Lee Ryder's Luna VIII Kaeya Theories
Due to request, here is my breakdown regarding my Kaeya theory/thoughts/speculation after playing through all the quests up to the 6.7/Luna VIII update. Spoilers ahead so proceed at your own discretion. I hope you enjoy<3
To begin, I would like to remind us all of some things that we learned all the way back in 1.0 while playing Kaeya's (K) Story Quest (SQ): Kaeya's Troubles as well as the Mondstadt Archon Quest (AQ).
It is after the defeating Dvalin in Act 3 of the AQ that we return to Mondstadt and find that it had been under attack while we cured the dragon. Amber tells us Kaeya was nowhere to be found during the fight, but upon entering the city we quickly run into him.
Before I remind us of what he said, I'd like to say that I believe Kaeya is not the liar the game wants you to think he is. Yes he has tricked us, but I believe there's truth to his words, but he speaks in riddles & sideways. He leads us astray with his words and twists them to make us THINK one thing but later on we realize they meant something else entirely once we have a greater understanding on how the world of Teyvat functions.
One example of this is how the context of his About Kaeya IV voice line changes. It reads:
Khaenri'ah, huh? You sure know a lot! The legacy of Khaenri'ah is long gone. The sinners are all that's left, and they're not worth mentioning
This line's context completely changed after we realized the truth about the Sinners of Khaenri'ah. He told us about the Sinners YEARS before we learned the truth.
I think he has been secretly giving us clues or hints this entire time about what is REALLY going on, and I will bring receipts as to why that is. Now back to the AQ, Kaeya tells us upon finding him that he speaks from the heart, though it is playfully said I think he is being honest about how he does speak from the heart and isn't lying.
He then goes on to say he is there because he is trying to gather his thoughts, an 'arduous task'. One so hard he would rather be 'taking out the trash' or helping the rest of the knights clear up the mess the attack on the city caused. The source of his issue is the Abyss Order (AO). He reveals he realized the city was vulnerable with Jean gone & the attack on the city, so he had stayed behind to find any AO who snuck into the city while the rest of the Knights (KOF) were distracted by the siege.
It seems that Kaeya is really thinking hard about what to say to us and how to say it.
It is here that K tells us that he stopped the AO and interrogated them. It is KAEYA who tells us about the AO Prince/Princess (who is none other than our sibling).
When Paimon asks how he came to know this information Kaeya gives us a cryptic answer of 'Let's just say I'm blessed with certain linguistic powers' and quickly distracts her an the Traveler by changing the subject and then runs away from Amber.
Jumping to K's SQ, We run into Kaeya in the KOF HQ with him apparently distraught. Upon seeing us he exclaimed:
"Oh, thank the Thousand Winds!"
While this seems harmless enough at first since everyone in Mond says 'Thank Barbatos' who IS the Anemo god, it actually is not so innocently said. Because the Thousand Winds is NOT Venti.
It is Istaroth, the Shade of Time.
Kaeya is the first person to mention her in the game and say praise to her despite NEVER once, in game dialogue, having said "Thank Barbatos" himself.
If that isn't sus enough, he immediately leads us on a wild goose chase looking for lost Arcadian ruins. Who were the Arcadians? They were an ancient civilization from Mond who built theThousand Winds Temple (dedicated to Istaroth)
AND they are also the ones who built the Temple of Space (dedicated to Asmoday) where our twin was locked up for at least a period of time after being captured by the Shade of Space/Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
All the way back in 1.0 K was hinting at where to look for clues for our sibling without directly telling us, and introducing us to things tied to Shades of Time & Space (Which is important. Remember that.), & connecting the Arcadians to his own family, specifically his grandpa.
Alright let’s skip ahead to Sumeru, and the Calibert AQ. We find Kaeya hanging out in Sumeru pretty quickly. He reminisces about the good ole days & tells us about the time he ran away from Dawn Winery to Sumeru as a young child because he wanted to know more about his roots.
But he says the only reason that he knew that Khaenri’ah was in Sumeru is because of a book he read as a child. Which is strange because in K’s Character Story 4 it specifically states that K’s bio dad looked off towards ‘their distant homeland of Khaenri’ah’
If it was THEIR distant homeland (meaning both Kaeya & his bio dad) and not just his FATHER’s homeland, why did Kaeya have no idea it was in Sumeru before reading about that in a book? Why did he say the first time going to Sumeru was when he ran away? Did he not have to leave Khaenri'ah and travel across Sumeru to get to Mond?
K then admits he doesn't know much about Khaenri'ah, which is odd again because it was stated it was HIS homeland too.
