The sun cast its crimson glow on the dormant seawater as it climbed over the horizon, coating the numerous machines and buildings in a faint glow. The scent of brine and fish permeated the port as if it were an ever-present fog blanketing the area in the sea. Apart from the waves and seagulls calling out, all was calm.

If one ignored the smell of burned metal and scorched soil, thought Zhongli as he strolled into a partly collapsed warehouse, nothing would seem out of the ordinary.

As he walked, he made his stance appear purposely relaxed, opening what seemed like multiple holes in his defence. Even with his polearm in hand, any observers would surely lower their guard. His eyes darted around, discretely searching for any sign of his target. They were sneaky, but Zhongli knew they would not be able to leave before he caught them.

Zhongli closed his eyes, attuning himself to the elements. All seven swirled around him, but the one he was most interested in was the element of the ground beneath his feet. An invisible weight began to form around him as his sensitivity grew, no doubt due to the containers, machines and buildings on the ground. But that was not what he was looking for.

The geo allogene stood completely still so as to not disturb his own senses. He was one with the earth now. Every vibration, whether from the descent of a stray seagull or a falling object, would not go unnoticed by him. The earth knew all, after all.

He was almost ashamed to admit that he was startled when a particularly raucous vibration shook through the ground, rattling his hypersensitivity to an uncomfortable degree. It could have been a shipping container falling over. It could also have been someone driving a vehicle somewhere here. But from how multiple smaller, irregular vibrations came after that and the fact that it was too early for anyone to be coming here, Zhongli knew that he had found his target and that they were not far from his position.

Making sure to muffle his footsteps, Zhongli walked over to the source of the vibrations, though he could feel them growing more distant. His target must have caught wind, perhaps literally, that there was someone else other than them here. As expected. They were taught well.

He continued to follow, making sure not to make too much noise or any sudden movements. He did not catch sight of his target at first, opting to stay well behind and using his attunement to geo to keep up. This would possibly be one of the only chances he got, so he had to be careful.

For a while, they kept up this game of cat-and mouse, Zhongli inching ever closer to his target's position. A less patient person would have given up and gone straight for them. But Zhongli could wait. He done so for a long time.

Eventually, they came to a narrow alley. Zhongli simply walked out of the corner he had been hiding in and came face to face with his target: a figure dressed in tight, black leather garb, their face obscured by a hood and a mask. There was no need to be sneaky anymore, after all. The sunlight was shining in his eyes, a miscalculation on Zhongli's part, hiding facial features that would have been visible in any other setting. It did not matter. He was not here to figure out who his target was.

"There is no need to be weary, for there need not be any conflict between us," Zhongli called out to the figure, who nevertheless shifted into a weary stance as he spoke. "You are surely aware as to my reason for being here, as I am yours. Do they not align?"

The figure said nothing, either considering what Zhongli had said or looking for a path through him. Considering Aegis' history with this individual, Zhongli surmised it was most likely the latter. If that were the case, he might have to resort to more…persuasive methods.

"I understand your distrust towards us. But I ask you to put it aside for the moment. There is nothing to be gained from dividing ourselves."

For a moment it seemed as if the figure would agree with Zhongli's words and stay for a civilised talk.

Instead, they threw a round object onto the ground, smoke bursting from it as soon as it hit the floor. The smoke covering their escape, they dashed upwards, wind propelling their every move as they wall-jumped to the roofs of the buildings.

Zhongli sighed. This was not entirely unexpected.

He crouched, and using his mastery over the elementals, leapt through the smokescreen and up towards the roof, much to the surprise of his fleeing target. But they shook off their surprise and propelled themselves to another building, loosing daggers behind them to slow him down.

Zhongli leapt again and swatted at the projectiles with his polearm, never taking his sight off his target all the way. It would not do for him to be distracted when chasing this one down.

Across buildings they chased each other, the figure's constant attempts to slow Zhongli down failing as the pursuer would simply shrug them off and keep chasing them.

