Chapter 6: Welcome to Mondstadt

Subaru opened his eyes once more.

He immediately noticed the differences. The first sign was that he hadn't heard Paimon's signature voice calling out for him twice like she normally did whenever Return by Death activated. Moreover, Subaru was lying down. In an actual bed. In an actual indoor room.

"I don't recognize that ceiling."

The ceiling was white, with small traces of yellow and gold here and there. However, the yellow didn't interfere with the appearance of the ceiling. If anything, it turned it into a piece of art. Once that Subaru took his time to admire.

Finally blinking, he shielded himself from the sunlight blaring through the open window next to him.

'Didn't I die?' Subaru couldn't help but wonder. 'Or was that entire thing a dream? Nah, that can't be it. I'm sure it wasn't.'

"Oh! You're up!"

Subaru blinked in surprise at the melodic voice that rang out. Looking for the source, he found a blonde girl opening the marble white door, now gaping at him.

The girl finally stepped through the door, holding her hands against her chest in a sign of relief. She wore her blond hair in pigtails that fluttered with her every step, topped with a white and blue bow that somewhat reminded Subaru of Rem's headdress. She was wearing a white frock that cut off below her shoulders, adorned with a blue bow in front. However, she was otherwise covered up by designed white leggings as well as arm cuffs adorned by the designs right before her wrists. Her blue eyes shone against the light from the open window, showing concern for the boy who just woke up before her.

"Are you okay?" the girl urged on, jogging up to the boy and quickly feeling his temperature with her dainty hand. "Your temperature seems normal, so you don't have a fever. Are you feeling any pain?"

Subaru couldn't help but blush at how close this girl was standing to him. He still remembered how Rem acted around him, especially the suggestive comments that she had made that he never responded to for some stupid reason, and this moment couldn't help but remind him of Rem's actions.

"U-Umm, n-no, I'm alright," Subaru quietly stammered, finding it a little harder to breathe with her closeness.

"Oh, I'm glad to hear that!" the girl replied, beaming brightly back at him. Subaru couldn't help but stare in awe at the sheer light of positivity emerging from the girl before him. "Ah, I should introduce myself!"

The girl then stood back up straight and performed a curt bow before him, a hand gently placed over her heart. "I'm Barbara, the Deaconess of the Favonius Cathedral. Welcome to Mondstadt, Dear Traveller!"

Subaru blinked in surprise. "I'm… in Mondstadt?"

"Yes, you are!" Barbara beamed back at him. "You were gravely injured after your fight against the mitachurl, Amber too. However, you were lucky that another person was there to get help for you!"

"Another person? Who?"

"Hey!" Another cute, shrill voice made itself known. "Did you forget about Paimon already?! Paimon saved your life, you know!"

Subaru blinked in surprise as Paimon manifested by his side, now hovering over him.

"Paimon… you saved us?" Subaru asked.

"I… I was so worried that you died, especially after seeing you faint with Amber," Paimon murmured, slightly lowering herself as she did so. "I ended up flying around so much that I somehow found the entrance to Mondstadt. Those guards were not nice, but Paimon got you help!"

"Paimon, we are truly sorry for how our Knights treated you," Barbara cut in with another bow, her melodic voice slowly resonating in the air. "Now that we know you, we will no longer make that same mistake."

"That'd better be the case!" Paimon huffed out, glaring at Barbara.

"Wait, wait, I'm missing so many details here!" Subaru cut in, now standing up from his bed. "What happened?!"

"Well, if you should know," Paimon started…

"HEY! PAIMON NEEDS HELP!"

"AAAHH! KILL IT! KILL IT WITH FIRE! WE NEED A PYRO VISION!"

"THERE'S NOTHING ON SMALL FLYING CREATURES SHOWING UP IN THE HANDBOOK, WHAT DO WE DO?!"

"KILL IT, THAT'S WHAT!"

"NO! PAIMON JUST NEEDS HELP! PEOPLE ARE DYING NEARBY!"

"WHAAAT?! YOU KILLED PEOPLE?! WE NEED TO STOP YOU, NOW!"

"JUST LISTEN TO PAIMON!"

"WHO'S PAIMON?!"

"Those jerks! Why couldn't they understand that Paimon was only trying to help?!"

"HAHAHAHA!" Subaru couldn't help but roar out in laughter upon hearing Paimon's vivid description of those events. Barbara couldn't help but let out a chuckle nearby as well, one that would cause a twinge in any heart that would hear it.

