The lore of the Fontaine wind glider states that the Shade of Life is a female... So i'll try to rebunk it. What if Morax was the first and original Shade of Life, but after he got demoted he got replaced by another Shade of Life who is a female. Kinda similar to how Archons get replaced by someone new after they're dead/not in archon position anymore. This is also backed up by the fact that Morax is older than Egeria (who was created by the female Shade of Life) since he was stated to be the oldest Archon, in other words, Morax was already in Teyvat when the female Shade of Life created Egeria. So the chances of Morax being an old original shade is still a valid theory but barely standing😅

Agree on Zhongli. It annoys me to no end when people think that he is a mortal now and can't create mora anymore. Like dude, he was a god and created a coin even before the Archon war...

The one thing that made me curious about Zhongli was the fact that his statue of the seven is the only one with a cube and not a sphere. The cube reminds me of the ones the sustainer of heavenly principles uses.

ALSOOO!!! people kinda overlook the fact that zhongli basically built humanity by himself. zhongli litterly LOWERED THE TIDES (how tf) and raised a big ass moutain in order to make way for life. zhongli made mora, which can be used INTERNATIONALY and for bacically anything, which he used to create the first houses of liyue, one of the oldest nations of teyvat. And (fyi) mora is litterly zhonglis blood, or flesh, like its made from him. so he basically helped start a civalization thriugh his own flesh and blood.

someone cooked here

If Paimon is really the Primordial One, imagine her in the end be like: _"Yo, sorry to all of you, my ass got beat by some alien and my servants can't even do shit which causes all of you to get absolutely screwed. I have exhausted everything I got till I turned into this infant-like form. Good thing another alien, the good one that is, picked me up from the ocean so I could perhaps find my way back up to the throne in the sky that was reserved for me."_

Another reason for Morax being a shade is flower gives hp and zhongli scales of hp 😂😂😂

This is an interesting theory, but there is a gap in it, not related to the shades, but to the Primordial One actually. If Paimon is theorized to be the Primordial One, why did she not remember about Rukkhadevata when the Irminsul was altered? Her memory should be just as fine as Traveler's memory is, since the Primordial One is also a descender. You can argue that she pretended but still, she seemed way too genuine about it. Paimon is DEFINITELY very sus, but I doubt she is the Primordial One. She is definitely someone very important, and from Celestia, but I don't think she is the Primordial One. If I remember correctly, the Fatui have intel that there are 4 descenders, the last being the Traveler, we also know the Primordial One is the 1st decender and the Second who came is obviously, by the name, the 2nd, but we don't know anything about the 3rd one. Also, from the lore we know that Paimon fell into the water from the sky through a vortex or something and then Traveler fished her out. What is she is actually the 3rd descender who lost her powers in a battle with the Heavenly Thrones? She seems to know a lot about Celestia and about Teyvat, but not enough to be considered as the creator of Teyvat. But then again, if Paimon is the 3rd descender, that will still not explain how she would not remember anything about Rukkhadevata. I am really curious what role Paimon plays in the game. The fact that she is actually the game's icon says a lot about her. Maybe she is the Primordial One, maybe she isn't, we don't know yet, we'll have to play the game and see. Interesting theory none of the less. There were some stuff in it that I didn't actually realize myself, such as the Celestial Nail and Zhongli's nail in that cutscene. Also I found sus that out of all the Statues of the 7, Zhongli's statue is the only one with a cube instead of a sphere, and also the fact that the Teyvat currency is named after him and not after any of the other gods, I always found that odd. There were also some other stuff, but I never considered that there might be more to Zhongli than meets the eye.

Now hes confirmed to be the God of Gold (Neuvillette)...Albedo also states to naturally create gold like Zhongli, youd need the power of x8 teyvat suns...and the only natural way gold is created is through *stars*...he doesnt have a Constellation for his SQ like Neuvillette... you're right hes just too suspicious. In Neuvillette's new story, he heavily insinuated he's such a Higher Being above everyone else, he doesn't have an assigned Constellation, which would probably explain why his Constellation isnt his SQ. What if Zhongli is the same way...? Which would prove his specialness above even the other Archons...?? Hmmm

This one of the best lore videos I've ever seen! I always knew Zhongli was either a descender or someone related to Celestia... And King Deshret being able to manipulate the seven elements is a great hint, I believe Zhongli can too, he uses the light/onmni element, and you just confirmed it. Keep the great work!