The chase came to an end when Zhongli summoned an ethereal spear that slammed in front of the fleeing figure and created a wall blocking their escape. Zhongli landed in front of them.

"As I said, there is no need for this conflict. I'd advise you to give it up here."

Again the figure was silent, but Zhongli noticed that their hands were slowly moving towards their back. So they had chosen to do this the hard way.

Three daggers sliced through the air, propelled by Anemo energy. A normal person would surely have been killed by such a move.

The daggers clanged against an amber shield, bouncing off ineffectually. Zhongli had not lifted a finger.

"So you have chosen to stir up unnecessary conflict. Very well. I shall entertain you." Zhongli slammed his polearm into the ground, causing multiple stone spires to erupt from the ground. Avoiding them with practiced ease, the figure threw another volley of daggers, Zhongli blocking and dodging them alternately. All the while, the figure had been bounding towards Zhongli, intent on getting up close and personal with him.

As soon as the figure got close enough they unsheathed a short sword, slashing at Zhongli with the speed of an electro allogene and the deadly precision of an assassin. Zhongli raised his polearm to intercept each strike, twirling it this way and that to better parry each slice that came his way. Despite this, it seemed like the figure was managing to push Zhongli back, each strike causing him to yield another step. He didn't look the least bit worried about it, however.

Now for my counterattack. Zhongli broke the cycle of striking and blocking by lashing out with a few of his own swings, quickly forcing the figure onto the defensive. This sudden reversal had clearly caught Zhongli's target off guard, nearly getting hit by his strikes. Swings the figure could handle well, but there was only so much a short sword and boiled leather could do against his thrusts. Zhongli swung his polearm into the air, causing it to rotate on its own like a wheel.

The figure jumped back, understandably not eager to be sliced into ribbons. Instead, they fired off multiple wind cutters before dashing in again, delivering an even more furious flurry of strikes. Just as Zhongli was about to counterattack, the figure propelled themselves upward with a gust of wind, jumping over him. The daggers they threw would have hit Zhongli had he not realised this at the last second and dodged by a hair's length.

Zhongli chided himself as he landed. I may have thought myself to be stronger, but this opponent is not someone to be underestimated.

There was no more time to dwell on his mistake when again the figure propelled themselves towards Zhongli, possibly intending to cut straight through him. He stepped aside and prepared to strike the area behind him, but he felt the pressure on the ground disappearing.

So she intends to trick me. Very clever. But I will not be fooled. Zhongli stood still as the figure began to backflip over Zhongli in an attempt to catch him from behind.

A quiet gasp came from beneath the hood as the figure realised that Zhongli was not focused behind them but on them, amber eyes glowing menacingly. An ethereal spear hovered above Zhongli, aimed right at the figure. There was no time to dodge it.

It rushed at Zhongli's target, ripping clothes and some flesh on their side as their weapon went flying. They crouched as they landed, clutching at their side. Their foot shifted as they prepared to retrieve their weapon.

Zhongli slammed his polearm into the ground once more, erecting a barrier of rock and geo energy around his target. Even as he approached them unwearily, he could still seem them struggling to find a way out.

"As I said, I do not wish to harm you," The figure turned to face Zhongli, their annoyance reflected in their brown eyes. "I am not here to capture you either."

The annoyance in their eyes quickly turned to slight confusion and huge suspicion. Even though he had his target pinned, this would not be easy. They wouldn't have listened even if he had said that before the chase. But he had to start somewhere.

"Instead," Zhongli said, dismissing his polearm in a shower of sparks. "I am here to make a deal with you."

A white ceiling blurred into view as Ethan came to in the infirmary. Unlike the last time, he woke with perfect clarity, instantly sitting up to see what had happened with the rest of his friends.

Thankfully, only Itto lay in the bed next to him. He didn't remember Hu Tao or Sara getting injured too badly.

To no one's surprise, Bennet was lying on a bed not too far away from him, clutching his stomach while being fussed over by Barbara. What had been a surprise was that he hadn't seen Bennet in the infirmary during his first trip here.

