 If you are someone who is currently participating in life, then you probably know that dying is... bad. After all, the last thing you want to happen while you are being allowed is to one day wake up and receive a notification from God telling you that your membership has expired. Except all of that doesn't apply to you, because you, yes you, are a gamer, which means that the grass is an object you never touch and the sunlight is your enemy. So who needs to worry about the dangers of the outside world when you can stay in the safety of your home and play Genshin Impact? Because in a game, death is just an inconvenience. You can die over and over again and again and it will never matter. You will always come back, but what about those who don't? What happens to them? As we understand it, death is the end. It is the ultimate destination of all life. And normally on its own, the statement shouldn't be controversial, although in Genshin that's not necessarily the case. What if I told you that when you die into that, what awaits you on the other side is much, much worse? Because you see, if life in and of itself is a blessing, then what do we make of that which ends the blessing? What would death be? Those were a lot of questions that I ask in quick succession, and don't worry, I do not plan on letting you ponder upon them for too long. However, I still have one final critical question to ask you, one that will set the stage for all that which I will discuss moving forward. Tell me, what do Hu Tao, Kiksuni Saigu, Jacob Baker and Dr. Baizhu all have in common with curses? The answer is curses. All of the aforementioned characters are fighting their own battles in pursuit of trying to avoid becoming curses, either by preventing them or directly killing them or by seeking to transcend humanity by becoming true immortals, the tries above the immortal and mundane. The reason I am making this vital distinction is because not all that which is immortal is transcendent, as we have seen before, immortality itself can also be a curse. Remember what the traveler said during the Karaburt Arkan Quest, to have infinite time, yet no hope can only be called torture. Anyway, before I get too ahead of myself here, I want to clarify what I mean by curses, because when I say curse, I ain't talking about some kind of spell that someone casts onto you to inflict harm or misfortune, I am talking about these. Okay, relax, before you roll your eyes from the sheer magnitude of back chesting, yes, obviously, the Jujutsu Kaisen and Genshin Impact have nothing to do with each other. Nonetheless, both stories draw major inspiration from a particular concept in Buddhism, known as the Preitas, which is associated with the vengeful spirits of Japanese folklore, and both of those will be extremely important later, which is why I am making this comparison to provide you with some conceptual insight into the matter. But until we get to later, let us first take a step back and look at the overall picture so that we can better comprehend what is going on with the souls of the dead in Tibet. Starting with one of my favorite characters in the game, Mona. Now, there are several interesting things to point out about Mona, from her super suspicious acquaintances to her ability to read people's faith through hydromancy. The list of topics that I could discuss about her is impressive to say the least. And out of everything that there is to say about Mona, I want to talk about her name. During the Archive West Mascara of the Guilty, Mona herself tells the traveler that her name is not actually her real name. Rather, Mona Majestis was bestowed upon her by her master. Now, this is something that we've known for a very long time, in fact, we knew this ever since Genshin came out. But this is still the very first time where the writers go out of their way to make it a point that Majestis is a name passed down to Mona. And Majestis itself previously belonged to Mona's own master, while the word simply means The Great. While Mona is known as Majestis, her master is called Atromancer Barbella or Old Hag for short. And just like with Mona, I have a long ass list of things that Joana say regarding the Old Hag, but also like Mona, I am currently only interested in her name. Well, not the Barbella part, I'll get to that in a different video, and you best believe I will. But for now, let us focus on Trus Majestis. As we can easily surmise, if Majestis means The Great, then Trus Majestis would mean The Thrice as Great or The Thrice Greatest, which is the title that Barbella adopted after taking in Mona as her apprentice. Now, what is interesting is that Barbella Trus Majestis belongs to the Hexen Circle, a coven of witches who have multiple members confirmed to be highly skilled in alchemy, such as Alice and Rhine Daughter, more on her later. Therefore, it wouldn't be too far-fetched for me to say that Barbella too dabbles in some alchemy, and since I am on the topic of alchemy, however, I stick the name Trus Majestis from a legendary figure in alchemy known as Hermes Trus Majestis, who also happens to be extremely relevant in narcissism from which Genshin also draws heavily. Although it is unclear whether Hermes Trus Majestis ever lived to begin with, there exists many texts in alchemy which are attributed to him, and perhaps most famously, he is the alleged author of the Emerald Tablet, which alchemists widely