previous chapter: lumine awakens after the rifthound attack, but not into her reality. enjou has used the corrosion in her body as a leash, holding her in the abyss and striking a deal with her. in return for thoma's life, she has to side with the abyss order. except, there's still time before she turns this last resort. allowed to return to teyvat, lumine is given one week to make her decision.

After seeing how healthy my physical body was while trapped in that ghost-like state, I thought waking up would have taken a matter of seconds. Either Enjou was playing a trick on me, or returning my body to normal required more time than anticipated. At least I wasn't stuck in the sheer cold of the Abyss anymore. Though I could feel myself lying down in the bed, the problem was that I couldn't open my eyes or lift a finger. An invisible force weighed on my limbs, and my mouth might as well be glued shut. Was I doomed to be like this forever?

My first instinct was to panic—lying in darkness was no better than existing in a void—until my first sense was recovered. Being able to smell was probably the least helpful at this moment, but I caught the scent of flowers with each breath. My mind immediately went to the windwheel asters that Thoma and I wove into crowns, but it was impossible that those flowers survived. Heart aching at the memory, I focused on what I could notice besides flowers.

Then, my hearing returned.

I didn't expect to hear much at all. From what I remembered, it was just Kaeya and me in this room, and he'd been asleep on the couch. Some time must have passed since then—a conversation was taking place.

"I should have been there."

Diluc.

My heart skipped a beat. So, he was back from Mondstadt already. That meant the second semester was about to begin—assuming it hasn't already started. I really hoped that I didn't miss the first days of class. Aside from the nightmare of catching up on material, that would mean I'd lost time on the one week that Enjou gave me to make a decision.

"Lumine wouldn't be…like this. If I had just gone back with her—"

"Listen to yourself, Diluc. It's not like you to be so illogical," Kaeya interrupted. "There's no way any of us could have known that the attack would happen. Besides, it happened while she was out with Thoma. Don't tell me you would have tailed them the whole time."

Diluc's only response was a sigh, and I imagined he was frowning.

If my muscles cooperated, my eyebrows would have risen with how straightforward Kaeya spoke towards Diluc. Before, the sincerity of his words was always accompanied by a healthy amount of snark. Then again, I suppose the situation I found myself in was serious enough to warrant Kaeya's change in demeanor.

"Instead of you blaming yourself, it should be me," Kaeya said. "I'm sorry. I was too slow. When the alarms went off on campus, I didn't think the threat went beyond Academy property until it was too late. Fooled into believing that winter break and the destroyed Domain were enough insurance, it was only after I saw the task force using the teleport that I began to worry. If I took action fast enough—if I got to the beach in time, things wouldn't have turned out this way."

It was weird to hear him openly speak with so much regret. The Kaeya I knew was proficient at masking his insecurities. Of course, I knew there was much more to him under the surface, but for him to crack in front of Diluc was unsettling.

"It's just as you said," Diluc spoke in a low voice. "None of us could have known. Unfortunately, there's no changing what's already happened in the past, but this is a lesson for the future. Now that I am here, I'll ensure that a tragedy like this never arises again."

"You don't understand. Lumine put her trust in me, and I failed her." Kaeya's voice quivered at the end. "She could have died."

"She didn't."

"I don't deserve—"

"What's the matter with you?" Diluc's voice rose—almost angry. "As much as it burns me to admit, there's nothing we could have done. And yet, you insist on shouldering the full blame. The only fault lies with our shared enemy. Once Lumine opens her eyes, I'm going to eradicate the entire Abyss Order, but I regretfully cannot do that with my power alone. There's no hope in success with you brooding."

I had to side with Diluc on this. Though, going straight for the Abyss Order's throat didn't make it to the top of my priority list—saving Thoma came first. It annoyed me that I couldn't be a part of this conversation and break Kaeya out of his mindset.

"I'm no stranger to blame, Diluc. I thought you would have agreed that I'm unreliable—someone not to be trusted. Isn't that what you've believed for all these years? Why bother putting any faith in my abilities with a history like mine?"

