"Though we need not rush, brother. I have more than enough time to wait for you,"

But why must she wait for him?

"We have always... had enough time…"

Had? What does that mean?

The image of his sister fading through the portal distortedly replays in his mind.

No…

Lumine…

Don't.

Don't go…

DON'T GO!

"LUMINE!"

He wakes up in a break of cold sweat. Breathing ragged. Clutching the sheet of the inn's bed while his fist starts to numb due to the sheer force of his grip.

Steadying himself as he held his head, he tried his best to calm his breathing. Blankly staring at the moonlight that shone through the window.

Dammit…

Was his initial thought.

I need air.

He looked to the other bed to see that his fairy companion is still very much out cold, snoozing away her consciousness, much to his relief.

Sparing not another moment, he got out of bed and closed his eyes.

In a split second, he'd already found himself in Qingyun Peak.

Activating the currents, he glided towards the jade platforms and climbed his way onto the dwelling.

It wasn't until he finally sat down, did his mind began to fully register itself within his person. A part of him somewhat regret recollecting the day's event, only because that the its visualization had became that much more vivid.

So, he tried to distract himself with the view.

But every now and then, the image of his sibling, leaving with his only lead to her whereabouts, flashes painfully across the scenery.

So, he shuts his eyes once again. Focusing on what the nature is encapsulating him with. Trying his best to only feel the cool breeze, and ignoring the incandescent roar of emotions his heart is putting him through.

But alas, what is man, if not a person who is driven by emotion?

It's only a short while until he admits defeat.

The winds can only nurture his aching heart so much before the pain became unbearable. He clutched his chest as the knot inside steadily grew its grip over his heart.

Why?

Why is she with the abyss?

What happened 500 years ago?

But the one question that really hurt his heart.

Was he no longer important to her?

In fact, as much as Paimon had tried to comfort him, he couldn't help but ask that question to himself, over and over again. Was he not there when she needed him the most? What is it that she needed to do that required her to push him so far away?

Had he failed her?

Questions continuously bombarded his very being. And for a while, he merely sat there.

Paralyzed.

His mind growing hazy as he sets a dam around his heart.

As his vision grew bleary, he can barely sense the presence that had just landed on the dwelling, nor does he even possess the strength to react in anyway. Slowly rounding to the side where he had been sitting, as he kept his body rigid and silent, trying his best to not giveaway his distraught emotions right away. He felt the figure appraise him as it finally saw his morose figure, and most likely jaded expression.

Deep down, he knew exactly who it was. There's only one other person that it could be. Yet, his heart still felt like it was going to shatter if he had attempted to even utter a syllable.

So, he chose silence.

He felt the presence's light footsteps slowly approaching his side, tentatively growing closer as if they were also trying to arrange their mind before attempting to communicate. Eventually, their figure came within his hazy peripheral vision, standing there for a brief moment before slowly taking the seat next to him.

Once again, nature's ambiance took over the atmosphere. Aether wanted so badly to just turn. To just turn and lay it all out. Yet, he wasn't sure if the other person would stay. How much of his pain were they willing to see, before it would end up overwhelming them as well?

So once again, he chose silence.

Only this time, he felt something waning within him.

Not his resolve to remain silent, but dissipation of his control over his own tumultuous emotions.

Before he realized it, a single drop of tear had found its way out, and promptly landed on the back of his hand that been increasingly trembling over the past few minutes.

Which didn't go unnoticed by the person next to him.

Slowly, he felt a touch on his forearm, their hand slowly trailing down to his hand and wiping the lone tear that had stained it, and then sneaking its way to hold his own hand in theirs. Thinking that was the end of it, he lightly jolted when their other hand suddenly found its way to his cheek, softly tugging and pulling his face to turn and face their own.

A million scenarios ran through his mind, many of them involving the other party to simply say a few "comforting" words before they go on their merry way, some other scenarios involve them finally seeing his pathetic and vulnerable self, pitying him over the cruel fate that he had gotten himself into.