regard as the foundational pillar of their art. And honestly, believe it or not, the Emerald Tablet and its contents are so renowned in alchemy that I would be surprised if you have never heard about it before, or at the very least read a throw away line from a story, TV show, anime or video game that references it. For example, the infamous phrase as above, so below is derived from the Emerald Tablet directly. And ignoring the fact that alchemy in the real world is a practice developed by complete idiots and has absolutely nothing to do with modern chemistry, the influence which alchemy has had on philosophy and mysticism from a historical point of view is undeniable. Ergo, where alchemy truly shines is in the realm of fiction and esoterics, proven by the thousands of stories drawing inspiration from it, with Genshin Impact being just one such story. This by extension implies that the writings of Hermes Trismegistus could be extremely important to the cosmology and world building of Genshin, and as you are about to see, it really really is. To demonstrate what I mean, let us take a quick look at Baidu, notably because Baidu's research sheds a lot of light into the nature of Tevat and its quote-unquote laws. As a matter of fact, Baidu does talk about the nature of the world in one of his voice lines. Here it is. If you already see how important this quote is regarding what Baidu is alluding to, then that's great, you probably know exactly where this video is going. But if you are someone who would prefer further explanation, then here is what you need to know. Baidu's story and character design feature a hefty amount of inspiration from Buddhism, which for the most part I will discuss in a different video. But I will still briefly mention the fact that Baidu is contracted with a serpent chang chang, with which he can manipulate life force. And the serpent is prominently depicted in a particular interpretation of the cycle of samsara in Buddhism known as the bhava chakra, which translates to the wheel of life, where it symbolizes mortal temptation and desires. And the primary objective in Buddhism is for one to abandon all these meaningless attachments and desires that defile the soul so that they may achieve nirvana and transcend the cycle of the samsara altogether. This idea of mortal temptation and achieving nirvana is going to be very important later, so please keep it in mind. In addition to Buddhism, Baidu's character is considerably influenced by Daoism, especially in his philosophy and some of his animations. Now historically speaking, Daoism was closely connected to Chinese alchemy, and one of the primary endeavors that the Chinese alchemists went after was the grand elixir of immortality, which can be compared to the philosopher's stone that the European alchemists saw since one of its functions is said to have been granting immortality. And as you know, Baidu's main goal is eternal life. But there is a big obstacle in Baidu's path. Remember earlier, not all immortality is good, which is why he needs to figure out a method that is compatible, conducive, and congruent with the human prosperity. Luckily for him, there are others pursuing a similar path. For example, evolution has been a major theme throughout Fountain, whether it is evolution through machinery from Elangilliteen, or evolution by becoming Neo-humans like Auronet or Jacob, or even evolution through the foul legacy of Sorthology, which might actually be an advanced version of Jacob's Neo-humanism, but the point I'm trying to make is that this evolution appears to be an effective method or at least a path for humans to achieve immortality. After all, we know that Skirk has her own foul legacy transformation, and she does say that she no longer wishes to return to the surface, as she chose to abandon the bonds that would turn her into a curse, which is reminiscent of what I said about abandoning mortal desires and attachments to achieve Nirvana and escape the cycle of Samsara. And akin to Baidu, I believe that Rhine Daughter is also searching for an effective method for immortality. In case you didn't know, this mysterious red energy from Rhine Daughter's creations during an Elinas is the power of the alchemical Rubidu, the philosopher Stone, which is set to grant immortality. In his notes, Jacob Baker mentions the alchemist Rhine Daughter and talks about how she joined the Exxon Circle. Interestingly enough, in these same notes, Jacob also talks about another organization of alchemists known as the Universitas Magistroron, that I believe Barbelef used to be part of, which is one of the many reasons that led me to say that she uses alchemy. Now, it is worth mentioning that Barbelef is taken from an eon in Gnosticism called Barbello, which is just an emanation of the Gnostic Monad, the Supreme God in Gnosticism. And if the King of Kings, shown in the Gnostic chorus, is the Monad, then his two offspring, the two crowned heirs, which likely correspond to the second and third descenders respectively, are also probably eons, likely the Sophia for the princess and Jesus for the prince, which is why the prince is an actual character in the game and not a metaphorical concept, but who knows. Anyway, in Gnosticism, which Genshin's cosmology is based on, one of the primary goals for humans is to obtain a Gnosis, which corresponds to Enlightenment, or I suppose visions in Genshin, and then