"Because it doesn't do any good to ignore you. That blame you're familiar with…it doesn't exist to me anymore." Diluc quieted with those words, and I felt a subtle shift in the air. "As a matter of fact, I should be the one to apologize today."

"What do you mean?"

"It's been a long time since then. We were children—naïve and easily swayed by false loyalties. When we fought, I thought it would be easy to shut you out. Kaeya, the outsider and liar. A spy who wouldn't hesitate to stab my family in the back. I was wrong."

Silence followed—I almost didn't believe my ears. Suddenly, I had no urge to roll out of bed and alert them of my consciousness. They'd undoubtedly disregard the whole conversation and fuss over me the moment I stirred. Listening to what Diluc had to say felt like the most important thing in the world.

"You were also Kaeya, expert crystalfly hunter and fellow seashell collector. More importantly, you were my brother. The highlights of my childhood weren't learning chess from Elzer or standing by father's side—they existed with you. Forgetting what you meant to my family meant forgetting my youth. My stubbornness to remain blind to your grief and guilt is responsible for the sorry state of our relationship today."

Diluc's words stunned me, and I'm sure Kaeya shared that feeling tenfold. Though I already knew both of their stories, actually hearing Diluc confess his truth was nothing I could have prepared for.

At last, Kaeya responded with, "Lumine told me to expect new beginnings."

"She got to you, too?"

"When hasn't she?"

They both shared a chuckle at that.

I didn't know whether to blush or roll my eyes, but it wasn't like I could do either. Though I felt like a fly on the wall intruding on a very personal conversation, I was grateful to hear them finally reconcile. Knowing I was a part of it made me happy enough to almost smile.

"I'm sorry," Diluc said earnestly. "I'm sorry, Kaeya. There's nothing to be done for the years we've lost, but the doors of Dawn Winery are always open for your return."

"I'm surprised you actually said it."

"As am I," Diluc sighed. "To be frank, I'm more surprised that you've let me say this much without adding any torturous remarks."

Kaeya cleared his throat, being as sincere as his brother. "Thank you, Diluc. I look forward to eating Adelinde's cooking again."

"Is that all?"

"Of course, I'll also take the time to properly admire that vase I gifted you. Lumine told me it's been displayed on a pedestal. I can't believe you would actually disrupt the flawless interior design of the manor on my behalf. Perhaps decorating should be left to the staff, after all."

"I take back what I said about the torturous remarks."

Kaeya let out a light-hearted laugh without Diluc joining in this time. Still, I couldn't imagine that he'd be frowning. With my whole heart, I believed that they smiled together. It was obviously too soon for them to play nice and braid each other's hair—a sight I'd love to see—but this was enough. More than enough.

Before their banter could turn into a real argument, I heard the door open.

"This bouquet has a mix of chamomile and verbena. I specifically asked for flowers with healing properties, and the shopkeeper insisted these would do the trick. If he lied to me, well, he'll regret it."

Childe.

He must be the one responsible for the room's floral scent. How many flowers has he brought so far? Childe's intentions were sweet, but I pitied the poor guy working in the flower shop. This was a matter of Enjou being evil, not superstitions tied to blooms.

"There's no more room left on the table," Diluc said. "Where do you plan on putting those?"

"Has there been any improvement?" Childe asked, ignoring the question.

Diluc let the flower topic drop, and I felt their attention on me. "You've been gone for an hour. No miracles have had their chance to happen in such a short amount of time."

Since hearing was currently my strongest suit, I caught Kaeya mumbling to himself. His delight was easy to pick up on. "One miracle."

"It's been three whole days now," Childe said with impatience. "The healers have been in and out, claiming that Lumine should be on her feet by now. I'm beginning to think they don't know what they're talking about. Any longer, and I'll have to send a message to Snezhnaya asking for more capable healers."

Three days? My heart sank with that information. At what point in this timeline did I make the deal with Enjou? It would be just like him to return my mobility after handicapping my time.

Kaeya spoke next. "At least her complexion looks well. If any new healers come in, I would prefer they attend to Thoma first. I overheard that Barbara is on her way to Mondstadt to find something that can cure him, but I doubt she'll make it back in time."

