Chapter Summaries

Xingsu, a child who fell from the sky, was taken to Snezhnaya’s House of the Hearth and began training under its cruel master, Crucabena. He grew close to Clervie and Peruere as the children faced increasingly brutal trials.

• People across Teyvat saw a shooting star, and Snezhnaya’s people found Xingsu in the snow and brought him to the House of the Hearth.
• Xingsu met Clervie and Peruere, and he and Peruere both identified the creatures in Crucabena’s touch-based class.
• Xingsu’s exceptional learning ability drew Crucabena’s attention, and she took him, Clervie, and Peruere to a harsher training site.
• Xingsu, Peruere, and Clervie drew closer as they stood up for one another amid bullying and isolation.
• Crucabena’s Hunting Game became a deadly battle royale in which survivors earned rewards and the defeated children disappeared into other roles.

After Crucabena forces the children to kill a defeated student, Clervie breaks down over her mother’s cruelty while Xingsu comforts her. Peruere confronts Xingsu about overthrowing Crucabena, and the chapter ends with him asking whether she trusts him.

• Crucabena makes the children kill a defeated student, and Clervie struggles to carry out the killing.
• Xingsu condemns Crucabena, but Clervie blames herself and cries over the fact that Crucabena is her mother.
• Peruere finds Xingsu embracing Clervie and escorts Clervie back to her room while Xingsu disposes of the corpse.
• Peruere confronts Xingsu in his room and states that he intends to overthrow Crucabena.
• Xingsu admits he has considered it, and Peruere says she heard him from the start but believes Clervie must face the situation herself.
• Xingsu tells Peruere he does not want to fight her or Clervie, then asks whether she trusts him.

Xingsu and Peruere argued over whether they could overthrow Crucabena, while Peruere concealed the dangerous power she might use to protect the children. Xingsu woke from a nightmare in which Crucabena made him king after he killed his friends, and rejected that future.

• Peruere rejected Xingsu’s confidence that they could overthrow Crucabena and warned that winning over Clervie would not change Crucabena’s behavior or strength.
• Xingsu argued that the children would eventually be forced to kill one another, but Peruere insisted they needed a workable plan and left his room.
• Peruere privately acknowledged that a curse worsened whenever she used the power inside her and resolved to protect the others even if it cost her life.
• Xingsu dreamed that he killed Clervie and the other children, while Crucabena declared him the perfect heir and next king of the House of the Hearth.
• Xingsu woke in terror and decided that he would rather die than become king by killing his friends.

Clervie tried to uncover why Xingsu and Peruere had been acting strangely, but mistook their secretive tension for a romance. The three set aside the awkwardness to watch the stars, and promised to visit Snezhnaya together when they grew up.

• Clervie brought Xingsu and Peruere to their attic hideout and pressed them about what they were hiding.
• Xingsu and Peruere exchanged tense looks while recalling their fears about the future and the possibility of fighting each other.
• Clervie mistook their behavior for a confession and interrogated them about when they had gotten together.
• Peruere knocked Clervie on the head and pinched Xingsu, ending the misunderstanding and their awkward exchange.
• The three lay beneath the stars, and Clervie suggested that they visit Snezhnaya together to see its auroras when they grew up.

For the Icemelt Festival gift exchange, Xingsu chose his star-shaped necklace for Clervie, while Peruere gave him a jar of folded paper stars. The celebration ended with Scott getting inked in the face by Weizban’s prank pen.

• Xingsu decided to give Clervie the necklace he had worn since the beginning after admiring its sparkle.
• During the gift exchange, Peruere showed Clervie the handmade Super Kitty Hat, then ran off in embarrassment when Xingsu saw her wearing it.
• Xingsu gave Clervie his necklace, and she happily accepted it after hearing it was a token of his feelings.
• Peruere gave Xingsu a jar containing 999 folded paper stars, and he thanked her for the thoughtful gift.
• Scott bragged about giving Vilina his autobiography, then Weizban gave Scott a prank ballpoint pen that sprayed ink across his face.

