The world ofGenshin Impact, intricate as it may be, is mostly shrouded in a thin veil of mystery that has been concealed for thousands of years by various benefactors. Most of the citizens of Teyvat are not privy to certain information about the beginnings of this world, and the ones that are are forbidden from speaking the truth. What players know so far is only information that has been collected through quests and passages from books around Teyvat.
In the Version 1.1 limited-time event, Unreconciled Stars, Travelers will have their first encounter with the Fatui Harbinger Scaramouche. This is the first ever instance inGenshin Impactwhere players received a massive lore drop on the continent. Scaramouche states that thesky of Teyvat is fakeand everything that the Travelers see is nothing but a lie. This was the first move in a series of dominos that opened the gateway to the history of Teyvat and the ‘Upside Down/Fake Sky’ fan theory. This theory has persisted in the fan community discourse and has even been hinted at repeatedly in the game.
The Light Realm
More commonly referred to as the Realm of Elements, the Light Realm inGenshin Impactis where all species that can harness raw primordial elements originate from. The most well-knownspecies of this realm are the Vishapsand their elemental kings, theSeven Dragon Sovereigns. In geographical terms, the Light Realm is said to be diametrically opposite the Void Realm and is incompatible with the Human Realm. The map below showcases an illustration by u/Exosocck on Reddit of what Teyvat might look like from a flat-earth perspective.
Since the dawn of time, the two realms (Light and Void) were directly opposite each other until the Primordial One descended on the world and created the Human Realm in between. As per accountsrecorded in the Byakuyakoku Collections, after the defeat of the Seven Dragon Sovereigns, the Light Realm was overcome by humanity. As nature and the creatures of the Light Realm were subjects under the authority of humanity, many of them garnered hate and anguish toward them. Currently, the only elemental creatures who carry remnants of the Light Realm in the Human Realm are the Vishaps inGenshin Impactthat players encounter in Enkanomiya.
As the Vishaps were originally from the Light Realm, they should be incompatible with the Human Realm. However, through hydrological experiments carried out in Enkanomiya, the Vishaps were genetically modified to accept Orobashi’s Bloodbranch Coral. Orobashi, also known as Tokoyo Ookami, was a serpent God who looked after the people of Enkanomiya and brought them out into the light. The success rate of the Vishaps' compatibility with Orobashi’s blood was low due to the beings originating from different realms, and together with the prophecy that the nextDragon Sovereign of WaterinGenshin Impactwill be born in human form, the people of Enkanomiya halted all experiments and rendered their research to be a failure.
The Void Realm
Better known by players as the Abyss, the Void Realm used to reside directly opposite the Light Realm, but when the Primordial One created the Human Realm in the middle, theAbyss is now located above(this would be below when standing on the ground of Teyvat). The Abyss is astronomically different from the Light and Human Realm, as its dark currents are extremely devastating to any creature outside of it. According to the texts inGenshin Impact, it is described as a mysterious region of neverending darkness that is located bothbeyond and beneathTeyvat.
The Void Realm houses the Abyss Order,Genshin Impact’s main enemy group in the game, which is currently run by the Traveler’s Sibling after being founded by Chlothar. Chlothar is a quest-exclusive NPC that players meet during the Archon Quest Caribert in their journey to find the truth behind the founding of theAbyss Order and the fall of Khaenri’ah. He was a prominent member of the Alberich Clan — the clan Kaeya is from — and was cursed with immortality by Celestia. Shortly after the Cataclysm, Chlothar meets the Traveler’s sibling and the two of them work to find a cure for his son (Caribert), who has turned into a Hilichurl. During this process, they come across an Unknown Sanctuary where they find a floating crystal wrapped in chains. This crystal refers to itself as the Sinner, and there have been many theories as to who it could be.
The most popular theory in the community is that the Sinner is a culmination of all the elements of the fallen gods and their consciousnesses, which have been absorbed by theWill of the Abyss. Theabyssal will is a type of dark forcethat corrupts all humans and creatures, eventually returning their bodies and memories to filth. So, it has been theorized that this ‘will’ is the accumulated hate against the Primordial One’s actions in disrupting the world, and that the Abyss Order has been manipulated by this will as well.
