Genshin Impact: Zandik Confirmed to Be Il Dottore

After three years, the debate over the identities of Zandik and Dottore has finally been officially confirmed. In the storyline's visuals, Zandik's appearance adopts the very classic short-haired, red-eyed image from the comics. Coupled with the clue from the Ibis King that dates back hundreds of years, Zandik is undoubtedly the young Dottore, almost certainly not one of his segments.

Although many players had long identified Zandik as Dottore or one of his segments, when Dottore's crimes were not yet fully revealed in Version 3.0, quite a few people firmly believed that the two were different entities.

Players might not have been fully aware of what Zandik had actually done. In the scattered texts across the Sumeru map released in Version 3.0, Zandik is portrayed as unscrupulous and indifferent to his companions, which is entirely consistent with the Ibis King's description in the current storyline-fearing he would abandon his comrades and showing contempt.

Fragments about Zandik in the Aranyaka

Next to the underground section of the Varunastra, we can find a tattered record, which pertains to the "Dottore" mentioned next. I will narrate this following the possible chronological order to help everyone understand the sequence.

First, in the open world of Sumeru, we can find some notes next to immobile little treasures or large little treasure components. The notes indicate that their owner, Zandik, appears deeply interested in the intricacy of the little treasure's parts, as well as their underlying principles and manufacturing techniques.

He also discovered that these do not seem to be products created under the dominion of the gods. Another note records the experiences of Zandik's investigation team, where Zandik insisted on conducting disassembly research and reverse-engineering tests on the little treasures. At this point, the known information about Zandik is his strong fascination with precise mechanical components.

In a fragmented record, the experiment director used extracts tainted by the Withering Zone to perform live experiments on humans. Through repeated trials, he found that the Withering Zone contains an unknown substance capable of regularly inducing pathological changes in human tissues. However, some extracts were purified when brought near the Varunastra. He also captured three children intended for experimentation, but before the tests, the children seemed to communicate secretly with imaginary friends and then vanished. It is understood that the children were rescued by the Aranara. This incident, however, sparked his interest in the Aranara.

He believes the Aranara's ability to create dreams holds research value. The core idea is to use irrational fantasies, memories, and similar elements as controllable variables for modifying humans. Controllable dreams can serve as effective tools and weapons. To that end, he aims to conduct research on live Aranara specimens, stating it is a crucial stepping stone for humanity to transcend mortal limitations.

Summarizing, we can deduce that the author of the notes had researched pathological changes in human tissues, sought to weaponize controllable dreams, and aimed to modify humans to enhance their intelligence or even transcend their mortal nature. Clearly, the latter part can be linked to the story of the Wise Doctor's Pinion from the Pale Flame set. The Pale Flame set tells the stories of the Fatui Harbingers, and the Wise Doctor's Pinion recounts the tale of the Doctor, who was exiled from the Sumeru Akademiya and sought to modify humans, even create gods.

Furthermore, in the follow-up to Chapter I of the Aranyaka world quest series, specifically the quest "Ever an Outcast in the Forest" which involves identifying the villain in Vimara Village, we deduced that Trofin Snezhevich (disguised as 'Esfandiar') was the Fatui mole. After being exposed, he said: Capturing the Aranara was the Doctor's order, intended to research the connection between the Aranara, dreams, and the Withering. The Doctor wanted to weaponize dreams and the Withering. Thus, everything connects.

Therefore, it can be confirmed that Zandik is the Doctor. If the official comics remain consistent with the game's lore, the experiments that Collei underwent and the abilities she ultimately manifested were essentially the weaponization of the Withering. As for the weaponization of "dreams," it is believed that this will be addressed in future main storyline quests.

Returning to the current storyline, there is another character whose story might be connected to the Doctor-Rerir. It is speculated that Rerir's resurrection is related to the Doctor. Considering the Doctor's ongoing activities in Nod-Krai and Rerir's nature as a special life form possessing Abyssal power, the Doctor, who is deeply devoted to research and experimentation, would undoubtedly be highly interested in such a subject. Let us look forward to the upcoming storyline together.