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!
When the v7.0 livestream took place, the current Genshin devs casually claimed that Anastasya was the mother to all of Khaenri'ah. Obviously this made little sense given only the lore we knew back then but it led Ashikai to theorize that she might just be Koitar the first angel. She admits in the video herself that this theory is out there but thanks to the new information we've since gotten in Snezhnaya, I'm now fully on board. What are the odds that two starcrossed couples would happen to be comprised of a divine entity of Teyvat and a powerful alien entity? What are the odds both have unique access to realms beyond Teyvat? What are the odds both couples would come to the conclusion of rebelling against the principles? And what are the odds Phanes would punish both with separation and memory loss?
Now I'm not going to further explain why Anastasya is Koitar. You have Ashikai's video for that since all of the new information works to its benefit. Instead, I'd like to point out that if Anastasya the Cryo Archon is Koitar the first angel, then once again the lore has equated angels with gods which is a longstanding theory of mine.
It is also an insult. The original lore of Khaenri'ah clearly stated that it was a nation created entirely by humanity and it was the pride of said humanity. To quote Dainsleif, "Khaenri'ah was a nation without a god — not because it had a god that died or abandoned them, but because it never had a god to begin with. It was a powerful nation built purely by humans, an unprecedented flourishing and glorious civilization — it was the pride of humankind." The people rejected all gods to the extent that Dainsleif refused to even set foot in the Church of Favonius simply because it worshipped Venti, a god. A god who desired for his people to be free of him and Celestia mind you. And Dainsleif knew that. Now suddenly the man's been made to add an exception to his anti-god core personality because Anastasya is his country's mommy. To edit that previous quote to fit it with this new lore, "Khaenri'ah was a nation without a god — not because it had a god that abandoned them, but because it died, was revived and then went on to become the god of another nation." This has turned Khaenri'ah from the pride of humanity into the single nation most associated with a god. All other nations were only protected and guided by gods but were human establishments in the end. Only Khaenri'ah the godless nation is now born of a god.
Side Note: The most I ever suggested was that Nibelung was the one to convince the Khaenri'ahns to utilize the power of the Abyss. The Khaenri'ahns still had to establish their Abyss worshipping dynasties on their own.
To take this a step further, doesn't it just boggle the mind that Phanes would allow this rogue angel that once plotted its downfall to become one of its Seven? Even if it did for whatever reason, wouldn't it be a good idea to keep a very watchful eye on her so she didn't I don't know set about on research projects to once again try plotting its downfall? And wouldn't it also be a good idea to not hinder its own agents from doing just that and prevent her from achieving her research goals? I mean I have my theory as to why but that only explains its lack of self-preservation. Stupidity should still not factor in here and Anastasya rose to the ranks of the Seven while Phanes was still active.
Speaking of my topic about what happened to Phanes, if Anastasya is Koitar then her lover the Third Descender must then be Koitar's lover, Anarcharsis. I pointed out how it was Anarcharsis who'd created the Shadow Realm which Phanes had no power over but now knowing that Anarcharsis is also the Third Descender, something unfortunate has happened. We know the power of the Third Descender is compatible with the elements of Teyvat. How then could he have created a realm entirely opposed to those elements? Why would he create such a realm? Did he just really want to play fps in his kingdom of Hyperborea? Lore also suggests that Phanes intentionally demanded that Anarcharsis open up the path to that Shadow Realm - Pohjola - which is where it then sent Hyperborea. I had pointed out last time what a foolish move it was to send the people trying to kill you into a place you have no power over. The Phanes of back then should still have a sense of self-preservation. After all, it was also this Phanes that punished Anarcharsis and Anastasya for trying to rebel against it.
In any case, this is the story we've been given so let's roll with it. What can we expect out of the remainder of the Snezhnaya Archon Quest?
