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Genshin Impact's Archon Quest Song of the Welkin Moon continues with Act IV, released in Luna II. This chapter, titled An Elegy for Faded Moonlight, is where the Nod-Krai cast, along with the Traveler and Paimon, finally face off against Rächer of Solnari, Rerir.At the start of Act IV, the Traveler and Paimon arrived at the entrance of the Knights of Favonius' hidden base in Nod-Krai. Outside the base, they were greeted by Albedo and Durin, the two reinforcements that Varka had called for to help counter the growing threat of Rerir.Recap of Song of the Welkin Moon: Act IV "An Elegy of Faded Moonlight" in Genshin ImpactDainsleif's return in Genshin ImpactThe group assembled at the base, this time including Dainsleif, Albedo, and Durin (Image via HoYoverse)The Traveler and Paimon entered the Knights of Favonius' hidden base and found Dainsleif, who said he would join them in the fight against Rerir. Varka was about to start the debriefing of further plans but realized that Nefer hadn't arrived yet.When Nefer eventually arrived, courtesy of Lauma, Dainsleif asked her to investigate Rerir’s past as a commission. She refused, as she did not know him, and questioned how he was still alive as a Khaenri'ahn. To reassure her concerns, Dainsleif disclosed that he was a friend of Rerir back in the day.Nefer then asked Dainsleif about the events that led to the Sinners being tempted by the Abyss in Genshin Impact.Dainsleif stated that the Five Sinners of Khaenri'ah were each driven by their own desires and ambitions. The Abyss had exploited those desires, which led to the downfall of Khaenri'ah. However, Rerir didn't have a grand ambition compared to the rest at that time.Dainsleif explained that one night, his brother Vedrfolnir was summoned by King Irmin, who gouged out his eyes and imprisoned him. Dainsleif gathered his friends to rescue him, but all, including Vedrfolnir, had turned against him by siding with the Abyss that night.After hearing this, Nefer showed interest and told Dainsleif that they'll talk more later. Meanwhile, Columbina revealed that she has gained some strength from the Iridescent Moon’s power that they had acquired earlier with the help of Arlecchino.Varka questioned Rerir's anatomy and whether he could truly die in Genshin Impact, so he assigned Albedo and Durin to investigate through research and alchemy.The group was dispersed, with the Traveler now accompanying Nefer, Dainsleif, Lauma, and Jahoda to the Curatorium of Secrets to gather intel.Rerir's descent and Tholindis' secret in Genshin ImpactRerir and Tholindis and their memories in Genshin Impact (Image via HoYoverse)At the Curatorium of Secrets, the group gathered around Nefer as she began the ritual to peer into Rerir’s memories once more. After a moment, Nefer wakes up, where she's immersed herself in Rerir’s perspective. He sat down in his office, reviewing the files of those he had recently killed under King Irmin’s orders. All were descendants of the Crimson Moon dynasty or carried its bloodline, with victims ranging in age from 50 to as young as six.In between, Rerir kept hearing a sinister voice in his mind, mocking him about what he had done. Soon after, another memory appeared, which showed him seeking out Vedrfolnir. Rerir asked him why he was not sure about his future with Tholindis, but he refused to answer.In the end, when Rerir was about to leave, Vedrfolnir warned him again:“If you want to be happy, you must find someone else.”The memory continued with Tholindis speaking to a young boy named Orlog, a descendant of the Crimson Moon in Genshin Impact. He requested her to kill Rerir, revealing that he is the one hunting their bloodline.Tholindis refused, but Orlog reminded her that she is also a descendant and could be his next target. She insisted that she would talk to Rerir and have him reason with the King. The boy left her conflicted about whether Rerir would kill her after knowing the truth.After this, Nefer delved deeper into Rerir’s memories and arrived in a dim room where he trained for assassinations. Dozens of puppet targets stood before him as he trained, while that same sinister voice kept mocking him for how numb he had become to all the lives he had taken. Just as Rerir was about to make the final blow, the illusion shattered with the puppets dissolving into the lifeless bodies of those he had once slain.The plan to rescue VedrfolnirDainsleif