"Does it hurt when I press here? How about here? Are you feeling sick?" Her hands and attention flew all over Bennet's body, much to the boy's embarrassment.

"U-uh, I don't think I'm hurt anywhere, Barbara, I just ate something really bad…You don't need to keep checking where it hurts, you know."

"S-sorry!" Only then did Barbara realise what she had been doing, jumping back with a blush.

Ethan turned back to his bed, his mind inevitably wandering to his reason for being here. He had had his first taste of this life, only the first of many hardships to come. He reflected on the beginning of the mission, when they had all believed it would be a simple reconnaissance task. How wrong they were. First, they found themselves unable to leave the area. Then they came across that bladerunner. Twice they had thought themselves in the clear, and twice they were proven wrong when an even bigger threat had shown up.

It was a life of unpredictability, one where you could be on the cusp of victory with all your allies standing by your side only to end up dying in a ditch while those same allies fell around you moments later. It was exactly the kind of life that fictional characters lived. A story filled with excitement, tension, loss and death.

But not a story that Ethan wanted to be part of.

It was very different being in the position of a character in those stories. The reader could not possibly fully sympathise with the character, the danger and stress they faced everyday. Ethan was no exception.

A fight was exciting for viewers but terrifying for the person actually there. And now that he had actually been in that situation, he wasn't eager to put himself into any more danger than necessary.

But how was he supposed to back out of this? He'd already been training for months, and he wasn't sure if they would let him go considering he knew all about Azka. It seemed like it was too late to try and get out of this now.

But he had to try.

"Ethan? Ethan!" Lucy appeared, jogging over to Ethan.

"Lucy," Ethan turned to his sister. "Uh, hi."

"'Hi'? That's all you can say after falling off a building? Tell me that you're okay, at least!" Lucy said, sounding slightly exasperated.

"Uh, sorry? Don't worry, I'm mostly okay." Hold up, what was that she said about falling off a building?

Just then, Instructor Xiao came walking briskly down the hallway looking at Ethan. Perhaps he could try asking Xiao about it…

"Moss," Xiao greeted. "It seems you are fine."

"Uh, yeah. It's amazing what the healers here can do, isn't it?"

He only nodded in response.

"Instructor," Ethan began. "I–"

"Whatever it is you want to say, it will be answered in time," Xiao interrupted. "For now, more important things wait. I assume this is about your recent mission?"

It wasn't surprising that Instructor Xiao would be talking about it, but Ethan's eyes widened slightly anyway. Did he somehow already know? Maybe it was normal for people to feel this way. Ethan nodded.

"I've come to tell you that Instructor Lee is waiting for you by the library. As soon as you feel ready you can head there to meet him. We will discuss your mission later." And just like that he was gone. Maybe Ethan had been hearing things but he swore he had heard a little bit of remorse in Xiao's voice.

"Instructor Lee, huh? Should I go with him, instructor?" Lucy called just before Xiao left.

"There will be no need. You may return to your training, Ms. Moss."

Never mind that. Doing his best not to move his injured arm too much despite the fact that it was mostly healed, Ethan checked on Itto one more time before heading out.

"Ah, you've arrived. Follow me."

Zhongli was silent as he walked past the entrance hall, proceeding into the library itself.

Ethan would always feel slightly nervous when following an instructor around, but the fact that Zhongli, the one who had nearly caught Ethan in the restricted section not long ago, was now meeting him in the library put him on guard. There couldn't have been any way that Zhongli knew it was him who had been in there. But why else would they be meeting here?

Another thought occurred to Ethan. If it was serious like he thought it was, he could probably leave Azka forever. But that discussion could come later.

Zhongli stopped at a seemingly random part of the library, turning to Ethan.

"Do you know why you are here, Mr Moss?" The tone with which Zhongli spoke sounded neutral. To Ethan, it was accusatory, and he wanted the truth.

