A light sentence, like a spell of silence, calmed the restless stream at once.
Seeing the boy appear on camera, the Anemo fans paused their typing and watched Venti in quiet anticipation.
In viewers' hearts, Venti was still just a cosplayer.
But in this moment, in their eyes, this cosplayer temporarily stood in for Venti from the game.
It was the gentle Wind God, Barbatos, breaking the fourth wall to visit them.
"Thank you for your love for the Wind God. Would you like to hear a new poem I wrote? Sung to you by Teyvat's finest bard."
Originally, Venti was merely curious about livestreaming.
But after reading the barrage and seeing everyone's love for the Wind God, he was moved.
Though the people of Blue Star didn't know he was truly Barbatos,
It didn't matter. The world's greatest bard would sing the loveliest poem for his faithful.
He believed any ardent feeling could be passed on through poetry.
As Venti's voice fell, the wounded mood in the stream didn't dissipate; it grew hotter.
·
[ "He's forever the gentle Barbatos… I'll always believe in you, my lord."]
["I don't care—right now he's Barbatos breaking the fourth wall. He's my god to claim!"]
["It's my honor to hear the Wind God's poem!!"]
["I guess we should thank Mr. Ken, but for putting together a 20-minute long knife to cut me up, I still want to say… you damn thief, compensate me!"]
"..."
Hearing Venti sing is a fervent desire of Venti-fans.
But the brighter and gentler he was now, the more people ached for his past, and that pain still lingered.
Seeing these comments,
Ken spoke on cue: "After this preview event, you can redeem a code in-game for 300 Primogems and a plate of Sweet Madame. Next is Barbatos's time."
Ken himself looked forward to the song.
Because it was a restored version, from his past-life memory, of "The Long Way Home."
The difference: in the past life, it was Venti's VA who sang it; this time, the real Venti would.
It carried a different meaning.
After announcing the rewards, Ken quickly played the accompaniment for "The Long Way Home." If he didn't start right away, these rascals would complain the compensation was too little.
Three hundred primos… not even two pulls!
Ahem.
In his past life, Hoyoverse often fobbed him off like that, so he decided to keep the same rule.
He'd been rained on before; now he'd tear up other players' umbrellas.
Sure enough,
As soon as he finished, the barrage filled with "stingy," "you dare hand that out?" and so on.
Luckily, Ken's hands were fast. Once the music started, the barrage quieted.
Everyone listened in silence.
A melodious tune, drifting with the rustle of leaves in the wind, echoed through the stream.
On screen, Windrise's bright, restful scenery returned.
Venti plucked his lyre, his voice gentle and melodious.
"…
See the stars above you shining
Guiding you along
Hear the music in the forest
As you make your journey home
When the nights are getting colder
And when you lose your way
Feel my hand upon your shoulder
And remember you're not alone
…"
A limpid, water-smooth voice, like the most leisurely bird in the sky, singing its own poem.
As Venti sang, the video's images shifted.
A sky bright and azure, white clouds thinning in the breeze. A green figure, like a sprite among trees, half-reclined on a branch, listening to the wind.
The beauty outside Mondstadt unfolded with the song—serene and fair.
The clear, airy singing and the MV carried everyone's thoughts far away.
Dragonspine, clad in snow all year…
The Whispering Woods with falling leaves…
Mondstadt at sunset… windmills turning gently in the tender breeze, startling white doves into the blue.
Viewers felt as if they'd returned to their first approach to Mond.
Green meadows and the pure white Cecilias blooming on slopes—like the most peaceful, pure land, inviting one to linger.
The song continued.
"...
For you, you light up
Every corner of the world
You fill the air with joy and life
So please, when you feel it's going wrong
Just take a moment
Cast your burdens to the wind
And listen as it sings you a song
.."
The song ended soon.
Now, the MV showed not Mond's landscapes, but a new Traveler's first days in Mond.
Clumsily climbing a mountain without pacing stamina, falling just before the top.
Fumbling at aiming a bow in the open world, getting KO'd by hilichurls.
Scene after scene—just the troubles many newbies face—rolled gently by, moving and nostalgic.
Long after the melody faded, the audience remained immersed in the gentle song.
The lyrics were warm and healing—sung to them, the Travelers.
A song the Wind God wrote for them.
With that thought, emotions swelled; the once-restless players now felt only tenderness and calm.
Only when Venti chuckled did they return from their reverie.
The barrage surged.
[ "Venti-fans, it's New Year's! This is too beautiful… but dear Wind God Barbatos, why aren't you in 3D?"]
["I'll love you forever, Barbatos!"]
["May the Wind God watch over all!"
["You're pained that Barbatos isn't in 3D—but Barbatos also regrets that you aren't in 2D."]
["I'm Barbatos's dog. When his banner comes, I'm rolling to pity!"]
["Klee tricked me into 648 with a single 'la-la-la'… but for the Wind God, just a quiet smile and I'll whale him home—C6 plus signature weapon. That's my faith!"]
