"Wow, it's Miss Lumine."
Little Klee tilted her small head, stood on tiptoe, and raised her tiny hand to attract Lumine's attention. Her orange eyes opened wide as she swayed left and right around Lumine, puzzled, and said:
"Why don't I see Mr. Kiyono?"
Klee couldn't understand and tilted her head again. "We're going to bomb... go fishing together! We made a promise, we're all good friends!"
At this point, Klee proudly put her hands on her hips, held her little head high, and strutted like a victorious little hen, clucking to show off:
"Sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal—I've learned all the secrets Mr. Kiyono taught me! I'm so good, I didn't use the bomb bombs to fish. I kept the promise... What about Mr. Kiyono?"
Where is Mr. Kiyono...
A gentle pain, tinged with slight numbness, like a scab being torn off as a wound heals. The intense pain has passed, leaving only a lingering, shallow ache.
Lumine watched Klee's joyful eyes. In the brilliant spring light, those amber eyes seemed to shine, like a sunset-infused lake. Children are always happy, curious about everything, and deeply believe everything adults tell them.
"Mr. Kiyono, you're the best! From now on, we're friends!"
"Hey, this is a 'promise between friends,'"
"Then you'll have to play with me next time!"
Kiyono Fugin, that bastard.
Bastard.
—"Mr. Kiyono."
Lumine calmed her voice, slightly crouched down, and smiled. "That Drowned Corpse went on a trip and can't play with Klee for now."
"Eh..." The little hen's comb drooped, and Klee's mood visibly sank. Her fair fingers subconsciously twisted together as she whined, "Eh..."
"But friends should say goodbye with a 'see you.' He didn't tell Klee!"
"Yeah, he's really out of line." Lumine nodded, softly agreeing, "Friends should say 'see you' before parting. He's really a bad egg."
"When will Mr. Kiyono come back?"
Klee lifted her little head, tilting her face to ask.
When will he come back...
When will he come back.
Lumine smiled again, her smile gentle. Although the corners of her mouth were smiling, it gave a delicate impression. "Maybe he'll be back in a few months, maybe in a few years. But as long as Klee is here, he'll definitely return."
"But."
Warm sunlight poured down from all directions, making the world crystal clear. Little Klee hung her head and mumbled to herself:
"Mom said the same thing."
She carried a small backpack, gripping the hem of her clothes with both hands. "Adults always like to say things like that."
Adults always like to say things like that.
Mom said the same thing.
Pain, still pain, but the source of the pain wasn't sorrow. If it were just sorrow buried in the heart, that would be fine. The source of the pain is that you're clearly very sad, but you have to pretend everything's okay to comfort others.
It's like a scab on a wound. Even though the wound is slowly healing, the scab is ripped off again and again, revealing the flesh underneath, just to show others 'I'm not hurt.'
La Signora.
The words Venti said still echoed in Lumine's ears.
Kiyono Fugin was killed by the Fatui Harbinger 'La Signora.'
Anger...
Maybe not so angry.
Just calm hatred.
Lumine instinctively brushed a hand over Kamigiri at her waist, her slender fingers tapping the hilt and drawing a clear metallic note from the blade.
"Kiyono Fugin will definitely come back." Lumine rubbed Klee's little head, tousling her chestnut short hair. "That guy will surely return because we made a promise."
"...Then." Klee paused. "Miss Lumine, where are you going?"
"I'm going to find him and bring him back."
——
Dragonspine.
'You're going to the highest snow mountain.'
It's a must-visit place in the Mondstadt section of the Teyvat Travel Guide. Legend has it that the poisonous dragon [Durin] died on this ridge.
Lumine and Paimon climbed up along the long ridge.
Withered leaves and broken vines choked the road; pear-white snow sealed the mountain. Flakes whirled like goose down, willow catkins, and windblown plum blossoms, until sky and slope blurred together. Snow swept the paths and rattled across the cliffs; the north wind slipped through cloth and bit to the bone.
This is the coldest place in Mondstadt, and also the most beautiful.
