In the distant continent of Teyvat, there is a snowy land, and her name is Silk. She is not from a city on the ground, nor is she a figure who walked out of the temple of the gods. She is a woman who returned from the abyss, carrying the coldness of frost and the secret of silence, like a flower blooming under the snow on a winter night.
People say that she is the messenger of the ice element and a warrior with snow hidden in the sword. But in my eyes, she is more like a child, fighting in the long dark night while looking for the way home.
Silk’s life experience is lonely. She doesn’t speak, doesn’t smile, and has never confided her dreams to anyone. Her past is hidden under the abyss, hidden in the memory of the boy named Ajax. She is his teacher and the only light he sees in the abyss. Those three months were a time of fear and growth for the boy; for her, it was an attempt to dissect and deliver her heart. She used all her strength to teach him all the swordsmanship, but she didn’t tell him about her loneliness.
Version 5.7 of Genshin Impact brings this silent character to our eyes. She answers with a one-handed sword, and uses the skill “Reason Beyond Reason” to spread the virtual rift under the feet of the enemy. This is her way of expression. She responds to the trust of her teammates with elemental reactions. Every time she absorbs a virtual rift, she gains “Snake’s Cunning” – that is a kind of accumulated energy, and perhaps, it is also an outlet for her long-suppressed emotions.
And “All Flows Return to Silence” is like a little poem, and every line is writing the unspoken tacit understanding between companions. When the elements of water and ice meet, she can get “Dead River Crossing” – this name sounds a bit sad, but the effect is a glorious signal to increase her own attack. Her power comes from the existence of others. Isn’t this the life that each of us has gone through?
She doesn’t shout loudly, nor does she let people watch. She just does what she should do at the right time – this calmness, this gentleness that strives to shine in the depths, is the most precious quality in the world.
And Taliyah, who came with her, is a child of water. If Silk is the ice flower on the top of the snowy mountain, then Taliyah is the vine beside the clear spring in the forest. He is not as quiet and introverted as Silk. He is a four-star character and a guardian who builds a shield with a smile.
He is the first character in Genshin Impact to provide a water element shield. When the team is attacked, he will stretch out his hands to block for others. His shield is bound to the attack speed increase, which reminds people of a boy holding an umbrella in a storm – he may not be strong enough, but he always wants to be the first to stand in front of you.
His elemental burst can bring protection to the whole team. In this era where every character is trying his best to output damage, his appearance reminds people: protecting others is also a way of fighting. He is not a sharp spear, he is a gentle shield.
You can choose not to pursue him, but you must know that his existence is a soft corner of this world. He is the one who silently supports everything behind the scenes, and he is the light that you will only notice when you turn around.
Silk and Taliyah, one is a woman as silent as snow, and the other is a boy as gentle as water. They appear side by side in the card pool of version 5.7, just like the encounter between wind and moon. The moment you draw them is not only the joy in the game, but also the continuation of a story.
Some people say that Genshin Impact is a battle, a mechanism, an output cycle and a precise cultivation. But I prefer to believe that Genshin Impact is the encounter between people and the warmth of traveling with strangers. In this world, every character is a flower, some are passionate, some are restrained, and some are like Silk, blooming in the unknown night.
The arrival of the new version is like a spring snow, silent, but falling on every waiting heart. You will see the shadow of Silk’s desire to protect Tartaglia in Silk’s skills; you will hear his wish to do more for his friends in Taliyah’s shield.
People always say that games are virtual, but I see real emotions in Silk and Taliyah. Their story is about growth, protection, loss and hope. They are not as unreachable as gods, nor as unrestrained as demons. They are just like us, everyone who walks silently in the real world.
I hope that when you draw them, you will not only be happy for their skills, but also be moved by their existence. Because in this world, what can really touch our hearts is never strength, but gentleness.