Yet, as her features came into view, he can only be mesmerized by the appraising pair of orbs that have gone to bore right through his own.

Her brilliant amethyst eyes, still retaining the sharpness that it usually has, but this time, it also has an underlying sense of softness to it. Not a trace of pity, yet her worry and tenderness are vividly delivered to his senses as she seemingly looked into his soul, praying to find an answer as to how she can help him.

What brought him to yield however, came not only from her stare.

Wiping another stray tear off of his cheek, she softly spoke, almost whispered, careful as to not burst the broken soul in front of her.

"Aether…"

And just like that, he broke.

With no warning, he suddenly surges forward, holding her tightly as if his life depended on it. Finding the sorely needed warmth and comfort that the crook of her neck provided, as he proceeded to let his tears flow with no mediation. Her name like a prayer, as he desperately voices it out.

He felt her freeze for few seconds, processing his distraught reaction, before he felt arms on his back and the back of his head, slowly caressing his hair as she made sure that he was secure, right there in her arms.

Aether wasn't sure on just how long did she hold him like that as he wailed into the night. All he knew, is that the longer he had cried in her arms, the more his consciousness began to fade. before he slowly felt his own voice fading, and his overflowing tears forgotten by his senses as darkness took over his vision.

Throughout the day, Keqing had a weird inkling.

Somewhere in the day, she just felt her heart drop, and it pretty much stuck with her throughout the day.

Her assistants asked if she was okay, she simply waved them off.

Ningguang and Ganyu said that she missed some points that were brought them in a few meetings. Something that she had never done, in the timespan of her being the Yuheng.

Once again, she merely waved them off. Blaming it on the unusually temperate day.

She kept waiting for the ball to drop all throughout her office hours, only to find that things have just been as busy as ever.

Until it came to the time where she was just about to finish up for the day.

It was pretty much up to par to her usual kind of night, until a flying fairy companion practically barged into her office, a familiar insignia in hand, and her assistant breathlessly catching up to her, all while apologizing for the brashness of their entry.

"Keqing, please help Paimon find Aether!"

The fact that the fairy has foregone her title when addressing her, was enough of an indicator for her to realize that Paimon had really been in distress.

"Something big happened today, and Paimon thought that all was right, until Paimon heard him violently wake up from his sleep, and teleported away! Paimon doesn't know where to look for him!"

When Keqing had asked her about what had happened earlier in the day, the fairy casted a doubtful look that she knew wasn't meant for her.

"Paimon thinks that it's best for Keqing to hear it from Aether himself."

She nodded in understanding afterwards, reassuring her small friend that she'll find the blonde. Paimon handed her the insignia soon after, and Keqing sent one of her guards to make sure that Paimon got back to the inn safely.

In the end, Keqing really needed to only at one place, as her mind flashed back to their very first outing.

"Whenever I have time to myself for the day, I try to come back here." He explained, sighing in relaxation, "Helps take the bearing off for a while."

Little did he know, that ever since he became much busier with his escapades, she had been secretly coming back to the dwelling. Efficient as ever, she had even charted out a path that she can take to reach the destination in record time, all with the assistance of her lightning stilettos. Seeing as no one else knew about the place, and Cloud Retainer hadn't personally come by to lecture her about being within her dominion, she naturally took advantage of it, and made it her own tranquil haven.

A place of peace.

And now, she had no idea how things had ended up the way it is.

The man who had given her such peace, now asleep on her lap, dozing off after baring out his soul for her to see.

The pain of whatever he had been through, all flowing out through his water gates.

Pulling out her pocket watch, she estimated that it had been over an hour since the blonde nodded off to the unknown. Sighing as she continues to absentmindedly caress his hair. His face marred with fading tears that she had wiped out over time.

Whatever it is that he has in his mind, she owes it to herself to help him through it. She has to. After everything he had done for him, it was high time that she started breaking even.