"I, um…" Should I tell him about what I've done? Or should I tell him a lie? There's always the chance that I'm overthinking things and he's brought me here for a completely different reason.

Oh, what was he saying? This was Instructor John Lee Zhongli, the teacher who could somehow always spot whenever students were chatting when they weren't supposed to or texting under their desks. Ethan's principles, or just his unwillingness to stand up to an authority figure, would not allow him to lie either.

"I-I'm sorry!" Had this been an anime, he would have bowed so low that his head touched the ground. Instead, he chose to hang his head low. "I swear I didn't go in there on purpose! I just…tripped and fell in! Then I got curious, and, you know…"

Zhongli sighed, seemingly contemplating this information for a moment. Finally, he said, "Under normal circumstances I would have you punished and your memory erased. The information in the restricted section is kept under lock and key for a good reason, Mr Moss. I expected better of you."

Ethan's head hung even lower. He hadn't had his memory erased before (or if he did, Ethan suddenly realised, he wouldn't remember that either), but it couldn't be pleasant. At least he could forget he'd broken a rule that was pretty much common sense.

"But your circumstances are anything but normal. You shall receive your punishment in due time, but your memory will not be erased."

They weren't? Sure, he knew he wasn't supposed to have been attacked on a reconnaissance mission by an anomaly not seen in centuries but that hardly warranted being exempt from memory erasure.

Was there something else then? Something to do with that angel-like anomaly that had appeared right before the mequta?

Zhongli then turned to the wall, placing his hand on it then closing his eyes. "Epkasor," he chanted. "Anoeke!"

That, Ethan noticed, was the same chant for the gate to Azka.

Like said gate, the wall collapsed into itself to reveal the restricted section.

Huh? "Wasn't the restricted section blocked off by a gate only?"

"We've upgraded security. As you might know, there was a thief who stole something from here around the same time you were having a look around."

It appeared the only obvious change was the entrance. Everything within was as it was when Ethan had come in, though he noticed it smelled considerably better in there now.

Ethan followed Zhongli to a desk in the centre of the room, the very same one he had found that ancient book on. It was still there, or perhaps someone had taken it out again in advance.

"Tell me, Mr Moss," Zhongli began. "How much do you know about our fight against the Anomalous?"

"I know that they've been around for quite a while," Ethan said, remembering a text he had read describing the history of Aegis. "It isn't clear when exactly the anomalies began to appear, but some speculate that they have been with us since the beginning of civilisation."

"You are partly correct," Zhongli's gaze fell to the book on the desk. "According to many ancient texts we have uncovered thus far, the anomalous have been a scourge on this world for a very long time. How long is what the books in here disagree on with the books outside. Records say that they existed long before human history as we know began."

That was new. "Long before?"

"In the distant past, long before humanity conjured the myths of the earth's creation, there was a continent referred to in these books as 'Tivath Halim'. On this continent, there were seven prosperous nations, all ruled by a god known as an 'Archon'."

"That sounds a lot like a fantasy world," Ethan commented.

"We know little about what and who these nations and Archons were," Zhongli continued. "But we know that all was ruled by an 'ultimate authority' known as 'Celestia'. It is unclear whether Celestia was a single being or a name for a pantheon of gods, but whatever the case they had been ruling over Tivath Halim for multiple millennia."

A civilization so ancient that no records existed in the present? Over the course of these few months, Ethan had learned to accept that anything was possible down here. But even this was a little hard to believe.

"At some point, war broke out between the nations of Tivath Halim and Celestia. Again, we know little of this war, nor what caused it, only that it was so destructive that it reshaped entire landmasses and drove many non-human species to near or complete extinction. We theorise that the residents of Azka outside are their descendants."

Ethan glanced towards where the entrance was. Why did the humans all survive then?

Zhongli acquired a thoughtful look. "There is little information on what happened after the war, but there are records of a new civilisation appearing directly after, led by two heroes of the war against Celestia. That is when all records of the Tivath Halim era end."

