Asmoday

Asmoday^[6] is the Ruler of Space among the Four Great Rulers of the Heavenly Principles. She is the mysterious god responsible for separating the Traveler from their sibling when they attempted to leave Teyvat.^[7]

Profile

As the Ruler of Space, Asmoday governs over the laws of space in Teyvat. Like the other Great Rulers, her existence predates any Archon.^[8]

When facing the twins Asmoday appeared as an arrogant supremacist who looked down on mortals due to them being what she perceived to be lesser beings.^[7] She presented herself as merciless and emotionless when dealing with mortals, as if she were handling mere pests. Being the only Shade to be described as lacking empathy.

Despite seemingly looking down on humans she has spent several years collecting parts of fallen civilizations that once populated Teyvat and made sure the humans trapped there wouldn't die for any reason.^[9] At the same time, her coldness and callousness made her leave her creations to keep guard of her domain, with Melanta desperately asking why she abandoned them, as well as not caring she trapped several life forms against their wills.

Despite appearing to be lacking empathy, it did not make her more loyal to the Heavenly Principles. Instead she is the only Great Ruler that has outright opposed her former master, as Ronova suggest it only possible if she loves her new master more than herself.^[6]

Appearance

As with the other Shades, Asmoday has the appearance of a tall woman with pale skin. She had long, free-flowing cloud-white hair that floated unnaturally behind her head. Her amber eyes both had a small line going horizontally across their pupils.

Story

In the time period known as "When the Doves Held Branches," the Heavenly Principles descended upon the world of Teyvat from the sea of stars. They battled against the Seven Sovereigns and, to that end, created four shining shades of themself, one of which was Asmoday. 40 years after the Heavenly Principles's appearance, the Seven Sovereigns were vanquished and the seven nations submitted to their authority.^[4]

The people of Arcadia once worshipped Asmoday^[10] alongside Istaroth,^[11][12] and originally built the Temple of Space in her honor. Following a disaster, the Temple of Space was lifted into the heavens, where its presence and shadow were concealed from the world. Meanwhile, the ruins left behind on the surface were eventually expanded and transformed into a sanatorium.^[10]

During the temple's halcyon days, its god was never present; only after the temple's destruction did Asmoday's gaze briefly fall upon it, transforming it into what it is today in order to store various entities and items of interest. From that moment onward, it served as a silent watchtower overlooking the world and was designated by her as "Segment-Domain Tau."^[10]

To maintain the temple, Asmoday created the Domain Keepers, giving two of them the names of Melanta and Nihilita before leaving for unknown reasons, however, Melanta seemed to harbour suspicions that her creator abandoned them to join with her new master, by pleading to her in order to seek answers. After her disappearance, Nihilita opened his eye after countless aeons of nescience and came to understand the truths of the world.^[13][14] By doing so, he defied Asmoday's will, abandoned his duties as a Watcher, and left the temple. Melanta, however, remained in the Cage of Suchness and assumed control of the temple, condemning Nihilita as a traitor while rigidly enforcing his creator's laws.^[15]

In her absence, the other Rulers began introducing objects they found interesting into the exhibition halls of the Temple of Space and allowing minor changes.^[15][16] They commissioned Venipi to recreate a Great Red Sand complex from memory, resulting in the present-day Desert Pavilion.^[17]

About 500 years ago

When the Traveler and their sibling attempted to leave Teyvat to escape from the Cataclysm,^[18] Asmoday blocked their path. Calling herself the "Sustainer of Heavenly Principles", she denounced the "arrogation of mankind"^{[Note 1]}, and engaged with the twins in battle. She summoned swarms of dark red cubes to attack them (similar to the dark red cubes that ravaged Khaenri'ah)^[19] and trapped each twin individually within the cubes.^[7] Asmoday kept the Traveler's sibling inside a coffin as a exhibit item in the Temple of Space.^[20]