When reaching the mountain top, through the thin veil of clouds, the pale sunlight blends into the mountain lines, hazy and indistinct. The rosy clouds spread light, frost melts away, and the fluffy snowflakes mix with the morning light, making it hard to distinguish where the sky ends and the mountains begin.
Legend says that anyone who climbs to the highest point of Dragonspine will receive the dragon's blessing, ensuring a smooth and prosperous new year.
"We're here."
Lumine stood at the mountain summit, facing an absolutely stunning view. She slightly bowed her head and took out the well-worn Teyvat Travel Guide from her arms.
'21st, climbed Dragonspine to watch the snow with Drowned Corpse and Paimon. It's warm on the mountain, the sunlight on the ridge is beautiful.'
Kamigiri was strapped to her waist.
Lumine had a habit of keeping travel journals.
Every time she visited a place, she would write it down and then mark the corresponding location in the Travel Guide.
There were other notes on the front page; these were written earlier.
'18th, went fishing at Cider Lake with Kiyono the Flower Girl. The bombs worked great. If I hung the blasted fish on a hook, then I had caught them.'
'19th, after dealing with the last altar, went to Falcon Coast together, climbed Cape Oath. Kiyono almost fell. By the way, the wind at the cape was very pleasant.'
...
"What places in Mondstadt haven't I been to yet... Let's keep going."
Lumine muttered to herself as she flipped through the Teyvat Travel Guide.
"The next places are... Starfell Lake, Springvale, and Wolvendom?"
She was traveling.
Starfell Lake was beautiful.
Located at the intersection of Starfell Valley and Whispering Woods, at night, it mirrors the starry river. She picked some wild berries in the forest, crossed Starfell Lake, and reached Starsnatch Cliff. After climbing all day, she reached the mountain top as night had fallen. She lightly tiptoed, and the dazzling sea of stars seemed within reach—like she could pluck the stars.
'22nd, went fishing at Starfell Lake, then climbed the mountain together. This time, Drowned Corpse didn't fall, but Paimon kept complaining about the difficult path... At the summit, it seemed like we could really pick the stars.'
Springvale was a peaceful town.
Gentle breezes moved the old windmills, the field ridges were covered with dew. She ordered two bottles of beer at the town's tavern, then fished in the creek in front of the town. The caught fish were grilled and eaten; the fresh fish skin was roasted to a crispy yellow, delicious when paired with beer. But they caught too many fish and couldn't finish them all.
'20th, went to Springvale with Drowned Corpse. The beer was great. I let him taste my cooking, and he couldn't stop praising it.'
Wolvendom didn't have any wolves.
Endless plains, rolling green meadows, lush grass and singing birds. They couldn't catch any fish in Wolvendom, so Lumine tried hunting but found nothing. They had to eat their rations and camp on the spot. At night, the stars hung over the plains, vast starlight spread across the meadow, as if meteors were falling.
It was nighttime now. Paimon was exhausted from a day of playing and fell asleep peacefully.
'21st, went to Wolvendom, caught nothing. Ate Kiyono's "French weapon"—really strange, I don't know why he gave a hard biscuit such a bizarre name. The stars were beautiful.'
"22nd..."
"23rd..."
The owner of Dawn Winery was none other than Diluc!
The winery's wine was rich and fragrant. Diluc warmly entertained them. The scenery was also beautiful, endless wheat swaying in the spring breeze. Lumine drank several bottles of beer in a row, saying the wine was soothing her soul and quickly poured another cup, feeling very happy. Paimon was also drunk, wobbling and fell asleep soundly.
The sunset descended, and Lumine leaned on the bed edge, continuing her journal:
'24th, Dawn Winery, drank a lot of wine... Idiot Kiyono... You should drink some too. It's really unfair, don't make me drink alone.'
Her handwriting was crooked, clearly showing she was drunk.
The blood-colored sunset shone through the winery's window lattice, slanting over the girl's back. Lumine blinked her eyes, paused, her cheeks flushed, and her dazzling golden eyes were also quite intoxicated. She continued writing:
"You didn't drink any... You don't drink... Only us drinking, you're so bad."
She was acting drunk.
"So bad..."
She whispered softly.
The journey continued.
