Asase Hibiki (Japanese: 浅瀬響 Asase Hibiki) was a shrine maiden who lived around five hundred years ago.[Note 1] She traveled from Asase Shrine on Seirai Island to the Grand Narukami Shrine on Narukami Island to develop her techniques as a shrine maiden,[1][2] where she was mentored by the Kitsune Saiguu and became the love interest of Takamine the Mistsplitter. Takamine and the Kitsune Saiguu's disappearances over the course of the cataclysm deeply affected Hibiki and several others who were associated with them.[3][4]
Shimenawa's Reminiscence and the Storm Cage piece in Emblem of Severed Fate are told from Hibiki's point of view. She was also the wielder of Hamayumi, and came into possession of Thundering Pulse as part of her wager with Takamine.
Profile[]
Appearance[]
Assuming that Shimenawa's Reminiscence (Equipment Card) depicts her likeness, Hibiki had brown hair tied back into a ponytail and wore the Grand Narukami Shrine's red-and-white Miko clothing.
Story[]
In her youth, Hibiki went from the Asase Shrine to the Narukami Shrine. While initially distrustful of the Kitsune Saiguu, she eventually came to hold great respect for the other woman. Because the Great Tengu Reizenbou served as the Kitsune Saiguu's bodyguard, Hibiki also became acquainted with Reizenbou's servant Takamine. Despite being exasperated by his antics and nicknaming him "the idiot Konbumaru" to hide her affection towards him, the attraction was mutual and two grew close: he taught her the tengu archery he had learned, while she made an undisclosed promise to him.[3][Note 2]
Hibiki was not the only person to train at the Grand Narukami Shrine during this time; Kamuna Harunosuke and Mikoshi Nagamasa also trained under the Yougou Tengu, leading them to be collectively known as The Yougou Three.[5]
Takamine eventually became a Hatamoto, or a high-ranking samurai, for the Raiden Shoguns Makoto and Ei.[Note 3] Despite his attraction to Hibiki, he married another high-ranking samurai's daughter instead. Much to Hibiki's consternation, he never lost his habit of wandering or gambling despite his rank and marital status.[4]
The Cataclysm[]
When the cataclysm threatened Teyvat, Takamine and Mikoshi Chiyo, Nagamasa's adoptive mother, were among those who embarked on an expedition to the Abyss alongside Ei.[6][7][Note 4] Before leaving, Takamine promised his "future" to Hibiki by entrusting Thundering Pulse to her as a wager for his triumphant return.[3][6][8]
However, this never came to pass. Takamine disappeared in battle, while Chiyo went insane from abyssal corruption and attacked Ei, only to be defeated and afterwards fled, never to be seen again. This betrayal tarnished the Mikoshi Clan's reputation and Nagamasa joined the Shogunate to restore his family's honor.[9] The Kitsune Saiguu, who had taken up the task of protecting Inazuma in the Raiden twins' absences, disappeared and eventually perished against the dark forces.[2][7] Reizenbou went on a self-imposed exile for her failure to protect the Kitsune Saiguu while Harunosuke left Inazuma out of his grief and rage, heading to Liyue to learn the adepti arts.[3] The Yougou Three parted ways, never to cross paths again.
After the Cataclysm[]
Note: The order in which the following events occurred is currently unknown.
Much time after the cataclysm passed, Takamine finally emerged from the Abyss and returned to Inazuma. He encountered Hibiki at their promised location in Chinju Forest and though he was overjoyed at their reunion, she pierced him through with a barbed arrow and killed him.[6] She believed he was inevitably and irreversibly corrupted by the Abyss' defilement and had long sworn to "save" him by "exorcising folly and needless obsession."[3]
Hibiki retired back to her birthplace at Seirai Island, managing Asase Shrine with the help of Neko and the pirate captain Ako Domeki. She told them stories of her past and of her wish to go see the world, though she never mentioned the tragic endings of Takamine and her other friends.[10] During Domeki's and Seirai Island's rebellion against the Shogunate, Hibiki chose to assist him due to their friendship and his resemblance to Takamine. She decided to use the "true magic'" she learned from the Yougou Tengu to unseal the great barrier containing Kanna Kapatcir's[11] remaining resentment and use it to destroy the Shogunate's ships.[12] This decision resulted in the catastrophe that caused the massive Electro storm over Seirai Island,[4] and likely cost Hibiki her life, as she never returned from that storm.[13]
Legacy[]
While Ako Domeki and his fleet also went into the storm, Domeki and some of his crew survived. His chief mate Janome and the ship carrying the Maguu Kenki he defeated were blown away to the Golden Apple Archipelago while protecting him. What exactly happened to Domeki is unknown, but he eventually made his way back to Seirai Island, only to find it in its current inhospitable state. He made a vow to Janome and Hibiki to live as the "freest person in the world" and experience the world like Hibiki had always wished to, and set off for parts unknown.[10]
Asase Shrine was the only place on Seirai Island unaffected by the Electro storm. For unexplained reasons, Neko somehow became functionally immortal, no longer aging nor needing food or water, and even learned how to speak the human language. She has remained there ever since, watching over the many generations of cats that have been born at the shrine. She awaits Hibiki's return, unaware that as a human, Hibiki would have died long ago; she also does not understand why people stopped coming to the shrine — they had been evacuated from the island — and enlists the Traveler's help in repairing the shrine in hopes of attracting more visitors.[14]
Later on, Neko decided to take a trip with the Traveler to look for Hibiki, using what she knew to describe the Grand Narukami Shrine, as Hibiki had been there before. While speaking with shrine maiden Inagi Hotomi, the Traveler and Paimon learn how old Neko really is. Hotomi nearly tells Neko that Hibiki is likely long dead, but the Traveler deflects the answer to that Hibiki simply isn't present. Feeling tired from being near the Electro-infused Sacred Sakura, Neko asked to be returned home so she could resume her own responsibilities.[15]
Trivia[]
- Because the kanji used for Hibiki's name (響) has multiple possible readings, the English localization and some other localizations initially translated her name as "Kanade." In Version 2.1, the English localization switched to using Hibiki.
