Genshin Impact is all about platonic and familial bonds and how these bonds affect every Genshin character. Golden Slumber echoes this same theme by portraying complex dynamics between its NPCs. That’s why this quest occupies a special place in my heart.
This World Quest begins as a typical exploration quest. The Traveler embarks on a journey to explore the various ruins in the Sumeru Desert with a group of mercenaries.
But what starts as a harmless expedition to help out an Akademiya researcher quickly turns into an emotionally-charged tale that unravels the secrets, desires, and insecurities of every party involved.
However, the grueling puzzles present in this quest might become a source of your frustration. In this Genshin Impact Golden Slumber guide, I have detailed every task and puzzle, so you can enjoy this touching quest without breaking into hives over a complicated puzzle.
Golden Slumber Overview
Golden Slumber is a World Quest that was introduced in the 3.1 patch of the game. Completing this quest is essential to unlocking most underground desert waypoints, accessing Scarabs, and obtaining the Scarlet Sand Slate gadget.
To obtain this quest, you can interact with Sumeru’s Katheryne or talk with Bonifaz, a merchant from Mondtsadt, in Aaru Village. I recommend talking to Bonifaz directly since Katheryne will point you to Bonifaz anyway.
The Akademiya scholar Tirzad, a mysterious mercenary named Jebrael, and Jebrael’s daughter, Jeht, will accompany you throughout this quest. Occasionally, Jebrael and Jeht might join in and battle along with you!
In my opinion, the difficulty level of this quest is higher than average since the player isn’t acquainted with the new exploration mechanisms in the desert.
Extended Walkthrough
Golden Slumber is divided into four sub-quests. You must explore a different set of ruins during every part of the quest. The first sub-quest, Lost in the Sands, kickstarts once Bonifaz requests you to check the status of a missing archaeological team and a few Sumpter Beasts.
Lost in the Sands
While talking with Bonifaz, he points out that the archaeological team might be somewhere west of Aaru Village, near Abdju Pit. Follow the footsteps left behind by the team to reach a sinkhole, where you will find the group Bonifaz talked about earlier.
You will be prompted to talk to some team members, but they won’t give you any helpful input. However, speak with a woman called Jeht once you finish talking with them, and she will explain how the party fell into the sinkhole.
Return to the party with Jeht and discuss the current circumstances with the rest of the team. Jeht will eventually suggest exploring the ruins further ahead to find an exit. The ruins are difficult to navigate, so follow my instructions closely.
1. Tirzad will unlock the ruins for you in the beginning. But to open the next door ahead, you must use Anemo attacks to remove the sand from the cube-shaped switch.
2. A cloaked Primal Construct will suddenly appear once you unlock the door and enter the ruin. Beat it with the help of Jebrael and Jeht. Remember to grab the Sacred Seal: Sheep Head lying near the torch before you leave!
3. Follow the quest marker and dodge any traps you encounter on the way. Eventually, you will reach a room with a Primal Construct. Beat your opponent and take the elevator in the left corner to descend to the lower floor.
4. To proceed further, you must solve a torch puzzle on this floor . Hit the Tri-Yana seed with Electro attacks when it flies near the invisible torch. Once the torch solidifies, light up all the torches to solve the puzzle.
5. Enter the passage to your right side. Keep walking until Tirzad’s limited stamina forces your party to take a pit stop. Jebrael will stay behind to watch over the frail scholar, so it’s up to you and Jeht to explore the ruins further.
6. Use the elevator on the right side of your current location to ascend to the floor above. On the top floor, you will encounter a friendly and adorable Primal Construct called Benben. It will join you as a fellow companion.
7. Return to the bottom floor and report your findings to Jebrael and Tirzad. Benben interacts with Tirzad’s slate in a cutscene, which means the slate was useful after all! Tirzad will hand over the slate to you secretly, and you will unlock the Scarlet Sand Slate gadget.
8. The Scarlet Sand Slate grants grant you special ‘clearance’ status and unlock certain hidden areas within the ruins. Use this gadget to open the previously locked door on the top floor.
9. Continue walking until you reach a room with a Replicator Keystone puzzle. Place the nearby Primal Light on the Replicator Keystone to spawn an Everlight Cell. Venture forward into the new area.
10. You will encounter a Primal Construct, so do what you know best: beat your opponents. Then, use the two Primal Lights on the Replicator Keystones to unlock an Everlight Cell mechanism. Rotate the Everlight Mechanism to unlock a plinth.
12. Interact with the plinth to enter the next room. Defeat the opponents in the passage and use another plinth mechanism to unlock a tunnel that leads to the exit.
