Hi guys I am Inotia King a youtuber, redditor and gamer who likes theorizing about the story. I actually cobbled together a list of some of my more important theories with respect to the game Genshin Impact and Star Rail that I have been basing all of my newer theories on. I'll be putting more of those up on Hive along with new stuff but if you're impatient I also archived all my theories here. I hope some of you guys are game theorists too. Let's try to figure out these great games together!
A while ago I made the topic which suggested a connection between Zhongli and Neuvillette. That topic went up on February 10th. On February 11th, we got the last part of Lantern Rite called Hustle and Bustle. It featured, wouldn't you know it Zhongli and Neuvillette in Chenyu Vale.
Of course miHoYo played with it. According to what was said the two of them didn't actually meet. But we are talking about powerful elemental beings after all. What exactly would really need to happen for them to realize they were within striking distance? Do any of us buy the idea that Neuvillette wouldn't know Zhongli was right there just because he went off for some tea? Neuvillette is now at the power level where he forced the Primordial Sea to turn all of Fontaine's people into real humans instantly. Zhongli much like the other Archons knows what's happening anywhere on Teyvat at any time. He was right there at the perfect moment to save Xiao from his sacrifice play in Perilous Trail for example. Furina even guesses he knows all about what happened in Fontaine just off of the vibe he gives her. And according to my theory Zhongli even had a hand in Neuvillette's rebirth to begin with. These guys don't need to be in each other's presence to meet.
But since we lowly mortals can't know what we haven't seen, we instead can piece their non-meeting together from subtext. What was Neuvillette doing in Chenyu Vale?
Crafts. Specifically
working with ceramics. He needed to add the "right amount of water" to make the "unforgiving soil" soft. The subtext is pretty blatant right? But what would make the "soil" so unforgiving of our good Mr. Iudex? How about being on opposite sides of a world reshaping war? We know already that Neuvillette was one of the Dragon Sovereigns that sided with Nibelung against Celestia. We also know what that means. He relied on Abyssal Power which damages the world and poisons people. Zhongli was on the side Apep brought up, the ones that grew close to humanity and let go of their old hatred.
Actually we may even know exactly when Zhongli and Neuvillette came into conflict. By playing through the Chenyu Vale World Quest we're told that Chenyu Vale used to be the dominion of another god. In the climactic battle this god tried to flood Bishui River which would have drowned all of the humans. Total disregard for human life, what does that sound like? Well among other things, exactly the kind of person Neuvillette was back in the old days as noted by both his Character Quest and the climax of the Archon Quest. Of course some of you might be saying the timeline is off. The Dragon Sovereigns died long ago and the Chenyu Vale god died during the Archon War. But I've brought this up many times before. These periods overlap. And remember we have a specific detail about Fontaine's timeline. Remuria didn't even exist until after Gurabad's fall. This means the post-dragon era of Fontaine started very late but the Archon War happened during Deshret's time. And Chenyu Vale is right next to Fontaine making it possible that whatever being had laid claim to it could have also held dominion over Fontaine too. Furthermore we know that the original settlers of Chenyu Vale were direct descendents of the unified human civilization. The unique "jade" they used to use was a way to directly commune with Celestia, something only those old humans could do.
With a history like that, it makes sense that rather than pass some kind of judgment on Deus Auri, our good Iudex would rather hope to not be judged himself. Today's Neuvillette realizes the error of his ways. In his Character Stories he admits Nibelung was wrong, that Abyssal Power was pestilence and that nurturing humanity was the correct path. So we have him visiting his old territory not as an invader but as a student, learning ceramics in the hopes that by adding enough water he can even get the oldest soil to become forgiving. As he says at the end
The New Year. A time for new beginnings and to let go of the past.
Now none of that's really theory is it? But there's still a theory to be had. If my previous topic was about Zhongli's own role in Neuvillette's resurrection why wouldn't he want to see Neuvillette? Why wouldn't he forgive him? Could there be more to the story than just nearly flooding Chenyu Vale? We know now that Celestia isn't floating over Fontaine and it isn't floating over a neutral region in between the borders of Sumeru, Fontaine and Liyue. It is just floating over Chenyu Vale. Why?
Why is there a perfectly semi-circular shoreline almost directly under it? Actually why is Fontaine a perfectly raised platform of a region? Could the battle between Zhongli and Neuvillette have had nothing to do with Chenyu Vale except for it being where the battle ended? I've had a theory that Celestia itself is made from the land of the Chasm (which housed the Sinner) in a failed attempt by Phanes to prevent enemy forces from accessing it. The settlers of Chenyu Vale actually originated from the Chasm. Could Neuvillette have once been under orders from Nibelung to free the Sinner and in that all-out war Zhongli used his Geo powers to lift up Fontaine and separate it from the rest of Teyvat's water supply as a way of weakening him? We know old Morax is more than capable of it. Most of Liyue's mountains are his "spears." Then in a desperate final confrontation Neuvillette tried flooding Chenyu Vale as it was the only water left that he could access mid-battle. (conversely Zhongli could have just pummeled out a trench around Fontaine which would accomplish the same thing)
In the end it isn't that they fought or even that Neuvillette had been on the wrong side that Zhongli might be averse to forgiving him; it was that his mission was to release plague upon the world. It could even be that the damage inflicted by this battle further weakened the remaining defenses of the Unknown Santuary which ultimately did allow the Sinner to escape. Maybe Neuvillette's rebirth was meant as a way to make up for his role in that and the successful capture or elimination of the Sinner will gain Zhongli's forgiveness. You could even say it's the major clause in their contract.
That said I think we can safely say that this non-meeting based on old grudges is not really as serious as it's portrayed. If we go with the direct story then Zhongli should be sweating bullets that an old Dragon Sovereign has made good on his promise to come by for a visit. But is Zhongli showing any of this?
The man's uncharacteristically meming. Dude's in full retirement mode. And so this actually builds on today's theory too. Not only is he definitely not concerned with a Dragon Sovereign showing up with his old grudge against the usurpers but he's also not showing any kind of anger about the unforgiveable crime a reformed Nibelung soldier committed once upon a time. It's more like it's just a Neuvillette only thing. This reborn dragon is showing more shame for his past actions than those that actually suffered from those actions. So it could be that this part of the event is more about Neuvillette coming to terms with what happened and being able to forgive himself, potentially ruling over Fontaine as his penance. And as far as Zhongli's concerned it'll all work out.
PS: There was something I didn't bring up in this topic right? Didn't Fujin say that her master was female?
Our lord had all but gone mad seeking the position of a god who may rule this world... or perhaps seeking survival. Either way, she lacked the power to overcome Morax. So, in a final, desperate gamble, she caused the Bishui River to flood, hoping to destroy everything downstream. Of course, she knew what that would mean for Chenyu Vale and its people.
Here's the thing. So was Morax. But here's the most crucial point about gender when it comes to theorizing about elemental beings:
I think we were practically beaten over the head with this during the quest. When it comes to elemental beings they can take on any form that suits them and the older they get the more forms they can assume. So even though the Chenyu Vale Archon was female that doesn't mean the reborn version had to be too.
**PS2: **Very recently in v5.4 Zhongli returned the favor. He had a cameo where he brought up teas from Fontaine and how the right blend of Liyue's water with Fontaine's tea might create something great.
Topic originally created on March 24th, 2024.