"After that, a guy wearing an eyepatch showed up and calmed the knights down, then they decided to help Paimon," Paimon explained further, rubbing her head in embarrassment against Subaru's laughter. "They came to rescue you, and that was that! Now, you're here, safe and sound!"

Subaru froze for a moment upon hearing those words. Slowly, Subaru exhaled. However, it wasn't like anything he had experienced before. His exhale took along with it all the weight he had been carrying for so long, across all those deaths. He felt a lot lighter now that he was free of his hell loop.

"Wait…" Subaru crossed his eyes for a minute, looking out from the window. "How many days was I out for?"

"Well, just a day," Barbara replied. "By the grace of the Anemo Archon, I was able to heal you well enough in short time after tending to Amber. Your injuries were rather severe, however. Aside from your crushed nose that gratefully hadn't left any scars, your muscles were suffering from overuse and exertion and they were badly torn. I believe you had struggled quite a bit against that mitachurl."

Subaru gulped as she said that.

'Then… what happened that night?' Subaru couldn't help but think. 'The night that the stars went out, and the night felt like it would go on forever? And the world froze? Did that not happen this time?'

He looked back at the Deaconess and Paimon in front of him.

'Did I happen to save them from something else as well?'

"Subaru! You're up!"

Subaru was forced out of his thoughts as a familiar voice rang out, its owner barging in through the front door and running up to him.

"Amber, wha – ACK!"

Suddenly, Subaru found himself caught in a bear hug by Amber. She was holding on tight. Subaru was starting to find it hard to breathe.

'My poor otaku heart can't take all thi – AAH, LET ME BREATHE!'

Just as he screamed that in his head, Amber let him go, blushing hard as she settled to holding his shoulders instead. Subaru now took in a heavy breath, doing his best to shake off the dark spots in his eyes.

"Subaru, I seriously owe you one!" Amber declared, her cheeky grin sported on her face once again. "Let's go to Good Hunter! My treat, of course!"

"U-Uhh, right! Wait! Is this a date?! Am I being asked out?!"

"Hmm? Well, yeah! Let's call it a date, then!"

"Aah, why did I have to say that?! I still need to find Rem! I can't cheat on her!"

"Oh, right!" Amber said, smacking her forehead. "Your friend, Rem! You still need to find her, right? What does she look like?"

"Well, um," Subaru gulped as he looked out the window. "She has short blue hair that she normally covers one eye with. She should be in a maid's dress, but she could have easily changed them, so I can't say for certain. Oh, and yeah, blue eyes."

"Didn't you say she was an Oni?" Paimon added.

"A-Ah, that's right, but I don't think that should be a criterion," Subaru stammered out, not knowing if he's overstepping his boundaries by revealing that info. "Rem has one horn on her head, but she can retract it at will. I don't think she'll use it so easily. Also, I-I don't think we should mention that to others."

"Oh, umm, Paimon's sorry…" Paimon mumbled, looking down in shame.

"No, that's okay!" Amber said, closing a book that she had pulled out of absolutely nowhere, making it vanish in a wave of sparks. "That should be enough for me to draft a missing person's report, even without mentioning the horn! We'll find her in no time!"

Subaru sighed into a soft smile. "Thank you, Amber. This really means a lot."

"Don't mention it!"

"Well, I think that your drafting will have to wait, Amber," Barbara slowly stepped to them. "Traveller, can I please have one last inspection? I need to confirm if you're healthy."

"Well, sure. And call me Subaru, Traveller just sounds super generic."

Barbara smiled at Subaru's comment. "Very well, Subaru! Please take a seat, turn your back to me and take your shirt off."

Nodding, Subaru sat back down on the bed to face the pillow and took his shirt off. He couldn't see it, but Amber's face started to turn redder upon seeing his bare back.

'He's a lot more muscular than I expected… Well, I mean, he did stand against a mitachurl without a Vision. Not to mention their Tug of War…'

Her thought process was cut off as soon as she saw the lines of black on Subaru's arm.

"Wait, Subaru!" Amber yelped, unknowingly stepping forward and touching his biceps to feel those lines. "Those are-"

"A-A-Amber, what are you doing?!" Subaru yelped back as he pulled his arm away.

Amber froze in her position for a moment. Then, she blushed a deep red, finally realizing what she had tried to do.

"S-S-S-Sorry!" Amber stammered out, still wearing her red face that oddly merged her with her clothes and her bow. "I-I-I was just curious!"

Subaru choked on his breath for a moment and then forced himself to sigh. "D-Don't worry, Amber, I was like that too when I first saw that tattoo," Subaru said, raising her arm up to her. "I don't remember how I got it, but it looks cool, right?"