7archons, 7dragons, witches, 4shades, Fatuis Dang! We still have so many characters to pull~

We're witnessing the emerging of a new lore archon.

Theory 1: Paimon is the Primordial One Theory 2: Paimon is a 5th Shade who was forgotten/unknown, her role as the Eggshell or Separator from the outside universe resulted in her size/loss of power and knowledge. She is still represented by the crown in both, but would allow for a new person to be introduced as the Primordial One. Taking it a step further, the 5 Sinners of Khaenriah would be trying to mirror or establish a copy of the 5 shades, with possibly Lumine as the replacement for the Primordial One. Lumine leading the Abyss Order (Former Khaenriahians) to gather the Gnosis (The Embodiment of the 1st Descender aka the Primordial One) to possibly create a new Primordial One supported by the 5 Sinners of Khaenriah as Shades. The 5 Sinners might be another factor in the story, but with how powerful they are and they were oddly absent in The Great Calamity, I think they were busy fighting or something that hasn't been explained yet.

People pointed out Zhongli avoid Neuvillette because he know the hydro dragon will put him in trial. They also pointed out Zhongli's didn't effected by Nahida erasing Rukadhevata. But how Zhongli knows all of those? He is always in Liyue, right? Or... he listen it all throught the ground since Zhongli is the listener?

Look into the statues in each fallen remnant of the og civilization. One holds a goblet! Another holds a scale.

shade of Death should be introduced in natlan, since its the region of war.

This is a really well made video. I enjoyed all the connections you made and a lot of them are ones I haven't heard before from any lore theories. Well done!

Wow, I am so happy I found this video--I love all the evidence you dug up and presented here, especially the theory around Zhongli. I've had a similar inkling for a while now, and I'm so glad someone put all the evidence together into a more digestable format. I wrote a like 3-paragraph comment on an Ashikai video once rambling about Zhongli being a "sun-bro" LOL

Zhongli is the only god whose title and ideal are different. We reveal our true nature during calamities and Zhongli doesnt talk about Contracts when fighting but rather Order. Could it be that during his time in Celestia he was the God of Order and Order could be interpretated to preservation of life making him the Shade of LIfe

Morax was recently confirmed by the hydro soverign, to be deus auri (golden god/god of gold ). Well we know soverigns are stronger than archons, and neuvillete is portrayed to be a higher entity to everyone in tevyat including archons he doesn’t have a specific constellation, maybe morax is of the same category or even a higher being which connects to the shade theory or some celestial god. Since it mentioned to make gold by albedo you need power 8x our sun

Phosphorus is the perfect name for Amun. Phosphorus would late be known as Lucifer on Roman mythology and would later get expanded mythos in Christian theology. One who rebelled against and sought to overthrow the heavens. Additionally, as the snake in the garden of Eden, he led humans to consume forbidden knowledge aka the knowledge of life and death. This perfectly mirrors Deshret introducing forbidden knowledge to the world. I also think this would make him the perfect candidate for the “Sinner”. Chained up in the underworld just like Lucifer in Dante’s Inferno.

I've read a theory somewhere before that both the wind and time were worshipped in Mondstadt, hence the Thousand Winds Temple, which is also connected to the Nameless Island off the coast of Mondstadt, reaching the Nameless Island also starts the Time and Wind Quest. I've also read theories that Venti was born from the Thousand Winds, which is Istaroth. Anyway, it's kinda weird how the last members of the original Seven were somehow related to the Primordial One/the Four Shades/Usurper.

I love that I'm not the only one that saw the duality between Zhongli and Deshret! I subscribe to your theory (and channel now!)