The girl slowly traveled across all the lands of Mondstadt, tasting different local cuisines and experiencing various regional cultures. The rogue second-hand book dealer was right; traveling is the trajectory of memories and life itself. It's an irreplaceable experience.
The travel spots in the Mondstadt section of the Teyvat Travel Guide were being crossed off one by one, while Lumine's own travel notes thickened page by page.
Finally, she reached the last page.
The journey's end had arrived.
Cape Oath.
Here was both the starting point and the end, having circumnavigated Mondstadt.
[But you and he once made a promise]
[Kiyono Fugin willingly gave up his life, so this time I can't reclaim his soul, and neither can Anemo Archon Barbatos]
[But you can]
[You have a promise with him, and this man keeps his word]
That eerie voice echoed in her ears again.
[He kept his word centuries ago, and he keeps it now]
[He once told you to keep traveling, and now he made a pact to travel with you again. These two contracts combined might reclaim his weary soul, but this time, he will lose so much more]
[Lumine, when he died at the hands of the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, you once helped him, but you don't remember]
[No bonds can be formed, only adding loneliness]
[You entrusted your memories of him to me. You feared that erosion would kill him again, so you chose to become strangers]
The Human Principles System spoke slowly.
[Now I return the memories to you]
[Climb the mountain]
Lumine began to climb.
She remembered many things, recalled numerous past events.
Kiyono Fugin...
Kiyono Fugin.
They had been traveling together for a very long time.
Cape Oath was still very difficult to climb.
It was dusk now, the steep mountain rocks bathed in blood-red sunset light. The wind from the mountains howled past. Lumine still remembered what Kiyono had said.
At night, he had told her, the summit was colder than the foot of the mountain, and so the breeze was born at the summit.
The wind was born at the summit.
Climb towards the mountain peak.
Night gradually fell, the twilight deepened, and it became dim.
At the very top of Cape Oath, atop thousands of layers of rocks, the wind slowly gathered.
[Cannot understand.]
The Human Principles System whispered.
[I've said it before, this is your fate. Mortals can never escape destiny]
Reconstructing life isn't that simple.
Only a promise is clearly not enough.
Kiyono Fugin's body was completely destroyed. The new body hadn't matured at all, and his soul had completely dispersed—this time, the difficulty was greater than before.
Moreover, Kiyono Fugin had willingly given up his life. He was very tired.
Why did he give up?
As long as one is alive, there's always hope. Continuously reincarnating means having eternal life.
The Human Principles System could never understand humans.
But it still remembered Kiyono Fugin's fatigue back then—he truly seemed very tired.
Living for a so-called mission, and dying for the same mission. Born to die, he had grown deeply weary of this cycle.
This time, let you take a break.
The wind gathered at the summit, slowly carving the Oathkeeper Stone into shape. The rock had stood there since the Archon War, watching over Mondstadt for thousands of years. Cape Oath had taken its name from that stone.
The Human Principles System took the stone as its material and used the thousand winds as its chisel.
It was difficult. Only a [promise] wasn't enough, but there was always hope.
Kiyono Fugin's greatest pact was not with Lumine, Ei, or Barbatos.
It was with Human Principles itself.
They had made a promise spanning eternity.
Let that promise call Kiyono Fugin's soul back.
[I really don't understand humans]
The Human Principles System felt exhausted. The System also possessed consciousness, but this consciousness was falling into slumber, unsure when it would awaken.
[This time, I won't disturb your life anymore]
The young man slowly opened his eyes, his pupils like deep jade pools. He wasn't old, his skin was pale and translucent, with light-colored long hair trailing on the ground. The mountain wind blew past, and he felt the cold.
Cold.
He tentatively took a step forward, nearly stumbling to the ground.
"What..."
He didn't remember who he was. It seemed like a voice was echoing in his ears, but he couldn't recall anything, feeling it was just a hallucination.
[System]
The young man read the words appearing in his vision:
[Main Quest: Complete all unfinished promises]
[Main Quest: Live a carefree, happy, and steady life]
"Human Principles..."
He instinctively opened his mouth and softly uttered this unfamiliar term.
But nothing responded to him, only the howling mountain wind blew by.