"U-Um, yeah!" Amber choked out as well. "It, uhh, does look cool. But, um, Subaru, that is…"

Barbara softly chuckled from behind Subaru.

"Don't worry, Subaru, I had already inspected that mark," Barbara said, nodding to Amber as well. "It's not going to harm you as far as I can see. It reacts very unusually to Elemental Energy; I can't describe it. I don't understand what it is, still. But it certainly is not what Amber thinks it is."

Amber paused upon hearing that, then let out a soft sigh of relief.

Subaru looked back down at his marked arm. "I don't know either. Sorry, I can't be of much help."

"That's okay. For now, I will begin your diagnosis."

Barbara slowly got onto the bed as well and formed a bubble of water in her hands. She gently placed that onto the middle of Subaru's spine.

"Say, Subaru, do you have a Vision?" Barbara asked.

"A Vision? You mean those things that let you cast magic like Amber?"

"Well, Elemental Energy is not magic, but I believe that is what you mean."

"Okay, well, no. I don't have a Vision."

"Wait, but wasn't there that moment by the Statue?" Paimon broke into the conversation, making everyone turn to her. "Some dark energy flowed out of your body?"

"Dark energy… I think that might explain what I'm feeling right now," Barbara said, pulling her hands away from him. "Subaru, I can confirm that you're somewhat healthy, save for something that I cannot remedy on my own. In fact, it's another thing that I can't understand properly, just like your arm."

"Huh?" Amber asked in response. "What is it? What's wrong?"

As Subaru wore his shirt again and stood back up, he noticed Barbara's uneasy gulp. "I believe it has to do with that Dark Energy that Paimon was referring to."

Slowly, Barbara lifted a book from her waist which held a blue jewel with a water-like symbol on the centre. "This gem you see here is a Vision, I trust you to know that," Barbara began to explain. "They appear to people whenever a specific Archon blesses them with control over their element. I have been blessed by the Archon of Hydro for my Vision, while Amber has been blessed by the Archon of Pyro. But… Subaru… in your case, your element is unlike anything I've ever seen."

"Huh? What do you mean? Wait, are you saying that I've been blessed by a god?!"

"Well, not exactly. You do have an element. But the odd thing is that I cannot recognize it with my healing. You possess an element outside of those of the Seven Archons. One that I can only say is close to that of Darkness."

Subaru was paralyzed upon hearing that. He wasn't particularly surprised by it, since he was not of this world. However, it was shocking to hear that he was a complete outlier. From the looks of it, Paimon wasn't surprised either, only concerned. Meanwhile, Amber widened her eyes in clear shock. She had never heard of such a situation before. She couldn't understand how Subaru could have manifested a completely original element.

"Wait, I don't get something," Amber added. "If he can control this Darkness Element, then where's his Vision?"

"Yes, that comes to my next point," Barbara said. "I should say that I've never seen a case such as this, and I cannot administer help for it. I am truly sorry."

Subaru paled upon hearing that, as did Paimon.

"Once again, Visions appear to us in these particular forms," Barbara once again explained, lifting her book as she had previously. "However, the fact that you have an unknown element is not the only thing unique to you. For starters, I will confirm to you that you do have a Vision for this element."

"Wait, I do?" Subaru asked. "Then where is it?"

"That is the odd thing. It is inside you."

"In…"

"… side?"

Subaru started, and Paimon finished.

Subaru gulped upon hearing that.

"Subaru, do you know anything about this? About what this element is?" Barbara asked.

"I wish I did, but I don't remember," Subaru muttered. "I'm an amnesiac, but with selective memories."

"An amnesiac?!" Barbara leaned back in shock. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry to hear that! I really wish I could do something to help you there, but the brain is far too delicate for me to manipulate with my healing! I am honestly afraid to try, seeing how I could severely impact your brain by doing so!"

Subaru's mouth went dry upon hearing that. Not even the doctor here could heal him, huh…

"I'm sorry, Subaru," Amber said, wincing. "I recommended her to you, and I broke your hope. I'm really sorry."

"N-No, it's okay, I'm coming to terms with it," Subaru said. "They are slowly coming back, after all. They will take time, though. I'll probably have an answer for you when they do come."

"That is good because I'm not done with my diagnosis."

"HUH?!/WHAT?!" The three listening to her remarked at once.

"I'm sorry to say it, but this is the worst part of this inspection," Barbara said. "You indeed have a Vision within you, but… there is something wrong with it."

"Something wrong?" Subaru interrupted. "Is it abnormally large or small or something like that? Wait, is it pushing my organs to the side?"