She clasped her watch close, a reverberating clunk coming out of it.

A groan followed the sound as the blonde began to stir on her lap.

He rubbed his eyes for a good number of seconds, yawning out the little sleep that kept a hold on him. It wasn't until he blinked away his bleary vision, did he realize the situation in hand.

"Huh…" he had sounded out, voice still somewhat watery, "So, that wasn't a dream?"

Keqing let out a soft chuckle, "What, the part where you clung to me for dear life?" She smiled as he covered his reddening face, before she asked, "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"What? No, don't apologize." He made a move to get in a sitting position, "Let me just-,"

She immediately placed a hand on his forehead, pushing it back down, "No. Please. Just… stay."

He looked at her questioningly. Holding himself midway for a few moments, before nodding and lying back down to her lap.

For a while, he simply looked at her as she closed her eyes and waited. Nature took its course and the steady breeze of the wind began to envelop them. It was the peace that she had long to expect from being in that dwelling.

Aether couldn't say anything. Yet, he knew that she deserves an explanation. So, while he devised a plan to get his mind in order, he began to ask away.

"How'd you know that I was here?"

"Your little fairy friend barged into my office with this." She answered as she brandished the insignia she gave him, handing it to his awaiting hand, "Panicked out of her mind of course. She was really worried you know?"

"Ah," Aether seemingly realized something, an apologetic grin on his face, "I forgot that she doesn't know about this habit of mine."

"Maybe refrain from randomly teleporting in the middle of night next time."

Her jab about his ability to utilize the waypoints brought another point of interest for him to inquire about, "Now that you mentioned it, how'd you get here so quickly anyways? I haven't been here for that long."

"I have my ways." Keqing merely answered while keeping her eyes closed, "Do bear in mind that I somewhat possess the ability to teleport myself."

He hummed in understanding, the existence of her lightning stilettos coming into mind.

Thinking that he's asked enough questions, he thought that she would go on her own bout of questions, only to have her revert back to the peaceful silence that had previously grasped the atmosphere.

In the end, Aether couldn't contain his own curiosity.

"You uuuhh…" He began asking, his voice turning sheepish, "You're not gonna ask?"

"About?" Keqing shortly replied, eyes still closed.

"Umm… earlier?" Aether said, scratching his chin shyly, "The mental breakdown and whatnot."

"Ah, that." She said, mulling to herself for a split second, "I don't think it was my place to ask." She then finally opened her eyes, smiling to him, "So, I'll wait."

"For?" He inquired right after.

"You." She said, holding a gaze that she hopes to have bolstered her intentions, "I'll wait for you to be ready to tell me."

She held her gaze for a while longer, surprise contained within his orbs, before she settled back to absentmindedly caressing his hair and closing her gaze.

Of course, she would understand.

He knew within him, that if there's anyone who knew how it had felt like to have their whole world be turned upside down in a snap of a finger, it would be her.

In the end, he took a page out of her own book.

"So, I found my sister."

"You did?" Keqing almost squeaked out, genuine joy initially lacing her voice, before turning doubtful once she got a better look of his expression, "Isn't that… good?"

"Logically and theoretically speaking, yeah. It's all I've been aiming for all this time." He looked away as he sighed, "I didn't fight a battle addict, a corrupt dragon, an old ocean god, and multiple crazy organizations for the fun of it."

"Could've fooled me."

He shot her a mock glare that she replied to with a giggle, tapping his forehead apologetically, "Sorry, go on."

"Anyways… 'Found' is a strong word for it. More like, I briefly met her." He looked away once again, the pace of his speech slowing down, "Imagine how surprised I was when the first thing she did as we reunite, was block an attack that was directed towards a high-ranking Abyss officer."

The small smile that had been on Keqing's lips immediately disappeared. Her hand halted its playtime with his hair.

"What?"

"You heard me…"

"She's part of the Abyss Order?"

"Worse." He almost scoffed, believe not within his grasp as well, "Looks like she's someone quite important within their ranks."

