Yet when dreams collide, the sound of shattered hope rends the darkness — that haunting night which cloaks the fall of civilizations too many to measure.
Joy and sorrow intertwined without end, forged into one by the unending passage of time — the past, the future, and the fleeting lives of the now.
Whispers Betwixt Stars and Night is the first act of Skirk's Story Quest, the Crystallina Chapter. In order to unlock this quest line, the player must have completed Chapter IV: Act V - Masquerade of the Guilty and reached Adventure Rank 40.
During the quest, a malevolent entity drains the Traveler's soul, and a chance encounter with Skirk allows them to discover the root of the problem.
List of Quests[]
Summary[]
- Sinister Undercurrent
When the Traveler begins to feels unwell and agitated for a while, Paimon brings them to Bubu Pharmacy for a consultation with Baizhu. After examining them, Baizhu finds nothing unusual and suggests that what happened to the Traveler may be caused by non-physical nature. He tells them to get some rest. When they're asleep, the Traveler found themselves inside an abyssal realm and thick fog covering their vision. An abyssal entity emerges and stabs the Traveler in the back. They wake up and finds themselves unharmed. Paimon brings them to Wanmin Restaurant to cheer them up.
As the Traveler explaining their experience to Paimon, a mysterious woman sits next to them and orders a wine. Paimon recognizes her as Childe's master, Skirk. Skirk asks the Traveler to share what they saw in the dream as she believes that a part of their soul is damaged and its wound bears traces of Abyssal corrosion. After some hesitation, the Traveler and Paimon accept her help and Skirk asks them to meet her in Guili Plains, she quietly leaves right after. As the Traveler pays for Skirk's wine, Chef Mao says that there were only the Traveler and Paimon at the table and didn't recall seeing another lady.
At Guili Plains, the Traveler and Paimon find many Rifthounds collecting god remains, remnant of fallen gods buried deep within the earth carrying a dark curse. Skirk says that a possible god-level entity has been stealing sources of power from all over the world, including the Stella Fortuna. This entity may be the one responsible for the Traveler's stolen soul and Skirk will help them recover their soul if they help her uncovering the entity's identity. Skirk brings the Traveler and Paimon into the Abyss to figure out the plan safely. To experience the Traveler's dream herself, Skirk offers to perform dream-mirroring when they fall asleep. To prepare themselves, Skirk gives them a special training.
- Special Training
Skirk tells them that she'll be training them on three subjects; bladework, elemental skills and reasoning. She tells them that their travels should have allowed them to pick up various nuances, which Paimon recalls as the sword techniques from their friends in their travels. The Traveler hones in on their skills and after finishing the session, is surging with power. Exhausted from the session, Skirk tells them to sleep, and as they do so, they enter a dream, but realize that it isn't theirs — rather, it's Skirk's. They soon spot a strange entity and follow it, coming upon various fragments of Skirk's childhood. Skirk was obsessed with the outside after a merchant ship arrived on their planet, and went out to gaze at the stars. When she went back to get a meal, she saw her village in flames and the people from the ship razing the village to the ground, who saw them as "savages." When Skirk returned to her parents, they told her to flee and not trust anyone as the soldiers arrived and killed them. As they wake up, Paimon goes to eat, while Skirk starts the next part of their training.
Skirk explains that the powers she uses are abyssal in nature, but due to the laws in Teyvat, disguises her powers as Cryo. She tests the Traveler's elemental skills and the Traveler notes that it had been a while since they used all of their skills at once. They gain a deeper understanding of their powers and Skirk remarks that their ability to use and change elements at will without a Vision shows that they did not need the approval of the gods to do so, urging them to forge their own path. As the Traveler falls asleep again, they encounter the strange creature and follow it. They come upon memories of Skirk being trained by her master Surtalogi, who saw potential in her growth.