"No, that's not it," Barbara said, nervously moistening her lips. "Subaru, I don't know how to say this, but your Vision is severely damaged."

Subaru, yet again, blinked in surprise.

"Damaged?" Amber asked. "How? It's inside him, what could have happened to it?"

"I think it's from overuse," Barbara said. "Some Vision Bearers will not be able to properly channel their Elemental Energy when they first get their Visions, making them injure themselves in the process. However, they will heal, and their Vision won't get damaged. Subaru's Vision, on the other hand, is a part of his body. This means that in his case, it is not just his body that is damaged by overuse, but his Vision as well."

Subaru gaped upon hearing that. "Wait, so, you're saying that I overworked my Vision to the point of no return?"

"Yes, that is it exactly. That's only what I can see, though," Barbara added. "As I said, I'm just a Deaconess and a doctor, I can't properly understand this. Subaru, when you get the time, please visit an alchemist. They may be rather… eccentric… about their work, but they do their work well. I'm sure that they will be able to help you more than I."

Subaru grimly nodded in response. "Understood. I'll talk to them when I get the chance."

"Sorry, but there's one last thing I need to say."

"Wha – still?!" Amber bemoaned.

"I'm sorry Amber, but this is more important than the rest. Subaru, despite the damage in your Vision, it is still accumulating energy."

Paimon blinked in surprise. "Huh? What does that mean?"

Barbara's expression turned grim. "What I'm trying to say is that your Vision is not going to allow for its energy to leave it because of its damage. But it's still gathering Elemental Energy. Do you understand what I'm saying, Subaru?"

Subaru took a moment, only to let his expression darken as he finally understood Barbara's point. Amber gasped in horror soon after, also catching her point.

"Umm, Paimon doesn't understand what's going on, can someone explain?"

Subaru gulped as he looked at Paimon. "T-Think about it like this. Take a water tap. Right at the entrance, you clog it with a piece of unbreakable plastic, which won't let any water out at all. The tap is still running, though. What's going to happen?"

"Uuuh, the tap is running, but no water is coming out… Oh, Paimon knows! The tap will explode!"

Subaru held his silence. The other two grimaced upon hearing Paimon's description.

"Oh," Paimon's expression turned to horror as well. "Oh."

"Yeah," Subaru gulped. "At some point, my Vision won't be able to hold back all of the energy in it. And since it's already damaged, well… Kaboom. I'm going to blow up in a mass of Elemental Energy."

Barbara looked down in shame. "I… am so sorry that I can't do more for you, Subaru. By my estimate, I can only give you about one or two months to live. Your current reserves are rather small, so I'm glad we found out so soon."

"One or two months, huh?" Subaru groaned as he stood back up. "Wait, something's wrong here!"

Subaru quickly turned back to Barbara. "Did you just say that my reserves are low?"

"Well, yes, they are," Barbara said. "Whatever happened to your Vision must be rather recent."

"Barbara, my current waking memories date back to about a month or two ago! In that case, shouldn't I be to the brim already?!"

Barbara blinked in surprise at Subaru's comment. "If that is the case… then you're right! You shouldn't have such low Energy in your Vision! I had inspected it yesterday as well, which is what judged my guess, so I'm sure that I am right! You should have died by now!"

Everyone let out a collective hiss at that comment.

"O-Oh, I'm so sorry," Barbara apologized, hanging her head low. "I don't know what came over me."

"N-No, it's okay," Subaru said. "Do you have any idea how the Energy was removed?"

"Well, there are only two possible ways it could have happened," Barbara continued, now standing back up straight. "One: You must have used it up somehow. I don't think this will be the case, though, not with how damaged your Vision is. The second option is more likely to me; someone or something removed your Energy from your body."

"Removed? How can that be done?" Amber asked.

'Yeah, but I can't disregard the first choice either,' Subaru thought, not wanting to voice these words. 'Could it be… that Return by Death is powered by my Vision? It is a Dark power, yeah, but could that be it? And more importantly… do I need to keep dying to live? And if I fail to kill myself, will I actually die?'

"Wait, Subaru, I remember!" Paimon yelped. "The Statue of the Seven! When you put your hand on it, the dark energy left your body! That's what we were talking about at first, weren't we?"

Subaru paused his dangerous thought process to hear Paimon's words. "Wait, that makes sense!"

"It truly does," Barbara hummed. "Statues of the Seven have natural healing properties due to the divinity imbibed within them. It isn't surprising to hear that one of them can take away Subaru's infectious energy, it's akin to healing him! Subaru, it's the grace of the Anemo Archon that is healing you!"

