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Players ofGenshin Impactwho finally explore the region of Inazuma would soon realize that popular polearm wielder Raiden Shogun serves as the vessel of Beelzebul, serving as the current Electro Archon. Fans interested in learning more about Raiden Shogun’s story can do so in her “Imperatrix Umbrosa Chapter,” which serves as her Story Quest.
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Much in the vein of other Story Quests, completing Raiden Shogun’s story inGenshin Impactisn’t exactly as a breeze. When players enter Act 2 of her story, “Cleansing Light” becomes a rather tricky mission to accomplish. This is especially the case if players haven’t been paying attention to what’s happening around them. In this situation, where are the “marks left behind” being asked of in this quest?
Unlocking Story Quests: A Quick Runthrough
While fans may have heard of the Cleansing Light storyline as a quest that provides interestinginsights intoGenshin Impactlore, it may help for players to remember that Cleansing Light is aStory Quest. Unlike other quests, a Story Quest is tied into the lore of specific characters, meaning players need special requirements in order to unlock them. Here are some reminders for players who feel a bit lost as to why they haven’t unlocked Cleansing Light yet:
Unlocking Imperatrix Umbrosa Chapter
In the case of Raiden Shogun herself, Cleansing Light is a part of the her storyline called the Imperatrix Umbrosa Chapter. Aside from treating this as a typical Story Quest, players do need to complete specific requirements before they can even unlock the core questline. They need to attain the following first:
Who Is Raiden Shogun?
Before players dive deep into the Cleansing Light series of quests, it helps to understand more about the context of thisGenshin Impactquest to further learn of its implications in the larger meta. At its core, Cleansing Light is part of a questline available only after unlockingRaiden Shogun, as this serves as her character arc in the game.
InGenshin Impact, Raiden Shogun serves as the stern yet honorable ruler of Inazuma. WiththeGenshin Impactcharacter renowned for her swordsmanship, the Shogun won’t stop at nothing to protect the dear nation in the name of her Archon. In fact, Raiden Shogun is actually an artificial vessel created by Ei, the Electro Archon, to serve as her body when on the mortal realm. When Ei is meditating in the Plane of Euthymia, the Shogun takes over through an artificial intelligence and follows Ei’s orders.
Recap: The Imperatrix Umbrosa Chapter (So Far)
While players can dive straight ahead and complete the rest of the Cleansing Light’s requirements and finish the quest, fans ofGenshin Impactlore may want to look into the larger context of the Cleansing Light storyline - particularly, theImperatrix Umbrosa Chapterwhich serves as the name of Raiden Shogun’s overarching Story Quest.
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At its core, this Story Quest aims to reconcile Ei and Raiden Shogun’s feelings about the state of Inazuma at the present, and how their perception of “Wishes” and “Eternity” are affected by certain events that plague the town. Players who just unlocked Raiden Shogun and want to get to know her intimately would benefit greatly in learning more about her personality when pursuing this Story Quest.
Act 1: Reflections Of Mortality
Before players actually dive deep into Cleansing Light, it may first help to at least get some insight as to what’s happened to Raiden Shogun around after the time she met the Traveler. These events are elaborated inAct 1: Reflections of Morality, which is the first half of Raiden Shogun’s Story Quest, composed of four (4) quests.
This particular story arc revolves around Ei andthe powerful Raiden Shoguntaking a trip around Inazuma to tend to some matters, particularly a raging thunderstorm that threatens to ravage the region. Throughout their journey, Ei and her vessel get to expand on the way they understand the concept of “Eternity,” something Ei can physically interact with, and how their experience in the world is drastically different from what they’ve expected.
Act 2: Transient Dreams
After players complete Act 1, they can proceed withAct 2: Transient Dreams. This serves as the final half of Raiden Shogun’s Story Arc, which will have her and the Traveler avert an impending apocalypse that strikes from deep within the recesses of Eternity. Again, this questline is broken into a series of quests, this time three (3) objectives. It’s in this Act that players get to experience Cleansing Light.
