Kael's bedroom was quiet.
He sat on the edge of the bed, shoulder to shoulder with Lumine. The air between them was thick, heavy with a suffocating kind of intimacy.
Memories of a past life made them feel like lovers who had spent decades together. Yet, the reality of this current life made every potential word feel like a hurdle they weren't quite ready to jump.
"Are you hungry?" Kael asked, breaking the silence with a small smile. "I could go whip up something you like."
He knew her well. Between his general knowledge of the traveler and the flood of memories from their shared past, he understood her better than she understood herself.
Usually, she was quiet and composed. But there was a streak of mischief in her, a certain bratty charm that came out when she was comfortable. He especially loved the way she puffed out her chest and put her hands on her hips whenever she was praised. It was adorable.
"I'm not really hungry," Lumine replied.
A shadow of worry crossed her face. Her fingers traced the fabric of the bedsheets, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"Kael... do you think the order of Teyvat will interfere again? Will we be forced back into the Cycle?"
Lumine wasn't a fool.
Seeing Furina in Kael's house had stung, but she knew the truth. In the countless loops of Teyvat's history, Kael's story couldn't possibly belong to her alone.
She was just lucky. She was the first one the system had exposed. In that past life, Kael had cherished her, protected her, and loved her with a ferocity that still made her heart ache.
In this life, she had the head start.
But the laws of Teyvat were absolute. Unless she ascended to Celestia and became the new Heavenly Principles, the shackles of the Cycle would never truly break. Right now, they were just two people in the Court of Fontaine.
She was terrified. If the Reincarnation System vanished tomorrow, would Teyvat snap back to its old ways? Would everything she and Kael had shared simply evaporate into the mist of a reset?
"I think we're safe now," Kael said, feigning a moment of deep thought. "The fact that the Reincarnation System appeared at all suggests that the old rules are breaking. It's over."
Lumine's eyes lit up. "So it really was because of you? Because of everything you did in the shadows?"
If all these revelations were just the system tallying up Kael's completed missions, then Teyvat really had been saved.
Kael had finished many missions. So many, in fact, that the details of the earlier ones were starting to blur into a haze of blood and magic.
But the final mission... that one was burned into his mind.
In that life, he had actually reached the top. He had ascended the pillars of Celestia and become the new Heavenly Principles.
That was when he learned the truth. Teyvat was far more twisted than he had ever imagined.
The sky was a lie.
It was a false firmament, a glittering shroud pulled over the eyes of the world. The Abyss wasn't a hole in the ground... it was the true, infinite universe. Teyvat was an inverted world, a fragile eggshell suspended over the void.
As the Heavenly Principles, Kael's power had been absolute. He could reach into the Ley Lines and pluck out information like ripe fruit. He could rewrite the records of Irminsul with a single thought.
He could have changed anything.
But the mission was specific: Bring total peace to Teyvat.
Kael had spent years purging every threat, stabilizing the world, and waiting. He waited for the one person who could truly end the story. He waited for Lumine, the traveler who would eventually regain her full power and wield the Sword of Descension... the blade that allowed a mortal to face the fate of a world.
When Lumine finally stormed Celestia, she wasn't alone. She carried the hopes and prayers of the entire continent. She came to strike him down, believing she had to kill the God of Heaven to usher in a new age.
Kael remembered that moment vividly.
He had sat on his throne, lost in thought, while she unleashed a strike capable of shattering worlds and reshaping reality.
The blow hadn't even interrupted his train of thought.
He realized then that the mission wasn't about strength. It was about persuasion. He had to make the people of Teyvat believe that Lumine had won, that she was the new, benevolent ruler of the heavens. Only then would the world truly be at peace.
It was just like when she had faced Raiden Ei in Inazuma, bolstered by the wishes of the people.
Except this time, the gap in power was so vast that Kael had to put in actual effort just to let her "win" convincingly. He had eventually pulled her consciousness into his own space, convinced her to join his side, and used her as the face of the new order.
Together, they had summoned The Seven and declared the dawn of a new century.
Teyvat had found peace. And Kael's mission had finally ended.
"Yeah," Kael said, nodding slowly. "I don't know if I'm the direct cause, but this system is powerful. It let you master all seven elements instantly. I think the Cycle is well and truly broken."
Lumine let out a long, shaky breath. The weight on her shoulders finally seemed to lift.
If he was right, she didn't have to be a walking hard drive for the world's memories anymore. She didn't have to keep traveling just to keep the truth alive.
