Happy Valentine's day! This is my gift to you for this special day. As well as serving as a teaser for the upcoming third chapter of Memories of The Forgotten Star. Enjoy!
The first time the Adeptus laid his eyes upon her form, the moment the Vigilant Yaksha known as Xiao saw her, he could already tell that this person, whoever she is, is not an ordinary mortal. In fact, when he sensed her aura for the first time, he almost mistaken her for something else. He couldn't exactly put his finger on it, about what she truly are. She's no mortal, that's for sure, but she ain't a god either. Then what is she? A monster? An artificial being? He had no idea, only ridiculous and weird guesses that crosses his mind when he think about her.
But one thing he knows for sure, is that no matter what she is, as long as she pose no threat to Liyue, she'll be spared from his wrath.
He still remember the very first time the two met each other.
At first, he knows about her presence when his ears caught the distant silent conversation between the boss of the Wangshu Inn and the newcomer. He heard of how the mysterious person asked her how to meet the Adeptus known as Xiao, who reportedly stayed at the inn as it was his outpost during the times when he was doing his duties as the Yaksha. After pointing up to the highest balcony of the inn, which is where he is located at the time. The boy waits there, standing on the roof to see just who this person (or rather persons, which he later came to learn later) is. And their appearance is... Not quite what he expected.
He was expecting to see a typical someone of Liyue's descent, a merchant, a scholar, or in rare cases, an apprentice of the Guhua clan to meet him. But what came to the balcony that day was a weird, floating, creature child thing, and came along with it, is the form of a girl, young in appearance, standing in about almost the same height as his human form, and she also has an unusual bright blonde hair that is quite rare for someone to naturally have in Tevyat, unless if they use a dye of the color.
However, what is the most distinguishable aspect of her aside from her foreign clothing, is the rolls of bandages that are wrapped around her head to cover her eyes completely, just like a disabled person do.
'Is this girl blind?' That's the first thought that crossed his mind.
Even if she's not, there's no way that she could see while having those fabrics tightly wrapped around her eyes like that. Well, except if she has access to elemental sight, but who would want to waste their energy like that? No matter how he looks at it, if it's not for the visual impairment that she might be suffering from, there's no other reason for her wearing that extra accessories. It may also explain the reason why she was followed around by the floating child thing, maybe the tiny creature is actually her guide. The one who told her where to step and where to not to.
Except that she's not, well, she kinda is, but it was still not what he thought about.
"Oh? He's not here?" The little creature muttered. She floats to the railings of the balcony, her eyes are sparkling as she takes the amazing scenery of the Guili Plains from this height. Meanwhile for her bigger companion, the blonde girl is busy looking around the balcony, as if she was searching for something, despite her obvious lack of sight, successfully gaining a raised eyebrow from the Adeptus watching over the two.
After realizing that no one was there, the mysterious girl with blonde hair then approached the railings. And for a split second, Xiao could feel his instinct starts to kick in for him to step down and pull her back, in fear that the seemingly blind girl did not realize that she was walking towards the edge of the balcony, that she might've slip over the railings and fall to her death.
Thankfully though, his fear didn't come true as the girl, with a relaxed demeanour, decided to lean over the railings and took on the beautiful view in front of her, with Xiao having not a single idea of how she did that considering that her eyes are covered.
Deciding that he had enough watching them. He silently came down to their level, without doing much as making a sound. Masking the sounds of his quick movements somewhere along the gentle breeze that passes the two.
"To the blind, everything may not be as it appears..."
He quickly made his presence known to the two, the tiny floating creature gasps and backs away in both fear and shock, from the looks of it, he has successfully made the little one's heart jump by his sudden appearance. But in complete contrast to her companion, the blonde haired girl that stood beside her appears unflinching even in the slightest, some would say that she was even unresponsive to what would normally make people scared out of their lives from a surprise like that. But for this mysterious girl, his sudden appearance almost looks pretty normal, or in a sense, she might even be completely expecting him to appear. In another possibility, Xiao even considers if this girl is not only blind but might as well deaf. Tsk, barely twenty seconds in and he already has a lot to think about this girl. What a truly strange yet unique person.
"...True... But the same thing applies to the other way around as well. One with eyesight, cannot experience the same world as the blind." The mysterious figure of the blonde haired girl spoke up after a while, the words that came out of her mouth smoothly flowed out like honey. And yet, the level of blankness, the hoarseness, and heaviness that weighs down her voice shocked Xiao even just for a little. And truthfully, it kinda peeked his interest.