return to a higher divine realm. And you know what? Speaking of humans, let's talk about them for a bit, since we know that humans, with the exception of certain minorities, are alien to the world of Tibet. This is something that has been hinted at since in Kenomia came out in Pax 2.4, where the scribe of Ishtaroth writes that the primordial one, the progenitor god of humanity, came from the outside world. A couple of years later in Fontaine, this sentiment was further reaffirmed by the description of the Wind Glider, Winds of Merciful Wrathful Waters, where it is written by the developers that although the shade of life was a god of humans, her creation of Egeria, the first hydro arcan, was a process that utilized materials native to Tibet, entirely without outside elements. Here it is important to recognize that the developers making this distinction indicates their intention of implying that the shade of life and the human species she rules are all alien to Tibet, unlike Egeria. Furthermore, based on the opening paragraph of the history of the decline and fall of Remuria, we know that the unified humans of the first civilization lived through an era of abundance and prosperity directly underneath the rule of the primordial one, with the heavenly envoys acting as their guides. With that being said, over time the people of the first era grew bored of their life, eternally peaceful, forever unchanging, humanity became restless and was overrun by temptation, making them desire that which was not promised to them by heaven. Celestial, on the other hand, was not very fond of the humans trying to break free from their fate. So the Celians then asked the humans, would you lose? And the humans were like, nah, I would win. And then Celestia proceeded to wipe them all off the face of Tibet. Notice what happened with the first civilization. The primordial one created the first humans numerous as the stars in the sky, and gave them what was practically an eternal paradise where they would have no want or need. But over time humans' good is satisfied with the tranquility of their unchanging and everlasting world. They wanted something more. They wanted something exciting. They wanted to be free. Freedom to do whatever they want, however they want. Freedom to be evil, to be good, to have power, and to use that power. And compared to those possibilities, oh how stale and crude an unchanging eternity appears to be. Thus did the primordial one extinguish the flame of their ambition and start all over. Now, I would wager that quite a few of you watching have already picked up on the uncanny resemblance between the first civilization and the storyline of the Inazuma Arkan Quest. This is quite peculiar, especially when you take into account Beelzebul's boasting about how only through eternity are you closest to the heavenly principles, which could mean that the Gigabrain writers at Hoyobur's used the Inazuma Arkan Quest as a sneaky way to foreshadow future events in the story. So what does the Inazuma Arkan Quest have to do with this video? Nothing. It has nothing to do with what we are talking about. That was just a cool detail that I wanted to point out. Nonetheless, the records of the first civilization, as found in the history of the decline and fall of Remuria, share extremely interesting parallels with the writings of the guy I was talking about earlier, Hermes Turis Magistus. In one of his excerpts, which I'm going to paraphrase heavily for this sake of this video, Hermes writes that in the beginning, God created the universe, along with its divisions, separating the microcosm from the macrocosm. He then created and appointed several minor deities to govern what he had made. Finally, God fashioned human souls out of a mysterious transparent substance. Keep the substance in mind, this entire video is basically about it. What is important to understand is that God placed these souls in the astral realm, not in the physical realm, and instructed them to create various life forms in animals of the earth, which they did, for a while at least, until they grew prideful in greedy, then succumbed to temptation and sought to become equal to the gods. As punishment for mankind's irrigation, their souls were trapped into mortal shells in the physical realm. These bodies were relatively weak and susceptible to hunger, disease, pain, and the cruelty of the weather. A curse was then placed upon the humans to continuously suffer in their lives on earth. God then told the humans that if their actions in the physical realm were worthy of their divine origins, then they would be rewarded handsomely and eventually ascend back to the heavenly realm. However, those who failed to meet the appropriate criteria would be condemned to reincarnate over and over again. Okay, there is a lot to unpack here, and while I highly doubt that I can cover everything in this video, I will try my best to include all that is relevant. First of all, I want to point out that these hermitician writings are considerably similar to another creation myth which I talked about before in this video behind me right here. The Aztec creation myth where once the world is destroyed, the gods Quetzalocotl and Ceoacotl create bodies from the bones of the deceased races and then inject them with Quetzalocotl's own blood, giving them life. If you haven't seen this video, then do not worry about it at all. I was just