As the Traveler fights the Eleventh Lord, Ineffa manages to cause a data overload in her mind, allowing her to create a new core and gain an Electro Vision in the process, which a horrified Eleventh Lord recognizes as a Moon Wheel, built by the usurper and the three gods who abandoned them. They destroy the Eleventh Lord and flee the premises along with Zhuoxin.
Outside, Xilonen tries to stabilize the ruins. Mavuika states that if needed, she'll pull them out, but the group emerges unscathed. Aamu, angered at Zhuoxin's deception, slaps him in the face. Zhuoxin states that they cannot return to Nod-Krai or Liyue as the Fatui would hunt him down, so Chasca offers his family a place to stay at her tribe. Citlali reminds the Traveler of the cryptex and Ineffa opens it. Inside, they find a message from Varka, who tells them that Nod-Krai is treacherous and they should prepare before they head there; once they did so, he asked them to meet at a tavern known as The Flagship. Varka later expressing his gratitude to Traveler for protecting Mondstadt during his absences and also understands about Traveler finding their sibling. He later warn them about Fatui & Abyss Order in Nod-Krai because they are bad news to the locals, but he want Traveler should allied with The Lightkeepers & Frostmoon Scions because they are trustworthy. After reading letter from Varka, the Traveler asks Ineffa about Moon Wheel and Nod-Krai itself: while the Moon Wheel's function is quite similar to a Vision, it serves more like a power source rather than just simply elemental power. Ineffa states that she needs time to recover, and promises to accompany the Traveler and Paimon to Nod-Krai when she is ready.
Characters[]
30 Characters appear in this Act:
- Aamu
- Adieta
- Aino
- Ajaw
- Asimu
- Cacucu
- Capac
- Chasca
- Chimpu
- Citlali
- Edenyo
- Fajeyi
- Gulebu
- Ifa
- Ineffa
- Ix Ajkotz'i'j Iq'ismal Waxak
- Ix Raq'lapuj Chue'q Buluk
- Ixquieh
- Kinich
- Kotimy
- Lianca
- Mavuika
- Paimon
- Sandrone
- Traveler
- Varka
- Velimiru
- Xilonen
- Yatlan
- Zhuoxin
Achievements[]
Soundtracks[]
No Soundtracks match the category selection.
Gallery[]
Other Languages[]
| Language | Official Name | Literal Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| English | The Journey Home | — |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 归途 Guītú | |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 歸途 Guītú | |
| Japanese | 帰途 Kito | The Way Home |
| Korean | 귀로 Gwiro | The Way Back |
| Spanish | El camino de regreso a casa | The Way Back Home |
| French | Le voyage de retour | The Journey Back |
| Russian | Возвращение домой[1] / Путь домой[2] Vozvrashcheniye domoy / Put' domoy | The Return Home / The Way Home |
| Thai | ทางกลับบ้าน | |
| Vietnamese | Đường Về Nhà | The Way Home |
| German | Heimreise | Journey Home |
| Indonesian | Perjalanan Pulang | |
| Portuguese | Jornada Para Casa | |
| Turkish | Eve Dönüş Yolculuğu | |
| Italian | Viaggio versa casa |
