History NightmareFuel / GenshinImpact

* [[https://youtu.be/f_5-i0ZJfds?t=152 Scaramouche finally appears in the main story as of the 2.1 update]], and good ''lord'' does he make for an intimidating foe. His SoftSpokenSadist tendencies are in full force now, and it's blatantly clear that his cheerful, carefree facade at the beginning of Unreconciled Stars has been completely shed by this point.

* Klee may be an adorable and energetic little girl, but she's capable of engineering ''very'' powerful bombs. It's probably unsettling to live in the same city with someone who makes explosives for fun, even if that person is a sweet kid who doesn't mean harm and is still learning what consequences are.
** There are probably those who find the fact that it is a little girl who is still learning about consequences more disturbing. Someone deliberately setting off bombs to harm would be calculated about to ensure their own escape and survival. Klee could do even more harm out of ignorance and innocence.

* Dragonspine's Wyrmrest Valley is full of skeletal remains that belonged to Durin, a dragon that was defeated by Dvalin eons ago. The sheer scale of these bone structures give an unsettling sense of just how big Durin was, apparently dwarfing even Dvalin himself. Furthermore, there's a cave in the center of the valley which contains his ''still'' beating heart. One must wonder if Durin is really, truly dead or simply laying in wait.

!! Prologue: The Outlander Who Caught the Wind

!! Chapter I: Farewell, Archaic Lord

* The Tsaritsa herself, the [[TheGhost currently unseen]] Cryo Archon who wants control over all the other Archons' territories, starting with Venti's Mondstadt. She's the one who empowered the eleven Fatui Harbingers and gave us La Signora, Tartaglia, Scaramouche, and all the other Fatuu we haven't been introduced to yet, but judging by the looks of it they're going to be every little bit as crazy and bloodthirsty too.
!! Chapter I, Act IV: We Will be Reunited
* The "We Will be Reunited" Archon Quest kicks off with the Traveler going out to investigate the Treasure Hoarders' activities around some ruins connected to the Abyss Order. All part and parcel, nothing you haven't seen before, you could do this in your sleep. Then you enter the ruins. It's empty besides a handful of Hilichurls, even though Hoarders from two different countries set up camp down there, and the architecture slowly becomes more hostile the deeper you traverse. Then you reach the final room to find an Anemo Archon statue suspended upside down from the ceiling while a dead (yes, dead -- Paimon confirms this) Treasure Hoarder kneels frozen before it.

* TheReveal that, most likely due to the God's actions, the Traveler's sibling seems to have succumbed to [[BrainwashedAndCrazy some sort of]] [[TheCorruption corruption]] and is now the ''leader'' of the Abyss Order.
** The InternalReveal comes at the end of an extremely creepy quest chain and is paired with a reveal about Khaen'riah that is pure NightmareFuel in its own right.

* Inazuma's Archon Quest reveals a new fact about Visions: they aren't just a magic trinket rewarded for one's ambitions, they are literally ambitions physically manifested as a source of power. They're so integral to Vision Bearers that, when they lose them, their memories and sense of self start to decay to the point of becoming into a completely different person altogether. You get to witness the end result in grueling detail when you talk to citizens who were targeted by the Vision Hunt Decree, and it's telling that one of the Traveler's dialogue options afterwords is calling it a fate worse than death.

* After defeating Signora in a duel where the loser is executed by the Raiden Shogun, we get a firsthand look at the ''[[SignatureMove Musou no Hitotachi]]'' in action and well... let's just say Signora learns [[CharacterDeath the hard way]] [[DoNotTauntCthulhu why pissing off an Archon]] isn't a good idea. To wit, after a single strike, Signora [[DelayedCausality gets hacked up by several slashes]] before a pillar of lightning descends and [[NoBodyLeftBehind literally reduces her to ash]], leaving nothing but her crown and a crackling, blackened spot where Signora stood two seconds ago. She definitely deserved her fate, but ''Jesus Christ''...

