Chapter Text
Beneath the fog of muddled memories, a bittersweet realisation gnawed away at her mind.
There was once a time when life was perfect.
She used to spend most of her days in a castle among the clouds.
Large stained-glass windows shone brilliantly in the morning light of a familiar sun, reflecting a faint rainbow onto the marble floors. Slender arches and columns, adorned with simple golden carvings, granted the palace interior an unwavering air of elegance. Its magnificence was not the gaudy kind. While the tapestries, chandeliers and paintings were of exquisite quality, they were kept apart in careful distance from each other, leaving her with plenty of space to breathe. The castle had more than enough room for both childhood games of tag and royal gatherings, as well as grandiose daydreams.
One could wander the halls indefinitely, lose oneself in thoughtful contemplation and dive headfirst into a world of imagination. She could no longer recall what dreams those were, exactly, that had beguiled her so. She was still a child then. Considering the nature of an ingenuous mind, it was not greed, but a foolish act of sweet naivety - to have everything she could ever hope for, yet fantasize about being elsewhere. To have so much more than she would ever come to have again, yet only notice the privilege after it was gone.
Now, nothing felt more foreign than a carefree existence. Surrounded by darkness, she tried to hold onto that past, the times long before the noble scions had to shoulder the burden of a crumbling kingdom. When they used to run around and play, pick white flowers from the gardens to weave humble crowns. As if there were no real ones in the treasury, patiently waiting for the day they would come to lie heavy upon the children's heads.
The golden-haired twins were born descendants to a mighty civilisation, little heirs fated to become the world's sovereigns, promised a splendid future when they were still just specks of shimmering stardust. Sadly, if there is anything the universe has taught Lumine, it is that with a grand ambition comes an even greater downfall.
She would have never expected what she had once considered her purpose to eventually get distorted in such a cruel, contorted way. Her life turned out to be a collection of countless travels, preceded by a misguided glimpse of what should have been.
Her brother's presence kept her grounded. Having him by her side, she could at the very least be sure to never stray too far from their journey's course. As strong-willed as she was, the trust she placed in herself was limited. Her unbreakable spirit was just the force that eternally pushed her onwards, not a guarantee of success.
Having been stuck in that dense void of reminiscence for hell knows how long, her heart swelled up with discomfort as the lack of her brother's company suddenly struck her. If he were the anchor keeping her from floating away, surely she must have drifted quite far by now. She tried to move, but no water splashed her skin, and no air swished around her flailing arms.
A mixture of relief and shock washed over her strained body as she jolted awake. It seemed as if all of her senses flooded back together in an instant. She winced at the feeling of an impending headache, a dull sensation reverberating through her skull.
For a while, she sat still, trying to battle her own confusion. With a cautious squint, she tried to take in her surroundings as quickly as possible. Dark sand grazed her palms and gentle waves clashed against a nearby shore.
Lifting her head up took more effort than she'd like to admit. The sky was a deep blue - not yet nighttime, but it must have been quite late. She rubbed her temple, impatiently waiting for the fog shrouding her thoughts to pass. Her mind was that of an adventurer, hardened by unforgiving years of combat and investigation. Yet even so, the situation evoked an impression of deja vu. She had felt this way before, that much was certain.
It hadn't been a long time ago. She could almost feel the comforting chill of her pod in the spaceship. She had grown accustomed to their temporary home, where silence never rang hollow, always accompanied by a gentle hum of processors. The mechanical door slid open with a loud whoosh and the sound of her brother's muffled yelling made her instinctively spring out of the capsule. The air was thick with a tension she knew all too well.
Teyvat was supposed to be a haven. As she came to find out, a lot had changed since their ship first tracked the realm's existence. The world was engulfed in a blood-red haze as war raged on, ravaging thousands of homes.
She had felt as lost then as she did now. It was just as hard to keep her emotions at bay and she couldn't help but let the memories of her own home resurface. All she really understood was that at the very least, as opposed to their homeland, this time they had a chance to lend their aid to the suffering.
That hope lingered on until the goddess stood before them.
It took Lumine a good few minutes of stretching to get back on her feet. The headache began to cease and her limbs were no longer so awfully stiff. She was relieved to be able to finally recall the correct order of events that had transpired. However, her mind wasn't at ease yet, and noticing how her brother was naturally still nowhere to be seen, she knew her worries wouldn't dissipate any time soon.
The best she could do for now was try and keep her train of thought from rapidly switching tracks. This predicament called for a bottom up approach. The immediate priorities were food and shelter.
At a glance, she could tell that the beach didn't stretch very far, but she had to take her exhaustion into account. She wasn't sure of how long she had been asleep for, but her body was weary and it was impossible not to note the emptiness in her stomach.