'…I assume that this book in front of us details that information." Ethan said after a moment of thought. He still wasn't sure where Instructor Lee was going with this.

"No single book here contains a complete account of what I have just told you. The information we have now was obtained from years of cross-referencing, inference and deduction of every ancient text we have. However, there was one book that was used to put the narrative together, that book being the one you see on the desk."

The book was open to the same page that Ethan had seen during his first time in the restricted section. A drawing of some strange creatures and paragraphs of faded, illegible text.

"That? I may not be able to read it but I don't understand how whatever's written here is relevant."

"It may seem like that at first, yes. But did you read the translation of the text here?"

Ethan shook his head. He must not have reached that part of the notes.

"It describes the uprising of a flock of what appear to be ostriches against a group of hawks controlling them after an injured eagle landed in the savannah."

Something in Ethan's mind clicked. Ostriches, hawks and eagles…

Where had he heard that story before?

"An uprising, huh…sounds similar to the war against Celestia."

Zhongli gave a nod. "Correct, at least as far as we know. We speculate that this story may actually represent the war, though why they chose to conceal it in this way remains unclear. For now, we will have to keep searching."

Ethan felt like his worldview had been completely shattered. If the existence of an extradimensional threat wasn't enough, now there were civilizations and mythical creatures that apparently predated the emergence of humanity as many knew it. There was something that Ethan still didn't understand, however.

"But why are you telling me all this? I can't think of any 'special circumstance' that would warrant you telling me what's supposed to be an academy secret."

Zhongli said nothing for a moment, staring at the book. Then he turned to Ethan. "You have been marked."

"Marked?" What was that supposed to mean?

"By Celestia."

"Celestia? But how?" So that was why Instructor Lee was talking to him about Celestia. But if he had been 'marked' by someone, surely he would know.

"Do you have a clear recollection of what happened at the port?" asked Zhongli.

Yes, it was supposed to have been a training mission. Then a bunch of bladrunners attacked them. Then…

The angel.

Wait, if Celestia was supposed to be a pantheon of gods in the sky…

"You're not saying…that what we saw at that port was from Celestia?"

"Correct."

So that was what he meant when he said that anomalous activity had been on the rise in recent years.

"So, what is 'marked' supposed to mean?"

Zhongli sighed, and looked at Ethan in the eyes. "I will tell you, but whatever you do you must not panic. It will not help you."

Ethan gulped. Panic? What was this he was going on about?

"It means that Celestia has marked you for death. Wherever you go, they will know where you are. You could think of it as a tracking device of sorts."

For a moment Ethan was silent. Marked. Meaning that now he would be in constant danger of being targeted by Celestia. Meaning that now he would be force to fight.

Meaning that now he could not leave.

His mind was silent, as if even all his wayward thoughts were stunned by this revelation. The calm before the storm.

And suddenly the memory of the port hit him in full force. The sudden drop of his heart as the bladerunner pounced. The excruciating pain of being stabbed in the shoulder. And the crushing stress, the bleakness he had felt when all hope had seemed lost. He didn't want to experience them again.

But now he couldn't leave. He was trapped.

"I-I–" Ethan stammered as his breathing grew heavier. He grabbed onto a bookshelf in an attempt to steady himself as the world spun around him. "N-no, that can't be true. I can't-I can't stay here. I-how do you all of this anyway?!" Ethan grasped at any thought that would deny the current situation. Surely Instructor Lee was wrong. He had to be.

"We spoke with your squadmates Hu Tao and Kujou Sara. Both confirmed that they saw an 'angel-like anomaly'. Many of our instructors sensed it too. The energy we felt at the port and from you are undoubtedly of Celestial nature."

Ethan stared at Zhongli, face even paler then before. "You-I-that can't be true! There's no way, no way…" Ethan felt his hand slipping.

"Careful!" Zhongli caught him before he could fall over. "Calm down, Ethan. Listen to me."