* After Signora is defeated, Raiden honors the Traveler's victory over her by allowing them to leave her palace alive, but you don't get to run out to enjoy the spoils like every other time you won a boss battle. Instead, you slowly walk through the palace grounds while a thunderstorm boils around you, thunderbolts striking inches away as your vision [[InterfaceScrew grows blurry]] from the crushing migraine caused by unbridled Electro energy. The only thing stopping Raiden from vapourizing you is formality.

!! Chapter III: Truth Amongst the Pages of Purana

* The uncanny atmosphere that permeates throughout Act II, until Traveler recovers their memories. You, the player, can clearly see that something is wrong, what with the events of Sabzeruz Festival repeating themselves over and over, the world itself occasionally flickering into sepia tones, and disembodied voice talking about some sort of experiment inbetween the loops, but Traveler can only feel the sense of deja vu that is growing stronger and stronger with each loop. They finally realise that something is wrong when Farris, the Knight of Flowers, asks them to guess which of the five boxes of candies has the sunsettia flavor, and the options are:

!! Chapter III, Act VI: Caribert

!! Chapter IV: Masquerade of the Guilty

** Lyney recounts how Lynette and a few girls were a victim of HumanTraffickers and Fontaine for all its numerous laws couldn't protect them nor bring the guilty nobles accountable due to LoopholeAbuse. Their only option was to rely on Arlecchino (who is a Fatui Harbinger with her own agenda) and the House of Hearth in order to regain the safe environment that they needed. His wording also implies that the issue is still ongoing in the present. It hits even harder when Lyney's story quest features a [[https://youtu.be/f1sVxjH07DA?t=32 cutscene showing the twins' younger selves]], with information given beforehand that they met Cesar only after they had became House operatives, and thus emphasising that Lyney and Lynette had to go through the whole ordeal ''by themselves'' when they were very young.

* After her meeting with Furina and the Traveler, Arlecchino reveals that she actually went after Furina's life earlier to see if she had the Hydro Gnosis. Furina was completely at Arlecchino's mercy due to being alone and totally defenseless, despite how she normally has bodyguards like [[OneWomanArmy Clorinde]] around. And while Arlecchino spared Furina's life since she didn't have the Gnosis, it's frightening how ''easily'' she was able to corner Furina in the first place. What's more, Furina recognizes Arlecchino from the encounter, but is too terrified of her to speak against the fourth Harbinger and too much of a SlaveToPR to admit that [[AintTooProudToBeg she was forced to beg for her life]]. It draws a disturbing parallel to real life situations where people have been assaulted and are too scared to name their attacker.

* The fight with the All-Devouring Narwhal has you standing above the Primordial Seawater with the whale diving in and out of it and through portals in the air. When you hit it enough times to anger it, it EATS you and you are sucked into a pocket dimension where you fight some kind of warrior. We are given [[NothingIsScarier no information on this shadow]] or how it could summon phantom versions of Geovishaps, Hat Jellyfish, or Consecrated Beasts.

!! Liyue

!! Inazuma

!! Enkanomiya

!! The Chasm

!! Sumeru

!! Fontaine

* The web-event "Phantom of the Night", in sharp contrast to the other web-events, it is DarkerAndEdgier in nature and is more akin to a horror story for a reason.

** The story's ending is Arlecchino musing that only in death that they are equal, and has two additional corpses (and their blood) to clean up. While she normally targets {{Asshole Victim}}s, it makes one wonder what would happen to the law enforcement, and journalist, if ''they'' are unlucky enough to stumble upon the Knave while conducting an investigation (especially those from the Special Security and Surveillance Patrol and the Marechausse Phantom)....

-->Number four.
-->Number four.
-->Number four.
-->Number four.
-->Number four.