As the final part of their training, Skirk prepares a mock battle between them. The Traveler assumes a defensive stance, which she is impressed with, but upon mentioning their sibling, they falter, granting her an opening. Skirk explains that in battle, one has to discard all of their emotions and focus purely on the battle, or their life would be forfeit. Skirk then resumes the training, but this time simulating attacks on them while they try to complete it while they try to sort their emotions. The Traveler successfully completes the training and becomes exhausted as the emotions flood back in, which she acknowledges as the limits of human beings and sends them off to sleep once more.
Back in Skirk's inner world, the Traveler navigates the area and encounters more of Skirk's memories; training with other disciples and entering Teyvat with Alice's help. As they wake up, they smell food cooking on a fire and help themselves to a portion. Skirk tells them that the training has concluded and that she has found the culprit's location. Before they head out, she offers to answer three questions, much like did with Tartaglia. The Traveler first asks her if she was from Teyvat, surprising her. They tell her that they saw her inner world, and Skirk tells them that they shouldn't have, as she was trying to keep it from her. She asks them to keep it a secret and confirms that she is from the outside, but is not a Descender; she is just a visitor passing by. The Traveler then asks her why she came to Teyvat, and she tells them that she did so to become stronger, as in order to surpass her master, she had to figure out where his strength came from. Finally, they ask her about Tartaglia, telling her that he was looking for her. She explains that she was hiding herself from him, wanting him to forge his own path rather than following hers. She would only meet him again when he had his own strength to muster. The Traveler feels that Skirk was hiding something from them, but since their three questions were spent, decide not to press further. Skirk also tells them not to tell Paimon about what they discussed.
- All Devouring
Leaving Skirk's "home," the trio head to the culprit's location, hidden in The Chasm. As they enter the domain, they are attacked by various monsters before reaching its end, where the culprit attacks them. Skirk notices that the attacks were more focused on her before one of the spikes impales her shoulder, though she crushes it and extracts the stolen soul fragment, returning it to the Traveler. She tells them that she now knew why the culprit targeted them — their ability to "purify" Abyssal energy was significant, and they used it in order to steal some power from herself. Though she lost some power, Skirk brushes it aside and asks the entity how it acquired the power of the All-Devouring Narwhal, knowing that its attempt to look for god remains meant that it was not strong enough to fight it. She then realizes that the entity must know Surtalogi and calls him by his title, "The Foul," angering the entity. The entity prepares to attack, but noticing Skirk's injury and Paimon's inability to defend herself, the Traveler suggests retreating, which Skirk acknowledges and they escape.
The Traveler brings Skirk to Bubu Pharmacy, where they take a rest as Skirk trains. After their sleep, the Traveler speaks to Skirk, who states that her training regimen didn't go as expected and believes the answer lies in herself. Two days pass as she meditates in the room, prompting the Traveler to wonder what was gnawing at her mind. As they approach her, the strange creature from before appears and brings them into Skirk's inner world.
- Heart and Mind
Inside, the Traveler finds themselves in Skirk's world, resembling a broken river. The creature explains that the river represented Skirk's emotions, and its shattering was a result of her shuttering out her emotions and beginning anew whenever she faced weakness. As they head upstream, the Traveler relives Skirk's memories, such as her arrival on Teyvat, her motives for training and what happened to the people on her planet. When they finally reach Skirk, the creature reveals itself to be Skirk's suppressed emotions, who believes that the Traveler could help her accept her emotions. The creature explains that Skirk had forgotten her original motives to become stronger by severing her emotions. While Skirk continues to dismiss it as weak, the Traveler interjects and states that its ability to break free from her attempts and confront her was a sign of its strength. Skirk ultimately accepts her emotions and the Traveler offers to assist her in her fight against Surtalogi if the time came.
Returning to reality, Paimon brings some snacks for them to eat before they head back to the abyssal space to confront the culprit. Skirk warns the Traveler to be on guard since they'll be stronger from her power, but since they aren't holding back anymore, it shouldn't be a problem.