Subaru nervously swallowed upon seeing Barbara's wide smile. He still couldn't dismiss his initial thought process, no matter how much he hated that thought process. It was even worse to know that he couldn't share it with the others, though.

"Y-Yeah, I guess that's it," Subaru said.

'I'll just have to find out myself. I'll start with the Statue, of course. I don't want to die. I don't want to feel that pain again.'

Subaru gulped as his mental trauma washed through his mind once again. He forcefully shut his eyes and took a few steady breaths.

"Hey, Subaru?" Paimon whispered from his side. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah, just… bad memories."

"A memory flash?" Paimon asked in return.

Amber approached him next. "Do you… want to talk about them?"

Subaru cursed in his head. 'Shit, I dropped my guard there!'

"A-Ah, no, no! You don't need to worry about them!" Subaru forcibly chuckled as he waved his hands around. "They're, uh, pretty personal, and I'd prefer to keep them to myself, yeah!"

Amber softly scowled at him. "Well, I can't force you to talk, so keep your secrets. But I'll make you talk about them someday, you hear me?!"

Subaru chuckled a little upon seeing her reaction. 'I wish I could tell you. Or actually, no, I don't. I don't want you to know everything I've gone through. I'll shoulder this burden alone. Although… it would be good to have a person to vent to.'

"Sure, I'll see if I can," Subaru replied with a lie, hoping to sate the girl. He was glad to find that he was successful, seeing Amber's Cheshire grin beaming on her face.

"Anyway, I'll bring you to the nearest Statue as soon as I can," Amber said. "For now, come with me! Talk to you later, Barbara! Thanks for healing us!"

"Hey, wait for Paimon!"

"Oh, just a minute!" Barbara called out. "We managed to repair your old clothes, so you can take them back, Subaru!"

"Wait, really?! Thanks!" Subaru replied, grinning at Barbara in turn.

Subaru couldn't help but take a moment as he stepped out of the Cathedral.

From atop the staircase to the Cathedral, he could see the foreground before him. A land circumvented by arches, shielding a giant statue of the same figure on the Statue of the Seven, standing as tall as the cathedral before them. Looking further, Subaru could also make out the two-to-three storey timber-framed buildings that spanned across the land of Mondstadt, as well as the windmills that probably provided power to the area.

"Huuuh?!" Subaru gawked upon seeing the area around him. "Why isn't this more of a fantasy world?! You've got the medieval aesthetic going, but I thought there'd be demihumans and other races, where are they?!"

"Yeah, Stinky Space does that at times," Paimon said to a confused Amber, not bothering to answer his uneducated questions.

"Ahaha, well that's okay!" Amber said back. "Come on! I've got something for you!"

With that, Amber grasped Subaru's hand. The boy yelped as he was dragged forward, almost tripping on the steps down. The two, along with Paimon floating nearby, passed by several people that Subaru couldn't help but take note of. A Knight, some children, and there was even a nun and worshippers in front of the statue.

"Alright, here!" Amber said, stopping by the side of the statue. "Okay, Subaru, I wanted to thank you for saving my life back there. I certainly wouldn't have been able to fight off those hilichurls on my own, so thanks for that. That's why I've decided that I'm going to give you a gift!"

Subaru blinked in surprise. "U-Um, don't worry, I just need to find Rem. That's enough for me, honestly."

"Nope, this is also my 'Welcome to Mondstadt' gift to you! Wait, I probably shouldn't combine wishes. Ah, okay, I'll let my thank you gift be a Sticky Honey Roast from Good Hunter, nothing can go wrong with that. Anyways, here!"

Before Subaru could intervene, Amber pulled out a wrapped package that was strapped onto her back and handed it over to Subaru.

Warily looking down at the package, Subaru accepted with a quick note of thanks. The package was light, very much so. It was solid, yet flexible at the same time. Also, it was vertically aligned and didn't have much thickness.

Nodding to himself, Subaru tore through the packaging, making sure to not throw out the wrapping paper on such holy ground. What was inside was something he couldn't recognize.

"It's a Wind Glider!" Amber explained. "As a gift of welcome, I thought that it would be best to give you a gift that can symbolize the Freedom of Mondstadt. And what better than the ability to fly? To soar through the sky and feel the air rushing through your hair, becoming the embodiment of freedom itself?"