and Rerir with the other Sinners to rescue Vedrfolnir (Image via HoYoverse)Nefer traversed to another memory where Rerir was in his office, where he soon learned that his next target was Tholindis. The voice in his head returned, mocking him for his willingness to kill others and his refusal to do the same to his beloved. Rerir was angered by the voice and addressed it as Vedrfolnir for no apparent reason.Nefer took a moment to connect the dots that perhaps King Irmin had ordered the Crimson Moon genocide for his Abyssal research in Genshin Impact.Dainsleif woke Rerir to help rescue Vedrfolnir after the King had stabbed his eyes and imprisoned him. The group Dainsleif had gathered included the remaining Five Sinners: Rhinedottir, Surtalogi, and Hroptatyr. They were all together in one room exchanging words with each other about their own busy lives.Dainsleif then arrived with Rerir in tow, revealing that the King had gouged out Vedrfolnir’s eyes and imprisoned him. Rhinedottir found it strange, given that Vedrfolnir and Hroptatyr were the King’s most trusted allies.Dainsleif insisted that they must storm the palace and rescue his brother. Rerir, on the other hand, hesitated a bit as he was wondering whether the King could pardon Tholindis for her Crimson Moon bloodline.Tholindis and her stance in Genshin ImpactA cutscene of Tholindis disappearing in the portal while Rerir succumbs to the Abyss (Image via HoYoverse)Back in Tholindis' memories, Nefer learned that she was now the last person working on the Crimson Moon research in Universitas Magistrorum. In her reports, she had uncovered that Moon Marrow originates from an unidentifiable divine power and functions as a portal to an unknown place. She noted that opening it requires a strong force, and sustaining it demands even more.In the next memory, she helped a child escape by giving them a fragment of the moon and a few change. She told them to guard it carefully, believing that one day, all remaining descendants would witness the red Crimson Moon again in their visions. The memory ended abruptly, and the purpose behind the fragment remained unclear.Meanwhile, Dainsleif and the group of Sinners reached the palace gates. Rerir first went to free Vedrfolnir, who admitted that he only warned the King that Khaenri’ah would fall if he kept pursuing the Abyss in Genshin Impact. Blinded and deprived of foresight, Vedrfolnir managed to get a glimpse of one final vision, where he once again questioned Rerir’s true purpose.Upon hearing this, Rerir confronted Vedrfolnir about the voice in his head, asking if it was him all along. Vedrfolnir laughed and told him to persevere if he truly sought an ending with Tholindis. Upon freeing him, an unknown energy rippled across the kingdom of Khaenri'ah.Vedrfolnir then told Rerir to head to the Universitas Magistrorum. There, Tholindis was held by Abyssal monsters as a glowing portal formed behind her. Rerir arrived just as she bid him farewell and stepped into the portal. Desperate, he reached out as it closed and smashed his sword to the ground, where the portal closed. The voice in his head returned, urging him to embrace the Abyss to find her.Rerir finally gave in, with his hair turning white and his mind reduced to a single obsession: to find Tholindis. He opened a similar portal on his own and continued his pursuit of her for the next 500 years.Nefer's past in Genshin ImpactNefer's past explored in Genshin Impact (Image via HoYoverse)After that memory ended, Nefer came back to reality with the rest of the group. However, only to realize moments later that it was a false awakening. She and the others were still trapped inside, standing in a world shaped like Sumeru’s desert. When Lauma asked what was happening, Nefer figured that they had entered her own memories now.Throughout the journey of escaping the illusion, the Traveler and the others learned about Nefer's past. She once belonged to a desert tribe who were wiped out in a conflict over sharing water with another tribe. While she joined the Akademiya, she left soon after because of the discrimination against desert children.Nefer later manipulated the tribe responsible for her father’s and her tribe’s deaths, tricking them into wiping each other out through a fabricated feud over money.When it ended, Nefer reached the final part of her memories at the entrance of a temple. There, they encountered Ashru, Nefer's cat. Lauma initially