So the girl wasn't deaf after all...
Releasing a sigh, the boy with dark green hair turned his head to look at the girl beside him. Now that he looks at her more closely, he could now confirm that the girl really sealed her eyes shut. With only her nose, her mouth, and her eyebrows are the visible facial features on her face, it's hard to imagine what she truly looks like without those wrappings of bandages. Not that he really cares about it. His lifespan as an Adeptus is huge compared to that of a mortal, and during his duties as the Yaksha, he had seen many faces come and go. There's no point of remembering them if they're all ultimately going to disappear at the end.
"I've heard that you come here looking for me. Speak." The Adeptus said, demanded. Crossing his arms across his chest as he turns his body to look at her.
For the first time, the girl turned her own head to look at him, before her body followed. With her head facing him, she began to speak.
"Adeptus Xiao... I've heard that I can find you here." She began, raising a single hand to him before something materialized on the top of her palm. A long thin paper, with an inscription carved into it. "I believe they said that should I present you with this, you will hear me out."
"A sigil of permission? You came prepared." He knows well of that piece of paper, as well as the main functions of it. Such sigils were used to be pretty common during the times of the Archon War. Originally, Rex Lapis created those sigils, and imbued it with Adeptal power, they were used by mortals to channel divine powers to protect themselves from the evils of the war. Though such talismans are mostly devoid of all of its former powers. The oath of the Adepti to never harm any of its wielders still exists until now. The Yaksha has no idea of where this girl could get her hands on one of the sigils. But he doesn't have enough care to know.
"I have something really important to tell you. Do you mind speaking with me for a while?" The blonde girl asked, dematerializing the sigil in her hand back into bits of particles of lights.
Something to tell him? Is she one of those people who troubles themselves by coming all the way here just to see him and ask him for many trivial things? Though he admits that this girl is unique compared to the others that came before her, he has no interest in troubling himself with helping mortals with their problems aside from what he already did for them every day. Not to mention that his karmic debt is currently in a bad conditions too. No mortals should ever be recommended to be in close proximity to him.
"Listen here..." He replied after a while, closing his eyes as he spoke. "Though the sigil only prevents me from hurting you myself. It Doesn't stop you from getting hurt in other ways."
"Uhh... Paimon doesn't get it..." The floating creature beside the blonde haired girl, Paimon, he presumes. Scratch her head in confusion.
"Too much contact with our world is breaking the rules." The Adeptus boy answered, but it's still as cryptid as what he was saying before. "Mortal souls are not as robust as those of Adepti, nor can your blood carry this level of Adeptal energy." And with the warning has been said, he turns his back on them, and prepares to leave. "It's for your own good. Leave. Now."
"Wait a sec, we came here to..."
Before he disappears from the spot he just stands on a moment ago, his ears barely catch the voice of the floating creature, vainly trying to prevent him from leaving but to no avail. But that aside, the voice that was calling out to him is not his main focus in that split second before he leaves the balcony. Instead, it was the feeling of intensity that was drilling into his back that was his mind was so focused on. As if there were a pair of eyes that were intensely staring into his back, watching his form disappear, as if begging him to not leave, but have no spoken words to convey. And although it was ridiculous for him to assume who it is, he could only think of the blonde haired girl to be the one who did it.
They had just met, and yet his mind is already plagued with many questions... Hopefully, with that warning he gave her, the weird girl will give up on her quest to meet him, and leave the Wangshu Inn and never bother him again, for good.
But unfortunately, those are only hopes, and Xiao knows well that in this world, things will not always go the way he was hoping for.
It was only mere minutes later, perhaps about ten or twenty, after finishing up some business and he came back to stood at the top of the tallest balcony of the Wangshu Inn again. His ears catch the sounds of silent footsteps coming from behind him. The sounds of the clacking heels on the wooden floor sounds exactly similar, and he instantly knows who he was dealing with.
"...You two again." He said with a sigh escaping his lips. Looking back to see that girl with bandages on her eyes approaching him yet again. As well as that... Weird floating thing.
"Wait! Don't go disappearing again." The said floating creature quickly said out loud, clearly in fear that the boy is going to leave them for a second time.
And in conjunction with her companion's words. The blonde haired girl reached out her hand again, both of it this time. But instead of sigil of permission, what materialized on the girl's palms this time is a plate, filled with food on top of it. A stack of wiggly white cubic, smeared with brownish liquid, with a mint placed on top. A particular dish that Xiao knows full well of.