Subaru looked back down at the package, keeping what Amber said in mind. Sure enough, the system was built of a spine chassis with certain harnesses across its body, probably to attach it to the user. More importantly, there were two greyish black wings attached to the top of the chassis. The chassis was somewhat more complex, with pads set around the shoulders. Wanting to test the mechanism, Subaru gently lifted the shoulder pads upon noticing the small mechanical parts on their hinges. At that moment, the wings loosened from the chassis and unfurled, still staying connected to it by virtue of the sewn connection on the top of the spine.

Subaru looked further at the ends of the wings. "Magnets?"

"Ah, you've seen it!" Amber said. "Yep, magnets! It's really cool to see how Geo and Electro can be combined. Lifting those shoulder pads will pull back a pair of magnets at the base of the Glider, making the wings open! Dropping the pads will reattach them, so they won't get in your way!"

As if to test it, Subaru released the shoulder pads and held the Wind Glider up straight. As mentioned, two metal pieces emerged from the bottom of the chassis, making the ends of the wings reconnect to it.

"Huh, this thing is a lot more modern than I imagined," Subaru mentioned.

"It was actually discovered in Sumeru," Amber clarified. "They've got a huge university there, someone thought of it in there. Lisa was the one who brought them here, and Mondstadt's never been the same since!"

Subaru briefly remembered his last failed run, when Amber had picked him up and glided to the other end of the stream.

"So, that's what this is, huh?"

"That's what what is?" Paimon echoed.

"A-Ah, don't worry about it."

Subaru gulped, scolding himself for saying the first thing on his mind like always. Now that he had a secret to keep, he had to make sure he never accidentally implied it.

"Oh, that's not all!" Amber said, quickly snatching the Wind Glider from Subaru. "You see, there's a little switch in the middle of the back on here. If you flip it, the Wind Glider won't activate, no matter what. That's actually something I had come up with, not every Wind Glider has this feature, you know? As of now, only you and I have this!"

Subaru gasped in awe upon hearing that. "That really helps!" Subaru realized. "I don't want wings to pop out whenever I use my whip!"

"Yep, that's why I came up with it!" Amber carried on. "With this, now we can wear the glider 24/7! Come on, try it on!"

"It's… a lot lighter than I expected."

Subaru was currently wearing the wind glider, strapped around his chest and waist with the two straps. The padding underneath the shoulder pads made it so that he was still comfortable even with the device donned. Moving his shoulders around, he tested the device's impact on his maneuverability. He was glad to find that it hadn't impeded him too much. The comfort was just right. Except for the way that it gripped on his chest through the straps. Subaru expected that if it weren't for his clothes, the straps would have dug into his skin and left some scarring.

"Yep, I personally watched over the making of this one, after all!" Amber said. "As the Gliding Champion of Mondstadt, of course, I'd be the best person to help with Wind Gliders!"

"Gliding Champion of Mondstadt, huh…?"

Subaru couldn't help but remember the last run once more. He couldn't properly remember if that was what she was saying back then, seeing how he was stupefied by the flying, but it sounded quite similar.

"Huh?" Paimon spoke up from next to him. "Amber, when did you get time to make one of these?"

"Oh?! Uh, ahaha…" Amber drifted off, nervously pressing her fingers together. "Well… okay, I'm sorry. That Wind Glider was my spare one. It still has the beginner design, so I thought that it would be the best for you!"

"Wait, is this a hand-me-down?!"

"Oh no, it's not like that, I'd love to get you a new one if I had the time!"

Subaru chuckled upon seeing Amber's nervous disposition. "Ah, don't worry about it. It'll be fun to fly anyway, so I don't care if this is a hand-me-down."

Amber's wobbly smile started to straighten out some. "O-Okay, well, we should start flying, right? I'll teach you how to glide safely! You'll be an expert in no time!"

Subaru took a quick breath. "Alright then. Let's start flying!"

Amber nodded and looked ahead. She stepped up on the edge of the railing protecting them from the fall below.

"Now listen, Subaru. A big part of gliding is the courage required. Just like how the first flying birds of the world had to jump off a cliff to soar to the heavens, you too have to take the step forward to glide. The gliders require an updraft of wind to work properly, they won't respond in any other situation. That's why the first thing you have to do… is to jump."

"Jump?" Subaru echoed, nervousness settling in his bones.

Smirking, Amber leapt off the railing, causing Subaru to yell from behind her. However, the moment she drifted down, Amber raised her arms while shrugging her shoulders, making the wind glider open up.

"Keep your hands up for balance!" Amber yelled up to Subaru. "Lean in whichever direction you want to go, stay straight if you want to go down!"

Just as she said that Amber started to lean left and right, showing the motions that the wind glider would take her through. Finally, she straightened her body, letting her drift downwards to the floor. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Amber dropped her arms and let the wind glider reconnect to the device behind her.