After walking for a while, your party will finally reunite with Nachtigal. He will join your party, and this sub-quest will end once you exit the sinkhole with everyone.
An Introduction to Indoor Archaeology
It’s time for you and your merry band of archaeologists to take a short break at a nearby oasis. I loved this particular part of the quest since it was refreshing to witness Tirzad be vulnerable about his insecurities and trust Jeht and Nachtigal for once.
The conversation between the characters continues deep till midnight. After a well-deserved rest, your party will set out for the next destination: Khemenu Temple. You don’t need to use any cube mechanisms to unlock the entrance, since Benben is here to open the door for you.
You must open the door behind the main hall to proceed deeper into the temple. This door can be unlocked by lighting up the two Primal Torches. Follow these steps to activate the Primal Torches.
- Activate the first Primal torch: Enter the right corridor. Keep walking till you come across a room with a Replicator Keystone at the end of the passage. You will find a Primal Light behind the Scorpion enemies. Place it on the Replicator Keystone to obtain a Primal Flame. Primal Flames are like Seelies, so you must lead this flame to its torch by walking beside it.
- Activate the second Primal Torch: Paimon will prompt you to light the other torch too. Head into the passage to the left side of the locked door. Beat the Primal Construct and lead the second flame to the next torch.
Once both torches are lit, you will gain access to the lower level of Khemenu Temple. Follow the quest marker to reach the end of the passage. After a short cutscene, Jeht and others will unlock two locked entrances in the previous room.
1. Step into the corridor to your right side first. But, watch out for the collapsible floor while walking in the passage! You will eventually reach a room with a Primal Construct and Primal Sandglasses.
2. Use the four-sigil zip lines to flip the sandglasses within the time limit. Once you obtain a Primal Flame, lead it to the first Primal Torch.
3. Then, enter the passage to your left. A room with a giant ship statue lies at the end of this corridor. Use the Primal Light lying on the peak of the ship on the Replicator Keystone to obtain a Primal Flame.
4. Follow this flame by descending a level below through a collapsible floor. The bottom floor has a massive fan that can immediately destroy the flame. Guide the flame to the other side of the flame when the fan is not blowing any wind current.
5. Lead the flame to its destined Primal Torch to activate an elevator. You can use this elevator to descend deeper inside the temple.
A large hall with a mural of King Deshret and his subjects will greet you on the bottom floor. After a heated debate between Tirzad and Jebrael, we can finally head into the secret passage hidden behind the mural.
The Secret of Al-Ahmar
The secret passage leads to an elevator that can take you to the surface. Once you emerge from the Khemenu Temple, walk into the giant pyramid before you, also known as the Mausoleum of King Deshret.
Benben will open the entrance of this location for you once again. Inside the mausoleum, you will predictably discover the coffin of King Deshret. Any Hollywood movie will tell you that opening a coffin is usually a bad idea, but the quest will force you to open it anyway.
But firstly, you must tinker with the Primal Torch puzzle in the hall if you want to open the casket. Follow the steps below to breeze through this puzzle.
- Activate the first Primal Torch
Enter the passage on your right first. Head into the path behind an Elemental Projectile Blaster trap. Ignore the first Replicator Keystone and keep walking till you find another Replicator Keystone mechanism.
Enter the corridor behind the second Replicator Keystone. Use the four-leaf sigil zipline to launch yourself to find a Primal Flame on the top of the platform. Lead the first flame to the first Primal Torch.
- Activate the second Primal Torch
Return to the main hall and enter the doorway on your left. Take a right turn to enter a long passage and head into the first room on the right side. This room will have a massive fan in the left corner.
Fly to the floor above the room, release the Primal Flame, and guide it to its respective torch. We are halfway done with the puzzle already!
- Activate the third Primal Torch
Return to the main hall and enter the east passageway again. Unlock the locked door to your right by interacting with the plinth, and enter the passage.
Inside the passageway, you will notice a mural on your right side. Travel to the space above the mural through the four-leaf sigil zip line. Release the Primal Flame on top of the mural and lead it to the third Primal Torch.
- Activate the fourth Primal Torch
To find the final Primal Flame, head back to the west passage of the main hall. Enter the first room flanking the left side of the corridor. You will encounter a mural similar to the one you saw earlier.
Zip to the top of the mural, grab the flame, and guide it to the final torch. Phew! We are done and dusted with this puzzle!
The coffin will open up after you light every Primal Torch. But here’s the bad (or rather, good) news: the coffin is actually empty! However, Tirzad isn’t ready to give up yet.
He will urge you to travel to the top floor to find more substantial research material. Exit the main hall and use an elevator to ascend to the top floor. You will find a mysterious structure there.