"Hmm? This is..."
"It's your favorite, Almond Tofu! As well as this distant traveler's best dish a Satisfying Salad." Saying this, the tiny creature brings up another plate of food, this time, a salad that are compromised of a combination of eggs, potatoes, apples, and lettuce. Just how the heck did these two brings out things into existence that easily really bring things into question.
"...I heard that this is your favorite." The Traveler spoke up, handing over the plate of almond tofu in her hand, which he reluctantly accept after some moments of hesitation. "I've made a bunch other more if this wasn't enough. Can we sit together now please?"
A bunch of other more? Wait, what?
It turns out she wasn't kidding when she said that. After taking a small table and a pair of wooden chairs up to the balcony, Xiao could only stare in a mixture of what supposed to be amazement, shock, and confusion. Plates upon plates of Almond Tofu spreads out along the surface of the table, as well as the wooden floor surrounding the two. Numbly, the Adeptus wonders how and when did she have the time to set this up. He only left her for about twenty minutes and she already made this much!
"Hmph, you know that making this many is such a waste, right? There's no way that I'm going to eat all of this." He said with yet another sigh, his amber eyes stared into her not visible ones, finding the girl has been awfully quiet the whole time. And it somehow kinda unnerved him of just how little this Traveler had spoken. Every word that came out of her mouth is always one that get straight to the point. Vividly showing how serious she is.
"I can always have Paimon to eat the rest." The blonde haired girl answered, again, with that blank tone and serious demeanour. "Or... I can just store them away, and give them to you later."
"Hmph, you do know that dish like this tend to spoilt the fastest, right?"
"No worries. I can make them stayed fresh like they were recently made for as long as possible."
That answer raised an eyebrow from Xiao. A way to preserve food to stay at their peak condition for as long as possible? That sounds utterly impossible. And yet, somewhere in the back of his mind, Xiao couldn't help but to believe her, he believe that such way is possible for this girl to do. A girl who could make a hundred plates of Almond Tofu in a span of less than twenty minutes.
Taking the spoon, he brought a small pieces of the white tofu to his mouth. Closing his lips to chew on the food that this mysterious guess had specially made for him. And once his tongue made contact with the dish inside his mouth, his eyes widened slightly from the taste. This taste of the dish... The texture of the Tofu... It's just like... It's just...
"Traveler! Quick! Tell him everything before he finishes eating!" His mind snapped back to reality upon hearing the voice of that tiny creature, looking up, she saw the white haired creature is whispering to the blonde's ear. And by whisper he means shouting loudly for him to hear.
"Calm down Paimon, he's not even finishing the first plate yet." The girl replied to her companion. She somehow knew that he haven't done with the first plate yet? Did she know it from the lack of clacking sounds of a spoon hitting the plate like what normally a person eating sounds like? Or did she just simply saw it?
Turning her head back to look at him, she stared at him dead in the eyes, or at least that's what he think she's doing judging from the way her eyebrows furrowed.
"Rex Lapis is dead."
Suddenly, the moment he heard those words, everything went silent. The winds stop blowing, time felt like it came into a sudden stop. His legs feel weak, and so does his arm, the spoon that he held between his fingers slipped through the cracks and fell into the floor with a thud. He couldn't believe his ears... Did this girl is serious in her statement? She's only joking isn't she? But with a serious voice and expression like that, it's hard to not to believe of what she just said.
"What...?" His words comes out in a stutter, full of disbelief and shock.
"Agh, Lumi!" The tiny thing screeches, kicking her small feet in the air and glared at her bigger companion. "You can't be so upfront like that! Use more delicacy!"
"I thought you said that I need to tell him quickly."
"Ugh, but that's... Well... Paimon did say that, but still though! Ugh! Paimon is so confused about what she should say right now!"
"...It can't be." His voice has become dry and heavy, he just couldn't believe it, how could he?! "Rex Lapis... He's..."
"Dead." The girl repeated, unmoved as ever.
"How could this be? I... can't imagine it. Though times have changed, I've never imagined a Liyue without him." Bringing up a hand to his head, he rested his elbow on the table, his fingers squeezing his forehead to soothe the intense emotions raging inside his brain.
"And that's why we need to talk." The blonde haired girl responded, also resting her arms on top of the taple. Preparing to tell him a long story. "We're here to explain everything that we know so far, as well as the situation in the harbor. Will you listen?"