"Alright, now you try!" Amber yelled to Subaru from beneath the wall.

Subaru gulped as he looked down at Amber. Nodding to himself, Subaru took a hesitant step atop the railing, balancing on it to ensure that he didn't fall down. Reaching behind him, he confirmed that his wind glider was unlocked and ready to go. Shrugging his shoulders, he felt the wings separate. Letting his shoulders down, he heard the light click of the collision between magnets.

"Subaru, can you do this?" Paimon asked, hovering near him.

Upon seeing Paimon's concerned face, Subaru felt his own concerns wash away. He smiled at the girl beside him. "Don't worry, Paimon! I got this!"

Looking ahead, Subaru took another breath.

He jumped off the railing.

He was falling. He remembered how he had fallen before, onto that pit of spikes. This feeling felt similar to that, but there wasn't too much of a threat of death. However, the feeling of falling forced him to recollect that moment.

"AAAH!" Subaru couldn't help but yell.

"Subaru, raise your – !"

*FWOOP!*

Subaru felt his whole body jerk up as he slowed down midair. He noticed that he had subconsciously raised his hands to the side, in panic from falling. Looking back, he confirmed the presence of two greyish-black wings leaving him afloat. However, he was still moving forward.

"And that's why that mechanic was put in place," Amber said with a smirk as Subaru touched down on the ground softly, having wasted too much of his distance in the fall. "You weren't controlling your body's alignment, that's why you kept going forward. That's the hard part for gliding; it took me about half a year to get it right, honestly. So, don't worry about not getting it right so soon, okay?"

Subaru heaved onto the floor as his wings retracted into the device.

"How… How does this thing keep you afloat?" Subaru asked. "Shouldn't you be too heavy for two little wings to keep you up?"

"Hey! Who're you calling heavy?! I'll have you know that I go for a jog every morning and that more than makes up for my eating habits!"

"A-Ah, right, that's right!"

"Hmph!"

Subaru finally stood back up straight. "So… I flew. I actually flew in the air, like a bird."

Amber gently gripped his shoulder. "Wanna go again?"

Subaru looked back at her, then returned her Cheshire grin. "Of course."

*Rumble!*

The two were quickly interrupted by Subaru's rumbling stomach.

"Ahaha, I don't want you stuffing yourself just yet, and I have a couple sunsettias stored away," Amber said, pulling out some of the yellow treats from her bag. "What do you say?"

Subaru nodded at her, with a much purer smile than before. "Yeah, that doesn't sound too bad."


A/N: Oof. Been a while, eh?

Now, the story's gonna keep going on like this for a while. There's not going to be a lot of action. Also, my assignments are starting to pile up, and if I don't want to fail them again, I will have to start working on them soon. Ergo, slower upload schedule. Sorry, but I've got no choice. The story's gonna take time to update and be boring for a couple chapters. Not joking, I'm talking about taxes in the next chapter.

Now, I know I went a little overboard with the design on the Wind Glider. I wanted something somewhat accurate, and then I remembered how everyone would always raise their arms up whenever they want to use it. Even though its probably to balance, I decided to turn it into a trigger mechanism. Note that this is actually impractical, and two cloth wings will not actually hold up the weight of a human unless your flying on some really dense air. It can serve as a good cosplay, though. I'd love to see a Wind Glider actually made like this.

Who else is excited for 2.1? Who am I kidding, everyone is. Raiden Shogun pull, Signora boss battle, more story. Although, I'll recount a bit of a tragedy in my case.

For the Ayaka banner, 2.0 was just released and with it came a whole new haul of F2P Primogems. I abused this and wished multiple times on the Ayaka banner. Then, after trying her out in her story quest and her trail run, I realised that I didn't like her so much, mainly because of her sprint. I'm not a big fan of diving sprints, probably because I'm not used to it. However, I loved Yanfei and Chongyun, so I was pulling for them instead (I got two Ninnguang and a Sacrificial Greatsword, no Yanfei or Chongyun). Finally, I gave up on the banner and decided to keep my Primogems for Yoimiya. I only had one 5 star, Jean, and I desperately needed a better bow user than best lighter Amber. I watched a YouTube video on the wishing system, and I finally understood that I had a guarantee lined up in about two or three 10-pulls.

The Yoimiya banner came out, I got Yoimiya and Sayu on the very first pull. Naturally, I was hyped for my second 5-star, and then later on for Sayu when I realised her worth even though I haven't leveled her up because I hate fighting the Maguu Kenki. He's as bad as Andrius for me, since I frequently use Cryo Swirl. As for Yoimiya, I soon realised that I hate bow users. Yoimiya was a waste of a wish for me.