K then talks about how he thought he had a duty from his bio father to Khaenri'ah, but now wonders if he was left in Mond simply for a happier life, a Fate Kaeya happily accepts even if he is "Cut off from....certain things"
What are these certain things he is cut off from? A great question and a very sus statement. But before we can dive into that Dainsleif interrupts and Kaeya lets us know he knew Dains was there the ENTIRE time and has admitted to seeing him in Mond before.
It is here Dains drops the ball and tells us the AO was founded by the Alberich clan. And K is a DIRECT descendant of the founder- Chlothar Alberich.
Chlothar existed during the Cataclysm & was cursed with Immortality (though has since mysteriously died). He teamed up with one of the Khaenri'ahn Sinners: Vedrfolnir (Dains' brother) who is the Sinner attributed with 'Time'.
Chlothar's 8 y/o son Calibert was cursed into a hilichurl. Upon Vedrfolnir's instruction Chlothar use the power of the Abyss and turned Claibert into the Loom of Fate. While this process killed Calibert, a piece of his conscious survived with the Loom
The Loom became a device that had the ability to weave its own Ley Lines into the planet. It was completed by the Abyss Twin with the purpose of creating new Ley Lines for a New Khaenri'ah before the Heavenly Principles (HP) awakes.
Let's turn our attention to the AQ A Space and Time for you. After saving Natlan from the Abyss, which appears to be a different threat than the AO, the Traveler runs into a woman named Diredyth who is from Khaenri'ah.
The Traveler and Paimon ask Dains about her since they are confused about her strange circumstances, and it is then that Kaeya is connected to her/circumstance via Paimon.
We later learn that Diredyth was actually not in her correct time. She was actually from 500 years ago and was able to appear before the Traveler because time and space folded in on themselves while the Abyss Twin placed the Loom of Fate in the Night Kingdom.
(It is also important to note that memories are key components needed to make the Loom work and Dainself was tricked into giving it his memories of Khaenri'ah)
As it does so we speak to our Abyss Twin, who is in a different time than us, but since time is folding in on itself we can briefly talk to them. It is here that we (the players) realize that Asmoday is currently spying on this conversation. Yet she does nothing to stop what is happening.
With the Loom of Fate in the Night Kingdom and all of the memories of Khaenri'ah gathered, the New Khaenri'ah's Ley Lines are complete but awaiting for a suitable area to create the New Khaenri'ah in the future.
Now let us jump to the Moon quest that released in this last patch of Nod Krai. If you complete the exploration you will find three hidden Moon Goddess cut scenes featuring Aria, Canon and Sonnet.
In them you find out that the Goddess were talking to/about Istaroth. It is implied that Istaroth had some "...feelings" about the Descender (aka the Heavenly Principles) was behaving.
We learn that the Sisters were also alarmed by the HP actions since the HP was actively killing the humans for a 'greater good'. Canon and Aria asked Sonnet not to do anything drastic in fear that the HP will hurt her if she intervenes.
It is at this moment that Canon says:
"Istaroth told me a word that only humans lay claim to...hope. As long as their is life, there is hope...There will always be hope"
And who is the Last Hope? Who is the man who has told us about Istaroth since day one?
None other than Kaeya Alberich.
It is also important to note that the Dragon King Nibelung (who created the Moon goddess) is based off of a real life myth where Alberich is the guardian of Nibelung's treasure.
So, taking all of this into account. I think the reason Kaeya knows so much, why he cannot give direct guidance or advice is the exact reason that the Abyss Twin cannot do that. I believe that Kaeya is from the future.
I have a full thread explaining why I think the Abyss Twin is also from the future (or at least in some moments of the game) you can check that out via this link. But I am going to focus on Kaeya here.
We know that Kaeya has ties to Time and Time has ties to hope and Kaeya is the Last Hope. We know that the Abyss Twin needs memories in order to create the Ley Lines for the New Khaenri'ah.
We know Kaeya is from Khaenri'ah, but is he from the old Khaenri'ah?
Is it possible he is from New Khaenri'ah and was sent back to collect memories in order to help establish it with the help of Istaroth and the Abyss Twin?
Is that why Kaeya knew to tell us about the AO prince/princess?
Is that why Kaeya knew about the Arcadian ruins & their ties to the Traveler?
Is that why he didn't know Khaenri'ah used to be in Sumeru despite Khaenri'ah being his homeland?
Is he unable to be direct with the Traveler because he will alter time &mess up the future?
Is that why he was compared to Diredyth by the writers because he is also out of time and is technically from the future?
I think it is possible considering his ties to Istaroth, as vague as they currently seem.
Whatever the case may be, I feel that Kaeya's story will finally come to light as we exit Snez and enter the Khaenri'ah arc of the story. Hopefully then we will finally know the secrets that Kaeya Alberich keeps.