mentioning it for those who did. It's going to be relevant in Natalie. At any rate, one thing that is worth noting is that in the writings of Hermes Trus Magistus, the first humans were essentially ethereal souls made from a mysterious transparent substance drifting the astral realm. And when I read that, I went hmm, and you know what made me go hmm? Let me tell you what made me go hmm. The Narsis and Crows Ordo of Jacob Baker and René de Petricor hypothesized that Teyvat is ensnared in a cycle of samsaras where the world is constantly destroyed and remade anew at the dawn of each iteration. The Ordo posits that Teyvat has already gone through three cycles so far, those being the Hyperborea, Natlentine, and Remuria, with Crown Arya being the fourth and current samsara. These rude cycles and the Narsis, Crows, Ordo in general are inspired by a real-life esoteric occult movement known as Ceoacipi, which was founded primarily by this idiot, Helena Petrova Blavitsky. Now look, I have a lot of things to say about Theosophy, and none of them is good, but I should say that Theosophy does actually fit very well within the framework of a video game fantasy world, and there are many interesting similarities between it and the story of Gunshin, which you can check out at your own leisure if you care. I, on the other hand, am gonna put my personal distaste aside and skip right to the part that is relevant for this video, which is regarding a concept in Theosophy known as the root races. Aside from the fact that the root cycles of Gunshin Impact are directly taken from these root races, there is one distinction to keep in mind, because it is that distinction which made me go, hmm. While the Narsis and Crows are the list of four root cycles, there happen to be seven root races in Theosophy, with the last two being unknown. Our focus centers around the first root race, the Polarians, and the reason they matter is because they are described as a race made out of ethereal matter, mirroring the depiction of the first humans by Hermes, Troy's Majesties in algae. Additionally, these Polarians lived through an age when the primordial ocean covered the surface of the earth, and only a single mountain rose above the sea. That mountain was called Mount Sumeru, and do you know what reading that reminded me of? It reminded me of Elinas, reminded me of Canotilla and Caterpillar, and Hutao, and Baiju, and Skirk, and also...Bossatius. Now, that's a lot of things to remember, so strap on your seatbelts and get ready, because all of that buildup that I've done so far is about to pay off in 3, 2, 1, go. When the Traveler talks to Elinas at the end of the Ancient Colors world quest, the latter says that before his mother found him, he used to be a formless entity drifting endlessly in the cold cosmic darkness, where he was very sad and lonely. Then the witch-rind daughter plucked him out of the cosmic darkness and gave him a name, a body, and many adorable siblings such as the wicked golden wolf lord and the evil dragon durin. Aside from the wolf lord, Elinas and his siblings had a childlike nature to them, making them naive to the destruction and suffering that their happiness brought to the world. I find this quite compelling, because do you know who else can often exhibit a childlike outlook on the world? Dogs. Well, at least domesticated ones, because the African wild dogs are expert predators and killers, but the point I'm trying to make is that dogs can in many cases be characterized by childish curiosity and playfulness. And Elinas's mother, she allegedly made many dogs, the Rifthounds, you know, similar to the Rifthound that attacked the Traveler in Jacob's dream realm, which Kanotilla and the Traveler later both saw as a dog. Yeah, guys, that dog, he is the will of a dead man named Carter, who was the assistant of Alain Gilatine in the Institute of Natural Philosophy 500 years ago. Keep him in mind, because you best believe I am going to get back to him later. But for now, let us not forget the main theme of this video, death. And I don't know about you, but when I think about death in the context of Genshin, the first thing that comes to my mind are Hutao and Baijo, because you see these two have a long history with one another, stretching all the way back to Hutao's grandfather and great uncle. Although the two brothers dealt in the trade of death at the Longtian Funeral Parlor, Hutao's grandfather and great uncle grew to embrace vastly different ideologies over time. Where her great uncle wanted to become a doctor to prolong life and delay one's death for as long as possible, Hutao's grandfather firmly believed that some things are divinely ordained and that the impermanence of life and the permanence of death are among those immutable truths. The two brothers argued for hours over the cycle of life and death until their dispute and philosophies drove a rift between them. Eventually, Hutao's great uncle would go on to form a contract with the White Snake Tongsheng, picking on a young Baijo as his disciple, while her grandfather, seeking to preserve the family's long-standing traditions, would carry on with the parlor's business. And out of their stubbornness, the two brothers never talked to each other again. Which is extremely ironic when you take a moment to think about how the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor started off as a doctor's office at its