mistook him for a threat, but Nefer reassured her that it was her memories, so nothing could go wrong.Nefer seals Rerir inside the chess box (Image via HoYoverse)Suddenly, Ashru morphed into an Abyssal hand that seized Nefer by the neck. The Traveler and Lauma intervened but were quickly overpowered. Rerir appeared, strangling Nefer while mocking her for digging too much into his past. Just as he was about to hurt Nefer, Dori’s pendant activated, releasing a massive amount of Kuuvahki energy, which made her break free from his hold.When Rerir tried to attack again, Dainsleif attacked from above while Columbina teleported the group out of the chess box. Before Rerir could follow, Nefer sealed the space to trap him inside for up to two days.The final battle against Rerir in Genshin ImpactEveryone prepared for the battle ahead (Image via HoYoverse)The group decided to go to the base to give an update on the intel they have gathered. Nefer summarized Rerir’s story and stated she did not know much about the Moon Marrow or the portal's purpose.Columbina admitted she didn’t know what lay beyond the portal (which she called a Moon Gate). Flins theorized that perhaps neither Tholindis nor Rerir might not have survived physically, knowing how Rerir came to existence again with his fragments spread across Nod-Krai.Nefer warned that the chess box could hold Rerir for only two days. Dainsleif remained unsure about joining the fight, while Varka laid out the plan. Dori even reached out to the Dendro Archon, requesting aid and counsel for the growing threat against Rerir's destructive powers. Meanwhile, Albedo and Durin found out from their research that Rerir’s body was now entirely composed of Abyssal energy, making him effectively immortal.After two days, the group regrouped on Hiisi Island to prepare for the battle inside the chess box. Everyone joined forces to face Rerir, but midway through the fight, he separated the Traveler and Nefer from the others.As Nefer witnessed his memories, Rerir threatened to kill her, but she mocked him for his inability to see the truth for himself. Her provocation came at a cost, as her eyes started bleeding, but it drove Rerir to unleash his full Abyssal power. A massive alchemical array snapped into being surrounding Nefer and the Traveler, its wards absorbing Rerir’s escaping energy and channeling it to Durin.Columbina defeats Rerir in Genshin Impact (Image via HoYoverse)Albedo channeled the overflow of this power while Durin further converted this energy into elemental energy that Columbina could use to defeat Rerir. Within a moment, she was able to stop Rerir and fend off his attacks. She successfully bound him and opened a portal (Moon Gate) in the sky.Rerir questioned her ability to keep the portal open but realized too late that it was Dainsleif holding it steady. Before he could react, he was cast through as the portal closed behind him. The battle was finally over.Before anyone could celebrate the victory, Nefer’s eyes were still bleeding, and her vision was gone. Lauma used her silver blood to heal her sight. With the fight finally concluded, the group dispersed to rest.Sandrone's possible link to the Narzissenkreuz Ordo in Genshin ImpactSandrone talks about the Narzissenkreuz Ordo in Genshin Impact (Image via HoYoverse)A day later, Varka hosts an afterparty in Nasha Town's tavern, The Flagship. After meeting with the rest of the group, Traveler and Nefer had been wondering why their mystery ally never appeared until a strange voice came from the tavern's door.The scene shifts to several short conversations, showing the cast reflecting on the events that had taken place. In one of the scenes, we visit Sandrone at the Experimental Design Bureau in Genshin Impact to thank her for her assistance.In the middle of the conversation, she reveals that she personally knew Alain Guillotin of the Narzissenkreuz Ordo and the founder of the Fontaine Research Institute. She recalls the differing ideologies of Alain and Rene, offering her own thoughts as well. This moment was likely a hint towards Sandrone’s possible connection to this story.This wraps up Genshin Impact’s Archon Quest Act IV of the Song of the Welkin Moon series. It was packed with lore, answering some long-awaited questions while raising plenty of new ones. From the truth behind the Five Sinners to Nefer’s haunting past, this act leaves just enough mystery to keep players looking forward to what’s next.
