Recaps

Xingsu reassured Tighnari that he could help Collei again, then left Gandharva Ville for Sumeru City. Arlecchino took over the House of the Hearth and announced new rules and a new beginning for its children.

• Xingsu explained to Tighnari that his Eleazar treatment relied on a unique power and could not be reproduced, but promised to help Collei if her condition worsened.
• Tighnari explained the difficulty of getting help quickly from Sumeru City, and Xingsu suggested carrier pigeons, which Tighnari said had failed because predators ate them.
• Xingsu thanked Tighnari and left Gandharva Ville along the forest path toward Sumeru City.
• Arlecchino returned to the House of the Hearth as its new master and saw the wary, numb children gathered in the hall.
• Arlecchino abolished the previous Knave's rules, forbade the children from killing one another, and told them to stand united and remain true to their principles.
• Arlecchino declared that Crucabena belonged to the past and asked the children to call her Father.

Arlecchino reassured the children of the House of the Hearth and began replacing Crucabena’s cruel rules with new ones. Meanwhile, Xingsu considered the Akasha Terminal’s technology and wondered whether it could serve purposes beyond delivering knowledge.

• A timid girl called Arlecchino “Father,” and other children gradually followed, as Arlecchino promised to protect them.
• Arlecchino entered Crucabena’s former office and examined files that treated the children as weapons and ordered the disposal of those deemed unsatisfactory.
• Arlecchino burned the children’s old files and began writing new rules for their growth.
• Xingsu recorded his treatment of Collei, his observations about Memoria erosion, and the treatment methods he discussed with Tighnari.
• Xingsu reconsidered the Akasha Terminal as a fast information-transmission device and reflected on the complex technology behind it.
• Xingsu wondered whether the Akasha Terminal had a purpose beyond providing knowledge.

Xingsu spent months studying the Akasha Terminal and published papers on curing Eleazar and building a communications system called the Wisdom Network, triggering fierce controversy across the Akademiya. As criticism and political resistance mounted, Xingsu remained calm at Puspa Café, where Arlecchino thanked Sandrone for her hospitality.

• Xingsu studied the Akasha Terminal and discovered that a student’s request about the Akademiya’s outside letters earned him assists equal to the population of a desert tribe.
• Xingsu submitted a paper arguing that Eleazar came from negative memories and could be treated by purifying memory vessels, but reviewers initially rejected and mocked it.
• Xingsu demonstrated his treatment before Tighnari, Nafis, and Amurta scholars, curing a patient and winning Amurta’s acclaim, then refused Nafis’s offer to become his student.
• Xingsu submitted “Building the Wisdom Network,” proposing changes to the Akasha Terminal’s systems, and provoked condemnation from conservative scholars and the Grand Sage’s faction.
• Xingsu sat at Puspa Café amid the controversy while Arlecchino thanked Sandrone for her hospitality.

Sandrone and La Signora condemned Crucabena’s treatment of the House of the Hearth before Columbina annoyed Sandrone by borrowing her coffee and asking if she drank machine oil. In Sumeru, Xingsu discussed the controversy surrounding his Wisdom Network research with Tighnari, Alhaitham, and Kaveh, who criticized the Akademiya for dismissing work it could not understand; the gathering ended with Cyno still away in the desert.

• Sandrone and La Signora said Crucabena’s brutal methods toward the orphans had justified putting an end to her.
• Columbina took a sip of Sandrone’s coffee, called it bitter, and asked whether Sandrone drank machine oil.
• At Puspa Café, Kaveh asked Xingsu how he had mastered so many fields, and Xingsu credited his broad study to a blessing from the God of Wisdom.
• Tighnari warned that Xingsu’s Wisdom Network research had caused controversy, while Alhaitham said most of its critics had not read or understood the paper.
• Xingsu and the others criticized the Akademiya for branding difficult research heretical, and Tighnari noted that Cyno was away surveying the desert.

Xingsu bought restricted Akasha components from Dori, paying a deposit and setting aside Mora for shawarma. Elsewhere, Arlecchino refused Dottore’s proposal to use vulnerable children in experiments, and Dottore left with a threat to test how long she could protect them.

