Genshin Impact: Towards Godhood

Babel is a falcon of the tribe.

From her textual notes, it is clear she is not purely a desert native.

Her parents were scholars of the Sumeru Akademiya's Vahumana. Before Babel's mother gave birth, the couple arrived in the desert to research the pilgrimage route of the "Vourukasha Oasis."

Of course, there may have been other reasons for their journey. It is unusual for a mother nearing childbirth to venture into the desert solely for research—though it's not impossible if they were both fervent scholars.

One hypothesis presented in the text suggests that the father had a low status and possibly desert blood, while the mother came from a sage's family, creating a classic elopement scenario.

The issue of Babel's parents is resolved, now we return to the story of how Babel became a falcon.

The story is somewhat awkward.

At the crucial moment of childbirth, the husband disappeared, leaving only a mercenary to care for Babel's mother.

Clearly, mercenaries are unlikely to be skilled in childbirth.

The result was that Babel was born, and her mother, barely surviving the birth, was left dying due to complications.

The mercenary chose to kill her to spare her further suffering.

Later, the mercenary found Babel's father in the desert, demanded payment, and, finding he had none, killed him too.

This story is bizarre and absurd.

Mercenaries' lack of a moral bottom line is their standard. Dehya's type, who prioritize loyalty over profit, are rare.

Dehya's noble behavior is due to her close relationship with the Homayani family. The head of the Homayani family treated her as a daughter, and the eldest daughter grew up with her. Employing Dehya and her mercenary group, the "Blazing Beast Hunters," was essentially a means to provide them with a legitimate way to earn a living.

The Homayani family didn't need mercenaries for anything significant, they just wanted to give them a fair opportunity to make money.

Dehya was never impoverished, so she had the chance to cultivate noble qualities.

But ordinary mercenaries are different.

When survival is a struggle, you can't expect them to have moral boundaries.

These two scholars hired mercenaries, arrived in the desert during the wife's labor, and the husband vanished into the desert, leaving the wife with mercenaries... It's just absurd.

The outcome, however, is both ridiculous and logical.

Finally, the mercenary took Babel back to the Tanit tribe. Raised by the Tanit tribe, she became a falcon and eventually rose to become the tribe's matriarch in the storyline.

The whole story is somewhat convoluted, but Babel is quite inspirational.

Babel adopted many foster sons, using them as her tools.

Rama was no exception.

Strictly speaking, every elder has their handy tools, but the tools depend on the person.

Their methods weren't as effective as Babel's, and in the end, they were driven out by Babel under the guise of justice.

Rama's expression was calm.

When someone lacks the ability but seeks something beyond their capacity, fate reveals its mocking nature.

Rama's ambitions surpassed Babel's, but he had a chance of success, whereas Babel was destined to fail.

Her failure shouldn't be mocked.

Rama knew things Babel didn't and had things Babel lacked, so his success over Babel's failure was not something to be overly proud of.

"When you feel like criticizing anyone, remember that not everyone in this world has had the advantages that you've had."

Rama remembered this lesson, so he did not ridicule Babel's ignorance but rather sympathized with his foster mother's future.

Of course, this is a matter of perspective.

Babel had been kind to him, so naturally, he sympathized with her.

But Babel's attack on the Traveler, and the Traveler's subsequent retaliation, was also justified.

"The world's core is elemental power, but the means to control it are not limited to the Vision."

Rama's expression remained calm.

Babel drew out a weapon containing a Spirit of Omen.

Vision holders are exceedingly rare. For instance, until the Traveler arrived and stayed in Inazuma, the Shogunate had only performed its "100th Vision Hunt Ceremony." From this, it can be inferred that Inazuma, including Watatsumi Island, had no more than 200 Vision holders.

Other regions likely have similar numbers.

Vision holders are rare, but wielding elemental power does not require a Vision.

Consider Liyue's adepti or Inazuma's warriors who can temporarily drive pyro or electro elements using forgotten techniques, or the Desert's Gilded Brigade, who rely on entities known as Spirits of Omen.

Their weapons contain broken Spirits of Omen, allowing them to wield elemental power indirectly.

In critical moments, they can summon Spirits of Omen to fight.

Different regions have different developments of elemental power.

Babel, of course, would not directly control a Spirit of Omen.

The weapon bearers are not the masters of the Spirits of Omen, they are more like servants.

Once a Spirit of Omen is summoned, someone must die to resolve the issue.

Either the enemy or the weapon's bearer.

She only intended to teach Rama a lesson but still valued him.

Rama's expression remained calm.

He didn't fully understand Babel or the monster "Blazing Desert Narrator's" skills.

Typically, this would be dealt with by Kaedehara Kazuha using a long E skill to gather enemies, followed by a bit of scattering damage. Normally, you might only remember she could summon a firebird.

The firebird is easy to kill, and once it's dead, she's even easier.

But that's actually not important.

Ignoring appearances and focusing on the core, these common monsters' skills are merely applications of elemental power.

Pyro lines, pyro nets, pyro balls... Different elemental structures bring different effects, which are essentially skills.

These abilities are easy to counter.

Rama raised his right hand, red-gold flames flowing in his palm.

He reached out and grasped the blazing crystal bullet shot by the weapon, then crushed it with a slight squeeze.

Babel's breath caught.

It was only the beginning, but it was all over.

Continuing to fight would force her to summon a Spirit of Omen for a desperate struggle.

She couldn't control the Spirit of Omen—though that was irrelevant, a Spirit of Omen's fury just needed one death to be resolved.

But judging by the current situation, that death would clearly not be Rama.

So she regained her composure, her rationality taking control again.

"You cannot perfectly control Spirits of Omen," Rama said calmly. "Mother, this desert has never belonged to the desert people."

"Then to whom does it belong?"

Grasping her staff, Babel took a deep breath.

"Five hundred years ago, it belonged to the Scarlet King. After the Scarlet King, it belonged to the rainforests."

Rama returned the Vision to his pocket.

"The desert is not lacking in heroes, but these heroes did not choose the desert."

"Cyno is quite capable, but he became the Great General Mahamatra of the Akademiya."

"Alhaitham is skilled, but he prefers to live a secluded life in Sumeru City."

"In Aru Village, Candace is very capable, but she prefers to avoid risks, focusing only on protecting Aru Village."

"Between the tribes, there is constant conflict."

"Resources and talents are taken by the rainforests. You know the problem, they know the problem, but none of them want to change it."

The world is not short of heroes.

What's missing are heroes willing to stand up for the desert.

"Do you want to be a hero?"

Babel's words were mocking. "But let me tell you, heroes are often just the playthings of tribal elders."

"They raise a hero, telling the tribe this is what everyone needs."

"But they refuse to give the hero any real power, only telling the hero to sacrifice and give."

"You're wrong, Mother." Rama's voice was calm. "I don't want to be a hero, I want to be the Scarlet King."

"The King of the Red Sands?" Babel was silent for a moment.

"The God of the Desert, the Scarlet King," Rama corrected.

(Chapter ends)