During a late-night tea party after the Icemelt Festival, Xingsu, Clervie, and Peruere shared their wishes for the future despite the danger Crucabena posed. Peruere ended the conversation by saying she wanted to kill Crucabena.

• Xingsu, Peruere, and Clervie gathered in the attic to eat and drink while mocking the festival banquet and recounting Scott’s mishap with the ink on his face.
• Clervie asked the others to share their wishes, then described her dream of opening a shop in the Court of Fontaine and sharing tea with her friends.
• Xingsu wished to travel across the nations, return to Clervie’s shop, and eventually settle down near the Court of Fontaine.
• Peruere reflected on how Clervie and Xingsu had accepted her and become dear to her.
• When Clervie asked Peruere for her wish, Peruere said she wanted to kill Crucabena.

Peruere and Xingsu pressed Clervie to help them kill Crucabena, but Clervie fled, unable to choose between her friends and her mother. Peruere revealed that a curse was spreading through her body, and Xingsu shared what little he knew of his past before the two reaffirmed their resolve to fight together; Clervie remained alone with her grief.

• Peruere told Clervie that only she could help them deal with Crucabena, but Clervie refused and ran away in tears.
• Peruere and Xingsu discussed how they might kill Crucabena, and Peruere insisted that one fatal strike would be enough.
• Xingsu asked Peruere about the curse on her hand, and she explained that using her dangerous inner power made it spread toward her heart.
• Xingsu told Peruere that he had been found on a snowfield in Snezhnaya and examined by Dottore before entering the House of the Hearth.
• Peruere warned Xingsu that Dottore was interested in his origins, then offered her hand and reaffirmed that they were fighting for the same goal.
• Clervie curled up on her bed, weeping and apologizing to Peruere, Xingsu, and her mother.

Clervie died after Peruere stabbed her, leaving Peruere to face the House of the Hearth’s final Hunting Game. Crucabena began the slaughter to choose a king, and the chapter ended with children dying as Vilina defied her.

• Clervie thanked Pepe and Xingsu, told them they would become good kings, and fell dead after Peruere stabbed her.
• Crucabena announced the final judgment at the House of the Hearth and began a Hunting Game in which the surviving children would compete to become king.
• Weizban died from blood loss after a bear trap severed one of his legs.
• Vilina refused to take part in the slaughter and said she would not hurt anyone.
• Crucabena drew her dagger and stabbed Vilina.

Xingsu confronted Crucabena and fought her in an attempt to overthrow her cruel rule over the House of the Hearth. He held out through dozens of exchanges, but Crucabena disarmed him and held a blade to his throat, while he hoped Peruere would arrive.

• Xingsu headed east, expecting Crucabena to come after him and hoping Peruere would hear the fight.
• Crucabena offered to forgive Xingsu’s rebellion if he obeyed her, but he rejected her rule and attacked.
• Crucabena blocked Xingsu’s strike, counterattacked with her sword and Hydro lances, and showed her overwhelming strength.
• Xingsu launched a relentless attack and fought Crucabena for dozens of exchanges, but fatigue and injuries began to weaken him.
• Xingsu decided to keep fighting to buy time for Peruere, but Crucabena struck him in the torso and knocked his sword away.
• Crucabena placed her blade at Xingsu’s throat.

Crucabena defeated Xingsu, threatened to have Dottore alter his mind, and knocked him unconscious while taunting him about Peruere and Clervie. Peruere was delayed by Scott’s traps, leaving her unable to reach Xingsu.

• Crucabena beat Xingsu and insisted that survival and obedience to her were the only paths to power.
• Crucabena told Xingsu that Clervie had chosen to fight Peruere to keep him alive, then threatened to hand him over to Dottore.
• Crucabena drugged Xingsu with a handkerchief, and he passed out.
• Scott ambushed Peruere and delayed her with animal traps along the only route to Xingsu.