• Xingsu reached Dori’s hidden rainforest storeroom after passing the guard’s password checks.
• Xingsu asked Dori for signal filters, alloy plates, and Akasha radio-frequency chips, and Dori explained the chips were highly restricted.
• Xingsu offered two months of his salary, and Dori agreed to obtain the components and gave him an address.
• Xingsu paid Dori 160,000 Mora, then took back 5,000 Mora to buy shawarma.
• Arlecchino rejected Dottore’s proposal to trade children’s lives for experimental data and warned him not to raise the matter again.
• Dottore left Arlecchino with a warning that her conviction might not keep the children safe for long.

Arlecchino discovered a report about Xingsu in Sumeru and burned it to keep the other Harbingers from learning about him. Meanwhile, Xingsu’s experiments continued to fail, and after mercenaries ambushed him, he defeated them with unexplained fighting skills and demanded to know who had sent them.

• Arlecchino read a report describing Xingsu’s work on a new Wisdom Network and recognized traits like those of someone from her past.
• Arlecchino burned the report to conceal Xingsu’s identity and research from the Harbingers, then sat lost in thought.
• Xingsu struggled to build a communications system, as Ley Line transmissions and wireless chips both failed during his experiments.
• On his way back from a field trial near Gandharva Ville, Xingsu was ambushed by mercenaries who accused him of owing their boss money.
• Xingsu instinctively defeated the mercenaries, watched one escape, and asked their leader who their boss was.

Xingsu forced Dori’s debt collectors to take him to her, where she realized they had attacked him by mistake and apologized. She invited him to dinner at Lambad’s Tavern, hoping to win his favor while he ate his way through the expensive meal.

• Xingsu defeated the mercenaries sent to collect a debt, and their leader led him to Dori.
• Dori learned that Xingsu had beaten her men and panicked when he confronted her about the attack.
• Xingsu reminded Dori that he had already paid her in full, and she offered him dinner to make amends.
• Dori escorted Xingsu to Lambad’s Tavern and booked a private dining room, surprising Lambad with her deference.
• Xingsu devoured the tavern’s expensive dishes while Dori kept smiling and worried about the cost.

Xingsu discussed his combat instincts, Collei’s Eleazar, and Lin’s fading sense of self with Lin, while resolving to stay until he could cure Collei. Elsewhere, Sandrone agreed to meet Arlecchino’s unusually strong child and make her a toy, unaware she would regret it.

• Xingsu told Lin that he had defeated a mercenary squad through instincts that seemed to come from his past life, and Lin said those instincts had survived the loss of his memories.
• Xingsu said he would remain in Sumeru until he cured Collei, whose painful past he had glimpsed while treating her, and remembered promising her that she could be healed.
• Lin explained that Memokeepers risk losing their sense of self through the memories they gather, but said she sent Memetic Entities like Xingsu to live ordinary lives and preserve their memories.
• Sandrone complained to Columbina and Arlecchino that Arlecchino’s child had mangled another refined-steel toy.
• Arlecchino apologized and offered to find another solution, but Sandrone insisted that Arlecchino bring the child to her workshop so she could make a suitable toy.

Xingsu publicly demonstrated independent communicators that bypassed the Akasha, reviving Akademiya debate and alarming its senior sages. As Azar considered how to stop him, Dottore showed interest in Xingsu and asked Scott whether he remembered his name.

• Xingsu demonstrated a distributed communication system that connected personal communicators without Akasha permissions, and Dori anticipated profits from selling the devices.
• The Akademiya's senior sages learned that Xingsu had created an independent network they could not control, and Azar called it a challenge to their order.
• Azar blamed the sages' earlier opposition to Xingsu's research on the Akasha, then insisted that restricting his access had been the right decision.
• Azar rejected the idea of expelling Xingsu outright because it could provoke discontent, and he considered another way to deal with him.
• Dottore examined Xingsu's paper with interest and asked Scott if he remembered Xingsu.

Scott, a boastful envoy for The Doctor, confronted Xingsu at the House of Daena and provoked him into throwing him out. Afterward, Xingsu realized Scott knew him from a previous life and feared he might once have belonged to the Fatui, leaving him troubled by the possibility that he had harmed people like Collei.

• Scott interrupted Azar and the sages, praising The Doctor's god-creation plan and learning that Xingsu was at the House of Daena.
• Scott accused Xingsu of neglecting his librarian duties and challenged the accuracy of the books, then mistook “cesium” for “csgo” and made a crude joke.
• Xingsu recognized that Scott had come to pick a fight and used his knowledge of physics to throw him out.
• Xingsu reasoned that Scott's familiarity with him and his own fear of The Doctor suggested he might have been a powerful Fatui member in his previous life.
• Memories of Collei imprisoned in a laboratory surfaced, and Xingsu wondered whether he had once caused similar suffering.

