Ren
The noise inside Wanmin Restaurant was loud enough to rattle the chopsticks on the table.
The final vestiges of orange had vanished from the sky and the harbor was in a deep lantern lit twilight, while the restaurant was bright chaotic and noisy.
The aroma of roasting oil, garlic and enough Jueyun Chilis to knock out a horse filled the air.
Ren wiped a sheen of sweat from his forehead, his face hovering over a half-empty bowl of Jueyun Chili Chicken.
The spice was unrelenting, numbing his lips and causing his eyes to water but he continued to eat. The physical burn was grounding, a welcome relief from the terror of his meeting with Ganyu earlier that night.
Chongyun sat quietly at the table, munching on a bowl of Cold Noodles with Mountain Delicacies.
He looked like he was sitting in a freezer. While Ren was practically melting into a puddle, Chongyun didn't have a single drop of sweat on him.
"You are going to burn a hole in your stomach," Chongyun noted, watching Ren down a glass of water in one gulp.
"It cleanses the soul," Ren wheezed, his voice raspy. "Or at least, it burns away the fear. You should try it."
"I value my constitution," Chongyun replied, picking up a slice of chilled cucumber. "And I prefer my stomach lining intact."
Ren sniffed, grabbed another chicken morsel. Just then the kitchen drapes were pulled back.
Xiangling then came out, cleaning her hands on an apron, which resembled a modern art painting of sauce stains. Guoba followed her closely behind, munching on a spicy pepper.
"Table four—Oh, Ren and Chongyun! Is the spice level okay? Do you need more oil?"
Ren froze mid-chew. He was holding his chopsticks an inch from his mouth.
Xiangling bounded over to their table, beaming with an energy that rivaled the raging fires in the kitchen.
"It's perfect, Xiangling," Chongyun said politely. "Ren was just saying it's cleansing his soul."
"That's what I like to hear!" Xiangling clapped her hands. She turned her amber eyes to Ren, sparkling with a terrifying intensity. "And how are you, Ren? I haven't seen your little shadow puppies around lately. Did you bring them? I have some leftover bones from the stock pot!"
Ren instinctively clenched his stomach muscles.
Most people in Liyue were wary of his Ten Shadows Technique. They saw the black, wolf-like beasts and thought they were evil spirits, or monsters of the abyss.
Even the people who couldn't see curses still felt an urge to stay away from his shikigami.
It made sense, as they were shikigami conjured with Cursed Energy. But it still irked him that his Divine Dogs were treated like that.
Though it still surprises him how so many people could actually see his shikigami.
One of those people being Xiangling.
She was the only one who had checked out Vader and Yoda, shook her head and asked, "Do you think their texture is more like venison or gelatin?"
From that day on, the dogs wouldn't appear within 2 blocks of Wanmin Restaurant.
They knew a predator when they saw one.
"They're... resting," Ren lied. "Sleeping. Really deep inside the shadows, even I can't wake them up."
"Aww, shame," Xiangling pouted. Then, she perked up, reaching into her apron. "Well, since you're here, I wanted you to try this! It's a new appetizer I'm workshopping. Complimentary!"
She set a little plate on the table. It was adorned with a stack of clear, orange blocks that had a sticky coating on them.
'How did she fit a plate inside her apron???'
"Pyro Slime Condensate with a honey-glaze reduction!" she announced proudly.
Ren looked at the slime. The slime wobbled back at him.
"Thank you, Chef," Ren said, picking up his chopsticks with the grim determination of a soldier marching to his doom. "I'm sure it's... explosive."
"If you have any thoughts, let me know!" Xiangling chirped, turned around and ran back to her father in the kitchen yelling about the temperature in the wok.
After gazing at the slime for a long while, Ren put it into his mouth and swallowed without chewing.
"You are brave," Chongyun commented, looking impressed.
Ren took his water again to wash down the odd, sugary heat. "If she didn't eat me, she probably would have attempted to cook me."
He waited a few seconds to allow the sugar and slime to settle in his stomach. Although it was truly bizarre to eat slime, it was still delicious.
"Oh yeah, didn't she ask you to bring a package for her to Wangshu Inn?"
Ren nodded, taking a moment to swallow another bite before talking. "Yeah, but I didn't take the job."
"Why?"
He shuddered. "Don't like that place…"
"Why?"