I think the part where you said that Zhongli is Hesperus is wrong bacause Hesperus means "of the night" and "place of death" in ancient Greek, while Phosphorus means "bringer of light" (that's more in line with the sun symbolisms and the role of "life shade"). Beside that i think it's a solid theory

Well damn 🧍‍♀️I didn’t know Genshin had lore like this

There is new event on Honkai impact. Fu hua wakes up in a city called Phosphorus. And there is another “forbidden area” called Hesperus. On phosphorus, there are 7 kids named with 7 different colors. And they are city representatives. Architecture reminds ancient greek buildings. There are still lore I didn’t finish but coincidence? I don’t think so

Bro got wei levels of IQ I'm surprised you aren't popular 😮😮

hoyoverse is sweating rn

Another thing about *life* on Zhongli is his shield mechanic and healing unlocked under his C6!

if the primordial one aka the first who came the first descender was defeated by the second who came the second descender and then changed the info in the irminsal and rewrites him/herself as the primordial one which means there are 5 descenders 1. the original first descender about whom the people of teyvat have forgotten 2. the second who came now known as the first descender due to rewriting info in irminsal 3. is unknown 4. the third descender who's corpse is used to make the gnosises 5. the 4th descender the traveller

2nd throne victim

Imagine paimon and Zhongli do a collaboration with their leftover hidden power

Also Zhongli is HP scaling unlike the nature of Geo which should be DEF. All other Geo characters are DEF scaling but not him. Maybe that's a hint to something.

I like when people start touching the theme of the shades! Just one more thing to add that I’ve previously posted on Reddit: When you use the Crafting Bench you say: “earth and water, wind and fire, craft for me what i desire!” The four basic elements of creation. The shades are THE CREATORS. Earth - Zhongli Water- unknown (smth related to seelie?) Wind - Istaroth Fire - Asmodey When you craft something you get an emblem of three circles around a star. Almost 100% sure these are the three moons and the sun, aka the Four Shades. Not to mention, that the art of Alchemy was created by Morax, who is most likely the shade. (Alchemy is an adepti art which are created by rex lapis, and you need Mora for doing your crafting). And let’s not forget about the literal achemical symbol on his back/pillars/statue - quincunx.

As a lore player, I love videos like this. These are similar to my own thoughts and theories. Excellent video! I also had my suspicions on Morax back in 2021

what a banger video, holy cow. the zhongli and asmoday part looked so convincing that i think it really is the truth!

I like your theory! God job! ^-^ When you said that Zhongli could be the Shade of Life, I freaked out because a while ago I published a theory where I made a connection between the Geo element and the Flower of Life. Too much of a coincidence xD

Omg! This was awesome! The whole time im like"WAIT A SECOND BESTIE HAS A POINT WTF" now i dont even know who is more sus, venti or zhongli lol but you earned a new sub and i cant wait to watch all other theories you have!

i have another theory about zhongli based off your theory. since in the liyue archon quest we know that he signed "a contract to end all contracts" with the tsaritsa, could it possibly be hinting towards ending all the contracts he has made with the impostor primordial one? since we know the tsaritsa is working on defeating celestia (by extension the impostor), and zhongli does not agree with the rule of the current impostor, this could be the case.

I think this is the only theory about Morax being a shade that I accepted. Great details! Though its weird and funny to think that if Paimon was the Primordial one and Morax being a shade, they were literally together in Liyue archon quests and Paimon was a bit yapping about him forgetting to bring money 😅

I completely agree with you about Zhongli being one of the four shades.. Your videos are always full of insights. Please make more :)

Also the unreleased bow "Dreams of Dragonfell"s description is a story about Morax and Azdaha talking about reaching the Lunar Palace

I love how you describe everything in really really simple way so everyone who watch can understand the point, I love your channel so much :

Sweet video, you can actually see the quantum symbol in the sustainers cube in the first cutscene when they are moving horizontally to attack, this can’t be an accident

Alot of theorizing from a flying child that we fished from the sea

I've mentioned this before to friends but they aren't into the lore so... Those triketra are on the Mora that Morax minted, as they are in DS afloat near the nail. Also those nails and the "spear" he dropped to unearth Azhdaha is the same. I'm glad someone likewise saw it. You earn my subscription!