"How can you tell?" Keqing herself had looked away from him.

"The guy I was fighting called her 'Princess'." The memory of the scene flashing painfully through his thoughts, "And considering that he was some bigshot himself, I can only assume that she ranks way above his paygrade."

Expecting her to ask more questions, he waited for her to speak. Only to find that realize that she had no longer been looking at him, and her hands had been silently shaking as she clasped them together on his chest.

"Tell me." She suddenly muttered.

"Tell you… about?"

"Everything." She clarified as she looked back towards him. Her expressions inscrutable, "You, your sister, what you both do, and what you've really been up to since you got here."

"But I've already told-,"

"With all the secrets." She interjected, eyes and tone as sharp as a blade, "As much as there was in your first story, I had a feeling that you've left out some pretty glaring details."

He smiled, now recognizing that he hadn't managed to get away with regaling the redacted version of his journey beforehand, "Nothing gets past you, huh?"

"You'd do well to remember that." She threw him a playful wink, "Hold anything back again, and you'll regret it."

There was one thing however, that Aether still needed to figure out.

"But, why?"

Keqing paused for a moment. A ponderous look visible on her expressions, before humming in thoughtfulness.

"I suppose… I want to understand."

Aether raised an eyebrow, "Understand…?"

"I tend to be quite… hasty, with my judgement." Her hands had once again began its adventure around his hair, "Even outside of work, I'm quite ruthless with my perception of people. At least, that's the kind of feedback that I've been receiving from peers and whatnot."

Realizing what she's trying to tell him, Aether bit his lip. Without any context, and without knowing how his sister really is, it does make quite a different impression when the first thing you hear about a person is that they are quite possibly a leader of an organization that's created nothing but trouble for the many nations that exists within your world.

He couldn't blame her if her first impressions of Lumine, is one that doesn't exactly paint his sister in a good light.

Suddenly, her voice rang once more.

"That's why this time, I want to understand first."

Averting her gaze back to his, she had looked doubtful, but persevered anyways.

"Before I accept the facts for what it is, I want to know you, and your sister better." Her shoulders raising as she waved her hands, "Although I know that she shouldn't be that far off from what you are- You're good and kind, but it wouldn't hurt to understand her better. Maybe she had a motive? Maybe it's a situation where there's more than what meets the eye."

A cheeky smile made its way to her lips.

"Or maybe… her brother did something that warrants such a reaction."

"Please…" Aether scoffed, though a wry smile fettered itself on his lips, she could tell from his tone that there was something that he was holding back, "I'd be proud if I could piss her off that much."

"Siblings." Keqing stated, her next words mumbled, almost as if she was speaking to herself, "I could never quite understand how that all works."

He had caught what she said, but decided to mentally take note of it and save it for another conversation, choosing to begin his story with her request in mind.

And this time, he made sure to get rid of his filters, and let his heart string his words.

He began to tell her everything. Starting from the countless journeys that he and his sister had embarked on throughout their lives, how they had been flying from one world to another, keeping it within the general scope of things since his memories no longer fully supported him when it comes to their old journey, years encompassed between one another. Most of the time, he kept his explanations of the worlds that had visited rather short, trying his best to get to the relevant parts of his story.

"Lumine and I… We were always recognized as Travelers." Aether looked as if he was worlds away, thinking back to start of his journey, "Apparently it was just a known thing. Races across the universe will always regard my kind as such, as if we have sort of an… aura to it."

"Right, Liyue's probably the first one to recognize you as fugitives, first and foremost." Keqing lightly teased.

"Once again, not my brightest moment." The blonde admitted, but quickly reeled back, "Although, it's not the worst thing that I've been branded as from the get go."

A genuine look of confusion flashed through Keqing's face, "You've been mistaken for other things worse than a fugitive?"

"Oh, you have no idea." He said with a chuckle, "This one world had a village who thought that the two of us were the patrons of a devilish being named Satan, ready to deliver apocalypse to their world. All because we accidentally crashed landed in a cave that had that precise urban legend related to it."