* The BossBattle of the ''Shadows Amidst Snowstorms'' is revealed to be the Fell Flower, a mutated Whopperflower that learned how to impersonate a human. After it's defeated, Albedo speculates that it may have created through Durin's corrupted blood seeping into the leylines underneath Dragonspine.
* Albedo's BigDamnHeroes moment in the Version 2.3 Shadows Amidst Snowstorms event, where he sneaks up from behind and ''stabs his EvilDoppelganger in the back.'' It's one of the most graphic scenes ever shown onscreen in Genshin. [[NightmareRetardant And then he turns into a giant Whopperflower.]]

** Uther's grudge against Chiori may be another case of EvilIsPetty, but it's got one part that's disturbing. After Chiori confronts him for sending thugs after Kirara, Uther begins spreading MaliciousSlander that she associates with criminals and obtains her materials through illegal means. He also uses a photo taken during their previous confrontation on the front page of the article he had printed to make her look like a violent maniac. This causes Chiori's to be flooded with refund requests and for her providers to pull their support for her right before Fashion Week. What makes this scary is ''[[RealismInducedHorror this sort of thing happens in real life]]'', with famous figures having their careers ruined because someone decided to spread lies about them, even if the lies are proven false.

** Uther's grudge against Chiori may be another case of EvilIsPetty, but it's got one part that's disturbing. After Chiori confronts him for sending thugs after Kirara, Uther begins spreading MaliciousSlander that she associates with criminals and obtains her materials through illegal means. He also uses a photo taken during their previous confrontation on the front page of the article he had printed to make her look like a violent maniac. This causes Chiori's to be flooded with refund requests and for her providers to pull their support for her right before Fashion Week. What makes this scary is ''this sort of thing happens in real life'', with famous figures having their careers ruined because someone decided to spread lies about them, even if the lies are proven false.

* The Ancient Colors World Quest goes into the backstory of the [[AdorableAbomination Melusines]] and has you travel through Merusea Village... which is under the skeletal remains of Elynas, an abyssal entity somewhat larger than Durin. Towards the end of the quest we find out that the Melusines were created from Elynas' blood during a massive battle that occurred within Elynas' corpse. Later on the Traveler gets to speak with Elynas' spirit, during which it describes itself as something that lived within a "cosmic darkness" before its mother (implied to be Rhinedottir) brought it to Teyvat, and only allowed itself to be destroyed after [[HeelRealization realizing its very existence was ruining Fontaine]]. While it's a relief that Elynas isn't interested in being brought back to life, it's still horrifying knowing something that massive caused so much damage during the Cataclysm.

* Exploring the Chasm's underground mining area without entering its deeper levels leads you to a large underground cavern where the Ruin Serpent resides. On the northwestern end of this cavern is a long tunnel littered with gears that leads back to the ''mines' main entrance tunnel''. Realizing the close proximity of this populated area to the lair of a massive, tunnel-boring ''war machine'' would certainly make one [[FridgeHorror raise more than a few additional concerns]] about the safety of everyone who continues to toil away in the underground mines.

** And it ''still'' gets even worse when you actually explore the place. The decay gauge in the whole area starts at [[FourIsDeath '''four''']] - the highest in the game - and continues to fill up on its own if you stay away from the safe patches. As you go deeper and deeper, you'll start encountering Rifthounds and Ruin Machines, [[FromBadToWorse making exploration and combat extremely dangerous.]] And in the deepest part of the area, deep beneath the ground and behind an ancient seal, lies the [[IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace Land of Grounded Dreams]] - the very place where Marana's Avatar was sealed hundreds of years ago. Here, the miasma and death is so prevalent that ''even the water and air has turned black'', and it is here that you will fight the physical embodiment of the Withering itself.