Xingsu learned that Cyno’s arrest was meant to protect him from Azar and the approaching Fatui Harbinger, The Doctor, and agreed to flee Sumeru. He prepared to cross the desert toward Fontaine, leaving Tighnari with a message for Collei.

• Xingsu resolved to stop dwelling on his past life and decided to visit Collei once he had finished his current business.
• Cyno interrogated Xingsu over fabricated charges, then joked with him until Tighnari arrived.
• Tighnari and Cyno explained that Azar and the Akademiya were moving against Xingsu and that The Doctor was coming to Sumeru.
• Cyno told Xingsu that he had to leave Sumeru immediately, while Tighnari promised to care for Collei and pass along Xingsu’s message.
• Cyno said the port and eastern road were blocked, leaving the desert route to Fontaine as Xingsu’s only escape.
• Tighnari warned Xingsu about Eremites and Ruin Guards, gave him supplies, and said a friend would help him cross the desert.

At Caravan Ribat, Xingsu was intercepted in a consciousness prison by Dottore, but Lin destroyed the Harbinger’s projection and freed him. Xingsu met Dehya using Cyno’s password and continued toward the desert, while Dottore realized his attempt had cost him.

• Cyno escorted Xingsu to Caravan Ribat and gave him a password to exchange with Dehya, his guide.
• Dottore trapped Xingsu’s consciousness in a gray-white space and tried to examine his memories and brain.
• Xingsu attacked Dottore’s projection and mocked his behavior, but Dottore grabbed him by the throat.
• Lin intervened, shattered the consciousness prison, and warned Xingsu not to let anyone invade his memories.
• Xingsu found Dehya, exchanged Cyno’s football password with her, and prepared to continue into the desert.
• At Port Ormos, Dottore told Scott that an impatient egomaniac had paid the price for his haste.

Dehya brought Xingsu to Aaru Village, where Candace let him stay after Dehya vouched for him. Unable to sleep, Xingsu overheard Dehya and Candace putting on makeup, then asked them how the village maintained peace and managed its scarce resources.

• Dehya led Xingsu and the Blazing Beasts mercenaries into Aaru Village and explained that Cyno had vouched for Xingsu.
• Candace allowed Xingsu to stay in a guesthouse and told Dehya she would have patrols avoid the area.
• Xingsu got up at night and overheard Dehya encouraging Candace to try makeup.
• Dehya and Candace discovered Xingsu outside their house, and he explained that he could not sleep and wanted to learn about the desert.
• Candace explained the village rules for keeping peace and protecting water and farmland, while Dehya said the Eremites knew not to provoke Candace.
• Xingsu thanked Candace and said he might bring food for the village children before quickly leaving.

Dehya and her mercenaries escorted Xingsu through the Great Red Sand by hidden ruin paths, where he studied traces of ancient civilization and wondered about the secrets beneath the Mausoleum of King Deshret. They reached the border of Fontaine, where Dehya said goodbye to Xingsu, who continued his journey with the desert arc left unresolved.

• Candace told Dehya that Fatui checkpoints had sealed the main routes, so Dehya gathered veteran mercenaries to escort Xingsu through hidden paths in the ancient ruins.
• Dehya's group crossed the desert while Xingsu examined ancient inscriptions and mechanisms and reflected on the secrets beneath the Mausoleum of King Deshret.
• Dehya shared desert rumors about the Mausoleum, and Xingsu said its undiscovered secrets could change all of Sumeru.
• The group reached Fontaine's border, where Dehya and the mercenaries ended their escort and wished Xingsu safe travels.
• Xingsu gave Dehya Tighnari's sunscreen ointment, and Dehya accepted it before wondering why Xingsu thought she liked cosmetics.

Sumeru's residents reflected on Xingsu's scholarship, kindness, and departure after his conflict with the Akademiya, while Xingsu shared his impressions of them. Their recollections revisited his treatment of Collei and left his research journey toward Fontaine unresolved.

• Nahida and Tighnari recalled Xingsu's persecution by the Akademiya and expressed hopes for his travels and eventual return.
• Alhaitham, Kaveh, and Cyno praised Xingsu's character, learning ability, and academic sincerity.
• Collei recalled that Xingsu endured pain while treating her Eleazar and said she wanted to become kind like him.
• Dori lamented her lost investments, while Dehya and Candace praised Xingsu's fighting ability and openness toward desert people.
• Xingsu questioned Nahida's unexplained absence and shared his impressions of Tighnari, Alhaitham, Kaveh, and Cyno.
• Xingsu recalled how Collei inspired his Eleazar research and praised the kindness and protection offered by Dori, Dehya, and Candace.

