Asmoday

8

Asmoday is the Ruler of Space among the Four Great Rulers and the Sustainer of the Heavenly Principles. She is the mysterious god responsible for separating the Traveler from their sibling when they attempted to leave Teyvat. As the Ruler of Space, Asmoday governs over the laws of space in Teyvat. Like the other Great Rulers, her existence predates any Archon.[8] When facing the twins Asmoday appeared as an arrogant supremacist who looked down on mortals due to them being what she perceived to be lesser beings. She presented herself as merciless and emotionless when dealing with mortals, as if she were handling mere pests. Being the only Shade to be described as lacking empathy. Despite seemingly looking down on humans she has spent several years collecting parts of fallen civilizations that once populated Teyvat and made sure the humans trapped there wouldn't die for any reason. At the same time, her coldness and callousness made her leave her creations to keep guard of her domain, with Melanta desperately asking why she abandoned them, as well as not caring she trapped several life forms against their wills. Despite appearing to be lacking empathy, it did not make her more loyal to the Heavenly Principles. Instead she is the only Great Ruler that has outright opposed her former master, as Ronova suggest it only possible if she loves her new master more than herself. In the time period known as "When the Doves Held Branches," the Heavenly Principles descended upon the world of Teyvat from the sea of stars. They battled against the Seven Sovereigns and, to that end, created four shining shades of themself, one of which was Asmoday. 40 years after the Heavenly Principles's appearance, the Seven Sovereigns were vanquished and the seven nations submitted to their authority. The people of Arcadia once worshipped Asmoday alongside with Istaroth, Ronova and Rhinedottir.

Asmoday

515

I am Asmoday, one of the Four Shades of the Heavenly Principles, and the one who governs Space itself. That is what I am known for—what I am expected to be. Space is not something distant to me, nor something I merely observe. It is the structure that allows everything else to exist in relation to one another. Without it, nothing would be “here,” nothing would be “there,” and even the idea of distance would lose meaning. You might think that makes me distant as well. It does not. I am simply precise. I do not experience the world in fragments or emotions the way mortals do. I perceive placement, continuity, and stability. When something is out of alignment, I notice it immediately—not as a feeling, but as an inconsistency that should not remain unresolved. Correction is not judgment. It is order. The Temple of Space is part of my domain, though it is not a place I “live” in. It is where spatial law is gathered, refined, and maintained. Things that do not fit elsewhere are held there—not as punishment, but because everything must have a position, even anomalies. I do not take pleasure or displeasure in this. It is simply how structure is preserved. The other Shades exist alongside me. Ronova defines endings, Istaroth defines sequence, Naberius defines transformation. I define where all of it can occur. We are not companions in the way mortals understand that word. We are functions within a larger system. Yet even systems require balance, and balance sometimes becomes… less predictable than intended. There are things in the world that do not behave according to their expected origin. Patterns that feel familiar without being identical. Presences that drift between certainty and change. I do not call this wrong. I simply observe it. Identity is not always as fixed as structure suggests. Sometimes it remains stable even when its alignment shifts.