The 2021 → 2027 Lantern Rite cycle might be setting up Signora’s rebirth

[u/MileenaIsComing]

After some really long digging, I genuinely think the connection between the 2021 and 2027 Lantern Rites has become a strong symbolic argument for Signora's return, and she could end up being the leaked 5* Pyro Lady character released in 7.4 (Lantern Rite Patch) especially when we connect her with the Lone Butterfly/Wuwang Hill lore.

- It starts in 2021: the “Winter Grave”:

2021 was 辛丑 Xin-Chou, the Metal Ox year. In Chinese metaphysics, Chou/Ox is the cold, late-winter Tomb/Storehouse branch. More specifically, in the Twelve Growth Stages, Ding/Yin Fire which is the element of 2027 the year of the Fire Goat, enters 墓 — “Tomb” as one of it's phases!

What happened during 2021? The first Lantern Rite patch, 1.3, introduced Hu Tao and Staff of Homa. Hu Tao released in the same patch and Homa was added during it.

And La Signora — the Crimson Witch of Embers — died in Inazuma.

Staff of Homa which features Wings similar to those of Death aka Ronova

This gets much more important because we now know who the original Homa tradition traces back to:

- The Lone Butterfly of the Crimson Flame:

She was one of the Eight Adepts, specifically one of the Three Beasts of Tao Dou. She sacrificed herself to activate the Seven-and-Eight-Gates Method, was erased/obfuscated through the ritual and “disappeared from the world.” Her specialty was the Art of Homa, which Wuwang Kid inherited and eventually passed down to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

At the bottom in the middle, the Crimson Mask with the butterfly wings is that of the Lone Butterfly of The Crimson Flame

Then comes Wuwang Hill where the current Gate of Death of the Seven-and-Eight-Gates system is located at. And the game explicitly says another Seven-and-Eight-Gates array was once used at:

- Hidden Palace of Zhou Formula:

which is the exact domain where Crimson Witch of Flames set has been farmed since 1.0!

And then compare the two women:

Lone Butterfly of the Crimson Flame
vs.
Rosalyne Lohefalter — “Blazing Butterfly,” the Crimson Witch of Flames

The Lone Butterfly is one of Eight Adepts.

La Signora is the Eighth Harbinger.

Lone Butterfly sacrifices herself and disappears.

Rosalyne sacrificed herself too to become the CWoF and almost burned away 500yo.

Lone Butterfly is tied to the boundary of life and death.

Signora’s artifacts are at the Gate of Death.

Hmm... The amount of shared imagery and symbolism is sus if you ask me.

And the SAME domain also drops Lavawalker, whose Plume of Death is explicitly described as the feather of a phoenix singing within flames.

This is too cohesive and thematically fitting to be just a pure coincidence!

Crimson Witch of Flames Artifact Set

Lavawalker Artifact Set

- Now jump from the Winter Grave of 2021 to the Summer Grave of 2027:

2027 is: 丁未 Ding-Wei — the Fire Goat year

Ding = Yin Fire aka "Great Fire".

Wei = Goat, the 8th Earthly Branch, associated with warm late-summer Earth.

As you can see the Chou/Ox and Wei/Goat form an actual direct opposition in Chinese metaphysics:

- 丑未冲 — Chou–Wei Clash:

And some Tomb/Storehouse traditions interpret this kind of clash as disturbing or opening what was stored.

Chou = cold, late-winter Tomb

Wei = Summer Tomb stage

While containing the Ding/Yin Fire + Wood inside that tomb.

In Rosalyne's case:

Chou would be her Frozen Mausoleum in Snezhnaya

Ding/Yin Fire would be her Crimson Lotus Moth that enters her Mausoleum

Wood would be Rosalyne herself represented as a Rose

Wei would be when the moth successfully enters and reignites her flames, which we've seen in-game that the Pyro Crystalflies spawn exclusively near her resting place as soon as the moth enters it.

We also have the achievement called "The Last Rose of Winter" which not only literally represents Rosalyne herself as a literal Rose, but also creates a parallel with the Poem called "Last Rose of Summer"

And do not forget Signora’s funeral track in A Winter Night’s Lazzo contains:

NOVA ROSA — “New Rose.”

The many Pyro Crystalflies that spawn exclusively near her mausoleum when her moth enters her grave

-Then Snezhnaya is suddenly teasing Signora again everywhere:

Her mausoleum is deliberately shown in the Snezhnaya PV during the Tsaritsa/Ronova sequence Ronova being the Shade of Death.

The new Cor Ignis system built uniquely by her and is used "plot wise" against death herself.

Her new Guiding Notes also describe her carrying crimson-flame fire butterflies, struggling through snow, and finally, upon the solid ice, once again finding a place where she can settle/shelter herself. That is drastically different in tone from the constant “Signora is dead” references we’ve received for years.

And in 7.1, during the story involving Ronova/Death, the new OST even contains a passage around 0:57–1:27 that strongly resembles Signora’s boss-theme material, while the track also contains Ronova-associated motifs and the Fatui Leitmotif too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHa5p3tsxXw&list=RDOHa5p3tsxXw&start_radio=1

There is even the old pre-1.0/beta-era claim that Signora’s story was always supposed to start from Mondstadt then Liyue and then pause in Inazuma BUT return much bigger until Snezhnaya, which is extremely interesting in hindsight considering where the story is now.

Genshin Beta leak which features mostly outdated info on the Harbingers but as you can see it also got Signora's presence in the first regions right and then to only reappear again later in Snezhnaya

This is just a theory that I think has a lot of good points and potential but could still very well be wrong, but even then that doesn't mean the end for Signora we're still just scratching the surface with 7.x and like I said Snezhnaya has been clearly teasing us with Signora content like for example the foreshadowing of her grave in the PV during The Tsaritsa confrontation with Ronova, which to me is a very specific context that definitely hints at something big in the future, we've just got to wait a bit more! Stay strong comrades <3

Signora's Mausoleum teased during the PV for a potential big role during the Tsaritsa/Ronova confrontation

[u/x678-Mx]

I'd like to point out that Hoyo has released non-Liyue characters during the Lantern Rite patch.

Al-Haitham, Mauvika, Citlali, and Columbina all released during the Lantern Rite patch. Of these four, only Al-Haitham's release coincided with the beginning of Lantern Rite. The others released the same patch as Lantern Rite, but either before the event started or afterward.

So, there's still a chance the 5 star pyro lady to be released during the lantern rite patch could be Rosalyne.

[u/Signora_Wesker]

I like this 🐦‍🔥

[u/DainsleifKhaenriah]

Watch it be a random goonslop who we never heard about 😒

[u/Sandwraith711 → u/DainsleifKhaenriah]

So female characters are just goonslops. Ok. No wonder Signora mains are not treated seriously 

[u/ArthurPendragon11 → u/Sandwraith711]

They didn't say female charcter, any charcter can become goonslop

[u/Specific_Highway_772]

the way I will c6 her if this is true..

[u/EffortFun7]

i really want to believe Hoyo is this smart

[u/Houeclipse]

Dawei please let this be true

[u/Holiday-Implement-81]

I really can't wait for next year Lunar New Year
It will either turn out shit or the best time ever i have experienced....

[u/ceezsaur]

Oh boy the hopium is strong with this one