He narrows his eyes at that. Did she expect him to turn them away, after what she said and what she had done with these tofus? Aside from displaying a calm and collected manners, she is also surprisingly a polite one. There is no negativity in her whatsoever, in fact, she might be even feeling comfortable to be around him. A very odd individual indeed, nobody before has made it this far in their advances to him. Nobody excepts them.
Sighing, he lightly shook his head with a closed eyes, deciding that it wouldn't hurt to spend at least an hour or two with this girl and her floating companion. And speaking of her, there's something in his mind that he wanted her to ask about.
"Alright. Go ahead and explain everything to me then. But first, I would like to ask you something. May I know your name?" The amber eyed Adeptus asked, using his Anemo powers to control the wind and brings the fallen spoon back into his hand.
"It's Lumine. I am Lumine, and this is Paimon." The blonde haired Traveler answered, before gesturing her thumb towards her floating companion beside her.
Lumine huh? Heh, a beautiful name he must admit, yet an ironic one. A name that clearly matches well with her appearance. But for her personality? Definitely not.
He plops down on the chair silently, bringing a plate of his favorite dish close to him and proceed to eat it. The taste are heavenly, tempting him enough to make him take another, and another, and while Xiao listens to the tale that spills from the girl's lips, he eventually came to forget just how many of the dish he had eaten.
Xiao has lived through countless years. But leaning about the death of a god and eating a hundred plates of almond tofu in one night may be an experience he'll never forget.
~o~0~o~
It is but only a few days after that night. Not much has happened aside from the dispute formed between the Qixing and the Adepti regarding the matters of who to control over Liyue. Things were pretty normal aside from that one, but then everything changes when the sky suddenly loses its color.
Heavy storm clouds formed on what used to be clear blue skies just a moment ago. Rain starts pouring down into the earth with great density, the ocean waves grow unstable, and the ships parked in the docks are threatened to sink when the entire earth shook.
And then, at that moment amidst the chaos rampaging throughout the harbor. A giant figure of a well known origin emerges from the depths of the sea to bask in the glory of the chaos it has created again. To many, such figure may come off as an unknown one, for it has been long been put to rest within the pages of long history. But to some, particularly for beings with a longer life span to that of humans, like the Adepti for example. The re-emergence of this figure is but the worst nightmare that has become real.
Osial, The Overlord of The Vortex, has been revived.
His anger, his deep resentment, still exists even after two thousand years of being sealed at the bottom of the ocean. The long arc-enemy of Rex Lapis has returned, along with his five heads and his power to control the sea. This abomination of a God has returned thanks to the action of the Fatui, who uses their replicas of the sigil of permission to unleash the seal that is holding the Overlord beneath the Guyun Stone Forest, the place where the almighty Rex Lapis has plunged his spear into Osial's body, intending to forever seal him in the depths of the sea. But now that Osial is free, he is now back to take his revenge on Morax once more.
Except for the fact that Morax is no longer around. For Rex Lapis has long been thought dead for the last couple of days after his Exuvia suddenly falls into Yujing Terrace without warning. And so, with his arc-enemy is nowhere to be seen, the five headed hydra then turned its intention to Liyue Harbor, the beloved city of that God. His ultimate accomplishments and pride, his prize for winning the Archon War many many years ago.
As he stood there on the platform of the floating Jade Chamber, Xiao looked to his side to find a half unexpected, half expected sight of the blonde haired girl named Lumine. The same girl that informed him of Rex Lapis death, and the same girl that gave him the hundred plates of Almond Tofu that he ate that day. He still can't believe that he actually ate them all up.
Lumine stood there among the defense forces of Liyue that are composed of the Millelith, the Qixings authorities, and the Adepti which includes him. Faced with such threat like this, both the humans and the Adepti have agreed to work together again after what it seems to be ages ago. Their god is no longer walking among them, and both sides need to learn how to protect his legacy from crumbling along with him to his grave. No matter the cost that awaits, they absolutely mustn't let that monster get anywhere near the city!
For now, their plan is simple. In order to drive the Overlord of the Vortex back, the Adepti will use the modified Guizhong Ballista to attack him from the distance. With Cloud Retainer, Mountain Shaper, and Moon Carver manning the weapon, while Xiao and the other Adepti infused their Adeptal energy into the weapon, charging it with divine might, that will hopefully be enough to kill the God and put him and his ancient grudges to rest.
But unfortunately however, their plan is not without interference. As the Adepti are busy with the Guizhong Ballista and their focus is solely on the purpose of defeating the god. Those scums who call themselves the Fatui appeared, and they came to cause trouble.
