It’s Lantern Rite, the day where people honor the dead, celebrate the living, and send their wishes to the sky by releasing lanterns. It symbolizes renewal, remembrance, and the balance between life and death. During the festival, spiritual barriers weaken, so rituals are performed to keep peace and protect Liyue.

But this particular Lantern Rite is one that felt different from all of them. You’re walking the streets of Liyue Harbour on the day of Lantern Rite. But then you notice all around you that people are falling mysteriously ill, aging quickly and dying for no reason.

Through your powers, you’re able to go around people’s minds and gather information about this phenomenon. With various sources, this terrifying sickness is eventually identified as a Fetor of Death: a spiritual malaise tied to the weakening of an ancient seal called Tao Dou. Then through another source, you learn about Wangsheng Funeral Parlour and it’s people, specifically the director, known as Hu Tao.

You learn of her appearance and everything about her. Then through the memories of people nearby during Hu Tao’s and Aether’s conversation; a person known as The Traveler, you were able to learn about the ritual called “The Eight Gates Ritual.” Where eight mysterious gates are tied to the Ley Lines of Liyue. When all are lit, a massive discharge of spiritual energy should cleanse the Fetor and restore normal life — but there’s a catch: one person must act as the “Hidden Gate.”

And that one person is Hu Tao, who is chosen to be since she’s the most associated with the dead. Her role required her to stand at the point where life and death intersect, absorbing and guiding the backlash of the Fetor of Death away from Liyue. Then you learn about another person named “Lan Yan”, who crafts rattan figures shaped like Hu Tao that are connected to the ritual’s ley lines. These dolls are intended to bear part of the Fetor’s impact so Hu Tao doesn’t take the full brunt alone. Many others also have this doll to share that burden.

And then you find one part of that interesting. To bare such a burden for the people of Liyue. Through your powers, you try to search for this person named Hu Tao. You eventually locate her and then you feel your heartbeat skip a beat. Your connection to her felt very weak and this could only mean one thing; that something has gone wrong and that her soul was pulled to the border realm between Life and Death meaning she is bearing the full effect of the Fetor’s effects or in other words dying.

With your teleportation abilities, you disappear from the spot you were currently at and eventually enter that very same realm. In that same realm you see her, a girl presumably Hu Tao. She has long dark brown hair that fades into crimson red at the tips, usually worn loose with a few strands framing her face. Her eyes are bright red.

You see her currently greeting her deceased father and grandfather on a majestic space, as she currently walks to the path of light. You again teleport to her.

Just as she walks the final step of the bridge and stepping into the light, you stopped her by holding her hand and then said this…