As the video played, most viewers in the livestream were swept up by the mood.
Those who camped here for the preview were all devoted Genshin players. Even as they grumbled that this was a 20-minute-long "knife" to the heart, they still gripped that long blade and let it sink inch by inch beneath their skin, carried by Barbatos's voice back to Mondstadt, 2,600 years ago.
It was as if they saw with their own eyes the old city-state of Mondstadt, ringed round by hurricanes.
Back then, the city-state drew a boundary as a prison—no bird could pass.
The wind never ceased, grinding the soil and rock within into fine, water-smooth dust, imprisoning the people and their free will, strangling the blue sky, white clouds, and flowers of hope outside the wind-wall.
Beyond the wall, wind and snow raged, like the chilled hearts of Mond's people. And the Wind-King who stood atop the high tower was the "God of Storms" Decarabian.
He looked down upon the subjects bent beneath the endless breath of the gale. From their submission, this lofty god read not helplessness, but satisfaction with the status quo.
He naively believed that confining his subjects within high walls and providing a peaceful life was the greatest gift.
At that time, Barbatos was but a wisp roaring in the thousand winds of the north, unqualified to be a god—merely a tiny elemental sprite in the wind.
It was then, in the sealed old Mondstadt, that Barbatos met such a boy.
The boy had eyes as clear as the sky, pure and limpid like an unsullied gem. He liked to sit on the high hills and play his lyre. When the notes and poems passed over the high wind-wall, a dazzling light burst in his eyes, as if the music and verse could carry him to see the sky outside.
"I want to see how birds soar."
Born within the wind-wall, never having seen blue sky, eagles, green grass, or flowers, the boy whispered.
Even if his voice was drowned by countless winds,
Barbatos would forever remember the look on his face as he spoke, and the yearning for freedom in those clear eyes.
Back then, Barbatos did not yet understand human friendship.
But listening to the boy's marvelous music and the will he spoke of, Barbatos seemed to understand for the first time what friendship and feeling were. He ran outside, gathered the feathers of raptors, found vivid flowers and tender green grass.
But before he could present these to the boy, under the oppressive rule of the solitary king in the high tower, a war for freedom broke out in Mondstadt.
The painstakingly collected eagle feathers, together with the withered flowers, witnessed that war with Barbatos.
The king had provided his subjects a city without bitter cold.
Until the end, the king upon the tower still believed his subjects loved him as he loved them. Alas, the caged bird yearns for freedom, while the master forever mistakes captivity for devotion. In the end, this is a debate that cannot be argued—only silence.
The war ended quickly.
The people of Mond overthrew the solitary king's rule and gained the freedom they longed for.
But even with victory, Barbatos could not place the feathers he held into the hands of that boy with pure eyes.
The boy with the pure gaze died—for poetry, for freedom, for the blue sky and birds, and for all those like him who lived within the wind-wall. He would never again sit in the wind and pluck his strings.
Barbatos watched as the boy departed from him.
Watched as his body, trampled by war, sank into the mud and lost all life.
Even in that final departure, the boy's smile and yearning for freedom were forever fixed in Barbatos's eyes along with that pure face.
The old divine seat collapsed, and a new god was born.
The Anemo Archon Barbatos felt strength flow at his fingertips. The first thing he did with that power was to reshape his form in the boy's image.
Because only in a human body could he properly play the boy's beloved lyre.
That smile in memory and that steadfast will would walk the world with Barbatos, together witnessing the azure sky, the flocks of birds roaring past, and the free, pastoral city.
Barbatos swept his fingers over the strings, as when he first heard the boy's music, and with divine winds scattered snow and split mountains.
He made the new Mondstadt a city of freedom, a land where none would be king.
"He would want to live in such a place, wouldn't he? A place where one could see the clear sky, free-flying birds, meadows blooming with flowers… and a free city filled with laughter."
That brave boy taught him what friendship is, what freedom is.
Regretfully, until his death, the boy who yearned for freedom never saw the world outside with his own eyes.
As Venti's voice rose again, many viewers' eyes grew moist.
They could hardly imagine the despair of Venti personally witnessing his dearest friend die in war, and his helplessness.
Nor could they imagine how lonely Barbatos must have been, walking the world in that same form for 2,600 years…
Just when the audience thought the "knife" had cut deep enough,
The video shifted again into a new chapter.
The cruel rule of the Old Aristocracy, the brave rebellion of Vennessa, the calamity of the dragon Durin… In the cries of countless people, the God of Freedom, Barbatos, descended upon Mondstadt again to guard his people.
And in these centuries of guardianship, whether Barbatos or his friend Dvalin, drawn by the Archon's lyre, paid an unprecedented price.
Centuries of torment by poisonous blood.
Watching his old friend suffer, Barbatos seemed to see that boy from long ago dying before his eyes once more.
Until the Traveler arrived. And until… the god who had protected Mond for millennia, the Anemo Archon, had his Gnosis torn from him by La Signora in the very city of song and freedom.
The video reached its end.
Intercut with the scene of La Signora tearing out his heart, were shots of the picture-postcard blue sky and white clouds outside Mondstadt.
A green-tinted boy stood beneath the great tree at Windrise, plucking his lyre as a moving song arose.
