I keep this running playlist of songs I’ve noticed have even a hint of the “Against All Odds” theme in them — probably best known as the Spiral Abyss music.
Against All Odds
The titular track — this plays in a lot of domains, and has been around since the start of the game. Most notably, as I said above, it plays in Spiral Abyss.
Le dormeur du val
This one changes up the melody quite a bit, but you can still tell that it’s derived from “Against All Odds.” It plays almost exclusively in caves in Fontaine. The title is taken from a poem by Arthur Rimbaud called “The Sleeper in the Valley” in English.
Ann’s Anapausis
This one is a little bit more of a stretch, but with “Le dormeur du val” as an intermediary, I’m still pretty confident that there’s meant to be a connection to “Against All Odds” here.
The name of the location it plays, Annapausis, is obviously a little play on words because of the character, Ann. But the word in the title, anapausis, is an Ancient Greek word: ἀνάπαυσις. I can only find bible-related sources confirming that, because I guess that’s sort of how Ancient Greek goes, but it does seem to be derived from αναπαύω (anapauo). Both words generally mean to give rest or to pause, but with an underlying euphemism for death. It’s a very fitting word to use here.
That is also why I’m so sure that this song is at least related to “Le dormeur du val.” The French poem I mentioned before, “The Sleeper in the Valley” is about a soldier resting peacefully in a beautiful field under the sun — but the reason he is resting is because he has died.
Whirl of Boreal Wind
This one is straightforward enough that the Genshin Wiki points it out in the Trivia section: “Whirl of Boreal Wind features a motif from the soundtrack Against All Odds.” I didn’t initially have that many thoughts about it, because it makes sense to me that the Wolf of the North challenge would have a soundtrack that’s similar to many of the other 1.0 domains. But with the context of the previous two songs, it feels especially appropriate because Boreas is already dead and “at rest.”
Contemplation in Snow
Albedo’s song! This is the hardest one to make a case for, and when I sat down to write this I couldn’t remember for the life of me why it was even on the playlist. But the part that starts around the :43 second mark in both songs (spooky!) is similar enough that I’m including it.
Timestamped versions for comparison: Against All Odds, Contemplation in Snow.
The Everlasting Trail
This is the most obvious one, because it is literally just an enhanced version of “Against All Odds.” So far, it has only played in the Delusion Factory in Childe’s story quest and a couple of event domains.
Dreams of the Ancient Realm
The newest addition to the playlist! This has a very subtle, slowed down version of the motif, and it plays in Acts 1–3 of Imaginarium Theater. It fits in well here since IT is basically just another domain, but also because IT feels like a space that exists outside of time.