Xiao mentally groaned in anger inside his head. What they're experiencing right now, is akin to a moment between life and death. Should they fail in taking Osial down, Liyue Harbor as they knew it will cease to exist, it will be erased from the map completely, and along with it, billions of people who lived here. Tch, if only if it weren't for the fact that he was busy with charging the Guizhong Ballista with his power, then Xiao swears that he will turn all of these Fatuis into-
Something just blitzed past him, and Xiao released a small gasp as he looked up to see the form of that blonde girl, Lumine, as she leaped high into the air, her sword already in hand, before plunging down into the platform the Tianquan Ningguang had created. She landed gracefully on the ground, just as quick as she leaped, with two Fatui agents standing behind her, motionlessly. At first, nothing happened, but the moment Lumine stood up, the two agents behind her had already turned into lifeless corpses.
Everyone gasped in surprise, the Qixing, Millelith, or Adepti alike, completely in awe of how quickly the Traveler acted and reacted before anyone else did.
"All able Millelith, with me! Do not let the Fatui destroy the Guizhong Ballistas!" Now that an example is laid upon them, the soldiers also join the battlefield, led by that member of Qixing, one with the purple hair.
Together with the Traveler, the soldiers held back the Fatui from interfering with the Adepti's work. They've done their work well enough to be honest, as the illuminated beasts suffer no hindrance in their work of attempting to take down the enemy god. Everyone jointly works together in defending Liyue, and as Xiao watches over the battle, he concluded that maybe this is the harmony that Liyue needs of this current generation. A nation that is no longer dependent on the protection of its god. But it was instead achieved through a well working group work of both humans and Adepti.
But for all that happens, it all won't be possible without the existence of a certain blonde haired girl.
While he was focusing on his current task. Xiao's eyes drifted into the battlefield before him. He watches closely as the Fatui were slaughtered like lambs by the Traveler. The way she moves around the battlefield, the way she strikes his opponent only by using a combination of simple yet powerful swings of her sword really reminds Xiao of a mosquito. A small insect who could fly with such speed, that it was hard for one to catch it, and before you knew it, it already bit you, and left a mark as a reminder of its presence.
With the Fatui being held at bay thanks to the Traveler and the Yuheng, the Adepti are able to continue on firing at Osial continuously, effectively pushing the Overlord back.
However, just when everyone have their hopes up for victory. As the Adepti unleashes a shot that is a tad bit Powerful than the previous ones. It only angers the god. And in retaliation, the Overlord of the Vortex unleash a barrage of attacks of his own, aiming towards the Guizhong Ballistas, and the platform that held it together, knowing that by destroying both, not only will it render the Liyue Defense troop completely without a weapon, but the casualties its going to suffer is also will be much looking at how many people are still standing in the platform that Ningguang created.
Between the seconds that the barrage of attacks from Osial came crashing into them. The Adepti quickly sever their connections from the Ballistas, knowing well that it had become the target of the gods attack. With the illuminated beast quickly jumps away from their previous posts, the Millelith on the platform also quickly ran for their lives towards the Jade Chamber, trying their best to save their lives despite knowing how futile it is. All except for one person however.
Amidst the panic from the soldiers. Lumine seemingly knows what is about to happen. The blonde girl quickly turned her body around so that she would face the Jade Chamber, before making a motion akin to a push with her hand. In an instant, a violent gusts of winds appeared out of nowhere, and the Millelith along with that Yuheng girl found themselves getting violently thrown back into where they came. The platform began to crack under the barrage of attacks. Yet no one else are left standing there except for that blonde haired traveler.
The girl was rather still and not panicking like the others when the platform under her finally shatters into pieces, and her body was sent falling into the sea below.
In an instant, everyone especially Paimon shouts Lumine's name as the girl falls down. But to Xiao, he was more of an action instead of words. The moment his amber eyes saw the form of that girl in white dress fall to her death, his instinct quickly kicks in. Putting on the Yaksha mask on his face, he dived down after her, using his anemo powers to accelerate his dive speed. Jumping from falling debris after debris, he eventually manages to get to her. Slipping his hands to grab her from under her back and her legs, before jumping up again by using the debris as platforms to leap up.
Eventually, he managed to bring both of them back into the floating Jade Chamber. His heart is racing and his head is hot. The adrenaline of that action should've been normal for him, considering what he did as his daily activities. But for some reason, the action of rescuing this girl took a lot from him than what he could imagine. Just what is this feeling inside him? Is it concern? Or is it fear? He feared for the girl's safety, and also very concerned about her and what she have done just now.
