This is a walkthrough for the Archon Quest, At Tunnel’s End, Light which is the final quest of the Interlude Chapter: Act 2 - Perilous Trail.

Description¶

You and the others make a valiant joint effort and finally manage to escape from the underground at the very last minute…

Steps¶

1. Talk to Yelan
2. Go back and meet up with the ones left behind
3. Go to the place Xiao mentioned / Talk to Xiao

Talk to Yelan¶

This quest is more of an epilogue than anything else. It’ll tie up the story for this arc of Archon Quests. After leaving the Domain from the previous quest, Yelan will find the final Note of Unknown Origin, and share it to the group. Apparently all of this information was left by Yelan’s ancestor, Boyang.

It all happened hundreds of years ago when two brothers received the Fantastic Compass. They took the device to The Chasm when they joined the war in Khaenri’ah. Although they left together, only one of them returned, and they had lost their sanity in the process. Yelan deduces that as they didn’t have Visions, Bosacius’ karma took its toll on them which is what made them eventually lose their minds, although this is just a theory.

From reading this letter, it appears that Boyang never found a way out, and ended his days here with Bosacius. This fractures Yelan’s hope a bit as she believes that there isn’t a way out. As Paimon flies around in a fit of panic, she accidently knocks the compass to the floor. Xiao and Yelan go to pick up at the same time, and this triggers the compass to light up. This gives Yanfei a thought. What if the space can conjure their memories, maybe she can conjure the book that the fantastic compass will was in as she read it all before she came here.

Although she didn’t memorize every word, the gist of the story was: “Millennia ago, an adeptus made a magic device to seal away evil monsters. Later, he made good friends with a human, and gave the device to him to use as a catalyst. A few years later, great demons haunted the mountains. The mortal and the adeptus joined forces to exorcize them using this same device. When mortal and adepti powers are combined, one can move the heavens and shake the earth. This contraption is proof that mortals and adepti may coexist, that there is unity between heaven and humanity.”

Yanfei thinks that because her bloodline is both adeptus and human, she can make the compass work. As she lays her hands on it again, the compass powers up…but only slightly. She thinks that this is due to her power not being strong enough. With the somewhat limited success, Yanfei suggests to the group that you head back to Kuki and Itto as she has a suggestion to make.

Go back and meet up with the ones left behind¶

Follow the tunnel east, and go through the hole in the wall back to camp, and talk to Kuki to trigger a scene. Kuki can see the news all over your faces, especially Yelan. She’s already admitting defeat, and tells them that it looks like there is no way out. The optimist that is Yanfei tells them that it isn’t over yet, and explains to them that she channeled her power into the compass.

Now comes her epiphany, she realizes that the compass doesn’t need one person who has the power of both the adeptus and a human, but the power of both of them, even if it is two different people. Her idea is for Xiao, a full-blown adeptus, and Yelan, a human with training in the magic arts. If they can generate enough power, they may be able to reverse the effects of the compass. Both Yelan and Xiao agree to the plan, and Yelan will suggest you all rest before trying it.

After a short rest, Yelan and Xiao will begin the process. Yelan will chant a spell on to the compass whilst Xiao will pour his adeptus energy in at the same time. The compass begins to glow before it shoots out a powerful beam into the air. Yanfei realizes that the fantastic compass is an amplifier, and Xiao will tell Yelan that he will maintain the energy level. Yelan takes a step back, and Xiao will increase the power level.

The compass begins to create a floor beneath the group, and begins lifting them up towards the beam of light. Out of nowhere, dark shadows appear, and begin to attack the group, almost like it’s trying to keep you here. Yelan fights back, and keeps the shadows at bay. As Xiao’s power begins to wane, he puts some extra effort in to keep it going. Xiao will have a flashback before going to The Chasm, and he’s talking to Zhongli who warns him of the potential dangers of the place.