To answer that, we look back at what these devs have done so far. Last year, Nod-Krai's Acts III and IV saw the defeat of another major enemy, the Sinner Rerir. After that we got a second chunk of Archon Quest featuring the true enemy Dottore who would empower himself to the level of the Heavenly Principles itself. It stands to reason then that this is exactly the playbook we'll get this time. (after all Natlan was a test run of this format what with us defeating the Abyss in Act IV and then going on to clean up the rest two patches later) With Ronova defeated, the only way to escalate now is Celestia itself which is likely why we're seeing a Teyvat-wide crisis going into Act V.
However just like with Nod-Krai and Natlan, that's for the vx.3 patch. What about v7.2? Let's go back to Nod-Krai again. Natlan gave us a little interlude in between Act IV and V. Nod-Krai expanded on that with two full acts that served a similar purpose but added on a little drama. I think Snezhnaya will keep that going and we already know what drama that'll be. Nod-Krai gave us Columbina finally accepting her name which allowed her to continue to exist under the principles. Anastasya doesn't have an existence problem anymore thanks to her bae but she does have a love problem. And wouldn't you know it, we happen to have a new series of mini-quests to familiarize ourselves with this new girl and her problems. Back then it was weekly visits to Columbina's cave convincing her that she does have a place in this world. Now it's weekly visits to Anastasya's palace convincing her that she does love the people of her world.
Act V and VI of Nod-Krai not only got Columbina to accept her name, it also got her to sacrifice herself to save us because we had accepted her. Anastasya right now doesn't believe she loves her people but Danica has already clued us in that she does and just hasn't accepted it yet. Therefore given we already know her story includes having been in love with the Third Descender and giving birth to the Khaenri'ahn nation out of that love, it's likely Act V and VI which sets us on the warpath against Celestia itself will leave Snezhnaya vulnerable to a Cataclysm. Therefore Anastasya will need to pull some kind of "falling through the moon gate" stunt with her six Gnoses which will stall Celestia long enough for us to get into Act VII and VIII. (but hopefully not Act IX and X)
And I just lied. It won't just be six Gnoses. We already got a clue that our final Pyro Gnosis will show up right on cue for the most drama.
With all seven Gnoses at her disposal, Anastasya should have the same power as Phanes. But it'll come late enough that the only thing she can do with this power is to save us just like how all Columbina could do to stop Dottore was to enter the moon gate.
So what exactly is she saving us from anyway? The Eitr just means poison. It was the poison Odin had dripping into Loki's eye as punishment once upon a time. That's the caliber of cultural references these current devs give us these days. However in terms of their Genshin lore, Eitr is Light Realm Energy aka dragon power. Why is Fontaine the only one that didn't get an Anomaly cutscene? Their dragon is already back, fully powered and pro-human. Where are most of the nails? Snezhnaya's is hovering over the Cryo Dragon's corpse, Sumeru's is right where Apep tried sucking up Abyssal Energy and Natlan's is hovering in the Night Kingdom right over the central Wayob totem which could be where Xiuhcoatl's corpse is if my old theory is suddenly back in play. It's likely Ronova's farewell gift to humanity and Phanes was to totally overthrow Celestia's order by forcefully resurrecting the Dragon Sovereigns. And not as conscious elder beings either but probably more like crazed zombies. In fact, I shake my head at this but I think Mondstadt has the Skyfrost Nail come into play because instead of the Anemo Dragon, we're getting Durin's corpse. (my goodness if they explain that Durin was Rhinedottir taking the Anemo Dragon's corpse and turning it into her creation....)