"Xiao?" Xiao looks down, to see the girl in his arms looking at him with her bandaged eyes. "Is that you?" Lumine asked, there was a slight disbelief in her voice, as if finding this scene before her unreal. Xiao has no idea why she would even think that.
"Yes. It's me." Xiao answered, not even bother to ask why would Lumine even ask that. "Be careful now, Osial has decided to fight back."
"Ah... I see..." A voice that sounds rather downturned comes out of her lips, slightly surprising him with how her mood suddenly gone sour for no apparent reason. "You... You saved me. Thank you, Xiao. I thought I was gonna die for a second there, hehe." She thank him with a dry laugh, but after remembering of what she have done, Xiao couldn't help but to get upset with her.
"Tch, what were you thinking?" He asked him, his voice is stern and serious. "How can you just casually throw away your life like that? If it wasn't for me to react quickly enough, you could've gotten yourself killed for real."
"Huh? But... I saved everyone else from falling-"
"That is no excuse for sacrificing your life." He said with a shake of his head, glaring straight into those convered eyes of hers. "Everybody's life is important here, especially you. After helping us out in disposing all of those Fatui, you can't just expect that we don't value your life over anybody else like that."
The girl in his arm didn't respond immediately after that. But after a while, her lips turned into a small smile, the tiniest of all smile. And Xiao is left to wonder just what went through her mind at that moment.
"You... You really are a kind person, Xiao. But you're worried too much." She muttered with a shook of her head. "I'm just a mere Traveler, who coincidentally got riled up in all these messes. I am no hero, nor am I an important figure among this nation's history. The Qixing are, and so does the Adepti. They are the ones deserved respect from the people. I am but no one here."
Her words made him unable to say anything either. He just stood there, transfixed by this strange yet unique person. Her whole existence is a mystery to him.
"And besides... Even when I risked my own life like that... I know that Xiao will come and save me. And it looks I am right."
She knew?!
"What are you saying?"
"I... Uh?!"
Twhip
He doesn't notice it until now. But somewhere along the way, whether she received it when she was battling the Fatui, or when Osial attacked them and made her fall. A shallow cut was made to the bandages covering over her eyes. It somehow hold itself long enough for their conversation to reach this point. But as of now, the damaged fabric finally gives in. And Xiao could only watch with his breath hitched in his throat as the rolls of bandages on Lumine's head come loose and it slowly untying itself and let gravity and the wind do the work. A pair of eyes opens itself for the first time after a few days. Opening themselves to meet Xiao's own pair of eyes.
It was gold... The girl's eyes is gold, just like the color of her hair. A perfect match for her already perfect appearance. It was beautiful... Xiao couldn't think. He doesn't know why Lumine even try to cover her eyes, for her to hide such beauty like this... What was she thinking? Any remnants of doubts regarding his guess of the Traveler being blind vanished out of existence at that point.
"Lumine... Why are you-"
"Hey you two! Can you two lovebirds cut it out already?! We have a god to kill over here!" Cloud Retainer's voice rang through the air around them, snapping the two back to reality. And that's also when the two realized their current position. With Xiao is still holding Lumine in his arms, in a style that a prince would carry a princess do.
After getting reminded of their current objective. Lumine waste no time to get down and quickly joined in with the others back into the battle. With Xiao walking behind her with his eyes fixed at her and her only. Many questions filled Xiao's mind regarding the blonde haired girl. But unfortunately however, those questions goes unasked. The Traveler is quick, not just in the way she moves around the battlefield like lightning. But also in the way she think and act. And before Xiao knew it, Lumine had already left the Jade Chamber alone. Leaving the Qixing and the Adepti to just stand there as they watched the form of the golden haired Traveler disappeared out of sight, and along with her, the Overlord of Vortex that they had tried to slain. Both of them vanished out of existence that day. Leaving both of their status unknown, presumably, dead.
He had so many questions to ask her, but she disappeared before he could ask any of it. What a great pity.
~o~0~o~
It was a few weeks later, that Xiao couldn't believe what his eyes are seeing.
In this particular day, the green haired Adeptus was waiting under a tree in Nantianmen for a particular half-Adeptus half-human to come. The daughter of the illuminated beast Qillin. Though he is reluctant in his participation on the two thousand and seven hundred years old horned girl's Adeptus training, he knew it any better than anyone that he better be fulfilling Cloud Retainer's request especially after the avian Adeptus had came to his abode in Wangshu Inn, lest he will suffer the consequences of having to hear her overly long story and overly long boasting.