A melodramatic promo parody framed a story in which Xingsu died protecting Peruere, was reborn in Sumeru without his memories, and would reunite with her, while the production crew repeatedly rejected the ad scripts. It ended with the crew deciding to use the first version after all.

• A promo script described Xingsu sacrificing himself so Peruere could escape Crucabena, then returning without his memories while Peruere became the Knave and remembered their past.
• The narrator revealed that Xingsu had been reborn as a librarian at Sumeru's House of Daena, with no memories but a strange ache when he looked toward Fontaine.
• The crew interrupted the scripts with repeated cuts, rejecting increasingly melodramatic and nonsensical versions.
• A final New Year greeting turned into an accidental dumpling-making slogan, prompting another cut.
• The boss suggested using the first version after all.

Arlecchino learned that Xingsu was wanted by the Akademiya and suspected he had fled to Fontaine, while Xingsu struggled to find work after arriving there. When he rushed to help Furina during an attack, he unknowingly encountered Arlecchino, who recognized him but fled before they could meet.

• Arlecchino read that Xingsu was wanted by the Akademiya and told Lynette and Lyney to watch for someone with star-shaped eyes.
• Arlecchino concluded that Xingsu was likely heading to Fontaine and wondered how she would face him.
• Xingsu arrived in Fontaine but failed to find work because he lacked credentials and appeared suspicious to employers.
• Lin told Xingsu that the necklace was somewhere in Fontaine and that he could sense it more strongly as he approached.
• Xingsu heard a woman scream and hurried toward Furina, who was being threatened by a masked woman.
• Arlecchino recognized Xingsu when he called out, then slipped away into the darkness without revealing herself.

Xingsu encountered a frightened Furina after she witnessed a woman in black, and she mistook his attempt to comfort her for a chance to apologize for his hardships. When Xingsu returned to the canal, he discovered his bag had been stolen, and Furina offered to help him.

• Xingsu saw a mysterious woman in black whose presence stirred a deep but unexplained ache in him, then found Furina crying on the ground.
• Furina claimed to be the Hydro Archon and tried to frighten Xingsu, but he mistook her behavior for a stress-induced alternate personality and pretended to be Morax.
• Xingsu told Furina that he was an orphaned Sumeru scholar who had been driven out by the Akademiya and could not find work, making her feel guilty.
• Xingsu hurried back to the canal and found that his bag, money, supplies, research manuscripts, and Wisdom Network components were missing.
• Furina followed Xingsu, saw him devastated over the theft, and offered to help, while he assumed she was struggling with mental illness.

After Furina revealed herself as the Hydro Archon, she arranged for Xingsu to stay at the Palais Mermonia for the night. Clorinde decided to take him to Poisson the next morning, while Xingsu dreamed of fragments of his erased past.

• Xingsu realized that Furina was the Hydro Archon, and Furina asked him to keep her earlier panic a secret.
• Furina introduced Xingsu to Clorinde, who questioned him about his past and his arrival in Fontaine.
• Clorinde arranged for Xingsu to meet Callas and Navia in Poisson the next morning, warning that his stay would depend on his behavior.
• Xingsu settled into a guest room and talked with Lin about a woman who felt familiar to him.
• Xingsu fell asleep and dreamed of the Akademiya, the desert, and a blurred figure from his erased past.

Arlecchino learned that Xingsu had arrived in Fontaine and ordered the House of the Hearth to watch him without making contact. The next morning, Clorinde took Xingsu toward Poisson, where his delight at meeting the Melusine Aeval ended with Clorinde pulling him off the Aquabus because it did not stop there.

• Arlecchino heard that Xingsu was staying at the Palais Mermonia and ordered her children to observe him discreetly without approaching or contacting him.
• Lyney and Lynette discussed Arlecchino’s unusual preoccupation with Xingsu.
• Clorinde escorted Xingsu from the Palais Mermonia toward Poisson and explained that Navia and Callas would arrange his work and lodging.
• Xingsu met the Melusine Aeval aboard the Aquabus, restrained himself from petting her, and shook her hand.
• Clorinde pulled Xingsu off the Aquabus before it reached a stop, explaining that they had to jump off because the line did not stop at Poisson.

