Genshin Impact: Song of the Welkin Moon Archon Quest Interlude recap

Genshin Impact's version 5.8 brings a new Archon Quest Interlude called Song of the Welkin Moon Prelude: "The Journey Home," taking place after the conclusion of Natlan’s story and just before Nod-Krai's release. This quest focuses on the lore surrounding Ineffa, a new character from Nod-Krai.

Players get to learn about her mysterious origins and her role in Genshin Impact's overarching lore. The quest also mentions Sandrone, the Fatui Harbinger known as the Marionette, who appears to be involved in the Fatui’s upcoming plans in Nod-Krai and beyond.

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Meeting Ineffa for the first time in Genshin Impact

The quest begins with the Traveler visiting the Flower Feather Clan, where they meet Chasca and Ifa treating an injured Qucusaur. They explain that Secret Source Automatons have lately started attacking Saurians unprovoked. Chasca plans to eliminate the nearby threats, and the Traveler agrees to help.

Ineffa, inactive and lying on the beach in Genshin Impact (Image via HoYoverse)

While tracking the Automatons near Ochkanatlan in Genshin Impact, they come across a damaged humanoid robot lying on the beach, later identified as Ineffa. As Chasca and Ifa examine her, Ineffa reacts to their voices but is still unconscious.

She can’t seem to recall her purpose or origin. Her human-like form puzzles everyone, prompting Chasca to suggest they consult Xilonen.

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Xilonen’s discovery and Ineffa’s companions

At Xilonen’s cluttered workshop, Chasca explains the situation. Intrigued, Xilonen examines Ineffa and discovers that her body is composed of salvaged parts from various regions across Teyvat, including Fontaine, Mondstadt, and Natlan. She reactivates Ineffa’s sensory module, prompting her to immediately recognize the Traveler and Paimon. Ineffa delivers the cryptex she was originally tasked to return, but admits she no longer remembers where her home is.

The woven scroll depicting Ixquieh and Lianca (Image via HoYoverse)

Regardless, she is grateful for Xilonen's help and offers to clean the workshop, where she finds a woven scroll. This is a scroll depicting Lianca and Ixquieh, ancient figures tied to the Flower Feather Clan and Children of Echoes. Chasca and Xilonen now carry their ancient names in Genshin Impact, being "Vuka" and "Baraka," respectively.

Hearing the name of “Lianca” triggers a breakdown in Ineffa. She envisions a red abyssal entity and a voice questioning her identity. In distress, she destroys the scroll. Kinich arrives, recognizing Ineffa as the robotic companion of his client, Zhuoxin.

The group of adventurers from Nod-Krai reunite with Ineffa in Genshin Impact (Image via HoYoverse)

They meet Zhuoxin and his adventuring party from Nod-Krai. Chasca notes they hail from different regions. Zhuoxin explains that Nod-Krai is a refuge for adventurers across Teyvat. Ineffa was created there by Aino, using scrap tech and a mysterious core, possibly from Natlan.

Zhuoxin asking if Ineffa remembers (Image via HoYoverse)

Zhuoxin says Ineffa’s memory loss worsened as they neared Natlan, and that she vanished after protecting them from a monster attack. However, Ineffa still doesn’t remember. Seeing their fatigue, Chasca invites the members of the adventuring party to rest at the Flower Feather Clan before continuing their journey.

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Mention of the Thirteen Dragonlords in Genshin Impact

After returning to the Flower Feather Clan, the Traveler delivers a mechanical flower, crafted by local children as a gift to Ineffa for her hard work. When she questions its meaning, the Traveler explains that value can come from sentiment, not just function.

The red-haired lady is talking about Och-Kan (Image via HoYoverse)

This triggers a memory of a red-haired girl speaking about a war, likely tied to the era of the Six Heroes who fought against Och-Kan in Genshin Impact's lore. They return to bid farewell to the group of adventurers, including Zhuoxin. Ineffa thanks the children and, moved by their excitement, quietly asks what it feels like to return home. Chasca gently assures her that she’ll one day find a place where she belongs.