** And it ''still'' gets even worse when you actually explore the place. The decay gauge in the whole area starts at '''four''' - the highest in the game - and continues to fill up on its own if you stay away from the safe patches. As you go deeper and deeper, you'll start encountering Rifthounds and Ruin Machines, making exploration and combat extremely dangerous. And in the deepest part of the area, deep beneath the ground and behind an ancient seal, lies the [[IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace Land of Grounded Dreams]] - the very place where Marana's Avatar was sealed hundreds of years ago. Here, the miasma and death is so prevalent that ''even the water and air has turned black'', and it is here that you will fight the physical embodiment of the Withering itself.

** After the whale is defeated, Childe's master Skirk finally appears, casually admitting that this AnimalisticAbomination was the [[AC:pet of her master]]. Who would be crazy enough to want such a hungry beast? Surtalogi the Foul, a person who like the alchemist Rhinedottir, seeks a "form of perfection." Whatever that meant, if his pet is capable of destroying an entire nation, there's no knowing what Surtalogi is capable of doing.

** To make it worse, it is shown that when a Harbinger tries to take a Gnosis they thrust themselves (their arm) into the body of an Archon. At the end of it all Furina was clutching her body, petrified from fear. It's hard to not see the scene as more than just an assassination, but [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rape]].

* Act V reveals the "crime" that the previous Hydro Archon, Egeria, was responsible for: turning her Oceanid followers into humanoid mimics because they wanted to walk alongside humanity. This was a noble endeavor, but Celestia saw fit to punish Egeria by dooming Fontaine's people to being wiped out by the prophecy because Egeria didn't get their permission to create human life. While the disaster was averted thanks to Focalors's scheme, it's still disturbing to think how the Heavenly Principles was willing to give out such DisproportionateRetribution for Egeria's actions. What makes it worse is how Egeria committed the original sin: by using energies from the Primordial Sea. This is no different from how Celestia created the Archon Authorities by stealing power from the Seven Sovereigns. And yet, despite having committed essentially the same crime, Celestia had the gall to punish Egeria and all of Fontaine for it. Focalors even calls Celestia out on it when she's speaking with Neuvillette.

** Even after Nahida and the Traveler purge the forbidden knowledge from it, Apep's only shift in tone is that it understands that [[PragmaticVillainy destroying humanity wouldn't make dealing with the Celestia any easier]], and it plans to enact its RageAgainstTheHeavens as soon as it's done healing up and basically tells Nahida to piss off. Unlike some of the previous dragons encountered in the game, you really get the impression that the only reason human life exists in Sumeru is because Apep ''permits it'', and could revoke that permission whenever it wants.

* The Traveler and Paimon hatch a plan to figure out the loop’s true nature, so they decide to go to Sumeru City's border. The Traveler tells Paimon to stay behind so that if anything happens, Paimon will be there to see. Paimon reluctantly agrees, and the Traveler sets off. Except they never come back. Paimon saw them fade away after leaving Sumeru City and spent ''two days'' waiting and waiting at that wall to keep her promise to be on the look out. And that's not all. The Traveler didn't fade away into nothing. The Traveler left the "space" where everyone was having the shared Sabzeruz Festival dream and ended up in an empty desert where dream spaces were in a loop of appearing and disappearing as they were being harvested, and where "Dream Puppets" end up walking around aimlessly when they have no hosted dreams to be in. The Traveler sounds so ''terrified out of their mind'' in their message to their future self as they describe the hellish realm they ended up in, and when they discover what the loop's true nature is, they get omniously interrupted by the reset.

** Though unnerved by how badly they'd misjudged Furina's resolve, they nonetheless continue the trial, hounding her with increasing coldness and frustration as her protests get more dodgy and frantic, not understanding what could possibly be so important about her ToughLeaderFacade that's worth keeping secrets at the eleventh hour. Then, just when they've finally resolved the trial in their favor, out of nowhere, the Oratrice issues a ''death sentence for the Hydro Archon''. Only after Freminet returns with the prophecy's final stone tablet is it revealed that Furina being judged guilty by her people is itself another stage of the prophecy. Thus, by proving Furina was a human and not a god to try and force her to help them avert the coming disaster, ''[[SelfFulfillingProphecy they instead advanced it into its final stage, thereby locking all of Fontaine into its endgame]]''. While everything turns out alright in the end, it's quite terrifying to realize that Fontaine's impending doom ''[[NiceJobBreakingItHero was all your fault]]''.

