Hu Tao visited the realm between life and death. She entered that limbo realm and discovered the familiar lingerers waiting beneath the giant bonsai. Their transparent figures shimmered in the golden light rays. Two were so ancient they'd completely lost their faces to time. Others were quite young—tragically so. Quite a few shouldn't even be here in Liyue purgatory.
She approached the newer arrivals. Two finely dressed gentlemen greeted her warmly.
"Hello, Demoiselle," said the gray-haired man. His partner, a younger dark-haired man with sunglasses, offered an identical greeting. "We hoped to see you again."
"Oh? Are you ready to move on?"
"We swore to look after Demoiselle. We'll never break those oaths."
Hu Tao sighed. Clearly, she wouldn't have any luck talking to these guys.
"That being said," he continued, "Please pass on a message for us: we'll be waiting."
"Also," said the younger man. "Can you tell us the way to Fontaine? We got lost on our way here."
"Hu Tao raised a finger down the valley, to a golden river that flowed westwards.
"The boatsman will take you to the Primordial Waters. Stop just before the Border. There, you'll be able to watch over her. When her time comes, you'll see each other again."
"Thank you," said the gray-haired man. "And please, tell her we'll always watch over her."
Melus and Silver bowed, and then they headed down the cliff. Hu Tao watched them leave, feeling content. Then, she turned to a little girl.
"Hello, Clervie," she said. "Do you want to pass a message on to Perry?"
"Sure. Just tell her I love her."
Clervie scampered off after the two men and they all went together.
Hu Tao regarded the oldest spirits present. Two of them had existed long before her grandfather's grandfather. Those two had no faces or forms beyond a ghostly flame. How they lingered after all this time, well, love kept the dead tethered to the living.
She went over to them. "Hello. Time to pass over, don't you think?"
"I won't leave her," they both said at once. "I can't…"
"So, why keep coming back here? You're both a long way off from your homes."
"Tell me about her…"
So, Hu Tao told the spirits how their beloveds were doing. As she spoke, their forms became more solid. One had Mondstadt armor engraved with the sign of a young wolf. The other had black crow wings protruding from his sides. Their faces remained indiscernible, and their images flickered. But the more she fed them tales of their old lovers, the more they solidified.
Soon enough, one became completely solid. He wore the armor of a general with Billowy white sleeves and had long black hair that trailed down to his hips. His eyes dampened.
"My Ei has a new love," he said with a smile.
She grinned. Sasayuri turned to the distant ocean where distant thunderclouds rumbled.
"I'm finally ready."
He stepped off Liyue's Borders, extended his wings, and stepped atop a cloud that began floating towards the thunder. Tengu Sasayuri turned back to wave.
"Tell Ei I'm happy for her! Tell her I wish her and her new love the best!"
"I will," she replied.
With that, Sasayuri's ancient spirit soared into the horizon and crossed Inazuma's borders. Moments later, a bolt of violet lightning scorched the sea. The final call of the Tengu Warrior, now at peace, rang throughout the plane.
Hu Tao shifted to the other ancient ghost.
She fixed him in a gentle but firm gaze. "Rostam. Your lover returned through forces beyond our control. Her time is not done. Yours is. It's time to cross the border."
"Not without her," he said stubbornly.
"She's still alive. She can't go where you will."
"But she was with me!" he cried. "We were together after all these centuries! I can't lose her again!"
"Why did you two never cross over when you were reunited?"
Rostam fell silent.
She said, "Two lovers reunited in the afterlife have nothing tying them to the living. You should both cross over. But you didn't. Why?"
He still didn't speak.
"She wasn't ready, was she? Deep down, she still had something she wanted in the living. Perhaps…redemption?
"Well, now she has a second chance to find it. For her own good, let her. In time, you'll see each other again."
He shook his head. "But it's been so long…"
"I know," she said sympathetically. "But she needs this. Once she feels worthy of your love, she'll feel ready to face you again."
"She never had to be worthy…I'll always love her."
"I know. But she needs to realize that for herself."
Silence echoed between them. Hu Tao sighed, getting the feeling this spirit wouldn't be departing anytime soon. Perhaps, one day, she could bring Mirror Maiden here. Maybe seeing their beloved would grant them both closure. Until then, Rostam would wait.
She shifted through the others still lingering about the Border. Despite all her searching—and she searched every day—she never could find the ones important to Aether. At times, she thought she saw the adventurer Zhiqiong but it was never her. That gave her some hope: she must still be alive somewhere. If only they could find her.
More than once, she made the journey to Sumeru's Borders. Jebrael remained beyond her reach within the Golden Slumber, reunited at last with his wife. Tadhla could be there too, she supposed. No, she thought sadly, Tadhla was probably still stuck before the Border. That one would never move on until she saw Aether again.
Well, if Roselyn could get a second chance, maybe Tadhla would too one day. Stranger things had happened.