Side Note: But finally we have Liyue and Inazuma where Yae happens to be the one curious about it and Zhongli sent Xiao because he was curious. If my old theories hold, Zhongli is the Geo Dragon and Yae is possessed by the Electro Dragon They are the only two divine beings to be directly involved. Venti wasn't even mentioned by Albedo, Anastasya and Nahida weren't involved in their region's Anomalies and Mavuika is human so she shouldn't have anything to do with the Light Realm. (unless the devs forgot that part since they were suddenly ok with her giving up her Gnosis which as a human means she's now just a typical allogene) It's not likely active dragons will be controlled so this may be why Fontaine was totally skipped and why Yae and Zhongli are involved. It can actually go either way with Apep though. As an NPC they could play off of how she was corrupted by the Abyss before so she's been corrupted by something again or they could go the major character approach where she was just being aloof and that's why she wasn't present for the cutscene. (even though she was actually there and heard everything Dehya and Candace said)
With crazed Dragon Sovereigns bearing down on the whole world and as a result of the Holy Soil phenomenon to boot, no human civilization would be ready for it and neither could any of the Seven resolve the issue without significant casualties. Therefore, we'll need Koitar's love to take hold of all seven pieces of her former lover's body and use the total authority of Teyvat to push all of that Light Realm Energy back. This then may need her to maintain it at the cost of her existence which brings us to a race against time for Acts VII and VIII, the conclusion which will be a brand new day for Snezhnaya with a god that fully embraces her ideal of Love.
Side Note: There's another side to consider too. If the sovereigns are reviving then those Gnoses house their former authorities. Anastasya may use them to lure the sovereigns to her to then trap all of them and keep the Light Realm Energy contained with them. And that's why it "costs her existence" because as we know, there have been plenty of plans that turn people into collective goo. This would even better explain why Fontaine didn't get an Anomaly scene. Neuvillette has his full authority back. He will not be part of this collective.
Wait, I said this would be about Phanes as the final boss. That's Act VII and VIII. Celestia will also be on full alert following Ronova's suicide bomb. It's likely Phanes will still not be able to awaken in time but with something like this happening across its world, it surely will be time to leave the snooze button alone. Act VII might be when we save Anastasya and that'll be just in time for the shades to announce that their master is finally back to run the planet again. All hail. So Act VIII will be the culmination of everything Snezhnaya has been doing since apparently before the game even started because that was the early days of Project Stuzha. And once the old order is gone, it'll be just in time for the Traveler's sibling to probably reabsorb Phanes and kick start the Khaenri'ah Chapter now with them as the final boss along with the threat of the Abyss. (which is already undermined since we've now been using the Abyss to combat the principles ourselves)
Side Note 1: Speaking of which the reward for Part III of Anastasya's mini-quests is another upgrade to the Exaiphanes. Pretty sure this strengthens my theory that Project Mistilteinn will fail because it's the Traveler, their fancy new sword and their ability to combine the power of all seven of their resonated elements that'll slay Phanes. It'll be funny to have god be just another Weekly Boss though. Pretty sure given the lore behind the Weekly Bosses, Phanes shouldn't be able to be one since Descenders can't be recorded by the Ley Lines.
Side Note 2: If these devs were so inclined, they could excuse the failure of Mistilteinn on the events of v7.2. Maybe it's Anastasya who will need to use Mistilteinn to fight the sovereigns before she can use the goo strategy. If they play it this way, they could pull a Natlan where it'll be the tagteam of Anastasya and her Mistilteinn with the Traveler and their Exaiphanes that kills Phanes.
Ashikai had a hard time with her video linking Koitar to Anastasya. Some of the information just didn't add up. Now that it's all but confirmed, I too have found that even now the lore still doesn't add up. But that in turn does work very well towards my other theory that being that these devs don't know what they're doing.
As such what we're likely to see out of these guys is that Act V and VI will resurrect the Dragon Sovereigns but as mindless zombies that are just reapplying elemental richness into the planet like it was before the principles. Anastasya will have to use the Seven Gnoses to stop it but she'll be stuck so we'll need to save her. That'll be Act VII which will also be when Phanes awakens and returns so Act VIII will feature us already killing Celestia, years before it was originally intended to happen. Project Mistilteinn will also prove to be a dud because our shiny Descender sword the "get rid of Phanes" blade is the real solution. After that, we'll get Khaenri'ah and it'll be the Traveler's sibling who becomes the real final boss.
Good grief what this game's become.