["I cried listening… Venti is so gentle and healing, and the video so full of feeling… I'm in Liyue now. I hope when Genshin's story truly ends, there'll be a quest to retrace our steps through all seven nations, to savor the journey."]
["I declare he's the real Wind God—at least in this moment."]
"..."
The barrage fell like snow, marking the preview's success.
Venti watched the flood of comments, his clear eyes warm and soft.
He hadn't expected so many faithful in a distant world.
He longed to return to Windrise—endless apple wine at hand, Mondstadt's laughter afar, and endless dreams of freedom near.
"Thank you, Ken."
Venti said sincerely.
As an ancient god, he couldn't recall the last time he felt such an atmosphere.
He could sense how much care Ken poured into these videos. Even if Venti himself were there, he'd find no fault.
He was grateful for such a friend.
"If you really want to thank me, buy me a glass of apple wine."
Ken smiled at the stream. Viewership had hit seven million.
Such numbers left the platform's manager slack-jawed.
Who would think a game preview could draw so many in just over twenty minutes?
But joy is brief.
"Everyone, the update goes live in three days. We welcome you to experience it."
"This preview event is officially over. See you next time."
Seeing the time, Ken wrapped up.
It wasn't a major version, so there wasn't much to show.
Though people were reluctant, Ken closed the stream, leaving viewers grumbling.
·
["At least let Venti chat with us a bit! You're just running?"]
["Mr. Ken truly is heartless—have at you!"]
["My little Iron Sword is thirsting. When the patch drops, I'll cut Mr. Ken down!"]
["Tonight was joy and sorrow—Star Dome Company played us like a fiddle."]
["Only Star Dome would dare pull this stunt. Any other company would be torn apart…"]
"..."
Though the stream ended, discussion raged on.
Some even kept sending tips.
But no matter how much they tipped, the stream was over.
"Good work."
Ken patted Venti's shoulder and smiled. "Shall we? Drinks at Windrise—I've got lots of apple wine."
"Ehe? Excellent!" Venti beamed.
Unspoken feelings and memories aside, nothing beats a cup of apple wine.
Staff uploaded the replay to the official account and posted "The Long Way Home" to music sites.
Except…
"Sister Hana, who do we list as the singer?"
The assistant was stumped.
They hadn't asked that top-tier cosplayer's name.
Hana laughed. "Silly! Lyrics and composition by the boss; the singer is, of course, the Wind God, Barbatos!"
"But isn't that a cosplayer?"
"Does it matter?" Hana winked. "What matters is that right now, he is Barbatos."
Half-understanding, the assistant filled "Barbatos" in the singer field, and they clocked out.
Little did they know—
After the team left, the preview's hashtags exploded onto the hot search.
Tonight was a carnival for Barbatos.
...
#Genshin Preview Livestream#
#A 20-Minute Knife—Star Dome, you've done it#
#The Long Way Home—Barbatos#
#Lord Barbatos, we love you#
Within half an hour of ending, the preview had rocketed up the charts.
Not just Twitter and Facebook—TikTok, Youtube, even the fading Yahoo were flooded with clips.
Such tags plastered every site,
All marked "HOT."
Click any one and you'd see staggering views. Ken's face-card crits and Barbatos's cross-dimensional visit—hard for anime fans to resist.
At first, many netizens disliked seeing the tags.
In many people's minds, promotion should be measured; shoving it into hot search is off-putting.
Yet when they clicked in to scoff and saw the near-perfect Barbatos and that warm, healing song, their eyes lit up.
["Someone can cosplay this well? And this song is really good… The music scene hasn't had something this lovely in ages."]
["As a Genshin player, I proudly tell you—this song is original by Genshin's founder, Mr. Ken."]
["My god… the man not only makes games but writes songs? It's so good—so warm and soothing."]
["Damn! Back in 1.0 my classmate hyped Genshin and I ignored it, but after this clip, I'm in."]
["Am I the only one who thinks Mr. Ken is hot? I want to have his babies."]
"..."
As the saying goes, it doesn't matter if a man is old and ugly—what matters is talent.
All the more for someone like Ken, handsome and gifted.
Blue Star's game and entertainment industries lag behind, so when Ken dropped this song, the internet erupted.
Handsome, rich, and talented—a graduation-project from heaven.
Several VAs who voice Genshin characters saw their game trending and reposted—not to leech, but out of pride.
They've voiced many titles; few take off like Genshin did.
Of course,
If they could work with Star Dome more, all the better.
Even something like Venti singing an original "character song" would be great.
Netizens didn't know the VAs' hopes, but their reposts pushed the hype higher.
The last time the entire net rejoiced like this was when Genshin first launched.
Back then, the Liyue Harbor map earned praise from official media.
Tonight's revelry belonged solely to the Wind God, Barbatos.
Not only in the Rabbit Land—Sakura Land and Kimchi Land too.
They hadn't watched live, but once they saw the full stream, they were cut to pieces as well.
For Genshin players worldwide, sleep would be hard tonight.
May the Wind God bless you.