Author's Note: Shout out to Kazuma x Iris, nhinhonhinho, and the guests that have left reviews, you guys are amazing. Also thanks for everyone that has favorite and read this story, you guys are amazing too.

Short chapter for today. If anyone would like to see how Alena looks like, you can check out the story on my Quotev account (username: KiddishAya) for reference as she is an OC made with picrew (like Merno). (I'll write about Inazuma when I get more info XD)

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Merno sat alongside the girl, her luscious green hair fluttering in the wind as she pieced together her iconic string to her pinkie. She turned to Merno, a huge smile on her face with her undistinguishable mark on her cheek that Merno could tell apart from miles away.

"Are you ready, Merno? Remember, there's no turning back after this. We will finally be able to explore every possible world out there until our hearts' content!"

Merno nodded.

"I can't believe.. we're going to do this. I guess I'll see you soon in the next world."

The girl giggled and brought her pinkie up.

"Then I swear to always be by your side. I make this oath and promise that nothing, or no one will ever separate us, no matter the circumstances. Do you accept, Merno?"

Merno smiles and wraps his own pinkie with hers, the string shining a bit upon contact.

"I do."

The contract was sealed. The light from the string began to shine even more, enveloping the two as the area around them began to shatter apart and disappear.

Merno was terrified, but seeing her unwavering smile of hers made him not lose faith. This was her display of power and he was the first being to be shown such an inexplicable ability.

"This string will keep us together by heart no matter where life takes us. Remember that.. Merno."

[Page break]

"Different world..? I guess it's not new to me to hear someone claim they're from another world, like Fischl.. Err, not that I don't believe you or anything!"

"Yeah.. Alena and I found ourselves in this world after the ritual, and without any knowledge of this world whatsoever, we spent our days traveling until we eventually stumbled upon Mondstadt."

"And that's where I met you.." Amber adds. "But where was Alena? I've never even met this girl."

"She made herself scarce." Merno continued, taking another swig. "She was so excited about her success in world traveling that she just wanted to explore everything at once. She's not fond of other people at all, hence why she only met with me and not other people."

"How did you manage to do it? And where is she now?"

"World traveling? I didn't. Alena did. I've known of Alena for as long as I can remember and not once did I ever found out how she possesses such strange abilities. I've just accepted her as she was. A happy, cute girl that only cared about animals and the world itself, not people. At least physically when it came to people as she simply feared them. As far as where she is? I don't know.. that's what I'm trying to find out."

As Merno was going for another swig, Amber gently place her hand on his.

"You don't.. have to keep drinking. If this story pains you that much then-"

"It's alright." Merno interrupted. "I think it's time someone knew about Alena and why I travel around in the first place.. in search of her. It just feels right to finally share this with someone.. If you ask me, keeping secrets is exhausting."

Amber could relate to that.

"It's just.. so unbelievable that there truly are people from other worlds.."

Merno raised an eyebrow.

"You mean Lumine and Aether haven't told you yet? Did you see those shooting stars weeks ago?"

Amber embarrassingly covered her face with her 'bunny ears.'

"Those little rascals didn't tell me a thing! You're telling me they come from a different world too? Gosh I.. I need to pay more attention.."

Although seeing her like this did managed to raise Merno's spirits just a tiny bit, he quickly shifted his focus back to his story at hand.

"So after a while, I started noticing small changes in Alena's behavior. She stopped caring less and less about her adventures. She offered me a 'proposition.' She wanted me to be.. her spokesman, basically. A way to spread the word to the people of Teyvat that Alena has the power to bring peace across the land. I argued with her. It wasn't our world, so why should we worry so much about bringing peace to it?"

Merno gave a long sigh.

"She didn't like that. And although yes, I may have sounded selfish, I wanted her to understand that for the two of us to convince a whole world was realistically impossible. But Alena insisted. She truly believed that she could do it.. but her weakness and fear of people was too much for her to act on her own, so she pleaded for me to spread her word and showcase her abilities. I still refused of course."