Zhongli might also recover his shade form/power, since he gave up being a shade. He might also have some power left for him. Since shade power is very powerful it might take over many hundred years for it to recover without primordial one being there to recover their power. Since paimon is Theorized to be primordial one it also gave the same to her recovering her power. If it is. Primordial one (paimon) might come back when traveler goes to the throne in the sky. That also might cause another calamity with primordial one and the second who came. If it cause a calamity traveler would regain a shade power/ability most likely alike with primordial one. Either way since traveler has a white vision like power, it might be that those power are related with primordial one. Or either way the twins are artificial like albedo created by primordial one back then. Because the twins doesn't understand the teyvat language it can be that they either way created in different way than albedo, if the twins are artificial then it might be that if they go to throne in the sky, they would be either way a shade/godlike with a massive power. Since their body is artificial (not true yet) they can't handle such a massive power because their body might break/vanish so instead, they got a little drop of primordial one power, it also theorize not asmoday came for the twins because they are khaen'riah, it might be because they have a little drop of primordial power, since asmoday choose to seal the other twin power, it can also be seen that asmoday is also in a weakend state not a state where she could seal primordial one little drop of power. Though this theory doesn't make sense. It might be either way wrong.

i love zhongli related theories, esp the sun chariot, if it turns out hesperus is someone else entirely ill be so sad cuz zhongli seems like the perfect character to have a way deeper meaning to the story

Yeahh Zhongli looks more alive while heavenly principles looks dead inside like she’s controlled or has no free will or maybe I’m misremembering lol

7:22 Now theres Neuvillete too who's constellation doesn't match his story quest

There's a theory that the Goddess of Flowers, Nabu Malikata, from Sumeru, could be the Shade of Life. She's stated as having higher Dendro powers than Rukkadevatta herself, when the later stated that Nabu was able to create flowers that even Rukk herself couldn't. And she was said to have both Dendro and Hydro powers, when she was able to conjure magical healing rivers; and that reinforces the fact that each Shade has at least two elements: Time (Istaroth) has Anemo and Electro - as seen in the growing of thd Sakura Tree of Inazuma -, Death (I personally believe the Defender of the Heavenly Principles, theorized as Asmoday, to be the Shade of Death, because of her elements being alligned with damage and destruction) has Pyro and Erebo {Lava - Erebos in the Greek Myths is the God of Darkness imprisioned in the lowest place of Hades, who received the God's name}, so, as Life (Nabu Malikata) has Dendro and Hydro, the Shade of Void (Space) should have Geo and Cryo, even if I personally don't know why.

I think cyno is the shade of death, because his power look like anubis and his jokes are killing everyone

One of these must be the higher power Makoto spoke about that Ei talked about in her story quest

This is a really underrated theory channel, I love how much research you're doing, and i'd love to see more

I Agree with your theory but paimon (Primordial one) is not acting, she lost her powers to overturn the calamity 500 years or against second who came and was reduced to her now childlike shape, Same as nahida who used more power than she could in exchange of turning into a child

I'm skeptical on the idea of Paimon being the primordial one since she was, in fact, was affected by changes in Iriminul when Scaramouche erased himself and became Wanderer. She didn't remember him at all.

So paimon becoming the best guide and travel companion is kinda fit. Who knows better than the person who created the place

If you think about it. The whole Teyvat is just a bubble in the hoyoverse.

Venti also has fhis VERY strange voiceline: "Celestia... I'm not sure even I could fly that far. In any case, the water there tastes foul and the fruit is bland. You know what that means? No cider! Haha, in that case, I wouldn't go there even if I was invited."

I have had theories attesting to all of this… Like word for word. It validates me so much to know others see it too. 😭 Forbidden knowledge really does make you feel mad huh? But King Deshret and Zhongli being shades, is the only thing I never made a connection for in the past. Recently I have been thinking of theories and reading about the kings - King Deshret, King Remus and King Irmin. With Zhongli possibly being a fourth king. I didn’t make this connection that the 2 could be shades. I always thought Zhongli could be the Primordial One and when you started saying he was a Shade I was trying not to think with tunnel vision and stay openminded… You’ve convinced me that this theory is very plausible and I’ve been dead set on Zhongli being PO for months!!