"Fine," Childe said begrudgingly. "Only because Lumine will be distraught to wake up and find Thoma in that state. The only thing worse than her staying unconscious would be her crying over him."

A round of murmured agreements went around the room, except, I was already painfully aware of Thoma's situation. What they didn't realize was that the worst-case scenario wasn't either of those options. I could already imagine the negative reaction to my deal with Enjou, but it's not like I had a choice. Soon, I wouldn't even have time, which is why I absolutely had to wake up now.

I felt the mattress dip slightly and heard the crinkle of paper as Childe set the bouquet down. Next came a light, careful touch on my wrist—checking for a pulse.

"What good is my strength when I'm powerless to help her?"

He didn't get a response, and I suspected they all thought the same thing.

The scent of flowers was stronger now, and I even felt a slight tickle in my nose from the pollen. To be honest, it was overwhelming, but I didn't mind since Childe was doing the only thing he could. For them, it was a waiting game. The room's heavy atmosphere seemed to weigh me down even more.

Though the flowers were probably beautiful, our situation was dull and grim.

"She's strong," Diluc said, his voice getting louder as he approached the bed. It dipped on the other side, and I felt him squeeze my hand. "I believe in her. The corrosion can only last so long."

Kaeya was next to say, "Lumine will fight back. She's always been a fighter."

Easier said than done.

I appreciated their support and wanted to ease their sorrow by waking up. The tickle in my nose intensified, disrupting my focus. The mix of flowers was dizzying—my breath hitched. It got so bad to the point where I felt a familiar buildup that couldn't be contained upon release. An involuntary reaction, not willpower, brought me back.

I sneezed.

My eyes squeezed tight with the action before snapping open. I sat up.

Three pairs of wide eyes looked back at me, and I sniffed back another sneeze that threatened to take over. Their slack faces quickly morphed into a variety of expressions—relief from Diluc, amusement from Kaeya, and joy from Childe.

"You're awake," Childe breathed softly before repeating louder. "You're awake."

"I—" my voice came out odd and raspy, which was no surprise since it's apparently been three days since I last spoke. I cleared my throat before trying again, but that didn't keep my words from wobbling. "I'm awake."

Strange. Though I'd known the three of them were here, watching over me with worry, it wasn't until I'd actually seen them all together that tears flooded my eyes.

A sudden realization struck me, then. I truly believed that I'd never see them again. When the rifthounds attacked, I thought death was my next step. When I appeared in the Abyss, I was sure Enjou would never let me see the light of day again. When I regained consciousness yet remained in darkness, I doubted recovery.

An overwhelming amount of relief reduced me to a blubbering mess.

"I'm sorry for making you all worry so much," I said quite incoherently through sharp breaths, hiccups, and tears. "Thank you for being here. But because of me, Thoma is—"

I was aggressively wiping at the tears, mad at myself for not maintaining composure, until someone gently grabbed my hands and brought them down. Soon, I felt the cooling touch of a soft handkerchief properly drying my face—only for it to be drenched by the next wave of tears that I couldn't hold back.

"It's okay," Kaeya said. "You're okay. Let it all out."

And I did.

The brave face that I maintained in front of Enjou had crumbled to bits. Childe rubbed my back, and I squeezed Dilluc's hand as though my life depended on it. While Kaeya continued to dry my tears and tuck back my hair to keep it from getting wet, I cried until only silent sobs wracked my body. I cried until my breathing was back under control. I cried until I'd run out of tears, but the sadness still lingered.

Less wobbly this time, I said, "Thanks."

Since they probably didn't understand me the first time, I sucked in a breath to elaborate and repeat myself, but the chance never came.

"None of this is your fault, Lumine. You don't have to apologize," Childe said resolutely.

"But it's because of me that the Abyss—"

"Lumine," Diluc's hand tightened on mine, his eyes blazing. "The attack would have happened one way or another, regardless of your involvement. What we know as sanity doesn't exist in the Abyss. It's enough that you're awake now. Please, don't torment yourself over this."