* Thelxie's Fantastic Adventures final chapter gives us a heartbreaking amount of RealismInducedHorror, the seemingly uplifting story of Zuria trying to cure her son of his Loniness Syndrome, a sickness that causes severe delusions upon the inflicted, is turned on it's head when its revealed that while her son did have the sickness, he is no longer among the living. Zuria, who contrary to most examples of parents in these sorts of storylines was supportive and doing everything she could to help her son, left him alone in order to oversee an art exhibition specifically meant to help treat him, but that day alone was all that the fantasies needed to get the better of him and he drowned himself. Coupled with the loss of her husband not too long ago the poor woman developed a similar syndrome out of sheer regret of not being able to give her son a better life and everyone involved is terrified that she too will take her life if she is not helped.

* Thelxie's Fantastic Adventures final chapter gives us a heartbreaking amount of RealismInducedHorror, the seemingly uplifting story of Zuria trying to cure her son of his Loniness Syndrome, a sickness that causes severe delusions upon the inflicted, is turned on it's head when its revealed that while her son did have the sickness, he is no longer among the living. Zuria, who contrary to most examples of parents in these sorts of storylines was supportive and doing everything she could to help her son, left him alone in order to oversee an art exhibition specifically meant to help treat him, but that day alone was all that the fantasies needed to get the better of him and he drowned himself. Coupled with the lose of her husband not too long ago the poor woman developed a similar syndrome out of sheer regret of not being able to give her son a better life and everyone involved is terrified that she too will take her life if she is not helped

* One possible route of Sayu's Hangout Event [[UnexpectedlyDarkEpisode takes an unexpectedly dark turn.]] The event starts with Sayu revealing that she had actually received an order from the Shuumatsuban to assassinate the Traveler. If they choose to investigate this, they discover the Yashiro Commission member, Ogara's daughter has been kidnapped by a band of Kairagi, who [[WouldHurtAChild threatened to kill her]] unless Ogara had one of his ninja kill the Traveler. Ogara assigned the job to Sayu, assuming she'd drag her feet on it as usual, and is understandably horrified when it looks like [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior she actually did it]]. When Ogara meets with the Kairagi to report the Traveler's "death", they refuse to give his daughter back, and attempt to further blackmail him into having various members of the Tenryou Commission assassinated as well.

* Act V reveals the "crime" that the previous Hydro Archon, Egeria, was responsible for: turning her Oceanid followers into humanoid mimics because they wanted to walk alongside humanity. This was a noble endeavor, but Celestia saw fit to punish Egeria by dooming Fontaine's people to being wiped out by the prophecy because Egeria didn't get their permission to create human life. While the disaster was averted thanks to Focalors's scheme, it's still disturbing to think how the Heavenly Principles was willing to give out such DisproportionateRetribution for Egeria's actions.

** Though unnerved by how badly they'd misjudged Furina's resolve, they nonetheless continue the trial, hounding her with increasing coldness and frustration as her protests get more dodgy and frantic, not understanding what could possibly be so important about her ToughLeaderFacade that's worth keeping secrets at the eleventh hour. Then, just when they've finally resolved the trial in their favor, out of nowhere, the Oratrice issues a ''death sentence for the Hydro Archon''. Only after Freminet returns with the prophecy's final stone tablet is it revealed that Furina being judged guilty by her people is itself another stage of the prophecy. Thus, by proving Furina was a human and not a god to try and force her to help them avert the coming disaster, ''[[SelfFulfillingProphecy they instead advanced it into its final stage, thereby locking all of Fontaine into its endgame]]''. While everything turns out alright in the end, it's quite terrifying to realize that Fontaine's impending doom ''[[NiceJobBreakingItHero was all your fault.]]''