If my memory is not eroding like Zhongli pretends his is, in the Byakukoku records, didn't it mentioned something similar to the Primordial One and 3 of the shades, created the world. I always questioned why only 3 shades, but now it makes sense... Of the 4 shades only 3 could support LIFE, Istaroth is the form of Time (Life has no GROWTH if time doesn't exist), the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, as state someone that keeps the Laws of the world in check. Morax (maybe) to create life like Flora and Fauna etc.. Primordial One created his most cherished creation, Humans. There's no need for anytime more to sustain life is there? Except, for death.. 1 of the shades was in charge of the Cycle, Death to Life. Hence, only 3 shades were need to create the world. I don't think Deshret is one of the shades. I think Deshret's story mirrored that of one of the shades. I think that the 4th shade is still alive, but is imprisoned. And after the second throne came they replaced the 4th shade of Death with the life cycle imbedded into the Irminsul Tree. This may be a far reach, but I think the 4th shade is the Dark crystal thingy we found in the chasm, the thing that called himself a sinner. The reason he calls himself a sinner, is because he's going against his purpose of ruling over the dead, to now rebirthing life in the form of ascension. Rid of the old body into the new, ascension like the Abyss Lectors. He could be the real Usurper that cause all the mess the world is in now. Because he grew jealous of not being able to create life but caused death... That's just my ramblings, I have no evidence, or material to back of anything, just a crazy thought 😂

You're the best theory youtuber atm, keep making the longer videos, we love them

The research and dissecting of information is out of this world. Props to the creator of this video. Great Job and thanks for this theory!

This is so underrated i absolutely love this theory and your chanel in general! Most of the theory chanels i come across, when discussing the topic of the shades and celestia always throw out ideas and speculations without actual evidence to show for it, but you showed us so much proof it's hard NOT to agree, keep up the amazing work i look forward to future uploads!!

You just earned a new sub!!! Really love your genshin theory videos

I don't think we can classify the Shades as descenders. Yes, they were made from the Primordial one but then that would make us the 7th Descender. It would go the Primordial One, the Second Who Came, The Four Shades (including Morax) then us. Zhongli is an exception to this as evidence suggests he remember the events pre to the Irminsul changes. This would make Zhongli a descender, and this would also make sense to the Traveler's 4th descender title. So the descenders go: Primordial One (Paimon?) Second Who Came Morax (Zhongli) The Traveler (MC) However, what about our Abyss Sibling? It doesn't make sense. That he isn't a descender and is 'bound to teyvat': this could mean Morax isnt a descender but still isn't affected by Irmisul? If in the case that Morax isn't a descender, then it's our Abyss Sibling. By the way, the Fatui made the Descender Category so they probably do not know that Morax is a descender and same with our Sibling. You may know that Nahida can transform into others; I think you know where I'm going. If Nahida can, why can't someone else? It seems like a farfetched theory at first but if you think about it, it makes sense! The leader of the Abyss might be taken on a form of our Sibling, possibly scaring and weakening the Traveler in the process So... that's my theory!

I think the hole in this theory is that the Irmi sul doesnt actually change the past. Its the same. The i formation ia changed. So in the past ruhkkadevata still exists after Nahida becomes the only known dendro archon, people just dont remember. Saying irminsul changed the past is a stretch. It only changes the information about the past, in a way that doesnt contradict what actually happened. So everything that Rukka did, it still happened, it's just attributed to Nahida. Same with wonderer. What he did still happened, just other people did it and not him. But for the present to make sense the Irminsul has to pick and choose who did what and when and then change the names around until it finds an alternate story that fits the version of the events you want(usually the dendro archon or the big bosses from celestia i bet)

I have a theory that paimon is a moon sister, but i cant confirm it yet. My intuition is the only peace of evidence i can give Also the fact that paimon keeps getting called and compared to a seele, and that she lost her memorys when irminsul was altered both times. I dont think paimon is evil, hoyo has told us again and again how paimon loves us to the moon and back, so i think paimon either actually lost her memories or is trying to guide us and help us.