Clorinde brought Xingsu, a Sumeru traveler pursued by the Akademiya and the Fatui’s “The Doctor,” to Poisson and asked Callas to shelter him. Callas agreed to let Xingsu stay under watch, while Navia began bonding with him over stories of his travels.

• Clorinde led Xingsu through Poisson to the Spina di Rosula headquarters, where Navia and Callas teased her about bringing a man with her.
• Callas sent Navia to talk with Xingsu while he privately asked Clorinde why she had brought the traveler to Poisson.
• Clorinde explained that the Akademiya was hunting Xingsu and the Fatui’s “The Doctor” had taken an interest in him.
• Callas agreed to let Xingsu stay in Poisson and have people watch for outsiders searching for him, with Navia also keeping him company and reporting on him.
• Navia listened eagerly as Xingsu recounted fighting a Consecrated Beast, then invited him to play Tabletop Troupe with her friends.
• Callas saw Navia admiring Xingsu and wondered how his request for her to sound him out had turned into a friendly conversation.

Callas warned Xingsu to keep a low profile in Poisson and rely on the Spina di Rosula if he encountered suspicious strangers. After Xingsu praised Navia at length, Callas grew wary, but Melus was assigned to show Xingsu around, and Navia decided to join them.

• Callas privately told Navia to sound out Xingsu, but she said she had invited him to join her tabletop troupe and trusted his gentle manner.
• Callas privately instructed Xingsu to stay inconspicuous in Poisson and contact the Spina di Rosula about suspicious strangers.
• Xingsu praised Navia so enthusiastically that Callas clenched his fists and grew wary of the outsider.
• Callas asked Melus to show Xingsu around Poisson and help him learn the local rules.
• Navia persuaded Clorinde to smile, and Clorinde prepared to return to the Court of Fontaine.
• Navia decided to accompany Melus and Xingsu on their tour and see Clorinde off, while someone slammed a hand against a table behind them.

Arlecchino learned that Xingsu had settled in Poisson and felt unsettled when she heard he was close to Navia. Meanwhile, Navia invited Xingsu to join the Spina di Rosula and began baking macarons with him.

• Lyney and Lynette reported to Arlecchino that Xingsu had arrived in Poisson with Clorinde and planned to stay, and Arlecchino ordered her informants to monitor him discreetly.
• Lynette told Arlecchino that Xingsu seemed close to Navia, prompting Arlecchino to set down her teacup and dismiss the siblings.
• Lyney realized Lynette had hinted at a secret, then told Freminet to keep quiet about Arlecchino moving the Spina di Rosula collaboration forward and going to Poisson to meet Callas.
• Navia gathered ingredients and cooking equipment to bake macarons with Xingsu, while Melus and Silver introduced themselves.
• Silver invited Xingsu to join the Spina di Rosula, and Navia assured him she had the authority to welcome him before starting to bake.

Xingsu proved himself as a gifted mechanic in Poisson, while Callas received a suspicious offer of aid from the Fatui. Callas accepted the supplies and meeting, and Arlecchino prepared to sail to Poisson to meet him and see Xingsu.

• Xingsu quickly mastered repair work under Yvette's instruction and earned her approval.
• Callas received a Fatui letter offering free supplies for Poisson and proposing a private meeting with Arlecchino.
• Callas accepted the supplies and agreed to meet Arlecchino in Poisson, intending to protect the Spina di Rosula and learn why the Fatui valued Xingsu.
• Arlecchino read Callas's reply, ordered the supplies prepared, and set out for Poisson with Freminet.
• Arlecchino planned to aid Poisson, gauge Callas's limits, and speak with Xingsu about their past.

Callas met with Arlecchino in Poisson, where she asked to see Xingsu, an old acquaintance. Though wary of the Fatui and reluctant to disturb his peace, Xingsu agreed to meet her under the Spina di Rosula’s protection.

• Callas and Arlecchino discussed the Fatui’s supplies and the Spina di Rosula’s affairs before Arlecchino asked about Xingsu.
• Callas explained that Xingsu had joined the Spina di Rosula and warned that he had grievances against the Doctor.
• Arlecchino assured Callas she only wanted to speak with Xingsu and would not pressure him.
• Callas agreed to send for Xingsu, accepting that he and Arlecchino would likely meet eventually.
• Xingsu resisted meeting a Fatui Harbinger but agreed after learning of the aid given to Poisson and recognizing he would have to face Arlecchino sooner or later.