inception before incorporating the funeral services that it is known for today. And speaking of the Parlor's foundation, it is actually very important for this video, so let's talk about it. Legends say that the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor was established hundreds of years in the past by a group of humans in Lihue who dedicated themselves to cleansing the land from the plagues and curses brought about by the fallen gods from the Arkhan War. Because as it turns out, when a god dies, their hatred and resentment lingers in the world and manifests as curses and demons that blight the world with mayasmora and disease. This is why Morax always preferred sealing the gods he defeated whenever possible, instead of directly killing them. An excellent example of this took place on Yashiori Island, where following the execution of the White Serpent God Orobashi, his will and power became a curse known as the Taperigami, which engulfed the entire island in a violent perpetual rainstorm and slowly drove all of its inhabitants to illness and madness, killing most of them in the process. But as it turns out, gods are not the only ones that turn into curses when they are killed. Going back to Lihue, the founders of the Wanxion Funeral Parlor worked hand in hand with the Adepti to maintain the balance between life and death. Unfortunately, a great number of the Yaksha who fought the demons and curses of the gods that Morax killed accumulated a massive amount of negative karma which either drove them insane or killed them, releasing those curses back into the world. Even Bossatius, the first and arguably the mightiest of the Yaksha succumbed to his karmic depth and lost his sanity, until he met Yella and his ancestor Buyang 500 years ago. The two united in purpose fought side by side with the Millilith to push back against the Abyss monsters, falling from the chasm following the Cataclysm of Kandria. Eventually, Buyang and Bossatius used a device known as the Fantastic Compass to seal the monsters of the Abyss along with themselves in a chaotic space. Five centuries later, Alates, Yella, Nyanfe and the Traveller found themselves in that same space. Here, Adeptus Shao mentions something very important. He remarks that the chaotic space of the Fantastic Compass exists on the border between the physical realm and the void realm, which is the Abyss. Furthermore, the group soon discovers that the Fantastic Compass can control time, and can you guess how many time periods it transports us across during the Arkham Quest? Four. Four different eras. This changes everything. Although I am extremely tempted to say that the four eras shown by the Fantastic Compass are representations of the four samsaras of Tivat listed by the Narsis and Croys, Ardo I am not gonna go that far yet. With that being said, I do still think that there is some merit to this idea, at least allegorically. What do I mean by that? Well, hear me out. Shao says that the chaotic space is both intelligent and malevolent, being able to read and understand the minds of those within it, slowly driving them insane and turning them into lost souls which it devours. Now, let me take you all the way back to the start of this video when I was discussing the governsation that Skirk had with Nuvillet and how she told him that when people die, they become curses upon the world. I then went on to associate these curses that Skirk speaks of with the cursed spirits of Jujutsu Kaisen. Okay, calm down, listen. The cursed spirits in Jujutsu Kaisen are directly inspired by vengeful spirits of Japanese folklore. These vengeful spirits are in turn based on a concept in Buddhism called the Preitas, which means hungry spirits. The process of becoming a hungry spirit in Buddhism involves the accumulation of negative karma due to someone's fast actions, if those actions are driven by greed and harmful intents. These souls are then reborn in the Preita realm in the next Samsara and they become hungry spirits fueled by suffering and resentment. This is unlike those souls who achieve enlightenment in the state of Nirvana, which leads to their liberation from the cycle of Samsara beyond life, death and rebirth. Okay, why does this matter? Well, earlier I spent some time emphasizing the importance of Hermes Turis Magistus to the cosmology of Genshin Impact and in his writings, God cursed the humans for overstepping their authority and imprisoning their souls into the physical realm as a punishment. Those amongst them who prove that they are worthy of their divine origins ascend back to the heavenly realm, but do you remember what happens to the souls that fail? They die and are forced to reincarnate again to suffer. Towards the end of the Perilous Trial Arting Quest, Yellan Shao, the traveler and the rest of the group attempt to escape the chaotic space when they are attacked by a conglomerate of really, really angry spirits that wanted to hold their escape and keep them trapped. In theory, these souls should be the ghosts of the Mililith who locked themselves with Buyang and Bolsatius in the chaotic space and eventually got devoured by it. However, I have an additional proposition to make. These might actually also be the souls of the abyss monsters that Buyang and Bolsatius used the Fantastic Compass to trap in the first place. And this is where things get wild. When I said the Fantastic Compass could be an