Now, I'm here. I love polearms as a weapon in Genshin, they've got great range and attack speed (I use Rosaria as my Sub DPS). That's why I so badly want Baal. I'm a permanent F2P; even if you beg, I will not pay. I've only done one more wish after my first one on the Yoimiya Banner, getting me another Sayu. But now, I have 50/50 lined up for Baal, after having wasted my guarantee on Yoimiya after skipping Ayaka. Yeah, I'm new to Genshin and Gacha in general. Well, not Gacha, I played Pokemon Masters for a while, but I was never desperate for characters in that.

Enough of my embarrasing story; Review time!


Scuffedsenku09: Yeh, I know I may have made Subaru a bit too strong. However, I'm planning on providing a response for that in the future.

Also, Kaeya is OP? Nah, I'm planning more on Diluc. I know he's not a knight, but Kaeya's strength is never really shown even though it is implied that he is as strong as Diluc. Moreover, Diluc looks like Reinhard too.

Thanks for reminding me of the rest. Thanks for the review!


worrierfierce: For samachurls, you're right. He's screwed against their elemental energy. However, I've always found samachurls pretty passive. Subaru can easily run up to them and whack them with his whip. It is true that Subaru deserves a wish, I'm sure that Zhongli would be inspired to give him Geo, but this chapter should tell you why he won't ever get one.

As for the Abyss, you'll see.


pokemonrot377: We'll see segments of it. I won't bother showing everything, but there are some things that can be gleaned from them.


Neo: I didn't fully understand your question, so I'll answer it to the best of my ability. Subaru didn't get Anemo powers, he can't resonate with it like the Traveler can. This is precisely because of his damaged gate.

As for your second comment, as one of the rare Anemo Traveler Mains, I take offense to him being useless. His E skill is a lot more effective than one may imagine, considering how it's able to attract opponents towards itself like a vacuum at first and is not easily interrupted. Using it for Swirl damage, especially with my character's high elemental mastery, can pretty much halve most mob opponent's health bars from a single E skill.

But I've only got three 5 stars, including him. Maybe that's why. I wholeheartedly agree with you for 2.0 Traveler, though.

Also, Subaru doesn't have the insignia. Yet.


Paimon-Tan: Yeah, I've got stuff planned out for the cursed blood. I'll say this: it's serves a greater purpose than regenerating his arm in this story.


Drcaus: This one's probably gonna keep going forever, seeing how long each arc is on its own and further extending it with Subaru's deaths. As for recommendations, I write only when I'm inspired. A Shield Hero and Genshin crossover is far too predictable in my eyes.


Re think: He actually doesn't have the Dragon Jewel right now. Don't worry, I have something planned for it too. Also, I'm pretty sure a Dragon Jewel can't be used as a vision. It only looks like one.

As for the candidacy, you're right. That's certainly gonna mess things up.


Jajo Camello: I'm going to explain this in the next chapter, but I'll do it here as well. The five weapons are only commonplace; it is recommended to wield one of them. Safe to say, Subaru's gonna get one of them soon.

Thanks for understanding.


kerrowe: Yeah, you're right. I still haven't thought about what he'd do there, I'll have to brainstorm on it further.


WhiteVolder: Is that Russian? In any case, I don't speak it, sorry. Okay, screw that, quickly putting it into Google translate, I'll make a response for you.

Спасибо за обзор. Правда, в Тейвате не так много мрачных историй, надеюсь, 2.1 поможет с этим. Также, извините, это написано в Google Translate.


Ken: Yeah, true, I'm going to implement that stuff when the time comes.

The half-hilichurl thing is an interesting way of looking at it, but I don't think people will judge that quick. After all, he's not exposing it to the world, right? And its just black marks on his skin as far as I know, not a whole patch. People won't think of it like hilichurl skin.

Subaru was the one who held the axe in the end, and he's actually being claimed to have saved Amber from it. It's not far from the truth, though.

Alchemists? Yeah, he'll definitely be a prime test subject. I'm setting up to that too.

It's true that Rosaria would be the perfect reflection of Ram, but calling him Barusu would be too on the nose. There's certainly gonna be an interaction between them, though.

For your whip comment, that actually makes sense. Thanks for that, I'll certainly add more on that into the story later. Oh, and yeah, I know it's called Guiltywhip. The thing is that Subaru doesn't.


That's all, folks! I hope that you get Raiden Shogun if you're pulling for her! I'll see you next chapter.