The half Qillin eventually came to the field of training, rather quickly in fact, that it kinda surprised Xiao of how quick she arrived when he was expecting her to arrived about ten or twenty minutes later. And the answer of his curiosity came in the form of a familiar face that he hadn't seen in a while, nor that he was expecting to see it once more.
"Oh... It's you..."
Short blonde hair? check. pristine white dress? Check. Floating white haired child thing? Check. Bandages wrapped around her eyes? Of course, check. Yep, it is definitely her.
The two of them stared at each other for a while. Standing at the opposite sides of each other and staring at each others' eyes (or in this case, only Xiao is staring at her) and did not say a word. Even the floating Paimon or Ganyu who was there could not find the right word to say to this strange and weird scene before them.
The silence between them becomes unbearable. And eventually, one of them must break the awkward silence before anyone gets the wrong idea.
"You're... alive? I did not expect that." Xiao finally said something after so long. His words only came out as a whisper, but audible enough for the other to hear.
"Well... You have your answer right in front of you now." The blonde girl replied, still with that blank and stern voice of her. How nostalgic, and also irritating. "I was stuck in the sea for a few days after that day. Captain Beidou eventually found my body, and brought me back to Liyue for the Qixing to take care of me. I figured that they wouldn't bother informing the Adepti regarding my survival, and that's why I decided to tag along with Ganyu to see them personally."
Stuck in the sea for a few days? Drifting across the sea after that big explosion, and somehow survived up until now? What a ridiculous story to hear, but it's not like there's any other explanation. Xiao guesses that it wouldn't hurt to believe in her story.
Before he could say anything more, Lumine reached out both of her hands to him. And a plate filled with a familiar dish appeared on her palms. Just seeing it again urges Xiao to wince his eyes and click his teeth.
"How many times have I told you to not bother with this anymore?"
"Many times."
~o~0~o~
The lantern rite is upon them again. And at this night, it's time for the climax of the festival to happen.
The people of Liyue had gathered in the streets, crowding them until they were full. All of the light source of any kind has intentionally been extinguished, leaving the entire city swallowed by the darkness of the night. Everyone held their breaths in their throats, rendering the once bustling city of trade and contracts into a complete stillness with no sound whatsoever.
And then, after a moment that feels like an eternity of silence. A bright shining light appeared amidst the darkness of the city, the light spread, curving and taking the form of a giant deer like creature with golden and dark blue body, it's majestic antlers glows the color of the full moon, while it's glowing long tails swayed gracefully behind it as it took its first step out of its altar. The giant lantern built in the image of the late Adeptus, Skybracer then soared into the sky, passing by the night sky of the city, with every step that it took lit up by the countless of Xiao Lanterns held by the people below.
In a span of only a few seconds, the once dark city is now shining brightly like diamonds. The streets that are crowded with people are now filled with lights coming from the lanterns that each and every person in Liyue held. Both adults and children alike watches in awe as the main lantern shaped like the ancient saviour of Liyue finished it's touring across the city streets and is now heading directly into the sky above.
And after seeing this, the people saw it as their cues to release the lanterns they're holding.
One by one, countless of the small floating lights float above into the sky, accompanying Skybracer in his last moments before it disappeared once again forever. It was a dark night that day, but at that moment, everything was bright. From the streets of the city, to seas beyond the docks, and the sky above everyone's beloved harbor. It was a beautiful night, a very beautiful night indeed.
"Whoa... How pretty! They look like fireflies from here."
Xiao heard the voice of the girl beside him, and even though he already knows who it was. It didn't stop him from looking to his side. Finding that same blonde haired Traveler standing just on his side. Definitely a little too close for comfort he must admit, but he didn't hate the feeling either.
And speaking of which, she still had those covers wrapped around her eyes. Despite telling him of how pretty the lantern was just now. Just how the heck did she even see at this point is beyond his imagination.
"Why are you here? Don't you wanna go and see the lanterns more closely like anyone else?" He asked her with a little sigh, shaking his head a little.
"Well, if I go there. Then who would keep you company?" She asked back at him, didn't even bother to turn her head to the side and chose to focus on looking at the lanterns from this balcony in the Wangshu Inn instead.
"I don't need company." He retorted, closing his eyes and crossing his arms across his chest.
"Well I don't care either. I came here because I chose to. If you don't like it, then why haven't you disappeared from me again?"