allegory for Tibatsu Samsara, I wasn't really referring to the space-time anomalies of that domain. You see, I had ulterior motives, and while yes, the time travel part is a nice additional evidence to my theory, the main motivating factor that drove me to say what I said was the dog. Or rather, I should say the Rift Ham that the traveler in Canotilla saw in Jacob's Dream Realm. As you probably know by now, Caterpillar is a helipterol that was imbued by the persona of Carter Furbius by Jacob Baker and René David Ricourt. And following the world quest in the wake of Narcissus, when the traveler goes on to check on Canotilla in Jacob's Dream Realm, we learn that the Rift Ham who attempted to kill us in that realm is the will of Carter, found in the abyss-like domain. Later, when the dog vanishes, a sunflower can be found along with some notes left behind by Jacob, where we learn that he spent a while studying the work of Reindotter to replicate it. And since Reindotter's quote-unquote work involved blocking out souls from the abyss and giving them bodies in the human realm, then that doesn't really leave much to the imagination for what was going on in Tibet. You know how I talked about the fantastic compass taking us through four different eras? Well, that's not really the full picture, because it actually has five. And look what we have here, an ethereal realm representing the abyss. Representing the vast cosmic darkness from where the witch Reindotter found Illinazus's soul. Also, don't worry, this is not a plot hole in my theory. While it is indeed true that Illinazus encroies ordo lists for some sara cycles, remember that theosophy, the ideology which the root cycles of the ordo are based on, has five known root races. With the first, or the fifth in this case, being the Polarians, who are described to be ethereal beings that existed when the primeval ocean covered the earth. And do you remember what humans used to originally be before getting cursed by the divine and the writings of Hermes the Trus Magistus? They were souls fashioned out of a mysterious transparent substance inhabiting the astral realm. Knowing the fact that Caterpillar's spirit takes the form of a rift town in Jacob's abyssal dream realm, the angry spirits that attacked Chow and his group in the chaotic space being the souls of the abyss monsters that Bolsatius and Bojang trapped with them becomes a very real possibility now. And this doesn't make sense at first, because these spirits look very humanoid. In fact, they are almost identical to the souls of the dead which we bring back to the boatman on Swarmy Island and the shades of Tokoyo in Incanomia. So what's going on here? Do these spirits belong to the Mililith or to the abyss monsters? Well, it doesn't actually matter. Regardless of who these souls belong to, whether it is the Mililith or the monsters of the abyss, they are all human. We know that Drine Daughter created many monsters, but have you ever thought about what drove her to make them in the first place? After all, it couldn't have been out of necessity. Karnria was a mighty nation with hundreds of thousands of advanced machines under their command. Therefore, one would assume that they had no shortage of labor force. Earlier, I talked about the Japanese vengeful spirits, which are based on the Preitas in Buddhism and how the souls of those who accumulate negative karma in their life are reborn in the hungry ghost realm during their next samsara, where they become full of resentment and suffering. In Genshin Impact, karma is a real force that operates throughout Tibet, and the Yaksha absorb a tremendous amount of negative karma in their battles due to their constant exposure to it from the curses and demons that manifest from their resentment and hatred of the fallen gods and spirits. Which means that the monsters of the abyss, the formless entities drifting in the cosmic darkness, might be the souls of the people from the current and previous samsara cycles of Tibet who die and leave behind bonds that become curses on the world, the souls of those deemed to be sinners by Celestial. But, uh, we have a problem here. In Tibet, you don't have to be evil to qualify as a sinner. As we have seen in the Arkham-Quast mascara out of the guilty, the overwhelming majority of Pontane's population had nothing to do with Egeria's original sin, yet despite that they were all punished regardless. And then we have Orobashi, who was a benevolent god sentenced to death by Celestia for the crime of reading a book, and ended up leaving behind a Tatarigami curse over Yashiori. Which means that a sinner in Tibet is, whatever the fuck Celestia decides it to be. This is why I no longer believe the Trine Daughter was trying to create an army of abyssal monsters, rather the exact opposite. I now think the Trine Daughter in reality was attempting to find a way to save the souls of those who failed to satisfy the heavenly principles. Those who died and became curses upon the world and thus were cast out of the cycle of Samsara and disposed of as filth in the Abyss. So, if the void realm is essentially a really big trashcan where the unworthy are filtered into, then how do they get there in the first place and what is their destiny from their onwards? Alright, earlier I brought up how the Wonsheng Funeral Parlor works to maintain the balance in the cycle of life and death. The traveler witnesses