His declaration almost brought me to tears again, so I simply nodded instead of giving a verbal reply.

"How are you feeling?" Kaeya asked.

Now that the strong wave of emotion had abated, I did a small test of moving my limbs. Just as I suspected, I was fully healed. There was no pain from the wounds that the rifthound inflicted on me, and I sensed none of the corrosion's toxicity.

"I feel fine."

"We should get a healer in here to be sure." Childe looked to the door, but he remained by my side.

None of them were willing to leave.

Luckily, that didn't seem to be an issue—the door suddenly opened. I didn't notice who was on the other side at first, but after adjusting my line of sight, I saw Qiqi standing in the doorway. She had a clipboard in her hands and a dazed look in her eyes.

"The patient is awake," she said. "I will call in the head secretary."

Childe stood up halfway and held out a hand. "Wait, don't you need to examine her?"

Qiqi had already turned away, but she angled her head to look back at me. "She's fine."

Just as quickly as she'd come, Qiqi vanished.

"Did she just say the head secretary?" I blinked.

I didn't doubt Catherine's capabilities, but there was nothing she could do for me in the infirmary.

"You've only just woken up. They could at least give you time to recover before launching an interrogation," Childe said through clenched teeth. "I can't believe the lack of decency."

"I've done more than enough resting." Three days too many. "They want to interrogate me?"

Kaeya elaborated. "It's for a report on what happened on the beach. The task force was there to eliminate the rifthounds, but they still don't know how the attack began. Since you and Thoma were the only ones present at the time, they've been waiting for one of you to regain consciousness and provide information."

My stomach sank.

Of course, they would come to me for an explanation. The likelihood of Thoma waking up before me was absolutely zero. He'd been in bad shape when I saw him before, and I imagined he looked worse now.

"I have to see Thoma," I stated and pulled off the blanket, noticing I'd been changed into a simple set of warm shirt and pants—both in grey.

My feet were on the floor before anyone could stop me, though there was no reason for them to. My legs worked perfectly fine up until they carried me to Thoma's door. It was then that my steps faltered along with my resolve. I was scared.

Aware of how Childe, Diluc, and Kaeya had quickly followed and now hovered behind me, I pushed past my hesitation and twisted the doorknob.

"How did you know which room was his?"

I wasn't aware of who asked me that question—my attention was pulled entirely to where Thoma lay. Not sure whether to be relieved or not that his condition hadn't changed, I approached Thoma slowly. Like Childe had done to me, I checked his wrist for a pulse and nearly flinched with how cold his skin was. It felt so wrong. Thoma had always been the embodiment of warmth to me.

Though I wanted to cry, I didn't. I had to be strong again—for Thoma.

The deal I struck with Enjou wasn't forgotten by me. Glancing at my wrist, I checked to see if I had the full seven days left only to be shocked that nothing was there. Where seven purple runes should have glowed, there was only skin. I lifted it higher to get a closer look, but that didn't change anything. Had I made it all up?

"Is something wrong?" Childe asked, worried.

Elemental sight.

I activated it swiftly and saw that the runes really were there—just as I remembered. One, two, three, four, five, six…six. I'd lost a day already.

There was no Enjou present to direct my anger, so I held it back. After double-checking the count, I addressed Childe's question. "I'll explain it to you all soon, but you might want to sit down for this."

"I'm afraid that will have to wait, Miss Lumine."

Startled by the new voice, I turned to look at the entrance where a woman stood with clasped hands. Qiqi had called over the head secretary, but Catherine wasn't the person in front of us now. Disbelief clung to me even as Katheryne returned my shock with a composed smile.

"It's a relief to see that your health has recovered. You will have plenty of time to discuss matters with your friends after I borrow you for a moment," she said. "Unfortunately, they cannot follow."

Somehow, I found the words to ask, "Where are we going?"

"In light of the unique situation, I have been instructed to bring you to the headmaster's office."

the men were too stunned to speak—bless u, lumine

notable typos i've squandered:

forardward

appreadered

hilighllights

stigging

holind