"No particular reason…"
"..."
"..."
"Ok…"
When his heart rate returned to normal, Ren leaned forward, elbows on the sticky table.
"So, since we're talking about spirits and weird energy... I have a question."
Chongyun lifted his gaze from his noodles. "Regarding your condition?"
"No, not me. Just... theory." Ren lowered his voice a bit, and looked around at the other people at the table to check if anyone was eavesdropping.
"In your exorcism books, or the old family records... have you ever read about spirits that can teleport? Or maybe adepti arts that let people travel instantly?"
Ren held his breath. He had been looking for a way home for seven months. He knew planes didn't exist here, and he hadn't seen any cars or trains.
But this was a world of magic. If he could find something that moved people across space, he could figure out how to move across dimensions.
Chongyun hummed, tapping his chin with his chopsticks. "You'd have more luck asking Yanfei about anything Adepti related—"
"Nuh uh!"
"—But, teleportation... It is a common ability in olden tales, but in practice? It is rare."
"But it exists?" Ren pressed.
"Yes… Some of those who possess Visions can develop some form of teleportation, but I know that's not what you're asking for. The most documented are the Teleport Waypoints," Chongyun explained.
Ren frowned. "Teleport Waypoints? You mean those weird red devices on the roadsides?"
He had seen them during his deliveries. Strange, hovering monuments made of stone and red crystal.
He had attempted to touch one once but it did nothing. He thought they were statues or art of religious nature.
"Yes," Chongyun nodded. "My clan has records of them. They say that in the ancient past, people used a network of waypoints to travel Teyvat in the blink of an eye."
Ren's heart skipped a beat. "That's it! Do you know how to use them? Do exorcists use them?"
Chongyun looked at him with a confused expression. "Use them? Ren, those are ancient relics. They have been dormant for thousands of years."
Ren felt the hope deflate in his chest. "Dormant?"
"Completely," Chongyun nodded, slurping a noodle. "The art was lost during the Archon War, or perhaps even before that. Now? They are just odd monuments. No Vision bearer I know can activate them. They are just... stone and dead magic."
"Right," Ren whispered, sinking back into his chair. "Dead magic. Of course."
He stared into his bowl of half-eaten chili chicken. He should have expected that. If there was a magical fast-travel network, surely the Qixing would be using it for logistics. The fact that they used carts and ships meant the magic was broken.
'And those stupid transport balloons,' Archons knows he hates those.
"Why do you ask?" Chongyun tilted his head. "Do you need to deliver something very quickly?"
"Something like that," Ren murmured, forcing a weak smile. "You know me. Swift and Secure."
/ — /
Ren opened the thick wooden door to his apartment, the squeal of the rusty hinges echoing with a familiar sound.
He stepped inside and locked it behind him.
His apartment was small, on the second floor of a building near the northern wharf. Clean but impersonal.
No paintings were on the walls, no vases of flowers, no personal trinkets gathering dust on the shelves.
It looked less like a home and more like a hotel room occupied by someone who was ready to leave at a moment's notice.
Ren removed his boots and dropped his bag on the only wooden table.
"Emerge from the darkness, blacker than darkness. Purify that which is impure."
Slowly, a dark barrier formed and covered his room, ensuring his privacy.
He smirked. It had taken him a while to master the technique to cover just his room, but it was worth it.
"Alright," he whispered to the empty room. "Coast is clear."
He clasped his hands together, interlacing his fingers in a specific sign.
"Divine Dog."
Two shadows erupted from the floor.
The black hound, Vader, appeared first, shaking his fur as if he'd just come out of a lake. A second later, the white hound, Yoda, yipped softly before tackling Ren's legs.
Ren let out a breathy laugh. He dropped to his knees, burying his hands in their thick fur. They were the only things in this world that truly belonged to him.
"Yeah, I missed you too," Ren murmured, scratching Vader behind the ears while Yoda nudged his hand aggressively. "Sorry about the restaurant. I know you're still scared of her, but she means no harm."
The two dogs raised an eyebrow.
"Ok, I'm like 90% sure she doesn't actually want to eat you."
He stood up, walking over to the small kitchenette. He pulled out a paper-wrapped bundle of leftovers—smoked fowl and rice. He tossed the meat into two ceramic bowls on the floor.