Enter Cleansing Light: A Summary
When players begin Act 2: Transient Dreams of Raiden Shogun’s Story Quest, they are greeted with its first quest:Cleansing Light. In here, players finally get to see up close the thunderstorm brewing over the horizon in Act 1. However, this weather phenomenon turned out much worse than players have anticipated. After encountering a horde of rifthounds, Raiden Shogun comes to their aid and notices how the presence of rifthounds were similar to incidents that happened in Inazuma some 500 years prior, around the same time of the Cataclysm that engulfed the ancient civilization of Khaenri’ah.
Ei and Raiden Shogun eventually reveal that, because of the Sacred Sakura, the Ley Lines surrounding Inazuma are constantly purified of filth. Due to the ongoing thunderstorms, tainted filth allow violent memories to resurface, while purified ones allow peaceful memories to manifest. As a result, Cleansing Light will have players encounter various people who once lived in Inazuma, almost all of which have encountered Ei at some point.
Step 1: Talk To Katheryne
Players officially begin Cleansing Light by treating it as an ordinary commission. Due to the alarming presence of the thunderstorm near Inazuma, it makes sense for an adventuring folk like the Traveler to want to aid in preparation, evacuation, and other affairs. As such, they need to talk to Katheryne in Inazuma.
Doing so will prompt her to inform the player that rifthounds have started targeting the Sacred Sakura, with the Tenryou Commission being heavily outnumbered in the process. If players teleport to the Grand Narukami Shrine and walk a bit northeast, they will immediately spot rifthounds wreaking havoc in the area.
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Step 2: Fight The Rifthounds
When players encounter the rifthounds near the Sacred Sakura, they immediately turn aggressive and fight them. Players need to defeat them with variousGenshin Impactweapons like Swordsin order to progress through the story. The fight will have players fight three (3) Rockfond Rifthound Whelps, three (3) Rockfond Rifthounds, three (3) Thundercraven Rifthounds, and two (2) Thundercraven Rifthound Whelps.
While players can dispatch of these waves easily, it makes sense for them to feel a bit overwhelmed. And just when players think things are about to get much difficult, a friendly face will appear to help them out: Raiden Shogun.
Step 3: Find The Marks Left Behind
Perhaps the most confusing aspect of Cleansing Light, players are now instructed to look formarks left behindin order to access more of Inazuma’s history. To do this, players need to traverse a certain path through these marks, which aren’t easily identified through the Traveler’s special vision. Instead, players need to spotbluish slash marks, similar to the color of when the Sacred Sakura is damaged. After Paimon’s cue, players need to head right and straight to a broken bridge. Passing it will lead to a mark sprawled on a cliff side, which players need to climb up. Afterwards, they need to go forward past floating cubes and down the cliffside beside a waterfall, where the final mark is sprawled on the road. Afterwards, a cutscene happens and players will get acquainted with the spirit of a samurai.
Step 4: Defeat More Rifthounds
While players have technically found the marks left behind for Cleansing Light, they may as well continue the rest of the quest. After finishing the previous task, players - now onlyas Raiden Shogun and her trusted Sword- have to go down the rocky path and notice yet another batch of rifthounds plaguing the area. Thankfully, the skillset of the Raiden Shogun should be able to help players eliminate the threat much faster. What’s integral here is defeating the rifthounds as soon as possible, as this will eventually trigger a cutscene involving Furuyama and a hint as to what happened to Inazuma in the past.
Step 5: Find The Tea Master
After the rather exhausting battles against rifthounds usingvariousGenshin Impactcharactersand searching for clues, players at least get a calmer way of capping off the rather long quest. In this final part of the quest, Furuyama, who wanted to serve tea to his guests, needed players to go borrow a tea set. They’re directed to the Kamisato Estate, where Hirano would be asking them to wait. This is a good time for Raiden Shogun to answer questions players have about Inazuma’s past. After acquiring the tea set, players can return to Furuyama to continue their conversation. Unfortunately, with the Ley Line too weak to keep Furuyama’s presence, players would simply have to enjoy a nice cup of tea with Raiden Shogun.
Genshin Impactwas released in 2020 and is now available on PC, PS4, PS4, iOS, and Android.