- Ako Domeki addresses Asase as his "Aunt," but it is left ambiguous whether the two are actually blood-related or if he is using an affectionate term out of courtesy for an older woman.
Notes[]
- ↑ A Pirate's Diary on Nazuchi Beach, written by present-day pirates, states that Ako Domeki lived five hundred years ago. In Hamayumi, Hibiki offers Domeki her assistance.
- ↑ Given how the elderly Hibiki eventually entrusted Ako Domeki (who resembled young Takamine very much) with a wish to see the world, it is possible that her promise to Takamine involved seeing the world outside Inazuma together.
- ↑ While the Electro Archon was officially Makoto at the time, Ei assumed the role of the Raiden Shogun for military affairs. People did not officially know there were "two 'Raiden Shoguns,'" as Ei puts it in Cleansing Light, so references to the "Raiden Shogun" before Makoto's death do not differentiate between them.
- ↑ Weapon Ascension Material: Mask of the One-Horned
He [Torachiyo] was once a beloved lieutenant of the Shogun, and he followed her into the dark abyssal realms to repel the defiled ones [...]; Mask of the Kijin reveals that the story of "Torachiyo" is actually Chiyo's story, distorted over time.
Gallery[]
Genius Invokation TCG[]
Other Languages[]
| Language | Official Name |
|---|---|
| English | Asase Hibiki |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 浅濑响 Qiǎnlài Xiǎng |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 淺瀨響 Qiǎnlài Xiǎng |
| Japanese | 浅瀬響 Asase Hibiki |
| Korean | 아사세 히비키 Asase Hibiki |
| Spanish | Asase Hibiki |
| French | Asase Hibiki |
| Russian | Асасэ Хибики Asase Khibiki |
| Thai | Asase Hibiki |
| Vietnamese | Asase Hibiki |
| German | Asase Hibiki |
| Indonesian | Asase Hibiki |
| Portuguese | Asase Hibiki |
| Turkish | Asase Hibiki |
| Italian | Asase Hibiki |
Change History[]
- Asase Kanade's name was changed to Asase Hibiki in the English localization.
- Asase Kanade was introduced.
References[]
- ↑ NPC Dialogue: Neko
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Weapon: Hakushin Ring
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Artifact Set: Shimenawa's Reminiscence
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Artifact Set: Emblem of Severed Fate
- ↑ World Quest: The Narukami Trail
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Weapon: Thundering Pulse
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Story Quest, Raiden Shogun, Imperatrix Umbrosa Chapter: Act II - Transient Dreams, Part 1: Cleansing Light
- ↑ Weapon: Mistsplitter Reforged
- ↑ Archon Quest, Interlude Chapter, Act III - Inversion of Genesis, Part 1: The Night-Bird Falls at the Curtain's Call
Escher: After all, Nagamasa is the adopted son of Mikoshi Torachiyo, the youkai struck down by the Shogun's own hand. If he truly seeks to redeem his family's honor, an abundance of caution is well-advised. - ↑ 10.0 10.1 Weapon: "The Catch"
- ↑ World Quest, Through the Mists: The Sun-Wheel and Mt. Kanna
- ↑ Weapon: Hamayumi
- ↑ World Quest, Seirai Stormchasers: Seirai Stormchasers: Part I
- ↑ World Quest Act: Neko Is a Cat
- ↑ World Quest: The Narukami Trail