Ethan was still mumbling something unintelligible, but miraculously his breathing slowed, and clarity returned to his panicked eyes.

"I haven't told you all the details of this mark," Zhongli felt Ethan tense when he said that. "It would take them time to figure out where you are, and in Azka you are safe. They will not be able to track you here, or anywhere in its vicinity."

That seemed to calm Ethan down, if only a little bit. He stood up straight again.

"You will have a few days off of training." Zhongli told him. "Rest, Ethan."

Dull.

The train ride to school was monotonous as always, the car packed with passengers wearing all sorts of clothing.

Even that failed to make the ride any less boring then it always was. Not that it was ever all that interesting.

Ethan stared out the windows, trying to distract himself from what he had learned yesterday. He had been extra paranoid even though Instructor Lee had told him that they would be able to find him so quickly, glancing backwards so many times his neck began to feel sore and jumping at pretty much everything everytime he had finished spacing out. His sister and parents had been worried. He told them everything was fine, and that no, it had nothing to do with Acadamia Azvala. Ethan wondered how convincing it appeared to them.

He caught Lucy sneaking glances at him a few times at home, but this morning she was snickering at some text message. Perhaps it had worked.

A sinking feeling plagued Ethan's heart and there was always a constant tension throughout his body. He was reminded of that feeling he got whenever he remembered that he had forgotten to go to something like a class, or when he was nervous for an upcoming test.

Multiply them both tenfold, and that was what he felt.

The scenery of the academy gates did nothing do distract Ethan, though mercifully he did not seem to immediately associate the school building aboveground with the one underground. At least he would not be reminded of it every day.

Classes passed by far quicker and much slower at the same time. There was nothing else he could think about other than the fact that he could be endangering everybody in the classroom just by being there. Half of the words that Karen scolded him with bounced off the translucent wall surrounding Ethan, the memory of that incident quickly slipping his mind later.

Recess came, and Ethan found himself sitting on a table off to the side, poking his food. He should have felt hungry by then. His stomach was growling. But still he had no appetite. He'd been let out early, so his friends were probably still in class.

Out of nowhere, Lucy plopped her bag down on the seat and sat herself down. "Hey." She greeted in an unusually flat tone. Ethan had glanced up at Lucy, but paid her no more attention beyond that.

Lucy sighed. "Hello? Earth to Ethan?"

Ethan looked up again. "Yeah?"

"Alright, you're telling me what's going on with you. Ever since you went on that training mission you've been ignoring everyone and spacing out a hell of a lot more than usual. Did something happen?"

"No." Ethan answered, almost a little too quickly.

"No? Well, I don't believe that. But if it really isn't, then what's got you so down?"

"Nothing. I'm absolutely fine."

Lucy huffed. "If you wanna convince me, you should at least try to act like you're fine."

"I don't have to. I'm always like this."

"Who're you tryna trick here? I'm your sister. Didja think I wouldn't notice?"

Annoyance stabbed through Ethan. "Just, leave it alone, okay?" Just as he stabbed his food and began to shovel it into his mouth.

Lucy was slightly taken aback at what was essentially an outburst, but she wouldn't give up. "Hey, if you don't want to talk about it, then you don't have to tell me exactly what happen. Just, make up a scenario similar to your situation. You're supposed to be good at that, right?"

Ethan paused for a second, glass noodles slipping out of his mouth before he slurped them back up. "Ok, fine. Um, so let's say I joined a club, but found out I really want to leave. Then something happens that forces me to stay there. That's what's happening to me right now."

"This…" Lucy pondered this for a moment. "Isn't related to Academia Azvala, is it?"

"No." Ethan said with the straightest face he could muster. This was something he had to keep secret at all costs. "It's…something else."

Lucy squinted at him, probably trying to find any traces of deception on his face. She would find none, Ethan committed.

"…alright." She relented. "So why do you want to leave this club of yours?"

"I…had a disagreement with one of the members. A real jerk, that one. He, uh, made me do a bunch of things I didn't want to do, and was just an asshole all the time."