Your Scarlet Sand Slate will respond to this structure, opening a secret passage. Upon entering the passage, you will lose consciousness. Once you wake up, follow the quest marker to find your estranged companions.
Some Fatui will be cornering Jeht, Jebrael, and Tirzad. Lend them a helping hand to beat the opponents. Jeht will inform you that Benben is still missing, so you must venture deeper into the tunnels to find it.
After exploring for a while, you will find your Primal Construct pet in the hands of the Fatui and Samail, a former comrade of Jebrael’s from the Thutmose band. Samail will reveal some parts of Jebrael’s mysterious past and will engage in a fight with your team. Beat them to recover Benben.
After a short cutscene, the quest marker will direct you to Opet’s Hall. Opet’s Hall will introduce you to its own Primal Torch puzzle, which you must solve to discover valuable information.
Follow my cues to complete the final puzzle of this part quickly.
- Activate the first Primal Torch in Opet’s Hall
Follow the quest marker until you reach a hall with a Precious Chest and a Primal Construct. Walk toward the door to your right side. Rotate the Everlight Cells till their light beams hit the blue cells to unlock the door.
Defeat the Primal Construct inside the room and place the Primal Light on the Replicator Keystone to obtain a Primal Ember. Guide the ember to the first torch.
- Activate the second Primal Torch in Opet’s Hall
Retrace your steps and you will reach an area with a Primal Construct opponent and a puzzle. Move the blue cell of the Everlight Cell to access the Replicator Keystone behind the locked door.
Then, place the Primal Light on the top of the Replicator Keystone so that the blue light beam hits the cell in front of the door. Move the first blue cell to its original position to light up the second one.
You will unlock the final Primal Flame. Lead it to the second Primal Torch and let Opet Hall open its doors to you!
A cutscene will play once you make your Scarlet Sand Slate interact with the mysterious structure inside the Opet’s Hall. This sub-quest ends when the party decides to reunite with Nachtigal’s group.
Dreams Beneath the Searing Sand
Once you return to the oasis, you will notice that Samail’s minions are attacking Nachtigal’s group. Send them packing with Jebrael and Jeht’s help and move to another oasis.
Jebrael will reveal his complicated past with Thutmose and Samail at the new oasis. After resting for the night, you will set out for Khaj-Nisut the next day.
Predictably, the Thutmose will be waiting for you at Khaj-Nisut. Defeat them and search their camp for clues about their plans. Hand over Samail’s encrypted letter to Jebrael once you find it.
To lure Samail and his gang, you must complete three trials in Khaj-Nisut. We’ll start with the southern trial, then move on to other trials.
- Trial 1: Southern Trial
Start the southern trial by interacting with the plinth mechanism at the entrance. Jump into the hole by gliding or plunging to prevent fall damage.
There is an invisible labyrinth floating above the ground. Sticking closely to the walls will help you navigate the maze faster. Most of the holes leading to the lower levels of the labyrinth lie on the right side, so stick to that side.
Interact with the plinth on the ground to complete the trial. Glide to the top floor with the help of the wind current.
- Trial 2: Western Trial
Travel to the western trial location from the Khaj-Nisut waypoint. Interact with the plinth to start the trial and use a plunge attack to enter the opening with a wind current.
Pick up the Primal Lights and place them on the Replicator Keystones next door to unlock Everlight and Obscuring Cells. Use the Obscuring Cell to remove the wall and rotate the Everlight Cell to send a light beam to the blue cell beyond the door.
Repeat the same process in the next room and equip the golden Verity Cell to solidify the wall. The locked door will fly open.
Keep walking and use a plunge attack to pass through the wind current and land in the passage below. Beat the Primal Construct to unlock the door to the next room.
Open the Common Chest in the next room to obtain a keystone. Return to the room where you dropped down earlier and use the keystone to unlock the slightly glowing door.
Follow the same ol’ drill: Place Primal Lights on Replicator Keystones to unlock more Obscuring and Everlight Cells. Activate the Obscuring Cell to turn the wall invisible and rotate the Everlight Cell to send a beam of light to a blue cell.
Pick up the second keystone from the Common Chest before you leave. Unlock the door at the end of the corridor with the help of the second keystone.
Interact with the Obscuring Cell inside the room to remove the wall obstructing the incoming beam. Every locked door on this floor opens to reveal the layout of the entire floor. Interact with the plinth by the statue to finish the trial. Remember to pick up the Sacred Seal nearby before you leave!
- Trial 3: Northern Trial
Finally, it’s time to attempt the Northern Trial, the most straightforward trial among the three. Follow the quest marker and interact with the plinth to activate the trial.