["I was once lost in the vastness of the world, and indulged in its dream-talk…"]
["Care not for truth or falsehood, no struggle, no fear of mockery…"]
["I once let youth surge into someone else, and plucked midsummer from my fingertips…"]
["Follow where the heart leads, let fate take its course…"]
As the song neared its end, Venti stood by the clear lake, gazing at the reflection there, as if seeing the boy from 2,600 years ago—eyes resilient and pure.
["I took on your form and roamed the free mountains and skies on the wind. At such moments, I can't help but recall—that song I once heard from you… I miss it so much."]
["Alas, clouds change and dogs turn to sheep; 2,600 years of wind still can't catch a fleeting foal's shadow."]
["Let the wind guide; listen to the wind's song. If you are trapped where no winds blow, I shall play the song of the high heavens—the wind will carry your soul home."]
["Listen… the wind is rising."]
With Venti's clear voice, the video truly ended.
The lonely figure beneath the tree vanished; the end was only a darkness without end.
On the black screen, white text glowed:
["Legends become a bard's song; bygone days lie buried in the sands of Stormterror's Lair."]
Though the video ended, the livestream remained eerily quiet.
In a stream that had climbed to five million concurrent viewers, not a single person typed.
Only after two or three minutes did they return from the aftertaste of the video. Then, like falling snow, the barrage collapsed all at once.
·
["Stop stabbing us… it's just a game, and you're cutting the kids to pieces… Barbatos is so gentle!"]
["Barbatos's story is knives upon knives. Who says he doesn't do 'proper work'? He only does the greatest work."]
["I turned into a breeze, carrying poetry and song away, toward the blue sky he once yearned for… I'm crying my eyes out, Lord Barbatos, I'll love you forever!"]
["More knives? Mr. Ken, are you even human? You made a 20-minute video and every minute is a stab!"]
["Hurry and give La Signora an HP bar! Damn it… Barbatos, for a sliver of guilt, didn't fight back when she tore out his heart—doesn't mean we can endure it!"]
["This is what you post on an official account? A preview event and you drop knife content? Do something useful—show La Signora's HP bar!!"]
"..."
Not only were the viewers shaken, even Ken was full of emotion.
Though people often say, jokingly, that Barbatos "doesn't do serious work,"
In truth, looking back on his life, every stage was filled with cuts. He always protected his people in his own way.
It is thanks to his silent guardianship that today's pastoral city, free Mondstadt, exists.
So when people saw Venti having his Gnosis torn away by La Signora, even knowing it was Venti's choice, fury erupted—everyone demanded La Signora show her HP bar.
Many players also cursed Star Dome Company for having no heart—making the entire internet eat a 20-minute "knife" during a preview.
To this,
Ken calmly said, "This was all La Signora's doing. What's it got to do with my Star Dome Company? Or with me? If you've got a grievance, go to the source. A 20+ minute PV—pretty generous, right?"
Livestream audience: "???"
You call that generous?
Even the staff beside him wanted to sock their own boss.
Is that something a person says?!
They recalled how, following Ken's request, they edited Barbatos's life—their hearts were heavy the whole time.
To many, Genshin is just a game; its characters are just characters, played and then forgotten.
But to true anime/game fans, these characters have their own lives.
They exist in another time and space, offering comfort and encouragement.
So seeing the Anemo Archon's story full of knives truly broke them. And now the boss says this… makes you want to throw two punches!
Forget it… once the game updates, we'll "accidentally encounter" [KEN] and beat the boss up.
The audience were half furious, half amused.
·
[ "Heh… I won't say much—when La Signora's HP bar appears, that's when she dies!"]
["To reforge the Wind God's glory is our duty! Lord Barbatos… I've always believed you exist!"]
["I'm buying two boxes of razor blades to mail to Star Dome Company—this video cut me to death."]
["Draw your blade, La Signora! Where did you get this courage? I was mad back when I saw the story; now I'm even madder."]
["Damn you, Mr. Ken—this is your 'carefully prepared surprise'? You call a knife a surprise?"]
"..."
Though players already knew about La Signora ripping out the Gnosis when they played Mond's main story, back then many were new to Genshin and didn't know Barbatos's past.
So when the video gently recounted his sorrowful past and then pivoted to the scene of La Signora tearing out his heart, the emotional whiplash shattered defenses—every cut critted.
Seeing Ken's smile only inflamed them further.
Not because he conceived such a knife-like video, but because his smile felt provocative.
The guy holds grudges… so what if people often call him "Dog Ken" online? He openly knifed the players—beast!
Many instantly lost it, saying they'd mail blades to Star Dome Company.
Some even vowed to come to Shanghai to punch Ken personally—but avoid that handsome face, or it'd be a waste of beauty.
And in the shadows, Venti watched the footage as old memories flickered through his mind like slides.
They say Celestia's erosion brings gods pain, making them forget the past.
Yet even after 2,600 years, the boy singing within the wind-wall, and those sky-clear eyes, remained bright and vivid.
Ken turning his past into a video that resonated with so many on Blue Star was a different kind of solace for Venti.
At least… so many now know the boy who loved lyres and poetry. Even if erosion one day makes him forget, there will still be many who remember for him.
"Hoo…"
Watching the time slip by, Venti slowly stood.
By the schedule, it was time for him to appear.
The Wind God, weathered by countless erosions and frosts, still wore a sun-bright smile. His clear voice echoed through the stream: "Travelers, want an apple?"
...