Peruere crossed Scott’s trap zone and reached Crucabena, finding Xingsu unconscious amid the wreckage. She fought Crucabena, who taunted her about Clervie and her kindness, while the battle remained evenly matched.

• Peruere ignored Scott’s taunts and carefully made her way through the traps toward Xingsu.
• Scott decided not to pursue Peruere, then accidentally triggered Weizban’s snare and was left hanging upside down as he called for help.
• Peruere arrived to find Xingsu unconscious, and Crucabena assured her he was still alive.
• Peruere attacked Crucabena, and the two exchanged rapid sword strikes as Crucabena mocked her over Clervie’s death.
• Peruere used her flames to counter Crucabena’s Hydro attacks but suffered a shallow cut and began to tire as Crucabena continued to taunt her.

Peruere was overwhelmed by grief and fell into Crucabena’s trap, while Xingsu struggled back to his feet to help her. Crucabena killed Xingsu and again urged Peruere to submit, leaving her surrounded by the deaths of her companions.

• Crucabena exploited Peruere’s grief over Clervie, blasted her into a wall, and demanded that she submit.
• Xingsu woke and forced himself to stand despite his wounds, then tried to attack Crucabena.
• Crucabena easily countered Xingsu and stabbed him through the chest.
• Xingsu fell after silently telling Peruere to keep going.
• Crucabena stood among the fallen and offered to guide Peruere and make her a true king.

Peruere defeated Crucabena and destroyed the furnace, but she found Xingsu dead and mourned him as dawn broke. A masked observer freed Scott and took him along, promising to make him valuable.

• Peruere overcame Crucabena’s attacks and defeated her with ember flame, declaring that kindness had awakened her from Crucabena’s cage.
• Peruere checked Xingsu for a pulse, found no sign of life, and held his body as dawn arrived.
• A masked observer watched Peruere grieve, lamented the loss of Crucabena and her test subjects, and left.
• The masked observer freed Scott from a tree, and Scott eagerly thanked him.
• The masked observer invited Scott to come with him and promised to make him worth more than his price.

Peruere mourned Xingsu, found his confession and farewell letter, and gathered his belongings from the House of the Hearth. She laid him to rest in the wilderness and said goodbye, left alone to face the dawn.

• Peruere left Xingsu’s body to gather his belongings and found his letter beneath the jar of folded stars he had received from her.
• Peruere read Xingsu’s confession and plea for her to keep living, then took the letter and jar with her.
• Peruere visited Clervie’s untouched room and saw the Lumidouce Bells, dolls, and unfinished doll modeled after Xingsu.
• Peruere carried Xingsu’s body to a secluded place, buried the jar of stars before him, and cremated him with cinderfire.
• Peruere told Xingsu that she had killed Crucabena and survived, then watched his ashes return to the wind.

Nahida discovered Xingsu’s glowing memory in Irminsul and found him reborn with no memories, so she offered him a home and a chance to study in Sumeru. Meanwhile, Peruere was arrested by Fatui soldiers on orders from The Jester after visiting Clervie’s and Xingsu’s graves.

• Nahida opened Xingsu’s unusual memory in Irminsul, where he appeared as a boy and called her “Mother.”
• Peruere mourned at Clervie’s and Xingsu’s gravestones before elite Fatui soldiers arrested her on charges including rebellion and murdering a Fatui Harbinger.
• Xingsu told Nahida that he remembered his name but knew nothing about his origins or how he had entered Irminsul.
• Nahida decided to give Xingsu a home in Sumeru and suggested he study Vahumana or Amurta to investigate his memories or origins.
• Nahida took Xingsu by the hand and led him out of Irminsul.

Xingsu arrived in Sumeru with no memories or basic knowledge, and Nahida helped him navigate the Akasha Terminal and find food. The confidential information Nahida had entered made everyone assume Xingsu was exceptionally important, and she left it unchanged after he asked her to make him seem ordinary.