The second most common theory would be that the Sinner is actually the consciousness and remnants of the Second Who Came inGenshin Impact. This figure is theSecond Descenderin Teyvat, who led an army against Celestia after finding out what they had done to the Seven Dragon Sovereigns and the two realms. After being defeated, the Sinner was trapped in the Void Realm, never to be heard from again.
The Human Realm
This is the main realm of Teyvat that the Traveler and Paimon currently reside in. It is situated in between the Light and Void Realm and is currently in an ongoing silent war with the Abyss Order. In ancient times, the Human Realm never existed and the denizens of the continent of Teyvat were merely split between the Light Realm and the Void Realm.
After the arrival of the Primordial One, the land was split into three by the shells of its egg and a divide was created between the realms. The Primordial One then launched an attack against the Light Realm, which was run by the Dragon Sovereigns of the seven elements.The Dragon King Nibelungsought outside help in the form of forbidden knowledge, which is said to be either abyssal knowledge or knowledge that was taken from outside the world. Unfortunately, this knowledge did not guarantee their victory, as the Heavenly Principles inGenshin Impactcast down theDivine Nails to reshape the earth.
Currently, the creatures of the Light Realm seem to coexist with the creatures of the Human Realm, even though the two are privy to conflict. Unfortunately, the Void Realm and the Human Realm have no hopes of reconciliation or potential for peace. It is by nature that the corruption of the Abyss inGenshin Impactdeludes them into believing that all creatures from the Human Realm must be eradicated. In addition to that, thedarkness of the Void Realmis extremely detrimental to elemental beings. As a result, the two realms sometimes have to work together to eradicate any problems created by creatures of the Void Realm.
Furthermore, the Human Realm is run by theSeven Archons inGenshin Impact,who were bestowed with the powers of the previous Seven Dragon Sovereigns in the Light Realm. Each of their powers are contained within the Gnosis, a tool made by the Primordial One after they required help from theThird Descenderin their fight against the Second Who Came. It is said the Primordial One grew weak after reshaping the world and their battle with the Second Who Came proved difficult.
The Fake Sky Theory
The Human Realm may reside above the Light Realm, as most of the text in the game states that the Light Realm is said to have “fallen under the dominion of humanity.” This causes speculation among players that the Light Realm isliterallybeneath the Teyvat Travelers stand on and the Void Realm (Abyss) is above. It was not onlyScaramouche who said“Teyvat’s sky are fake," but also Dottore ofGenshin Impact, another Fatui Harbinger during the Archon Quest Akasha Pulses, the Kalpa Flame Rises. This means that the Abyss, Irminsul, and all its roots of knowledge are right side up. The evidence behind this theory lies in two instances and most people in Teyvat are not aware of it.
The first theory relates back to the Spiral Abyss and the Traveler’s goal to descend further down the stairs after every successful challenge is completed. However, the Spiral Abyss used to be known as Pilos Peak, one of the highest points on the continent of Teyvatbefore the divine nails reshaped the landand the Human Realm was created. Players who have tackled Spiral Abyss may further notice that, after entering Floor 9 and above, there will be stars above them, indicating that the further they go, the closer they come to the stars and thereal sky. This point can further be reiterated with the motto of the Adventurer’s Guild that Katheryne states every time players ofGenshin Impactspeak to her:Ad Astra Abyssosque. This term loosely translates to “To theStarsandThe Abyss,” which can mean that the true stars reside within the Abyss.
The second theory ties intoIrminsul,the great tree of knowledgethat apparentlylies beneath Teyvat,as it is connected to all the Ley Lines that occur in the Human Realm as well. Together with character interactions with Tighnari ofGenshin Impact, players will find out that Irminsul’s trees and roots only grow in underground caves and are all upside down. Tighnari states that Irminsul’s roots shouldonly be growing downward, so it seems strange that the roots seen in the game are growing upside down. It could be that the Human Realm is really upside down and Irminsul’s roots are growing the right way, like a normal tree should.
WHERE TO PLAY
Step into Teyvat, a vast world teeming with life and flowing with elemental energy.You and your sibling arrived here from another world. Separated by an unknown god, stripped of your powers, and cast into a deep slumber, you now awake to a world very different from when you first arrived.Thus begins your journey across Teyvat to seek answers from The Seven — the gods of each element. Along the way, prepare to explore every inch of this wondrous world, join forces with a diverse range of characters, and unravel the countless mysteries that Teyvat holds…