YOOOOOO this was a good one. The part about The Sustainer and Zhongl having similar stuff shocked me. Let's go~

Zhongli is practically everything: - 7 archons - Lord of Geo - Prime Adepti - God of wealth and commerce - God of Contract - Sun God - One of the 4 Shades - 3rd Decender??? I'm just waiting for you to connect him being a decender like the traveller aswell cuz the channel, Wei got a pretty good theory about that one. Though would that might break the theory of Zhongli being a 4 Shade? I love Zhongli for this reason, so much mystery, more than the other archons.

This theory is legit real. Even if there’s more theories. This one makes more sense and reveals almost everything

Wouldn’t it be interesting if the shades were in full rebellion against the Primordial One who could’ve been corrupted by the fight with the Second Who Came and therefore eradicated all civilizations it had previously loved because it went nuts. And it doesn’t seem to like any human or god prying into its origins either. Hmm. I also agree on Zhongli being a Shade.

I watched your theory about natland and how its people believe of rebirth/reincarnation so what if paimon is actually the primordial one who was helped by asmoday to be reincarnated as paimon who who wants to help the traveler to defeat the heavenly principles/the second who came so that teyvat will be back to normal

So technically the four shade represents time, space, life and death

Great job on the video, I believe a lot of these theories can hold true. Had a random theory that the Primordial One is a representation of God, while the Shades could be a representation of the 4 common Archangels. I also think it's possible for Paimon to be a Shade or Archangel, such as the Archangel Raphael, who is depicted as "A protector of travellers." With us being Travellers and her by our side the whole way.

i miss how i used to see the game 20 mins ago

I’ve never ever seennnnn anything on lore that made so much sense

I don’t think I’ve heard 降居 in terms of Chinese but in Japanese it is used for figures of high positions, such as an emperor, to mean they abdicated or abandoned their throne. Literally it just means to go down in living rank. So in this case it would mean “In the beginning Rex Lapis abdicated his throne.” Which is an odd thing to begin with.

5:33 Istaroth gave wisdom to Enkanomiya, yet literally every source I have seen says it was Orobashi, a male snake god (with no connection to the primordial one (nor the second who came)), was the one to save the people of Enkanomiya, which is further backed by the fact most of the statues we find in those ruins are snake-shaped. They represent Orobashi, not Istaroth.

I heard somewhere that Colombina (3rd of the fatuil harbingers) was the Angel of Death and a shade of the primordial one, I just don't remember where

great theory. now we just need zhongli and alhaitham to meet. zhongli's reactiob will confirm this theory.

i am glad i got zhongli

Him hiding in geo is also sus if he can do more than just that element

Bro deserves 1B subs fr

The shades are the travelers asmodeous and istaroth, Paimon created them but maybe she doesnt remember Zhongli and Venti are sus af tho

I think Alhaitham is only symbolically reminiscent of Deshret in the same way Kaveh also is, and Nilou is symbolic representation of the Goddess of Flowers, but are not literally them. My question is, is all of this were true, what do you make of the implications that Traveler is related to Deshret directly in some way?

Wait, if zhongli is sibling of scarlet king, and reincarnation of scarlet king is alhaitham, then hot daddies are siblings

If you look at Alhaitham's earpiece it also seems to resemble the triquetra shape too which is really interesting

Nice video! I want to request a video on all the things Rhinedottir aka Gold aka albedos mom did, Its all over the place so I would love if you made one about it!

I was about to skip then something told me „damn let her cook“ ngl it’s underrated

But what if Zhongli was one of the old dragons ? He’s said to know the world from 4000 years ago, has a chinese dragon like form. Furthermore, he’s under some sort of contract with higher beings than him. Thus, Azhdaha might just be A dragon. That would explain many things like his knowledge of ALL the archons. 🤷‍♂️

Actually this makes sense

This is my theory what if asmodeus stops us because we are the primordial one and the new heavenly principles wants hold us under his control and we dont remember anything because we have reincarnated

Truly amazing - love this

Bro connects the dots more than I can in maths

It's even more real if we look at the names of the gods and the shades. Shades: Angels, Archons: Demons. Demons are most likely to be bad, like, you know, they come from the second desender. And when Angels are most likely good, they come from the primodial one.

Awesome video, love theories like this

awesome video and combination of points

Oh and great video btw! You got a new subscriber:)

Geo element si associate with life, according with albedo