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Later on, a figure named Klingsor emerged within the Order of Skeptics. His ancestor was Hadura, one of the Schwanenritter.
Speaking of him inevitably meant speaking of Hadura—and once Hadura was mentioned, the Schwanenritter could hardly be avoided—
More than five hundred years ago, Khaenri'ah experienced a major upheaval. The Vinster King of Khaenri'ah, Irmin, fell into a state of incapacity, and the kingdom faced an unknown threat. Khaenri'ah's Knight Marshal, Anfortas, announced that he would serve as regent and lead the "Council for the Salvation of the Nation" until the kingdom returned to normal.
Additionally, according to Kaeya's correspondence, after the one-eyed King Irmin lost his capacity, it was the Alberich Clan—who did not bear royal blood—that stepped forward to assume regency. As such, the marshal's full name was most likely Anfortas Alberich.
During Anfortas' regency, the Khaenri'ah catastrophe broke out. Monsters surged toward the surface. Though they did indeed come because of Khaenri'ah, this was by no means the intention of the Khaenri'ahns—and the actions of the Schwanenritter proved as much.
Anfortas led the Schwanenritter, piloting three Ruin Golems, pursuing the tide of beasts out from the Tunigi Hollow. One Ruin Golem remained at the Wounded Shin Valley, one delayed and diverted the beast tide to the Valley of Dahri, and the last journeyed far away to Devantaka Mountain.
Among them, Hadura was the commander of the Ruin Golem stationed at the Valley of Dahri. For successfully completing the mission of halting the beast tide, he was granted the title of "Sentinel Knight" by Anfortas.
But not long after, the pitch-black curse erupted among the Khaenri'ahns. Many began to suffer symptoms such as shedding skin, excessive hair growth, facial decay, and impaired speech. Then Hadura did something—something that caused the Ruin Golem under his command to suffer internal destruction and lose its ability to walk. This act was deemed a betrayal, and Hadura was executed by Anfortas.
Years later, an investigation team from the Akademiya ventured deep into the desert, seeking to descend into the Khaenri'ahn ruins beneath the Tunigi Hollow. After negotiations, the Order of Skeptics—also of Akademiya origin—permitted the team to proceed, on the condition that a patrol officer named Klingsor would accompany them, ostensibly as a guide, in truth as a monitor.
The investigation team uncovered vast amounts of astonishing information within the ruins. At the same time, some members heard a certain sound rising from deeper underground… They did not stop, and Klingsor failed to fulfill his duty to dissuade them.
Then, the team confirmed the truth that Hilichurls were transformed from Khaenri'ahns.
After that, Klingsor vanished, and the investigation team was attacked by Abyss Lectors. None survived.
Klingsor himself was the Abyss Lector. Bearing Khaenri'ahn blood, after finding the source of the underground sound, no one knew what he experienced—but in the end, he became an Abyss Lector.
Klingsor had also left records within the ruins, among which several key points stood out:
First, Klingsor believed that the Kingdom of Khaenri'ah did not belong solely to those of Khaenri'ahn blood, but was the homeland of all humanity.
This was truly difficult to comprehend.
Second, Klingsor believed that his ancestor Hadura "could not bear to see the people meet a tragic fate," and yet was subjected to an unjust judgment and burdened with infamy.
From this, one could infer that Hadura may have chosen to kill the Schwanenritter before they transformed into Hilichurls, sparing them that suffering… This would explain both why the Ruin Golem suffered internal sabotage and why Anfortas deemed Hadura a traitor, while Klingsor called it an "unjust judgment."
Third, Klingsor believed that the one-armed sage was saving the world through lies, and that he himself would bring "truth" to it.
This point was just as difficult to understand as the first, but at least the latter half could be seen in his actions.
After becoming an Abyss Lector, Klingsor gathered monsters and attempted to seize the strongest entity among the countless motes of Khvarena—the "Great Song of Khvarena"—seeking to fuse the powers of Khvarena and the Abyss to realize "perpetual energy." In the end, he failed.
However, the Order of Skeptics was gravely weakened by this betrayal. Their inherited texts were burned to ashes, and from that point on, they grew lax in performing the ritual meant to purge and suppress the corruption of the giant trees sealing the Tunigi Hollow—the "Rite of Ab-Zohr."
The corruption that should have been periodically cleansed was left unchecked. Over time, the Harvisptokhm once again accumulated vast impurity, and the "The Sign of Apaosha" was on the verge of reappearing.
At this thought, Victor Wang looked up toward the sky above the Harvisptokhm.
At present, the "The Sign of Apaosha" had not yet manifested. It would probably take some more time… Anyway, that could be left to Lumine.
These matters were not something he intended to involve himself in. The purpose of his journey was singular—not the Vourukasha Oasis, not the Harvisptokhm, not the Khvarena, nor the Paris, but the Khaenri'ahn ruins that Klingsor had once visited.
Khaenri'ah.
The Abyss.
The pitch-black curse.
Hilichurls…
Myself.
What exactly was that curse?
And Khvarena… Khvarena and the Abyss—far too many unknowns.
Khvarena…
Khvarena?!
A sudden flash of insight struck Victor Wang. He thought of another race in Teyvat that had suffered a curse from Celestia—the Seelie.
The Seelie race was said to have been cursed by Celestia for falling in love with outsiders: if they loved humans, they would lose their wisdom and power, their bodies would degenerate, and they would ultimately become the Seelie as they are now.