one such method firsthand during Hu Tao's first story quest where they ensure the souls of the deceased pass through the border of life and death peacefully so that they may not become curses in the human realm. And even though Hu Tao's great uncle and his disciple Bai Zhu did not see eye to eye with the Wonsheng Funeral Parlor due to the issues they had with Old Hu, they nevertheless understood the importance that these funerary services hold. In fact, in Bai Zhu's fourth character story I read a passage which I found so interesting to the point where this entire theory exists because of it. Whenever a patient under Bai Zhu's care dies, Bubu Pharmacy contacts the Wonsheng Funeral Parlor to set up a ceremony for their passing. And what really caught my attention is that the one who holds these ceremonies is Zhongli, and the implications that these holds are way more important than what appears on surface level. When I first read that part in Bai Zhu's character story I immediately stopped and went, wait, but why? You see, in almost every religion, funerary ceremonies, while yes they are conducted in honor of those who died, primarily serve to appease a higher divinity on behalf of the deceased's soul. However, in this case, the man conducting these religious ceremonies is Morax. He is the God. So what is even the point of bothering with these ceremonies? Surely he is not doing it for himself, that would be ridiculous. And based on the last 20 minutes of this video, I can confidently say that he isn't doing it for Celestia either. Perhaps he is doing it for show to uphold the traditions in front of the common folk. Actually, no, even that doesn't work, because it is written that the process is done in a secluded, thatched cottage in the dead of the night away from any crowd. Then I realize something that made me laugh. Morax is not holding these funerals as religious ceremonies, but rather as insurance policies. He is doing it to minimize the risk of these souls failing to pass on, getting corrupted, and becoming curses that blight the mortal world. And this is such a cool detail, that you unfortunately have to go completely out of your way to find which makes me sad, because I wish Hoyoverse put a little more effort into showcasing these things in the game itself, instead of putting it in an obscure paragraph in a long character story that is locked behind Baidu's fifth ascension. At any rate, if the soul fails to pass on after death, it becomes a curse, and is then fated to be filtered out of the cycle of Samsara and discarded into the Abyss. I suspect that this is the case, because if you recall the Sacred Sakura cleansing ritual that the traveler performs with Kitsune Saigu, they spent a great deal of time treating the leylines around Narukami Island. At the end of the world quest, the traveler faces off against a massive tumor that infects the roots of the Sacred Sakura. And during that fight, the tumor summons the souls of the fallen warriors, likely the ones who died a resentful death and became ventral spirits, or in Buddhist terms, hungry spirits, or as Kirk puts it, purses. You see, after completing the world quest on Suromi Island, the traveler spends a while herding the souls of the dead to the boatman who rambles about his lady of the golden halls, the lady of the silver palace and whatnot. At this point, I think that his lady might be the shade of death, but this is just an idea I am throwing, so don't take it too seriously. What's interesting is that the boatman also mentions oak and cypress wood. Next to the boatman, you can find this leyline branch. Similar branches can be found in the chasm and also in the tomb that Amun made for the goddess of flowers. All in all, these branches are found in locations where death runs rampant, leading me to conclude that they serve to reabsorb the souls of the deceased into the leylines and into ermine soul where they can be reused later. However, if the soul is corrupted, then reabsorbing it would damage the leylines, which is why the souls need to be filtered out. This also explains why the rift towns are attracted to the roots of the sacred Sakura, which is a leyline tree, during Beelzebul's second story quest. You know what, speaking of Beelzebul, earlier in this video I mentioned that she talks about how eternity is the closest ideal unto the heavenly principles. Well, thinking about it now, have a listen at what Dane Sleep has to say about this. In the perpetual mean time of a sheltered eternity, most are content to live and not to dream. But in the hidden corners where the gods gaze does not fall, there are those who dream or dream. Some say a few are chosen and the rest are dregs, but I say we humans have our humanity. What Dane Sleep says here reminds me of the lines in Before Sun and Moon where the primordial one separated the world from the rest of the universe. I suppose this sheltered eternity would then be Tevat, because Tevat means arc in Hebrew, and an arc is a vessel or a sanctuary that serves as a protection against extinction. While those who dream of dreaming would be the ones cast outside of that arc, out into the vast extent of the cosmic darkness where they would feel nothing but cold, sorrow, and loneliness, they are souls tortured by infinite time, yet no hope for salvation. Considering just how terrible someone's fate can potentially be when they die, it isn't completely