Upon being completely engulfed by her powers, the Traveler fell into a deep sleep and experienced countless nightmares.^[21] Once they awoke five hundred years later, their powers had been sealed away and they found no trace of their sibling. Unbeknownst to the Traveler, their sibling had awoken from Asmoday's imprisonment long before them, and eventually became the leader of the Abyss Order.^[19][22][23]

Present Day

Asmoday's whereabouts are currently unknown to the other Shades, leading to speculation from Istaroth that she may have defected, which Ronova conjectures that she would not do unless she "loves her new master more than her own self."^[6] During the Traveler's meeting with their sibling in Natlan, Asmoday's portals can be seen closing, suggesting that she may have been eavesdropping on their conversation.^[24] Later, when the Traveler is sent to Asmoday's personal domain, the Temple of Space, by her former attendant Nihilita, they ultimately learn that Asmoday has abandoned the Temple and seemingly her duties imposed on her by her creator, resulting in the rules of the Temple beginning to falter. In her absence her attendant Melanta seized control of the Temple as best he could in an attempt to prevent it from straying from its assigned purpose, but in doing so he violated the rules imposed on him resulting in his self-destruction beginning and his increasingly brutal and desperate acts to uphold the Temple's rules.

Ultimately, the Traveler defeats Melanta, and his self-destruction is completed. As they walk out with Zeitlind, however, another of Asmoday’s portals can be seen closing, implying that she might be eavesdropping once again.^[25]

Quests and Events

Archon Quests

• Prologue
  • Act I: The Outlander Who Caught the Wind
    • Wanderer's Trail (cutscene)

Character Mentions

Character Stories

Character	Stories
Traveler	Character Story 1

Gallery

Official JP Voice Actor Announcement

Asmoday's portal

Asmoday during her battle against the Traveler twins

Asmoday portal as seen in A Space and Time Without You

Asmoday portal as seen in Magic Mountain - The Final Judgment

Genshin Impact's New Opening Cutscene｜Genshin Impact

Teyvat Chapter Interlude Teaser- The Gods' Limits - Genshin Impact

Trivia

• Asmoday bears resemblance to Kiana Kaslana as the Herrscher of the Void, who comes from another HoYoverse game, Honkai Impact 3rd.
  • The two also share the same Chinese and Japanese voice actresses.
  • Both have power over space.
  • Both have the four-pointed symbol from the portal that Asmoday uses.
  • The connection between Asmoday and Kiana Kaslana was hinted during a program held on March 18, 2020, for the second Closed Beta Test of Genshin Impact.^[26] The program was hosted by Wei Liu and combat designer Aquaria.^{[Note 2]}
• It is heavily implied that Asmoday’s "new master" is the Traveler's Sibling as Melanta states, "My creator, my lord... would you choose (her/him) and abandon me?" The pronoun changes depending on the player's chosen Traveler. If Aether is chosen as the Traveler, Melanta says "her", referring to Lumine. If Lumine is chosen as the Traveler, Melanta says "him", referring to Aether.^[25]
• Asmoday's portals are shaped like four-pointed stars, a common design motif in Genshin Impact.
• Asmoday's red cubes can be seen faintly behind the Irminsul during Chapter III.^[27]
• Asmoday shares voice actresses with multiple characters across various voice-over languages:
  • In Chinese, Hu Tao, Durin and Asmoday are all voiced by Dian Tao.
  • In English, Qiqi and Asmoday are both voiced by Christie Cate.

Aliases and Titles

• Asmoday is known by these aliases or titles:
  • Ruler of Space^[6]
  • Sustainer of Heavenly Principles^[7]
  • Unknown God^[7]
  • God of Space^[15]
  • Lord of Emptiness^[9]
  • Creator (by Melanta)^[25]
  • Lord of Space^[28]
  • Master of Space^[29]

Etymology

• "Asmoday" is likely derived from Asmodeus, one of the Kings of Hell, ranked 32nd in the Ars Goetia.

Notes

Other Languages

Change History

References