"Here's a treat," he said. "Even if you don't need to eat, having snacks is never a bad thing"
As the dogs ate with enthusiastic slobbering noises, Ren sat on the edge of his bed. He reached under his pillow and pulled out a small, leather-bound notebook.
He opened it up to the new page. His handwriting was sloppy and a combination of English and Japanese kanji, which nobody in Teyvat could decipher even if they stole it.
Probably.
~~Northland Bank Heist (If I need money, last resort.)~~ ~~Get to Celestia (Literal suicide, can't fly.)~~ ~~Find the Archon (Rex Lapis only descends once a year)~~ Teleport Waypoints?
Ren looked at the last entry. He took a pen and drew a heavy thick line through it.
"Dead magic," he murmured, writing in the margin, copying Chongyun's words.
He sighed and threw the notebook on the night table. Another week of hope lost. He lay down on the mattress, looking up at the wooden ceiling beams.
The room was silent, and it seemed to be pressing against him. He could hear the distant sounds of the harbor: the sailors singing drunk and the creaking of ships, but they were a million miles away.
Vader finished his meal and trotted over, resting his heavy head on Ren's stomach. Yoda jumped up, curling into a ball by Ren's feet.
"You know," Ren said softly, stroking Vader's snout. "Have I told you about where your names came from? It came from a movie where magic space monks wielded laser swords."
Vader whined softly, licking Ren's hand.
"Yeah, I know. Sounds fake," Ren chuckled humorlessly. "But the bad guy... his name was Vader. He wore this big black suit and choked people with his mind. Everyone was scared of him. But in the end... he just wanted to protect the one he loved… I think."
Vader raised a brow.
"Ok, I might not remember it that well, but it was a long time ago!"
The black dog gave a huff, then went close to cuddle up to him, and whose red eyes watched him with uncomprehending adoration.
"I named you after him because you look tough," Ren whispered. "But you're a big softie, aren't you?"
He looked at the white dog. "And Yoda... he was the teacher. Small, green, and talked backwards. He was the wisest guy in the galaxy. 'Do or do not, there is no try.'"
Ren closed his eyes.
"I miss movies," he confessed to the empty air. "I miss convenience stores. I miss the internet. I miss toilets that flush automatically."
He rolled onto his side, curling around the warmth of the Shikigami. It was pathetic, really. He was making good money.
He had friends who were powerful and kind. He was living a fantasy life that most people would kill for.
But it wasn't home.
"We'll work it out," Ren whispered, more to assure himself than the dogs. "Tomorrow, we'll visit the bookstore, Xingqiu normally has something strange to read, perhaps we'll be lucky and find something useful this time.
Vader sighed contentedly, closing his eyes. The dog's breathing was steady, and Ren listened to it, lulling him into a restless sleep, dreaming of neon lights and concrete skylines.
/ — /
He went straight to Wanwen Bookhouse the following day.
Up here on the terrace was quiet, and the harbor below was very noisy. There was not much noise to be heard but the rustling of pages and the occasional bird calling out as it flew around the masts of the ships in the distance.
Ren was at a small table in the corner behind a fortress of paper.
In front of him were four books, and three more precariously piled to his left. He wasn't reading for fun. He was studying.
He scanned the words of Chronicles of the Sea of Clouds with his finger, looking for key words.
He wasn't interested in the flowery descriptions of Rex Lapis's wisdom or the economic policies of the Qixing. He was looking for anomalies.
Void. Abyss. Rift. Teleportation. Anything that could hint at teleportation.
He flipped a page, his eyes narrowing. Nothing. Just another poem about a mountain.
Ren leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes, and groaning. The problem wasn't the lack of literacy, since the language of Teyvat was magically translated into his own for an isekai protagonist like him, but it was the style of writing that infuriated him.
Everything was a metaphor. Nothing was just a technical manual.
"Why can't anyone just write a textbook?" Ren muttered to himself, closing Chronicles with a heavy thud.
" 'The earth trembled and the sky wept.' Great. Does that mean it rained, or did a dimensional portal open? Be specific."
He reached for the next book on his pile, a heavy tome titled Analysis of Adepti Arts: Volume VII.
He had pinned his hopes on this one. If Adepti could create pocket dimensions, as the stories of Cloud Retainer suggest, there may be a clue to spatial manipulation in there.
"A heavy selection for this fine morning," a polite, amused voice chirped from above the book stack.