She got a point. If he really don't need company like he said he was. Then why didn't he go away from her again? In fact, why does the thought didn't cross his mind at all? Does he genuinely liked her presence deep down inside? To the point that he couldn't even think of any thought for avoiding her? Does he come to like her?
Maybe... Maybe he did... Is that the reason why his karmic debt has gone silent so suddenly in recent days? Is she the reason why his mind had calmed down to this degree, after hundreds of years of suffering that he had to endure. Just who... Just what is this girl?
Gold... That's what he could remember of her. Bright, that's what he could describe from her appearance. Shining, that's what she looks like that day, when he thought that he was going to lose her forever.
She was like a star, a big bright shining star. Or at least that's what her appearance told him. But inside she's... Inside she's... She's completely something else.
There's clearly more mysteries than what meets the eye to this girl. The way she speaks around him, so timid, with her blank voice, he felt like that she has a deep desire to be with him, that she wanted more than anything else in the world but to get close to him, and not let go. But at the same time, she clearly kept her distance away from him, avoiding him, didn't want him to get close to her. She desired to be with him and away from him at the same time. Just what does she want? That was his biggest question.
"Traveler, there's something I need to ask you about."
"You can call me Lumine. I have a name you know." She replied, but it doesn't seem that she means no offense, if anything, she sounds mischievous as she said that. "And yes, what is your question?"
He looks at her, and in turn, she looks at him with her bandaged eyes. With their eyes technically staring at each other, he asked his question.
"That day, when Osial attacked. I saw your... Uh... No, let's just get to the point. Why did you cover your sight like this?"
The girl tilted her head to the side, maybe she feels confused, but at the same time, she was thinking of a way to answer his question.
"I saw your eyes that day. And although I don't know the details, I could tell that they were fine. So why did you cover them? Why did you hide your face like this? Do you have any idea how much people would think of you as disabled? You could be easily mistaken as an easy subject for robbery by the Treasure Hoarders. Did you do this to gain everyone's pity? Or did you do it for some other reasons?" He asked again, his eyes still focused on her as the blonde girl is still deep in her thoughts.
The breeze of the night wind washed over them, and Xiao watched as the blonde haired Traveler known as Lumine released a heavy sigh. She turns her body to face out to the balcony once more, finding out that no more Xiao Lanterns is being released, meaning that the lantern rite festival that they watch just now has finally come to an end. And the darkness of the night has once again covered the land of Liyue.
"Sometimes... Sometimes it's better to see nothing instead of seeing something that you don't like." Lumine answered after a few moments of silence. With Xiao listening closely as he stood beside her. "Though this world is beautiful, and filled with wonderful things, my eyes could not bear the sight that this world had to offer."
Couldn't bear the sight? What does she mean by that?
"The moment these eye covers come loose, and my eyes are laid bare to the world around me, I would find myself unable to hold back my tears. I would shed them time and time again, until they're completely dry. I don't want everyone around me to get worried for that, and that's why I decided to cover my eyes like this."
Despite of her explanation, Xiao still couldn't understand her completely. All he could do is making a guess of what she meant by those words. Does she suffer from a post traumatic disorder? Is there something so utterly bad to look at that she has seen somewhere in her journey, to the point that she doesn't want to see anything in this world ever again? Xiao doesn't know.
"Hehe, I know that you wouldn't understand, or that you might find my reasoning weird, but don't think too much about it." Lumine said with a small giggle, shaking her head a little. "Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself just fine. Though I really like it when you saved me Xiao, I can't have you protecting me all the time. We are friends, right? We'll be looking for each others' back from now on, okay?"
Friends... Is that what she thought of him? Hmph, to be honest, Xiao feels like they might be even more than that at this point.
The stars above are shining brightly, decorating the night sky like ever before. Though in this particular night the skies are lit up by the countless of Xiao Lanterns released that day, those lanterns will eventually got extinguished. After all, they are made to burn out after only a day, unlike the stars above who burns for as long as its body could handle. With the same thing applied to the star that stood beside him, though she shines no light, her spirit burns eternally, as long as her body could handle.
Phew, thankfully I've been preparing for this story much much earlier before I get hospitalized. And so I managed to finish this up and post it right on February the 14th.
Anyway, now that this teaser has been dropped, expect that the third chapter for the Lumine's mirage fic to be updated soon. If you wanna see the updates, feel free to check out my Twitter account (NaughtyTome) to see more. Thank you.