"What made the two of you crash land, to be precise?"

"We…Uhh…" His eyes darted back and forth, cheeks flushed, "We were wrestling each other?"

"Is it a good idea to wrestle in the middle of space?"

"When your twin snatched an extremely rare candy out of you possession?" Aether began saying with a degree of seriousness laced in his tone, "Then, yes."

Keqing deadpanned. With all the real talk they've been doing for the past hour, it was easy to forget how childish he can certainly come across. It didn't come as a surprise to her that his twin would be someone who can be of equal temperament from time to time. Hell, she thought, this twin of his might've been the one to have rubbed that personality on to him.

"So, suffice to say, Teyvat isn't exactly the weirdest world that you've been to, huh?"

"Not by a long shot." Aether affirmed, pointing towards her hair, "Had I've never gotten a good look at that, I would've passed you off as a humanoid-cat of some kind, and I would be none the wiser to think otherwise."

"Even so," Keqing quipped, patting one of the cat ears on her hair, "It's not like cat people don't exist here."

"I'm aware." A light scoff escaping his lips, "As much as it isn't the weirdest world, it's the first one to have given me such a big problem."

Now that he mentioned it, Keqing just realized that not a single part of his story is void of his sister's presence. It then dawned on her that his journey in this world is might have been the first time he is away from his sister for a prolonged period of time.

"I see…" She let her hand fall to her side. Ashamed of not having thought of that possibility ever since she's gotten to know him, "I'm sorry… It hadn't crossed my mind that this might have been the first instance where you've been separated from your sister for such a long time."

"Hey, you've been apologizing for things that aren't your fault one too many times tonight." He patted her hand, hoping to get rid of that downcast look on her face, "I'll admit, it's still a hard pill to swallow to this day. Other than fighting an unknown god lady and getting sealed away, I had no recollection over what caused us to be separated that day." He sighed, closing his eyes to ponder, "We've only had each other for so long. Getting close to people of other worlds served no purpose other than to make it hurt that much more when it was time for us to move on."

Hearing the hollow acceptance that his voiced carry with his sentences, her heart began to feel extremely heavy. The weight of his words once again dawning upon her. She couldn't even begin to imagine how hard it is to constantly keep an emotional distance to people, simply because he knew, that doing otherwise will only hurt him in the long run. Sure, she'll admit that keeping a distance is basically her default working attitude, but what she does merely ensures that her work ethic remains unperturbed, and it's not like she wanted to interact with them anyways.

"But in an ironic way… I guess it's sort of why I'd think that you would understand me best."

Understand him? How could she even begin to put herself in his shoes?

"How could I?" Keqing protested, thinking that he had been downplaying his pain, trying to put it as akin to her own painful past, "I was just thinking about how I could never imagine myself being in that situation, let alone having the closest person I know be separated from me for no reason."

"True, in that sense, it's two very different scenarios."

"Then, what did you mean by-,"

"But it flipped both our worlds upside down, didn't it?"

Ah.

So that's what he meant.

Even when it was his time of distress, he still made the time to care for her own pain.

"We both had that guiding light. The one sure fire thing that we thought would carry us through life." He tilted his head to better situate his gaze at her, his tone carrying a bout of understanding for the two of them. "For you it was your work ethic, and for me, it was my sister's companionship. Yet, when the tables turned, it became the very thing that's causing our hearts and mind to aimlessly wander around."

He clenched fist, struggling to find the words to deliver his point.

"It made us dazed and confused, it just… it just made us feel…"

"-Lost." He looked up to see her eyes filled a sense of understanding that he's longed to see from someone as of recent. Her voice also carried the line of comprehension as he had before, "You feel so very lost and it made seem as if the whole world was against you."

"Exactly." Initially, his smile had seemed so bright, before it diminished ever so slightly, "And that's why… I feel as if I can almost understand where my sister is coming from, with what she's doing now."