Back at the clan, they meet Citlali (Granny Itzli), elder of the Masters of the Night Wind tribe. She shares her concern over Ajaw, Kinich’s usually talkative companion in Genshin Impact, who has been silent lately. After two whole days of persuasion, Ajaw finally speaks, uttering two words, “Sovereign ruler.”

Citlali identifies this as a reference to the Thirteen Dragonlords, powerful forms of artificial intelligence once created by the Pyro Dragon Sovereign Xiuhcoatl to rule over Natlan. Their names were erased over time, and Ajaw might be one of them. She also notes Ineffa’s reaction to the name “Lianca,” suggesting she may be carrying the core of a Dragonlord connected to Lianca.

Citlali talks about the Eighth Dragonlord (Image via HoYoverse)

She mentions there's only one Dragonlord, and it was the Eighth Dragonlord, the Priestess of Floral Candles and Skyborne Feathers, who once ruled the region peacefully and secretly raised a human girl named Lianca.

For this, she was executed by her dragonkind as an act of betrayal. Genshin Impact players may recognize parallels here with Chasca's own story of being raised by a Qucusaurus. Citlali believes Ineffa could be this Dragonlord and asks the Traveler and Chasca to observe her.

Later, Citlali privately summons the Traveler, joined by Xilonen. They reveal that the Eleventh Dragonlord, who once betrayed the Priestess and was connected to Lianca and Ixquieh, may also be inside Ineffa. Known for her pride and hatred of humans, the Eleventh's return could endanger all of Natlan in Genshin Impact.

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Involvement of the Fatui and Ineffa's true identity in Genshin Impact

Ineffa goes to protect the group of Nod-Krai adventurers from rogue Automatons on their way. Nearby, a hidden Fatui regiment watches but retreats when the Traveler arrives. Using her ability to hear machines, Ineffa learns that the Automatons are being remotely controlled by these Fatui agents.

Zhuoxin then mentions hearing rumors in Nasha Town about a Fatui unit under the Harbinger Sandrone, the Marionette, investigating ancient tech. Chasca questions him, but he brushes it off. Upon seeing his injured wife Auma, he leaves abruptly. Chasca takes Auma to the Flower Feather Clan for treatment, and the Traveler grows suspicious of Zhuoxin’s ties to the Fatui.

Zhuoxin informs them about the regiment's leader being Marionette (Sandrone) (Image via HoYoverse)

In this segment of the Genshin Impact Archon Quest, the Traveler and Ineffa follow Zhuoxin to a hidden tunnel, which the voice of the Automatons (now in Ineffa’s robot) recognizes as once belonging to the Eighth Dragonlord. This territory was her home and was hidden away from Och-Kan. Driven by urgency, Ineffa charges ahead, with the Traveler following close behind.

Inside, the Automaton voices reveal themselves as the Eighth Dragonlord’s lingering consciousness. She explains that Ineffa’s core is afflicted with the “Exile’s Curse,” a punishment once placed on the Eleventh Dragonlord by the others in Genshin Impact's history of the lords.

The Eighth Dragonlord's voice talks about the true nature of the curse (Image via HoYoverse)

This curse strips away any sense of belonging. Whenever Ineffa starts to feel accepted, it triggers searing pain rooted in the Dragonlords’ memories, forcing her to forget her own memories.

Before the Traveler can ask more, the domain’s defense system activates. With no time to lose, the group explores deeper into the Dragonlord’s territory.

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The true motives of the Fatui regarding Ineffa

As the group moves into the ruins, memories of Lianca and Ixquieh resurface. On the way, a service bot identifies Ineffa as Administrator 3, suggesting she once held a governance role in this territory. In a hidden chamber, they overhear a tense meeting between Zhuoxin and the Fatui.

It’s been revealed that Zhuoxin had been secretly feeding information to the Fatui regiment under Sandrone for over a decade in Genshin Impact. He was the one who had smuggled Natlan parts to Nod-Krai, baiting Ineffa's core of the Eleventh Dragonlord into returning.

However, when ordered to use a Fatui control device on Ineffa, Zhuoxin refuses, revealing that she once saved his life. This prompts the agents to attack.