Cursed, stripped of wisdom and power, bodies transformed into something unnatural—how similar the Seelie's fate was to that of the Hilichurls.
And then there were the Paris created by Khvarena—
Thinking carefully, Simurgh's self-destruction with Khvarena had already purified the Amrita, allowing the Harvisptokhm to thrive. Yet Egeria's divine consciousness still did not enter the ley line cycle, remaining trapped within the Harvisptokhm to this day. If this could be explained by the trees' roots constantly sealing the underground calamity and thus being exposed to corruption, then what about the Paris?
When Paris fought monsters, once tainted by Abyssal corruption, they became "the guilty" and had to walk the "Pilgrimage of Purification" in earnest, returning to the Vourukasha Oasis to cleanse themselves.
Paris were born from the Amrita of the flowery sea, and like Egeria who resided within the Harvisptokhm, they were rejected by the ley lines. After death, they could only return to the flowery sea.
Paris themselves possessed the ability to use Khvarena to purify the Abyss. Setting aside cases where they were corrupted through battle, why were other, untainted Paris also rejected by the ley lines? They were clearly born from the union of Khvarena and pure water—yet the only place they could return to after death was the "Amrita Pool" of the Vourukasha Oasis.
Who had ever seen what the Seelie looked like after death?
Only the Goddess of Flowers, who sacrificed herself to open the door to forbidden knowledge for King Deshret, ended with nothing left behind—not even King Deshret could find her remains. That was why the Eternal Oasis, her mausoleum, stood empty.
Do Seelie die?
After death, like Paris and Hilichurls, do they also fail to enter the ley line cycle?
The Seelie likely wielded the power of Khvarena. The mass transformation of Khaenri'ahns into Hilichurls appeared to be linked to Abyssal power. Both forces were of a higher tier than elemental power, and both originated from beyond this world—Khvarena from the Primordial, and the Abyss likewise from outside the world.
Perhaps it was because they could not be parsed by Teyvat's ley lines that they could not enter them.
Or perhaps, as Rene suggested, Khvarena also assimilated the matter and energy it touched, and thus—like the Abyss—it was forbidden from entering the ley lines.
After all, wherever Celestial Nails stood, anomalies in the ley lines inevitably followed…
One coincidence after another came together, fitting so seamlessly, so perfectly, that it felt as though there was no room left for any other explanation.
Yet even if all these conjectures were true, Victor Wang could only sigh—and at the same time, his resolve hardened. The next time he encountered Dainsleif, no matter what, he would learn how to control Abyssal power.
Lost in these wandering thoughts, he finally neared his destination.
Blocking the path forward was an Amrita Seal created by Zurvan using the power of the Amrita. It could only be temporarily dispelled by Paris who had obtained the "Twin-Horned Chaplet." Though it might be possible to break it by force…
But once broken, anyone could pass through—someone like Klingsor, for instance. So that was not an option.
Then he would carve a path through the mountain outside the seal instead.
Choosing an inconspicuous spot, Victor Wang diligently excavated… After passing beyond the Amrita Seal, the path ahead was largely unobstructed. He accelerated all the way to the Khaenri'ahn mechanisms, skillfully unlocked the Teleport Waypoint there, then teleported back to the waypoint outside the Amrita Seal. He sealed the tunnel he had just dug perfectly and packed it tight, before teleporting back inside the Khaenri'ahn facility to continue onward.
Khaenri'ah truly lived up to its reputation as a nation of advanced machinery. This location, being close to Khaenri'ah proper, was markedly different from other outposts. Massive yet precise mechanisms, suffused with golden energy flows, filled his entire field of vision.
With a clear objective and no distractions, Victor Wang quickly configured the energy required for the central lift, descended straight down to the lowest level, and then followed the only remaining path forward.
Five hundred years had passed, and yet there were still Hilichurls and Hilichurl Rogues here…
After greeting them amicably, Victor Wang continued forward. Forward…
Then he saw it.
The Gate of Ezteqlal.
The gate was vast, majestic, solemn beyond measure. Upon it was carved an eight-pointed star in gold and crimson—like a red sun radiating dim black light. On either side stood statues of Black Serpent Knights wielding swords, guarding another eight-pointed star above the gate and standing sentinel over this Khaenri'ahn side gate—the true gate of the nation.
Victor Wang approached step by step, passing the eternal bonfire that burned beside the stairway, passing a Mourning Flower blooming within the doorframe.
He could feel it—the dense Abyssal reaction beyond the gate.
He reached out a hand toward it.
It would not open…
It would not budge…?
The gate leading to Khaenri'ah lay beneath the Sumeru desert. This was the one Khaenri'ahn ruin whose location he knew with absolute certainty—so certain that he had not even asked about it the last time he spoke with Dainsleif.
Yet no matter what he tried, he could not open this gate.
Should he blow this one open too?
Or be more dignified, and carve another path from the side?
Victor Wang swallowed.
Blowing this place up—was that a bit too irreverent?
And besides, what had Klingsor encountered here back then? With such dense Abyssal power beyond the gate, would it be dangerous?
I can come back anytime. Maybe I should let it be for now, and ask Dainsleif for the proper way to open it…
The gate remained silent, as solemn and imposing as ever.
Victor Wang let out a sigh.
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