"How so?"

"You familiar with the nation of Khaenri'ah?"

Keqing racked her brain, thinking about all the history lesson that she had trudged through during her educational years.

"You mean… the godless nation?" She asked, testing the waters with her muddy memory, "The one that fell five hundred years ago?"

"That's the one." He inhaled deeply, as if prepping himself for something, "Long story short, she was there. The very day that the nation fell."

"…"

She didn't know what to say, exactly.

"So… all that time…"

"Yeah, she had been without yours truly." Another sigh came out of him, "Though I think that she wasn't completely alone. The guy that led me to her seemed to have had some history with her."

"Was he related to the Abyss as well?" She quickly asked.

"No. In fact, he was from Khaenri'ah." He answered, his own voice still layered with a ponderous veil, "Call him Dain. Apparently, he was supposed to be some sort of royal guard. Cursed with immortality in order to have him suffer through the years as he watched the very people he was supposed to have protected, slowly die one by one."

"The people he was supposed to protect?" Keqing caught on to what he was implying, "You mean to say that the people of Khaenri'ah still exist?"

"Physically? Yeah." Aether felt his voice wavering, seeing as it was still difficult for even him to come to terms with what he's about to tell her, "Their souls however, had long died out. Leaving a near-mindless husk of a body with a mask to hide their faces for eternity."

Husks… Masks…

It didn't take long for Keqing to put two and two together.

"The hilichurls…?"

Aether merely looked away, confirming her suspicions.

"We've been fighting… people?"

"Don't think of it that way." He said as he brushed his hand on hers, "Dain made it very clear that they have long lost their mind and souls from their time as the people of Khaenri'ah." Hoping to steer her off the train of thoughts that he had made himself go through prior, "Nowadays, they are no more than husks that wanders the plains aimlessly."

"Still… to think that they were once sentient humans as I am…"

"I know… I couldn't fully shake it out of my head, even till now." He admitted, once again diverting his mind away from letting the thought fester, "It's just… now I wonder how Lumine must've felt all these years."

He paused for a moment, thinking back to their brief encounter.

"The Lumine I saw today was a far cry from the Lumine that I've known my entire life…" His hands joined together, tightly holding one another, "That cold stare. Her voice sharper than ever. Not even saying anything as much as a 'Hi' and a 'How are you?'. It just makes me wonder…"

He released a sorrowful chuckle, his eyes gleaming once again.

"Does she even care for me?"

Keqing's heart clenched once again.

"Have I failed her?"

This.

This was that one thought that he had been hiding from her.

A part of her knew that this self-sacrificing buffoon would be one of the only people to have ever reached that sort of conclusion, even from the long train of thought that he had probably been trudging through for the past couple of hours.

And before long, her brain had been overrun by her heart.

Suddenly, Aether winced out in pain. This time from her pinching his cheek ever so tightly.

"Ow, Oowww…" He wanted to pry her hand away, but the glare she held caused him to settle for a question instead, "W-What's this for!?"

"For insinuating that whatever had happened to your sister was your fault."

"B-But…"

"No buts!" She cuts him off, finally letting go of his cheek, "In any case, I refuse to believe so."

"What makes you so sure-,"

"Because I've seen it for myself." She looked at him with a bolstered conviction that he had not seen beforehand, "You're not the type to let people down, that's what I both like and hate about you. You'd hate to leave people hanging, and you'd go so far out of your way to make sure that they get the help that they need, regardless of what is needed of you." She prodded at his chest, "I'm sure if you had any say in it, you'd do anything to be there for your sister, right here, right now."

"Obviously-,"

"Then I wish that you'd think more about yourself!" She almost cried out, "I know it's strange coming from me, but your sister has chosen her path, and it looks like there's no stopping her. You'll just be hurting yourself the more you dwell on it." She placed a hand over her heart, wanting to pour all that she wants him to understand, "You've done so much for me, for everyone you've met so far, wouldn't it hurt to think about what you want for a change?"