Velirimu entraps the Traveler, Paimon, Zhuoxin, and Ineffa (Image via HoYoverse)

As Ineffa and the Traveler intervene, the Fatui leader, Velimiru, traps them in a containment cage. A sudden earthquake then collapses the ground beneath them, plunging Ineffa, Zhuoxin, the Traveler, and Paimon into the hidden core of the ruins.

There, the Eighth Dragonlord’s core fully awakens and takes control of the territory. She explains that Ineffa’s rebirth began in this very place. Her sovereign, vengeful half was sealed away, while her damaged half became the core within Ineffa.

However, the reconstruction of her memory and the severing of the Exile’s Curse were never completed due to Lianca’s death and Ochkan’s terror. This left Ineffa vulnerable to the torment of the lingering curse for thousands of years throughout Genshin Impact's history.

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The true identity of the voice behind the Eighth Lord

Ineffa reaches the Eighth Dragonlord’s core and encounters the Exile’s Curse again, the same red and abyssal entity from her memory glitches. She learns the truth that this “curse” is the sealed, sovereign half of the Eleventh Dragonlord (Mirror of the Dawning Morn).

The Exile's Curse is the Sovereign side of the Eleventh Dragonlord's mind (Image via HoYoverse)

At that moment, Velimiru and his Fatui squad break in. As the Traveler steps forward to stop them, barriers out of nowhere crush the agents instantly. To their shock, Ineffa was the one who summoned them.

She seemingly turns on the Traveler and traps them in the same barriers. Her demeanor shifts. This isn’t the Ineffa they knew, as she declares herself the true Eleventh Dragonlord, finally whole. It was she who manipulated events to lure Ineffa back to Natlan and reclaim her other half.

It turns out that thousands of years ago, Lianca tried to help the malfunctioning side of the Eleventh Dragonlord, while the Sovereign half only feigned weakness. Her true aim was to revive and regain control. Lianca stopped her once, but the Sovereign half survived in secret, slowly regaining power. Now, by absorbing Ineffa’s core, she seeks full resurrection.

However, at this critical moment, Ineffa’s own will breaks through. She rips out the core and destroys it. Velimiru revives, and the Traveler notices he’s not entirely human. He activates a replica core to restore the Dragonlord’s authority, only to be impaled again.

Ineffa's will, combined with her wishes, grants her an Electro Vision in Genshin Impact (Image via HoYoverse)

The Sovereign side reawakens in the core machine, launching a furious attack. Ineffa, trapped in her mind by the Exile’s Curse, searches her memories for a way out. She hears Aino’s voice calling her home, a moment that reawakens her body and grants her an Electro Vision, symbolizing her renewed resolve.

Together with the Traveler, Ineffa defeats the core. Outside, they’re greeted by Mavuika, Xilonen, Chasca, and Auma. After learning the truth, Auma tells Zhuoxin to go home and privately apologize to their daughter.

As Ineffa walks ahead of Chasca, she sees the red-haired girl Lianca, in Chasca, as she reassures her: “Go and find where you belong.”

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Varka's message and the mystery behind the Moon Wheel in Genshin Impact

The Traveler and Ineffa finally unlock the cryptex that was carried by the latter, revealing a recorded message from Varka in Nod-Krai inviting them to visit and discuss important matters. Ineffa chooses to remain in Natlan for now and promises to join the Traveler when they decide to depart for Nod-Krai.

Varka's letter in the cryptex (Image via HoYoverse)

In the post-quest conversation, the Traveler asks Ineffa about her newly-gained Electro Vision. She mentions that the Eleventh Lord called it a Moon Wheel, but she doesn’t know what the term truly means.

The vision was called a Moon Wheel by the Dragonlord (Image via HoYoverse)

The Dragonlord had also mentioned that the Moon Wheel was built by the usurper and the three gods who abandoned the dragonkind. This likely hints at Nibelung, the Dragon King, and the three Moon Goddesses of Teyvat.

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This Archon Quest stands as one of the most lore-dense preludes in Genshin Impact to date, laying crucial groundwork for Nod-Krai. Sandrone’s use of ancient technology and the Fatui’s rising activity in Nod-Krai signal that the region holds critical pieces of Teyvat’s forgotten past, waiting to be uncovered. For lore enthusiasts, the road ahead is shaping up to be nothing short of monumental.

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Edited by Niladri Roy