• Xingsu asked Nahida what to do in Sumeru, and she suggested he would need guidance before living on his own or studying at the Akademiya.
• A Corps of Thirty guard checked Xingsu's Akasha Terminal profile, saw that his identity and personal information were confidential, and respectfully welcomed and escorted him.
• Nahida explained that Xingsu could use the Akasha Terminal to find food, but he admitted he could not read the restaurant listings.
• At Lambad's Tavern, Xingsu could not pay because he did not know what Mora was, and Lambad offered him a meal after checking his profile and realizing it was confidential.
• Lambad served Xingsu two fish rolls for free, and Nahida refused to change the confidential identity she had given him.

Nahida helped Xingsu learn to read in the House of Daena and warned him not to depend on the Akasha Terminal. After she left him there for the night, Xingsu heard a voice from the stars and learned that its speaker, Lin, had created him and sent him to collect stories across the universe.

• Nahida brought Xingsu to the House of Daena and guided him through Sumeru's literacy books, which he mastered in a few hours.
• Nahida warned Xingsu against relying too heavily on the Akasha Terminal, and he removed it.
• Nahida told Xingsu he could ask librarian Miss Katayoun about a work-study job, then vanished and left him to sleep in the library.
• As Xingsu slept, a voice called to him from the stars and told him he had died before but inexplicably returned to life.
• The voice identified itself as Lin, a Memokeeper who created Xingsu and sent him and other versions of himself to collect stories and memories.

Xingsu learned from Lin about the memory-storing necklace and gained the ability to sense and read memories, but refused to help recover it without getting something in return. The next morning, he began a trial as a library assistant at the House of Daena and welcomed his first visitors.

• Lin explained that the necklace backed up memories and helped transmit them, and that Xingsu had somehow survived after dying and been reborn inside Irminsul.
• Xingsu asked why he should help Lin, then negotiated for a memory-related blessing before agreeing to keep an eye out for the necklace.
• Lin granted Xingsu the ability to sense memory manifestations and read others' memories when they completely trusted him, and told him to call her name beneath a starry sky.
• After waking at the House of Daena, Xingsu went to ask Katayoun for work and received a trial position organizing shelves and registering loans.
• Xingsu began reading at a table near the entrance and greeted a forest ranger and a girl who wanted to borrow early-learning literacy books.

Xingsu met Tighnari and Collei at the Akademiya and discovered a black mist surrounding Collei. When he touched it, her Eleazar symptoms eased, but he suffered from the pain and despair held in the mist.

• Xingsu gave Tighnari the literacy primers and notes he had prepared.
• Xingsu noticed black mist around Collei and asked Tighnari for permission to examine it.
• Tighnari agreed cautiously, and Xingsu touched the mist before staggering back in pain.
• Collei's pain eased and the black patches on her skin faded, surprising Tighnari.
• Tighnari introduced himself and Collei, and Xingsu introduced himself as a trainee librarian.

Xingsu eased Collei’s Eleazar and learned that his ability might involve absorbing forbidden memories, prompting Tighnari to reconsider the disease’s cause and worry about Xingsu’s safety. As Xingsu struggled to understand Tighnari’s research, Alhaitham approached him and questioned how he had appeared in the Akademiya and gained visiting-scholar status.

• Xingsu admitted he did not know how to treat Eleazar, while Tighnari thanked him for helping Collei and left with her.
• Tighnari reconsidered Eleazar as damage caused by forbidden knowledge eroding memories and the soul, and resolved not to let Xingsu face the risks of his ability alone.
• Tighnari collided with Alhaitham and told him about Xingsu’s power and its burden; Alhaitham recognized Xingsu as the boy who had started learning to read the day before.
• Xingsu struggled to understand Tighnari’s technical Eleazar notes and sensed the black mist taken from Collei slowly dissipating within him.
• Alhaitham sat across from Xingsu and asked how he had appeared in the Akademiya and obtained visiting-scholar status.