- Unbounded
The trio venture back into the abyssal space and discover that the fog in the area had since dissipated. They are additionally confronted by the culprit, who had taken on the form of the Dark Shadow. Skirk explains that those who long for Surtalogi's strength were bound to imitate him on a subconscious level. They clash with the entity, during which Skirk purposely injures herself so it could absorb her power. This results in the entity's armor shattering, revealing a Khaenri'ahn man inside it.
The man acknowledges Skirk's deception and she introduces herself to him as Surtalogi's disciple. He asks her how long Surtalogi had gone, and she tells him that it had been several hundred years. He introduces himself as Skofnungr, a friend and follower of Surtalogi. He explains his relationship to Surtalogi to the three. As a young child, he was bound to inherit the family title but soon acquired an incurable disease which condemned him to death. Despite his efforts to prove himself, he was shunned by peers and family alike until he met Surtalogi, who told him to fight for his life. Skofnungr acknowledges that Surtalogi had soon surpassed him and was embarrassed to spar with him. After the cataclysm, when Ronova cursed the people of Khaenri'ah, Surtalogi met with Skofnungr a final time, informing him of his departure to the stars and that he would likely not return for many years. Surtalogi offered to remove the curse from him, but Skofnungr declined, wishing to become stronger. As a parting gift, he left him a weakened narwhal in the Primordial Sea, where he grafted some of its flesh into his heart, explaining how he was able to assume the Dark Shadow's form.
Skofnungr then coughs after finishing his story, stating that despite his curse, the powers he absorbed still brought him pain. He asks Skirk to end his life, expressing regret that he would be unable to see Skirk's fight with Surtalogi. Skirk offers an alternative for his crimes — destroying his consciousness, which would remove the power he had taken, and the curse of immortality would then slowly restore his body and mind without the corruption present. He accepts the offer, hoping that he could awaken in time to see their fight. Before Skirk performs the act, Skofnungr concedes in his mind that he had reached his peak and was pleased to see others helping Skirk in her goals. With the deed done, they leave the abyssal space and return to Teyvat. Skirk states that with her power no longer separated by her emotions, she will need time to practice. The Traveler asks if they'll meet again, which she remarks that they could or could not. However, she hopes at the end of their journey, they would meet in a reborn world full of peace as she departs. Paimon then suggests camping on the spot to stargaze before asking the Traveler to return the favor for the meal she gave them earlier.
Characters[]
17 Characters appear in this Quest:
- Alice
- Baizhu
- Captain Wu
- Changsheng
- Chef Mao
- Kaedehara Kazuha
- Kaeya
- Kamisato Ayaka
- Keqing
- Lan
- Lynette
- Nilou
- Paimon
- Skirk
- Skofnungr
- Traveler
- Xingqiu
Other Languages[]
| Language | Official Name | Literal Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| English | Whispers Betwixt Stars and Night | — |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 星与夜的低语 | |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 星與夜的低語 | |
| Japanese | 星と夜のささやき Hoshi to Yoru no Sasayaki | Whispers of Stars and Night |
| Korean | 별과 달의 속삭임 Byeolgwa Darui Soksagim | Whispers of the Stars and Moon |
| Spanish | Susurros entre las estrellas y la noche | Whispers Between the Stars and the Night |
| French | Murmures entre les étoiles et la nuit | Whispers Between Stars and Night |
| Russian | Шёпот меж звёздами и тьмой Shyopot mezh zvyozdami i t'moy | |
| Thai | เสียงกระซิบของดวงดาวและราตรี | |
| Vietnamese | Lời Thì Thầm Giữa Sao Và Trời Đêm | |
| German | Flüstern von Sternen und Nacht | Whispers of Stars and Night |
| Indonesian | Bintang dan Malam yang Berbisik | The Whispering Stars and Night |
| Portuguese | Sussurros Entre Estrelas e a Noite | |
| Turkish | Yıldızlarla Gecenin Fısıldaşması | |
| Italian | Sussurri tra le stelle e la notte |