"Don't worry."
Kael reached out and gently ruffled her hair.
"This time, we won't be separated."
Lumine's legs instinctively weakened at the touch, a blush creeping up her neck. She quickly swatted his hand away, though her heart wasn't in it.
"Shut up! Don't say things like that so easily."
She glared at him, her eyes shimmering.
"In our last life, you promised you wouldn't die while helping me find my brother. Then you went and sacrificed your life anyway. No more reckless promises."
Kael nodded, his expression softening.
They sat there for a long time, talking about the small things. They were like a couple reunited after a long war, picking through the wreckage of their memories to find the beautiful parts.
As they got into the finer details of their past, Lumine's face turned a deep shade of crimson. Her heart hammered against her ribs.
"So... that night you rescued me," she whispered, looking at her lap. "Were your eyes really closed the whole time?"
The Pope of Fontaine
Lumine asked.
Kael spread his palms, his expression a mask of pure, unadulterated sincerity. "Truer than Mora. I am an upright man, Lumine."
"Hmph!"
She snorted, her slender finger jabbing his chest with a familiarity that transcended lifetimes.
"We know each other far too well for that. How can you say 'upright' without your face turning red?"
She leaned in, a mischievous glint dancing in her eyes. "I seem to recall a certain someone promising he'd only stay at the door... and never actually go inside."
Kael looked at her, taking in that playful, slightly wicked expression.
He sifted through the fog of his memories.
Right. That did happen.
It was the night after they had stolen the Holy Lyre der Himmel, following that long, heavy conversation with Jean in her office.
He must have moved her with his sincerity back then.
When two attractive people spend that much time alone, thoughts are bound to wander.
Kael was only human, after all.
"I couldn't help it," Kael said, a grin tugging at his lips. "You were just too beautiful."
*Smack!*
A gentle palm struck his shoulder.
"I swear," Lumine pouted, her voice trailing off into a flirtatious whine. "Eighty percent of the reason I was so boy-crazy in our past life was that mouth of yours. Always with the sweet talk."
...
In the broadcast room, the chat was moving fast.
Venti: "Is the new story starting yet? Even the winds of a thousand years are getting restless... *hic*..."
Jean: "..."
Kaeya: "Lord Barbatos, exactly how much have you had? What are you even drinking to be hiccuping like that?"
Barbara: "Lord Barbatos! Please, mind your image!"
Venti: "Mondstadt is the city of freedom..."
Paimon: "The winds of a thousand years just brought a very strong smell of booze."
Nahida: "Paimon, I believe you and Lumine are in Fontaine right now. Have you seen Mr. Kael?"
Paimon: "Yeah, we found him! He's in the residential district of the Court of Fontaine. He's actually neighbors with Furina."
Furina: "Hey!"
Neuvillette: "Furina, you..."
Paimon: "We've been stuffing our faces at Kael's place."
Neuvillette: "As I suspected..."
Furina: "Oh, please! He invited me over long before he was chosen as a Reincarnator!"
Jean: "It's been a while since Mr. Kael or Lumine responded. They must be catching up on the past."
Yae Miko: "Oh, most definitely. When those past life memories come flooding back, there are so many secrets to share. I'm dying to know."
Jean: "I've started to remember bits of Mr. Kael myself. Only fragments, though."
Lisa: "I think we're all in the same boat. In my memories, Mr. Kael was always so gentle... so reliable."
Aether: "Why are they taking so long? That's it, I'm going to Fontaine."
Dainsleif: "Aether, I suggest you ask Lumine if she wants you there first. Unless you want her truly angry with you, just keep traveling with me."
Aether: "..."
Aether: "Paimon, it's been three hours since the rewards were handed out. What could they possibly be talking about for this long?"
Paimon: "They're talking about their past life! There are so many beautiful memories to go over!"
Aether: "Go knock on the door."
Paimon: "No way! I'm counting on Kael to feed me from now on. He's already surpassed Master Diluc. He is officially Number One on the list of people Paimon cannot afford to offend."
Aether: "..."
[Ding!]
While the world babbled, a voice thundered from the high heavens.
The system had returned.
[The second Reincarnation Cycle is beginning.]
[Reincarnator: Kael.]
[Identity: Pope of The Church, Court of Fontaine.]
Neuvillette: "???"
Furina: "???"
~✦~ End of Chapter ~✦~
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