accurate for me to call Tevat a sanctuary. In truth, this world is really more of a purgatory, where Celestia separates the souls that the divine eyes see as worthy from the rest who are segregated into the abyss. With such a miserable state of affairs, it should be to no one's surprise that there are those who wish to transcend the shackles of the world and go against its natural order. Dr. Baizhu is one such individual. When Baizhu was young, he lost most of his friends and family to a terrible disease that struck his village. Thus, Baizhu fully understands the suffering and loneliness that death brings. Chichi herself wonders why Baizhu hates death so much, yet spends all his time researching it. Now, funny enough, the answer to Chichi's quandary is quite simple. It has to do with gold. Despite the enormous differences in their methods, I have a feeling that both Baizhu and Reindotter are trying to achieve the same goal. They are looking for a way to rescue the inhabitants of Tivat from the cruelty that awaits their souls when they die. And believe me, I know how weird this sounds, but think about it. Reindotter's son, Albedo, is already older than any ordinary human in monstat. And let me tell you right now, this guy ain't gonna age anytime soon. In fact, he might actually be semi-immortal. Mind you, Albedo has no father. Reindotter didn't give birth to him, she made him. So where, oh where, do you think she got his soul from? The exact same place she found Elina's. The Adepti of Liyue, along with the Monctioned Funeral Parlor, work tirelessly to help the spirits of the dead pass on through the border while destroying those who don't. However, these are but temporary measures. In a never-ending cycle and the effort and bloodshed exhausted in them is tremendous. That much Baizu understands very well. Thus, the solution he seeks is a permanent one, and that is no easy task. To become a curse after dying is a horrible fate, especially when we know that even catching the attention of the divine gaze by obtaining a vision does not guarantee your salvation. A vision only means that you have the potential to ascend. The final decision is still up to Celestia. Hencewise, Kirk and the rest of those who live below do not wish to return to the surface. Instead, they walk the path of their master, Surtalogy the Foul. And speaking of Surtalogy, I think that the Foul legacy which he developed also serves as means to transcend immortality by bypassing death. I suppose that instead of escaping the Abyss, Surtalogy's philosophy is to embrace it. And on that note, I do have to say I don't think the Abyss is evil or bad. Wherever it is depicted, the Abyss just looks like space. Surtalogy's own pet is called the Visitor from the Far Side of the Sea of Stars, which is funny because both Ether and Lumin are referred to as travelers from the Sea of Stars. I have a feeling that the evil part of the Abyss is just the accumulation of all the curses, demons and vengeful spirits that were cast into it as punishment for the mortal allegations of the First Civilization, where humanity fell from grace and became subject to the cycle of life and death. In other words, Surtalogy, Rindotter and Baizhu are all pursuing the same kind of perfection, a method through which they can achieve Nirvana and escape the cycle of samsaras imposed upon Tevat by Celestia. This perfection won't be an easy one to achieve. And based on Skirk's words, neither Rindotter nor Surtalogy have reached it yet. This means that Dr. Baizhu still has a lot of research and studying to do. But there is still hope. He is getting there, one step at a time. At the end of the Heart of Healing story quest, Baizhu utilizes the knowledge he has gathered so far to temporarily postpone the death of a man named Jelyang. This process appears to be a preliminary method based on Baizhu's research into Chichi's condition. But Chichi is merely a zombie. She is not truly immortal, she is not truly alive. So whether it is the fowl, whether it is gold, or whether it is the doctor of the boo boo pharmacy, the search for immortality continues. And their endeavors, regardless of if they succeed or not, prove one undeniable truth, the strength and perseverance of the human spirit in the face of impossibilities. And who knows? Maybe Baizhu was right. Maybe, just maybe, the contract that Changsheng began hundreds of years ago will end with him. Just like how this video is about to end soon, because we have reached the outro, and dear God, for some reason this video was unbelievably complicated to make. It mostly took so long because of just how many pieces there are to the puzzle, and even now, after more than 40 minutes of yapping, I still haven't covered everything that I wanted to say about this topic. For example, I still have a lot more to add regarding Chichi, Baizhu, and the first civilization, however I'm just gonna leave those for a different video in the future. Although I do want to add that I find it comical how Celestia eradicated the first civilization for overstepping their boundaries, only for the humans who came after them to continue overstepping their boundaries with Baizhu being one such example. Anyway, I still have so many more videos to make, but don't worry, the upcoming batch won't be as complicated and convoluted as this one, so I better get going now and continue working. Thanks for watching, and take care.