There are a number of oddities scattered throughout the world of Genshin Impact, whether they be people, places, or items. Katheryne is one of said oddities. If you’ve ever spent a bit of time idling around her at any of the Adventurers’ Guild locations, it’s likely that you’ve seen or heard a few strange clues which support the fan theory suggesting that Katheryne is a robot.
Taking that theory one step further after the reveal of the Fatui Harbingers, we have another stating that Katheryne could, in fact, be controlled by Sandrone, The Marionette – a Harbinger who uses machine puppets.
The clues provided to support the idea of Katheryne being a robot were discovered some time ago, though. If you wait long enough while standing near her, she will say robotic voice lines like “error” or “rebooting.” Another piece of evidence is the keyhole found on the back of her neck.
Normally, players wouldn’t be able to spot the keyhole, but if you attack her at Liyue’s Adventurers’ Guild, she will turn in a way that makes it visible. The image below shows where to spot it, so try this out in your own game for a clearer view.
The updated theory, posted by dream996 on Reddit, even goes into detail that brings up the visual design similarities between Sandrone and Katheryne. On top of that, in Childe’s recently leaked 2.8 voice lines we hear him wonder aloud, “if those machines have anything to do with her” when speaking about Sandrone.
There are plenty of machines found across Teyvat that Childe could be referring to, but attributing Katheryne’s keyhole and inhuman dialogue to Sandrone’s research feeds into the fan theory quite well. The Fatui Harbinger could be using this so-called receptionist to spy on the Traveler in every major region – who knows?