Aether can only stare, his mouth agape as he found himself speechless for a second time that day.

"You wanted to find your sister and that didn't work out the way you wanted it to, then it's time for a change."

Unconsciously, Keqing had placed a hand on his hair, caressing it ever so gently.

"And I want you to know, that whatever change - whatever path it is that you choose, that I-we, will be there for you." She gestured to him, and then to herself, "You are not alone, and that whenever you need a shoulder to lean on, we would all be more than glad to help you through the pain."

She placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it tightly.

"I know that opening up to the people of a world that you might one day leave, isn't exactly on top of your list of things to do… But regardless, I want you to know that I am here for you."

…

In his mind, things started to piece itself together. All the while, his heart began to swell with warmth.

Slowly, his thoughts began to construct an image of its own.

Maybe… just maybe… that he can allow himself this one reprieve.

To truly embrace that connection to someone else.

Even if pain awaits him in the end, it will be worth the present support that he sorely needs.

He takes in her expression. Waiting for an answer to see if her message had managed to hit home. He smiled, familiar with the kind of anxiety that she might be feeling, seeing as he had been on her side of the situation for more than he could count.

Suddenly, he sharply sat up and angled his body to comfortably sit on the dwelling's bench. Stretching out the light soreness that had built up from lying on her lap for so long. Not that it hadn't been comfortable.

With a quick exhale of his breath, he looked at the horizon.

"Well then, it's settled."

Looking back at her, Aether made sure that he had her attention.

"I'll seek the answer out of this world myself. I'll beat it out if I have to." He looked at his fist, determination coursing through his veins, "Lumine said that she'd wait until I discover the truth. Well, I'm not going to make her wait long."

Raising his fist to her, he gave her the first genuine smile that she had seen from him that night.

"And with all the people I've met, I'll be sure to use all the help that I could get."

Keqing appraised him for a brief moment, before nodding with a smile in kind, bumping her fist on to his, "Sounds like a deal to me."

They kept that position for quite some time, before Aether pulled back, looking at her with an appreciative gaze.

"Thank you… That was quite the pep talk."

"Anytime. I recognize now that we haven't exactly shown you our sincerest gratitude for all that you have done for us." She cleared her throat, seemingly thinking about another matter, "Now that I think about, it seems proper that I personally extend an invitation to you, for an upcoming event." She gestured towards the city, "This time, you can enjoy Liyue with all the festivities that it's famous for."

"I assume a festival is upon us then?" She confirmed his guess with a nod, to which he replied to with a nod himself, "Alright, I'm all ears, what's it called?"

"It's our annual Lantern Rite festival." She began explaining, "It's the time of the year where we choose an adeptus as a theme, this year being one named Skybracer, and organize a celebration honouring the deeds that they've done for Liyue."

He hummed in understanding, waiting for her to continue as she suddenly looked sheepish.

"Besides… I figured that since things have been somewhat tough on you, it'll do you well to take a break from things and just… enjoy yourself."

A soft gaze took over his eyes once again, "How's the food going to be?"

"Should be some of the best Teyvat cuisine that you'd be tasting for a long time." She then threw a wink at him, placing her index on her lips, "And who knows, there might be a surprise waiting for you here and there."

"Well then," Aether chuckled, eliciting another smile from Keqing, "I can't say no to that can I?"

"Great!" Her smile now almost beaming, "I'll try to make time so that I can personally give you a tour. That way, you won't be missing anything that you might find interesting."

As far as his heart is concerned, he'd be somewhat glad that today had happened.

As bleak as it had begun, her words have really shown him that it is time for him to take a different approach. Lumine might have given him an ultimatum, but he won't let that deviate him from the path that he had been seeking.

And with people like her by his side, who's to say over what the future holds.

For now, however, it is time that he simply embraced it, and welcome the change.

"I'll look forward to it then, Keqing."