This time Ren didn't jump. He knew that voice. He grinned, pushing the book down to the intruder's face.
There was Xingqiu, in his usual silk finery, a book nonchalantly under his arm. He was the image of a polished young master—except for the constant mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
Ren put down his book, "Good morning, Xingqiu. And It's not heavy, it's... educational."
"It is dry," Xingqiu corrected, pulling up a chair without asking. He tapped the cover of the Adepti book.
"The previous volume mostly dealt with the bureaucratic hierarchy of the illuminated beasts, this one isn't any better. If you are looking for excitement, you would be better off reading the label on a bottle of soy sauce."
'How do they make labels here without machines?' Ren quickly shook away the random thoughts.
"I noticed. I've been reading for two hours, and I still don't know what a 'Sigil of Permission' actually does, physically."
Xingqiu chuckled, setting his own book down. "You are a glutton for punishment, Ren. Every week I see you here, burying yourself in the most dense, academic texts you can find. Last week it was Ley Line Disorders of the Chasm, and now Adepti history. Are you by any chance planning to apply for a position as a historian in the Ministry of Civil Affairs?"
Ren shifted in his seat. He and Xingqiu had known each other for a few months now. They were "book buddies" in the sense that Xingqiu read everything (mostly novels), while Ren read very specific, weird things.
"Just curiosity," Ren lied smoothly, though it wasn't entirely a lie. "I'm a foreigner, remember? There's a lot I don't understand about Liyue. The myths, the history... the Archon War. It helps me understand the... vibe of the place."
"The 'vibe'," Xingqiu repeated, testing the foreign slang with a smile. "Well, your dedication is admirable. Most merchants only care about the history of Mora coinage."
Xingqiu leaned forward, his gaze drifting over the titles Ren had pulled. The Archon War: Southern Front, Theory of the Void, and Mysteries of the Jueyun Karst.
"You are focusing quite heavily on the supernatural aspects today," Xingqiu noted. "The Void and the Adepti... Are you perhaps looking for something specific?"
Ren hesitated. Xingqiu was sharp. If Ren had said too much, the 2nd son of the Feiyun Commerce Guild could begin to ask questions Ren could not answer.
"Just trying to understand the power scale," Ren shrugged. "I mean, we live in a city watched over by a God who can drop mountains. It makes you wonder what kind of wars were fought to establish that kind of order. And what... you know... came before."
Xingqiu's expression softened. The playful banter turned to the passion of a true scholar who had found a willing listener.
"A noble pursuit," Xingqiu agreed. "To understand the present, one must dissect the past. However..."
He reached out and plucked the Analysis of Adepti Arts from Ren's hands, closing it firmly.
"If you want to understand the nature of the Adepti and the wars they fought, this bureaucratic nonsense will not help you. It was written by mortals who only observed from a distance."
"Calling people mortals when you are one yourself is interesting…"
Xingqiu didn't answer. He stood up and walked over to a shelf a few rows down. He scanned the spines for a moment before pulling out a worn, dark blue book.
He walked back and dropped it onto Ren's pile.
The Yaksha's Vigil.
"Read this," Xingqiu instructed. "It is technically classified as folklore, so the historians at the Ministry turn their noses up at it. But it contains accounts of the battles against the remnants of the defeated gods—the demons, the corruption, the madness."
Ren looked at the cover. "Demons and corruption?"
"The aftermath of the Archon War wasn't just political," Xingqiu said quietly. "When gods die, their power doesn't just vanish. It festers. If you are interested in the 'Void' or the darker side of our history, this is where you start."
Ren ran a hand over the cover. Festering power. Defeated gods. It sounded a lot like Curses. It sounded like something he could actually understand.
"Thanks, Xingqiu," Ren said, genuinely grateful. "This looks... actually useful."
"Do not thank me yet," Xingqiu smiled, picking up his own book again. "The prose is archaic, and the author uses a lot of allegory. But if you finish it by next week, I would be delighted to discuss the thematic parallels between the Yaksha's sacrifice and the concept of erosion."
Ren groaned, sliding the book into his bag. "You just want someone to join your book club."
"Guilty," Xingqiu winked. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have a date with a protagonist who is about to make a very poor decision involving a spirit sword. Happy reading, Ren."
Ren watched him wander off to a quieter corner of the terrace. He looked down at the bag containing his new homework.