Outlanders… your journey ends here.
No!
Arrogation of mankind ends here.
No… we are not normal humans! We are not the mankind you see.
His face of worry and fear… it is etched into her mind. Black cubes of unknown substance, took him away. Death will not come to him, for her was merely sealed.
"AETHER!"
Lumine woke up in cold sweat, her heart beating faster than it should've been. The nightmare plagued her once more for a while. She reprimanded herself for allowing the nightmare to come to her again despite 6 weeks in this new world.
'I can't sleep again.' Despite feeling light weight, the girl forced her body to move and left her room. She had the sudden thought of looking back at her room.
Empty, minimalistic. Those were the words she can describe the room as. Even though she had own clothes strewn in some places, there was almost nothing in this room compared to Issei.
The girl sighed at the depressive state of herself and the room before making her way to the kitchen. Perhaps a cup of green tea can calm her nerves.
As she made her way, she noticed a small light coming from her destination… and slurping?
'Who's eating noodles in the middle of the night?' Lumine thought to herself before walking into the kitchen to find out the culprit. She immediately gives her most deadpan expression as she sees the one who was eating during midnight.
Issei, holding a cup ramen in his hand and a string of noodles hanging on his lips as he stopped slurping it. Both of them stared at each other for a moment before Issei ate the string of noodles.
The awkward atmosphere persisted for a while before Lumine wordlessly made her way to the cabinet to get a pack of green tea. Lumine was thankful that the water was still hot enough to make tea. She hated lukewarm tea.
The girl poured hot water into her cup, enjoying the silence with the occasional soft slurping from Issei. She eventually sat down and sipped her green tea while Issei finished his cup ramen.
Neither spoke to each other at all, merely finding each other's company comfortable. No words were needed for the situation after all, unless either one wished to speak.
And that was what Issei intended to do. "Are you fine?" He asked. The girl stiffened for a moment by the sudden question, only to turn her gaze to her cup of tea.
"Ah…" Issei nodded in understanding before staying silent, listening to her drinking her tea. After a while, he noticed Lumine stared at the sky through the window.
Despite being in the city, the starry sky is not obscure by the city's light. Issei never spent time star gazing before, but seeing the beautiful sky… it elicits some emotions in his heart.
"Are you thinking of your brother?" He blurbed out to Lumine before quickly shutting his mouth up. The stunt face of Lumine made him feel bad. 'Stupid me and my mouth!' He mentally cursed himself.
"Not many moments have I not thought of him." Lumine softly spoke. She made her way to the porch of the house, letting the cool spring air touch her skin. Issei followed her and turned his gaze to the sky.
"The stars…" She started before taking a breath. "They remind me of the nights we spent together." The girl can remember the warmth they both share.
The nights where they have to cuddle together to ensure they were not frozen by the cold air. There were some nights where they didn't even have dinner and slept with an empty stomach.
Those times were not pleasant, but the memories were worth cherishing.
She reached out to the starry sky, somewhere in her heart she wished that she could reach her brother by doing so. "I even wonder when I decided to begin searching for him… will I finally find him?"
Neither spoke for a moment, Issei stared at Lumine with an unreadable expression. He raised his hand, hesitant, before placing it on her shoulder lightly as if she would break by any force.
"I… will not lie and say you will find him." It felt a little bitter to say it. "And it is possible that you won't find him in this lifetime." He heard many news stories about people missing their family members and never reunited.
However…
"But if there is something I can tell you…"
There is still hope.
"Your brother has to be somewhere in this world searching for you too." He looked at the stars with a smile. Something about the stars shining filled him with optimism. "And if he is truly traveling to search for you, then he must be looking at the same night sky as you."
Lumine looked at the sky with the thought of her brother looking at the sky. Was he missing her? Was he sitting near a cliff with an unreliable expression thinking hard about her?
Perhaps so. 'Aether… the thought of you looking at the same night sky as I do… It will be my source of strength.'
"Thank you…" Issei turned to her, surprised by her saying so. "For cheering me up again, Issei."
She was not looking at Issei, but she knew she was giving a radiant smile. "Your words… It will be a reminder that I can be optimistic to see my brother again. I believe that we will reunite soon."
Issei's expression softens, admiring Lumine's radiant smile. 'Until then… I will keep helping you, no matter how many times it takes.'
"It's no problem, Hotaru."
Near a cliff side, a blonde haired boy with fair skin sat on the edge. His golden eyes gazed at the starry night while letting the night air blow, making his ponytail flutter.
He wears a brown breastplate vest bearing his midriff along with a white scarf and a cape with golden decals. He wears brown pants, dark gloves, and black boots,and has lightly-defined pecs.
"Are you thinking of your sister again?" A man of Japanese descent with long black hair walked up to the boy. He wore a white uniform with black coat draping over his body. He sat beside the boy, who nodded before materializing a cup of tea and handed it to the man.
The boy stayed silent for a moment before speaking. "I'm just wondering if the past decades have been fruitless in searching for her." The man can tell in his tone, it was frustration.
"But it's quite the journey you are embarking, no?" The man gives the boy a reassuring smile before looking at the starry sky. "If anything… I hope this journey will etch into your memories. I can't hope to live as long as an Outlander."
The Outlander agreed. "I suppose you are right. But somewhere in my heart… I hope we can find each other soon."
He reached out his hand to the night sky, his palm at the brightest star before snapping his hand into a fist. "Until then… our war with Celestia will not end." He narrowed his eyes at the brightest star, showing his seething anger at the star.
He suddenly felt a warm hand on his head before turning to the Japanese man. "Until then, you got us accompanying you, Aether."
Aether's expression softens into a warm smile. 'I suppose I'm being too intense.' The blonde stood up, dusting his pants before retrieving the cup of tea. "Thanks, Masaomi."
Masaomi chuckles before smacking the back of Aether. "Come on, Cleria and Keqing will murder us if we didn't wake up in time tomorrow."
That got the boy to laugh out loud, but not loud enough to disturb anyone's sleep. "I suppose you're right, my friend."
Been a month hasn't it... I got no excuse really since I just feel like writing this. The new Inazuma update is quite the refreshing change for me in Genshin (despite still not 100% my exploration for the other 2 regions).
But I will say that this might be the end of all the filler chapters I've been making. The next chapter (hopefully when I got the mood to do next month) I will be moving the plot along.
Anyway, if you want to support me, please check out my original story Glitched Heart.
Until next time, good luck with your 50/50.
