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Out in the unforgiving desert of Sumeru, a young woman with blonde hair was trudging through the thick sand, tears rushing from her eyes. The traveler could only feel the overbearing sadness that came with losing a friend.
Paimon, as annoying as she was, she was there for Lumine, thick and thin. She couldn't believe what just happened in the fight prior.
•_________________________•
"Lumine! Run!" A small goddess yelled at the traveler, coated in her own blood. "Please! Go find you brother.." She wished, struggling to hold the magic barrier against a fellow, stronger goddess.
Lumine looked to where her brother disappeared to and back at her companion, her best friend, the one she saw as the younger sister she always wanted.
She turned and ran towards the place her brother went, stopping for a second and looking back at Paimon, "Don't you dare die on me! Otherwise I'll find you and kill you myself!" She yelled before running after her brother…
•_________________________•
"Paimon! No no no, fuck, no!" Lumine ran towards the lifeless goddesses, holding the younger one, trying to wake her, "Don't you dare fucking die!" She screamed as tears welled in her eyes, clinging to her lashes.
The only thing running through the traveler's mind was that she never should have left. She always had been told her selfishness would end someone, be it her or another. She never listened due to her immortality, but now she knows she should've.
As she cradled her only friend's lifeless body in her arms, she felt pure guilt and grief squeezing her heart. "I'm sorry, I never should've left… sleep well, my friend." Lumine whispered softly, stand and turning around to leave, looking one last time at her old friend.
•_________________________•
The traveler swore that she would never let another person die. She was running on pure adrenaline, but that was running low. As she saw the city of Sumeru off in the distance, the broken city. The guilt was too much and she allowed herself to cry, falling to her knees, feeling the grief and fatigue cover her from the joy she heard off in the distance.
She won, she should be happy, but all the traveler can think about is the dead body of her friend. The grief surrounding and taunting her. The joyous cries of the Sumerians being drowned out by the sound of her heartbeat. She didn't deserve to be happy. She should just die.
Paimon was the one person she thought would never leave her, but the hairpin, covered in blood, clutched to her chest said otherwise. The traveler heard her name being called but she couldn't tell from where.
Her heartbeat loud in her ears, her friend's body crying, sobbing, asking why Lumine would leave her, drowned out all the calls. She felt the fatigue cover her akin to a blanket. She felt weighed down by the guilt. Her feeling clawing at her, dragging her down.
The last thing she saw as her eyes closed was a boy, similar to herself, lifting her into his arms.