The northern Gilded Desert holds its breath, a vast expanse of secrets woven into sun-scorched stone and buried beneath shifting sands. As I walk these lands in the year 2026, the echoes of the Eremites whisper on the wind, guiding me toward a puzzle locked away in time. It is not a quest that calls to every traveler, but for those who seek to unravel the deepest tales of Sumeru, the path to 'Apocalypse Lost' becomes a pilgrimage—a mosaic of memories waiting to be assembled. The journey itself is the reward, a slow unfurling of history written not in books, but in the very landscape, in forgotten chess pieces that are keys to a forgotten world. The process to begin this tale is long, a testament to the desert's patience, requiring one to first walk the paths of 'Golden Slumber' and 'Dirge of Bilqis,' and to know the poignant story of Tadhla the Falcon. Only then does the true puzzle reveal itself.

🏜️ The Gathering of the Five Fragments

To summon the echoes of Gurabad, one must become a collector of relics. Five unique chess pieces, scattered across the ruins of ancient ambition, must be found and brought to the grand board at Safhe Shatranj. Each piece is a story, a milestone on a separate journey through the desert's heart.

Chess Piece	How to Obtain	The Memory It Holds
King Deshret's Pillar	Earned after the city of Gurabad rises and you commune with Liloupar for the first time near the great withered tree.	The foundation, the first spark of a long-dormant connection.
Border Fort	Claimed after defeating a formidable Electro Scorpion guardian within the ruins of the Dune-Entombed Fecundity.	A testament to perseverance, a battle won in the deep, silent dark.
Soulferry	Discovered in the depths of a giant Ruin Guard, a reward for solving intricate puzzles that bar the way forward.	The passage through mechanized legacy, a key found in the belly of a metal beast.
Khaj-Nisut	Waiting in a cave, a silent prize after confronting the shadows of Azariq and Aderfi.	A treasure seized from conflict, hidden behind a door of consequence.
Temple Of Gurabad	The final gift from Liloupar, revealed after a heroic journey with Tadhla to slay a mighty Flying Serpent.	A bond forged in battle, a fragment offered as a farewell.

The search for these pieces took me from the soaring heights of newly risen ruins to the claustrophobic depths of sand-swallowed chambers. Each Exquisite Chest that opened felt like unlocking a chapter, the cool metal of the chess piece a tangible piece of a puzzle I could not yet see the shape of. The Border Fort piece, in particular, remains vivid—the sudden, skittering menace of the Electro Scorpion in that enclosed space, the thrill of victory, and the soft click of the mechanism yielding its prize.

♟️ The Board Awakens at Safhe Shatranj

With all five pieces cradled carefully in my pack, I returned to Safhe Shatranj. The central platform, once inert, now hummed with a soft, blue light, revealing five distinct slots.

Placing each piece was a ritual. As the final one settled into its place, the air crackled. The quest 'Memories of Gurabad' began in earnest. Liloupar's voice, now familiar yet somber, guided me. Six Primal Constructs emerged in disciplined waves, their forms gleaming under the desert sun. After their defeat, I touched the activated mechanism, and the world dissolved into light.

⛰️ The Descent and the Departure

I found myself teleported deep into the western bowels of the Desert of Hadramaveth. The air was colder here, heavy with finality. Following Liloupar's guidance, I fought through more Constructs, my path lit by the glow of two Pyro torches framing a newly opened passage. It led downward, to a place of reckoning.

There, on the right side of ancient stairs, gleamed the final fragment of Liloupar.

Claiming it was not a triumph, but a solemn acceptance. Her dialogue then was a wave of raw emotion—centuries of guilt, of running, culminating in a resolve to finally face the ruins of her past, of Gurabad. "I have run from it too long," she said. And in that moment, with a gentle, sorrowful pull, the bond between us shattered. The companion who had guided me through so much of the desert's mystery was gone, choosing to confront her history alone. The silence she left behind was louder than any desert storm.

🧩 The Echoes That Remain

Returning to the now-quiet board at Safhe Shatranj felt hollow. The puzzle had changed; it was no longer about placement, but about understanding. To fully lay Gurabad's memories to rest, the quest now asks for seven Ancient Stones to be found—a final, quiet scavenger hunt through the sands she loved and feared.

This journey, from the first chess piece to Liloupar's poignant departure, is why I wander Teyvat. It is a story told not through cutscenes, but through exploration, through struggle, and through the bittersweet weight of connection and loss. The desert gives its secrets grudgingly, and the 'Apocalypse Lost' is not merely a World Quest unlocked; it is an experience lived, a memory now etched into my own travels, as permanent as the chess pieces left upon the board under the endless sky.