"And why can't you leave?"

"There's something we're working on that they need me for. They think a lot of people will like it too. So they're all telling me to stay even when I don't want to be there. But I would feel pretty bad and they would be mad if I left."

"Oh, lil' bro. Sounds exactly like the kind of thing you'd get into." Lucy snickered even with the scowl Ethan gave her. "All jokes aside, I really think you should just leave if you don't want to be there. You need to learn to care less, lil' bro."

Oops. He'd given her the impression that leaving was an option at all. "Well, I want to try and find a solution where I don't leave at all. I know if I back out now I'd pretty much be forsaking my relationship with those people, and that's not something I want to do."

Lucy paused, a contemplative look on her face. "Well, I guess you could focus more on the positives of being in that club. It can't be all bad, can it? Otherwise you'd have left long ago."

Ethan nodded, signalling for Lucy to continue. "And you need to sort something out with this guy you don't like. Honestly, I don't like him either, but I get the feeling that this is something you don't want anyone else dealing with. And you've been in the club for a while now. Why quit now? If what this club is doing benefits a lot of people, then you should focus on that, no matter what happens."

Lucy continued. "And you should just relax! You're not gonna get anything done if you keep worrying about it all day. Got that?"

Ethan nodded again. A slight smile stretched across Lucy's face when she saw that Ethan was thinking about this seriously rather than ignoring it. "Did that help?"

"Yeah. A bit."

"See? I told you. Your amazing sister can handle anything, you know." She placed both arms on her hips and puffed her chest out, a proud expression resting on her face.

Ethan chuckled. "Ok."

"What's so funny, huh? Don't believe in your sister?" She said those words with a smile on her face nevertheless.

"Nah. Except for when you try to write timed essays."

"Hey!"

"Yo, my amigos! What's up?" Ethan hadn't noticed, but during their talk the cafeteria had slowly filled up as the rest of the students came for lunch. "Sorry for the wait. Sara here insisted on waiting in line." He threw a disapproving look at the girl to his side, who simply stared back.

"You shouldn't cut in line you know. It annoys people." Ethan had never done it, mainly because he knew how annoying it was when someone else did.

"Aw, c'mon! It's just a lunch line! It ain't gonna kill them to wait for a few more minutes!"

"Wrong. Their hunger kills them before long, you know~" Hu Tao sat down. "Ah, I'm starving!"

"Too bad they give us too little though." Itto poked at the 'fried rice' that looked more like a brown clump peppered with bits of corn and meat.

"Better than some other places I know." Sara commented.

"Like what?"

"Like the food design room when you're cooking."

"Shut up! My cooking isn't that bad! Is it?"

"I don't know Itto. I kinda agree with her."

"Not you too! I thought you were supposed to be the neutral person, Lucy!"

"You were trying to get me to speak up for you."

As Ethan watched the his friends' usual antics, he came to a realisation. Perhaps Lucy was right, and he should stop worrying about it for now. There was nothing he could do about it at the moment anyway. A small smile stretched across his face.

Maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all.

A/N: I am a few days late, due to a bunch of tests and procrastination. Sorry about that. I'll try to get the next chapter out next week to compensate. I should really be doing one chapter a week, but I can't seem to write that fast.

Aside from that, we have Ethan freaking out about the fact that he has to do this now. I feel like this would be the reaction of a lot of people, but maybe that's just me. Do you guys think it's realistic?

4.1 dropped, and I gotta say that Neuvillette is pretty cool. Also noticed that the Traveller's elemental skill is more similar to Neuvillette's abilities than Furina's leaked ones. Can't wait for the next special program and 4.2 so I can finally play her.

The story quest was pretty interesting too, though as always Hoyoverse made it seem more exciting than it actually is in the trailer. Oh well, just gotta wait for 4.2 so we can found out just what it is Furina has planned in case Fontaine becomes the next Atlantis. Really looking forward to it.

So that's all for this chapter. See you in the next one!