** Though unnerved by how badly they'd misjudged Furina's resolve, they nonetheless continue the trial, hounding her with increasing coldness and frustration as her protests get more dodgy and frantic, not understanding what could possibly be so important about her ToughLeaderFacade that's worth keeping secrets at the eleventh hour. Then, just when they've finally resolved the trial in their favor, out of nowhere, the Oratrice issues a ''death sentence for the Hydro Archon''. Only after Freminet returns with the prophecy's final stone tablet is it revealed that Furina being judged guilty by her people is itself another stage of the prophecy. Thus, by proving Furina was a human and not a god to try and force her to help them avert the coming disaster, ''[[SelfFulfillingProphecy they instead advanced it into its final stage, thereby locking all of Fontaine into its endgame]]''.

** After going through Act V, one sees another layer to Furina's distress after being assaulted. Arlecchino discovered the very thing Furina was trying to hide for five centuries: that she was a fake Archon. Furina had been ordered by Focalors to keep this secret ''at all costs'', or the prophecy would proceed and destroy all of Fontaine. Arlecchino nearly ruined five centuries of Furina's efforts to maintain the façade, efforts which had driven Furina nearly to the breaking point from stress and despair.

* During Furina's trial, our heroes force her into a corner by bringing some Primordial Seawater into the courtroom. They then force Furina to touch it to prove she's a god and not a human. She ends up doing so, despite knowing it could kill her instantly (though, thankfully, the water was actually diluted, so she'd only get off with Sinthe poisoning). Despite their need to learn Furina's deepest secret, putting Furina through that was one of the cruelest things the Traveler and their companions have ever done to someone. But that's not the worst part: the worst part is that, by proving Furina was a human and not a god, ''[[NiceJobBreakingItHero they almost destroyed Fontaine by causing the prophecy to be fulfilled]]''. And then, just as they realize what the real culprit is, the All-Devouring Narwhal shows up inside the opera house, looking for some "tasty" Fontainians to have for a snack. If it weren't for Childe and Neuvillette driving it off, a lot of innocent people would've been the huge whale's lunch.

* During Furina's trial, our heroes force her into a corner by bringing some Primordial Seawater into the courtroom. They then force Furina to touch it to prove she's a god and not a human. She ends up doing so, despite knowing it could kill her instantly (though, thankfully, the water was actually diluted, so she'd only get off with Sinthe poisoning). Despite their need to learn Furina's deepest secret, putting Furina through that was one of the cruelest things the Traveler and their companions have ever done to someone. But that's not the worst part: the worst part is that, by proving Furina was a human and not a god, ''they almost destroyed Fontaine by causing the prophecy to be fulfilled''. And then, just as they realize what the real culprit is, the All-Devouring Narwhal shows up inside the opera house, looking for some "tasty" Fontainians to have for a snack. If it weren't for Childe and Neuvillette driving it off, a lot of innocent people would've been the huge whale's lunch.

* During Furina's trial, our heroes force her into a corner by bringing some Primordial Seawater into the courtroom. They then force Furina to touch it to prove she's a god and not a human. She ends up doing so, despite knowing it could kill her instantly (though, thankfully, the water was actually diluted, so she'd only get off with Sinthe poisoning). Despite their need to learn Furina's deepest secret, putting Furina through that was one of the cruelest things the Traveler and their companions have ever done to someone. But that's not the worst part: the worst part is that, by proving Furina was a human and not a god, ''they almost destroyed Fontaine by causing the prophecy to be fulfilled''.
** And then, just as they realize what the real culprit is, the All-Devouring Narwhal shows up inside the opera house, looking for some "tasty" Fontainians to have for a snack. If it weren't for Childe and Neuvillette driving it off, a lot of innocent people would've been the huge whale's lunch.