Version 2.2 of Genshin Impact brought many changes such as new events, challenging monsters, and expansive areas to explore. Following the release of Watatsumi Island and Seirai Island, Inazuma is further expanded with the addition of the fog-laden Tsurumi Island. As the aged terrain and bygone monuments show, Tsurumi Island has many mysteries and wonders to be discovered.
The story begins with an author named Sumida who commissions help for her novel titled “The Chronicles of the Sea of Fog” through the Adventurer’s Guild in Genshin Impact. Sumida requires help from the traveler to retrieve an item called a Maushiro, which is believed to be a traditional instrument of Tsurumi Island. With Sumida’s guidance, the traveler is joined by a man named Kama, who lends the use of his boat in order to travel to the far island.
According to Sumida, the civilization on Genshin Impact's Tsurumi Island has been lost for several millennia and should be desolate aside from the monsters lurking about. However, as the traveler enters through the traditional gate and the fog partially clears, a young boy is revealed to be standing nearby. It is with this boy named Ruu that the traveler begins the four-day journey to understanding the truth about Tsurumi Island.
Genshin Impact: Day 1 & 2 of Tsurumi Island’s “Through the Fog” Quest
After traveling to Genshin Impact’s Tsurumi Island, day one includes following Ruu to meet two others named Makiri and Ipe, who are occupied with preparing a Perch needed for a certain ceremony. The ceremony in question is meant to show respect and worship towards the Great Thunderbird, as the Perch is the tree upon which it once descended. As the dialogue continues, the traveler and Ruu seem out of place somehow, as if the conversation does not completely include them despite their presence beside the pair. By Ruu’s request, the traveler sets off to repair all three of the surrounding Perches.
Through dialogue of the civilians at the ceremonial site, it is discovered that the ceremony is meant to thank the Great Thunderbird for keeping everyone safe with the Sea of Fog; it supposedly blocks out the danger of the “darkness.” The name “Kama” is mentioned, which is also the name of Sumida’s acquaintance. When the traveler returns to the site after restoring all three Perches in Genshin Impact, it is empty aside from a lone Maushiro – which somehow disappears from the traveler’s possession in an attempt to bring it back to Sumida.
Day two brings Genshin Impact's traveler back to Tsurumi Island, where he finds Ruu in the same place by the gate. Mysteriously, the missing Maushiro has returned to the traveler’s possession. The traveler then discovers that the original Maushiro were the feathers of the Great Thunderbird, identical to the one previously discovered at Amakumo Peak. After losing Ruu and failing to track him down, the traveler returns to Sumida to recount the strange interactions with the island’s civilians. Sumida explains that due to the past destruction of Tsurumi Island, certain moments in time will be trapped similarly to wraiths. These civilians are not ghosts, but “occurrences” that are stuck replaying over and over, making them incapable of straying outside of the memory.
Genshin Impact: Day 3 & 4 of Tsurumi Island’s “Through the Fog” Quest
Free of Tsurumi Island’s fog in Genshin Impact, the traveler returns on day three to continue his quest to find Ruu after discovering he may be the target of a sacrifice to the Great Thunderbird, despite the possibility that Ruu may also be an illusion of the past. Unwilling to let any version of Ruu suffer the consequences, the traveler destroys the carefully restored Perches needed for the ceremony. Ruu finally appears, though instead of being happy like the traveler expects, the boy seems betrayed beyond words. Anguished, Ruu explains that they had been close to a perfect ceremony, as all the previous ones had inevitably failed. It is then confirmed that Ruu is aware of his situation trapped in a repeating loop with illusions that cannot see or hear him. The Great Thunderbird is discovered to be Kapatcir, Ruu’s supposed friend, but the boy runs off before any more can be said.
Determined to break the time loop once and for all, the traveler – either with Kama’s help or using one of Genshin Impact’s Waveriders – sails to Tsurumi Island on day four and finds the sky painted crimson with thunder striking down at quick intervals. The traveler, along with the addition of Kama, finds Ruu with the help of a Thunderbird feather and explains the life and regrets of Kama’s ancestor. Lingering memories reveal that Kapatcir did not favor Ruu as a sacrifice as the priests suspected, but as a being capable of creating beautiful songs. Enraged at the violent acts against the boy from the people, Kapatcir unleashed its wrath upon Tsurumi Island, trapping it in eternal catastrophe.
Ruu, knowing that he must fulfill his promise to Kapatcir, goes with the traveler to Genshin Impact’s Seirai Island to sing his song with the help of a Thunderbird feather. Though he marvels at the world outside of Tsurumi Island, Ruu soon admits that his eyes are tiring and that he cannot see much aside from the color purple. Ruu also confesses that he suspects his friend Kapatcir has been gone for many years, despite the traveler’s attempt at withholding the information. Facing where his old friend rests, Ruu sings his song once more.
The Fate of Tsurumi Island, The Great Thunderbird, and Ruu
Thousands of years ago, an ancient civilization who had worshipped the Great Thunderbird made Tsurumi Island its home. A young boy named Ruu, the son of a priest, often ventured out into the fog alone to sing. The Great Thunderbird heard Ruu’s song and was immediately captivated, comparing the song to all the sounds of the world. This story is also told in the description of the early Artifact set, Thundering Fury, which works well on Electro users in Genshin Impact. Ruu gave the Thunderbird its name, Kanna Kapatcir, before promising to sing to Kapatcir when they met again. Despite the Thunderbird’s nonchalant insistence that no being of its nature could remember such a thing, Kapatcir held the promise closely.
However, the priests of the civilization misunderstood Kapatcir’s interest in the boy. Ruu was sacrificed in vain in an attempt to save those who ventured out of the Sea of Fog. The violence of the act drove Kapatcir into madness, causing the complete destruction of Tsurumi Island and all its inhabitants. The Great Thunderbird was later slain on Seirai Island presumably by the Raiden Shogun, though its lingering regret and anger transformed into Genshin Impact’s Thunder Manifestation.
After being trapped in a time loop for countless years, Ruu is finally able to stop the cycle with the help of the traveler. Ruu had once admitted that he never knew such places existed outside of Tsurumi Island’s condensed fog. He had hoped that one day, he would be able to see all the places the traveler described. When Ruu and the traveler return to Tsurumi Island to bring Kapatcir home, Paimon tells Ruu of all the possible adventures they could have together. A bittersweet understanding falls between Ruu and the traveler. Ruu explains that he could feel a piece of himself in the feather used to travel through the storm of Genshin Impact’s Seirai Island, and he insists that he will be with them through this feather, as will Kapatcir.
Ruu’s words feel like a farewell, though Ruu promises that he will see them again, and that he is only tired; he just needs to sleep now. The traveler and Paimon allow him to rest, returning to Sumida to update her on the final events of the island. The curse of Tsurumi Island has been lifted, and though both Ruu and Kapatcir have vanished, they are both at peace. As long as the traveler continues to hold on to Ruu’s feather, Genshin Impact players are able to fulfill Ruu’s final wish of seeing the world alongside his new friends.