"Woah.. She wanted to be seen as some sort of God so that people could stop fighting amongst themselves?"

"Basically, yeah. This eventually led to the attack in Mondstadt. Somehow, someway she convinced the Fatui and the Abyss Order to plan a coordinated attack. I'm sure you're very aware of it."

She nodded.

"I don't know why she would do such a thing. Maybe trying to scare me into submission meant more to her than our friendship? Who knows, but as of today, I still want answers.. And.. now you know."

"..I have to tell Jean about this. Surely, this explanation will clear your name."

Merno grabbed a hold of her wrist.

"No! You can't! If people knew the truth, they'll start hunting her down.. and I don't want that.. I rather deal with her myself. I will convince her myself to return us back onto our world and leave this place forever.. but it has to be me."

Amber admittedly didn't like the idea of Merno returning to his world. She just has so much fun with him back in their travel days.. She wasn't willing to let that go yet but she wanted nothing more than to do whatever it takes to bring back his happiness, even if it meant not seeing him again later.

"So then.. Why did you tell me?"

"I'm not even sure myself.. But you have to keep it to yourself. I'm serious."

Amber shoots him a small smile.

"You have my word. I'll help you in any way I can."

"Thanks.. Amber. You and the twins will be the only ones that know about this. I trust those twins and I'm sure they'll understand seeing as they come from another world themselves. I just need.. help."

"Well they'll be seeing me again tomorrow for gliding practice. Would you like me to tell them for you?"

"I would appreciate that."

Awkward silence ensued for a couple of seconds. These revelations sparked Amber's curiosity about the man even more, multiple questions circling around her head. She tilted her head a bit, observing Merno without even realizing herself that she was staring for too long.

"Are.. you ok? I'm the one drinking here, why are you looking at me like that?"

Amber blinks, abruptly standing to her feet and putting her hands on her hips.

"You need Baron Bunny for the night! She will keep you company."

Merno's eyes widened in terror, stumbling back onto his bedside.

"Y-you mean the exploding thing?!"

"The very same!"

Amber materialized her iconic Baron Bunny seemingly out of thin air and placed it next to Merno. He looked up horrified, but Amber wasn't letting him go anywhere as she wrapped her hands around him, carefully making sure she wasn't putting pressure on his broken arm.

"A-Amber is that thing really going to explode?!"

Amber giggled.

"No silly! I just wanted to cheer you up!" Amber softens her tone as she rests her head on his on his shoulder. "I'm looking forward to our adventures together again.. Just do me a favor and don't do anything reckless until then."

Merno had to thank the Archons above for his room being dark at the moment. He didn't really have any interests of the sort but his blushed stained cheeks did not make it easier to reconsider said interests.

"Y-you can let go now, Amber. I'll be fine."

Amber lets go, giving him one last smile before making her way out of the room, leaving Baron Bunny by his side.

"Thank you.. Amber.."

--

The storm was picking up and the twins were still trapped inside the cafe, fearing of their hair becoming a mess, especially Aether's.

"This is not going to let up anytime soon, is it?" Aether asked, his head resting in his hand.

"I can't be the only one that noticed some kinda of far away roar, right?" Lumine added.

"Huh? What roar?"

"Just listen."

The twins sat quiet against the cafe's window, listening to any other noises that stood out from the rain and thunder. They both picked out a faint growl.

"Oh you're right. What do you think it could be?"

"It's Stormterror.." The man behind the counter interrupted. "It's been happening for a while now, but the dragon continues to bring storms upon Mondstadt from time to time."

Aether shot an excited grin to his sister.

"Come on, Lumine. I know you want to check it out!"

Lumine scoffed.

"Are you crazy? A dragon? We already fought a giant wolf and now you want us to snoop around to find a dragon?"

Aether sat up from his chair, cracking his knuckles, his grin not faltering.

"Precisely!"