When the scene flips back, the rest of the group will help Yelan fight the shadows, but the floor begins to crack, and Xiao’s mask shatters. Just when it looks like all is lost, Xiao will transport the group out, sacrificing the last of his power. The compass floor shatters with Xiao still standing on it, and he begins to fall back down. Once again, just as things look dire for Xiao, a mysterious power intervenes, and transports him out with the rest of the group.

All the group end up topside, and begin to converse. Yanfei is relieved that Xiao wasn’t left behind, and just as Yelan begins to tell Xiao what she is thinking, she thinks better of it, and thanks him for saving their lives. He’ll tell you that he couldn’t have done it on his strength alone, and you’ll thank Yelan too. Yelan will tell the group to get some rest, and she’ll scout the area for any unusual activity.

After Yelan goes off to scout, Yanfei will tell you that it appears that Yelan really believes that she didn’t contribute much, and that she’s convinced Xiao saved you all. And since it’s impossible to persuade Xiao of anything, she gave up talking to him. Paimon tells Xiao that Yanfei is criticizing him, and although she’ll deny it, Xiao actually agrees with her. Paimon suggests you go check up on Itto as he’s been asleep through this whole ordeal, and when you go over to check on him, he’ll finally wake up.

In typical Itto fashion, he’ll tell you that he had one hell of a power nap, before he realizes that you’re not underground anymore. He’ll ask how that’s possible, and Yanfeil will tell him it’s a long story. Yanfei will first thank the Arataki gang for their help before apologizing for putting them in this situation. Itto will brush the apology off telling her he’d still be in a jail cell if it wasn’t for her. Yanfei offers to the group a celebratory meal in Liyue, but you and Paimon will turn it down as you want to talk to Xiao. Before they leave, Ushi will tell Itto something, and he’ll translate it to Paimon.

Once the group has left, head over and talk to Xiao. You can see that Xiao has been waiting for you, but before you can have a private conversation, Yelan finishes scouting the area. She’ll remind you about the confidentiality agreement, before she tells you that she’s not finished investigating The Chasm just yet, and then she’ll head to Liyue harbor, most likely to report the events that happened to Ningguang. Now that you are all alone with Xiao, he’ll tell you that he wants to go some place if you have the time.

Go to the place Xiao mentioned / Talk to Xiao¶

Teleport to the area where Pervases is. This is southeast of Lingju Pass. Xiao will tell you that he had a realization back when he was with Bosacius. This is that although the yakshas are known as valiant warriors or veterans of war, they are nothing more than slaughters. And after he has lived so long, maybe sacrificing his life to save others wouldn’t have been the worst way to go. Although you tell him that you know he doesn’t believe that, he begins to question his own sanity.

Before he can go down that road, Paimon tells him that Ushi wanted her to tell him something important. Apparently, Ushi said “He has the power to exorcize demons, so people use him to fend them off. But after he met Itto, he never left his side. He also said that he doesn’t have any grand philosophies, he just thinks we should spend our lives around the people who make us happiest. Maybe there aren’t so many rules about how we should or shouldn’t live our lives in this world after all.”

What Ushi was trying to say was that although Xiao is a yaksha, and the power a yaksha has can be harmful to other people, you shouldn’t use that as an excuse to be around them. Paimon further explains that people with Vision are more resistant to the yaksha power too, and a lot of you really care about him. This makes Xiao laugh as it reminds him of how Bosacius and the other yaksha were, and he’ll tell you all the names of them. He then admits that Yelan was right, that neither his nor her plan was necessarily bad, and both of them had their drawbacks. Furthermore, he wouldn’t have been able to do it without everyone’s help. He’ll also tell you that the person who intervened to help him was none other than Rex Lapis, Zhongli.

You’ll get a flashback scene of all the yakshas of when they were alive, and you’ll see just how close they all were to each other. Before Xiao leaves, he’ll mention that the yaksha, Bonanus once said that it’s rare for a yaksha to find repose for their soul. As he calls them all soldiers, you’ll remind him that they were heroes, not just soldiers. Xiao seems to like the term heroes and vows that heroes will always look out for each other. When the scene ends, this current set of Archon Quests will come to a close…for now.