All you have to do is beat Primal Constructs and interact with the plinths on every floor. Once you interact with the final mechanism on the lowest floor, the trial is completed! Pick up the Sacred Seal on the top floor of the Northern Trial ruin before you leave.
Interact with the plinth near the Khaj-Nisut Teleport Waypoint, and Khaj-Nisut reveals itself to you. Zip to the entrance of the structure through four-leaf sigil zip lines.
However, King Deshret’s Throne won’t disclose itself to you yet. To travel to the top floor, you must solve a simple Primal Flames and Torches puzzle again.
Solving a Primal Torch puzzle yet again is tedious, but I promise this is the final one. All you need to do is follow every flame to its respective torch.
The first flame will force you to fight a Primal Construct, the second one will lead you through an invisible labyrinth, and you need to dodge wind currents from giant fans to guide the last one.
Activate the three plinths after guiding every flame to its slot. Interact with the mechanism at the center of the room to activate a giant fan. You can glide to the higher floor of Khaj-Nisut through the fan’s wind current.
A brand new puzzle awaits you in a huge hall on the top floor. In this particular puzzle, you must use the Prism of Khaj-Nisut to move the platforms and direct the beams from Everlight Cells to their respective blue cells. Avoid rotating the Everlight Cells at all costs, since it will mess up the order of the puzzle!
Instead, move the Prism according to the instructions I have given below:
- Don’t switch the color of the Prism and operate it once.
- Switch the Prism’s color to blue.
- Operate twice.
An elevator activates soon after you solve the puzzle. Employ the elevator to ascend to the upper floor. You will face some Primal Constructs opponents again, so beat them and use another elevator to reach the room with King Deshret’s Throne.
Once you reach the throne room, Samail and Co. will welcome you. Deal with the waves of Fatui enemies after Samail sits on the throne. A lengthy cutscene will follow, after which you have to escape the ruins.
The quest will end once everyone flees the ruins, albeit at the cost of Jebrael’s life.
Rewards and Achievements
Though you won’t exactly get showered with Primogems as you did in the Aranyaka questline, you will get a decent amount of rewards nonetheless. The quest will grant you a reward of 190 Primogems, 16 Hero’s Wits, 16 Mystic Enchantment Ore, and 170,000 Mora overall.
Additionally, you will get a whopping number of seven Achievements upon completion. Refer to the table to check how many Primogems you can acquire for every Achievement.
| Name of the Achievement | Earned after achieving the following requirements | Primogems |
| Close Encounters of the Which Kind? | Lost in the Sands | 5 |
| Exploration in the Desert | Lost in the Sands | 5 |
| Thinking Like a Vahumana Scholar | An Introduction to Indoor Archaeology | 5 |
| Fata Morgana | Dreams Beneath the Searing Sand | 5 |
| Create, Swap, Store, and Use | The Secret of Al-Ahmar | 5 |
| The Amazing Pyramid | The Secret of Al-Ahmar | 5 |
| Slumber, the Brother Of… | After finishing the Golden Slumber | 10 |
FAQs
Question: How long does it take to finish Golden Slumber?
Answer: Golden Slumber isn’t a long quest. If you read every dialogue carefully, it takes around 3-4 hours to complete the quest. It’s certainly shorter than its sequel, Dirge of Bilqis, and other lengthier Sumeru World Quests like Aranyaka World Quest.
Question: How do I get more clearance after Golden Slumber?
Answer: Completing only Golden Slumber won’t grant partial clearance level. To obtain more clearance, you can complete the Old Notes and New Friends World Quest, interact with Pathfinder’s Logs, and explore various ruins in the Sumeru Desert.
Final Thoughts
Even though Golden Slumber ranks among my top five favorite World Quests, the quest ended abruptly. I wondered what happened to poor Jeht after losing her father.
Thankfully, Hoyoverse released a follow-up quest to Golden Slumber quite recently, so I don’t have any complaints anymore. On the contrary, I was impressed that the quest showed the hidden depths of every character’s psyche and some parts of King Deshret’s lore in such a short time.
All in all, Golden Slumber was a highly rewarding quest, both story-wise and gameplay-wise. It exposed the players to significant areas in Sumeru instead of forcing them to explore the new region alone.
I hope we see more quests like Golden Slumber, where we explore other game mechanics through an immersive story. If you have already finished Golden Slumber, check out our Dirge of Bilqis Guide!
When they aren't gaming, Vaishnavi returns to their weeb roots by catching up with their long to-watch anime and manga list. But if they feel inspired enough, they can occasionally be seen furiously typing away their original fictional stories!
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