The area was covered in rocks, pebbles and splotches of tawny grass. The only accent which alleviated the beach's eerie atmosphere were the few vibrant conches glistening in the sand. There didn't seem to be many fish in the murky water. She soon spotted some crabs, as well as a bird or two, making it likely for more wildlife to be near. She stretched out her hand in an attempt to summon her sword, but nothing happened. Hunting was off the table. Even then, it would serve her well to scout out the area more closely before setting up camp. Her best bet when it came to food, the blue berry bushes spread out over the grass, might have been inedible. Not a risk worth taking.
In a few minutes, she came across a strange rock formation which obstructed her view of the sea beyond the coastline. It took her a split second to notice that some huge structure stood in the far distance, peeking out behind the stone. She made her way past the obstacle. Finally able to get a better look at the environment, her eyes widened in surprise.
An enormous building loomed over the sea from afar. She couldn't make out the details from here, but just the darkened silhouette of the construction was intimidating by itself. It was colossal and proud, somewhat industrial, truly a sight to behold. A dome of steel and wire, harbouring some mysterious core in its very center.
She quickly assumed that the technological advancements of this place were on par with that of the most advanced worlds she had travelled through. Multiple ships were docked close to the building - it was some sort of base, perhaps.
After the initial shock wore off, a faint hope sprouted within her. The dome looked anything but inviting, and she could not afford putting herself through serious combat in that weakened state she had found herself in. However, she now knew for a fact that she wasn't thrown onto a wasteland.
The base was fully lit, clearly in operational state, which meant there were people stationed nearby. Her place of exile was no endless forest or ruthless desert, and that much was good news. It was more than likely that there would be some unavoidable danger lurking the further she ventured on, but at least she had something to work with. A direction to head towards.
Seeing that there was no connection in the terrain between the isle and the beach, she would have to find a way to swim over to get to the actual spot. A makeshift raft should have been out of the question, especially if she were to accidentally intrude onto some fortified military base, but she kept the idea in the back of her head just in case. Time will tell, she smiled at the thought.
She walked for quite some time, dragging her feet slowly. The sky was noticeably darker now, yet her destination seemed no closer. She would much prefer to pick up a more efficient pace, but her legs were too sore. She must have looked a bit pathetic, so maybe the lack of company had its upsides.
The longer she wandered for, the better she could detect an unknown magical energy coursing through the atmosphere. Somehow, it felt comforting.
Slightly dissociated, she kept moving straight ahead. Her legs treaded the crunching sand, powered by whatever resolve she had left. It was when moonlight had slowly started to illuminate her path that she heard a resonant clang under her feet instead.
She had stumbled onto some metal plate. Her gaze immediately drifted to a simple camp laid out at an arm's reach. She sighed with relief when it occurred to her that she had made it to the end. That was not all. A few tall figures, clad in colorful clothing, stood right at the edge of the shore.
People.
Lumine briefly scanned the camp, noting that there were multiple mysterious steel containers and large backpacks strewn about. All left unattended. She could probably go through them without anyone noticing, but it was in her best interest to at least try not to turn to theft right away.
Without warning, a loud bang boomed from their direction, followed by a wave of unrestrained laughter. Startled, she turned her head. The people were chattering, fortunately still oblivious of her presence, as one of them slowly polished what looked like a rifle.
On second thought, she quietly pushed the lid off one of the containers and, in awe of her own luck, grabbed a blade from within. The quality left much to be desired, but it had to suffice. Her powers had been sealed away, after all. She briefly gripped the hilt and made the weapon disappear with a swish. It would serve as a backup plan, if such a need arose.
With a cautious dose of hesitation, she swiftly made her way towards the group.
"Excuse me," she spoke, trying to appear as polite as possible, "do you think you could help me?"
Simultaneously, the strangers held onto their weapons in alarm. Two women and two men, all had their faces obscured by dark masks.
One of the men, tall as a mountain, wearing a blue coat and large hat, yelled something out. Her spirits died down a little when she realized it was not in a language she recognized.
With an apologetic smile, she repeated the question in another tongue, one she was sure some of the Khaenri'ahns were familiar with. A short silence followed. The other man pointed the rifle in her direction.
"I am not looking for a fight," she put her hands up in the air, a gesture as disarming as she could afford.
The sniper stood still for a moment and shrugged as the other three exchanged a few sentences between each other.
Finally, she was met with an incoherent shout once more.
This was clearly not heading the route she had wished it would. She was about to resort to an improvised form of sign language when her attempts got shut down categorically. One of them lunged straight at her, making her fall on the ground with a thud.
It was hard not to let all of her pent-up anger and sorrow resurface. The cheap blade manifested in her hand as she swung at the perpetrator with full force. Her muscles twitched, sore from disuse. Thankfully, she was able to land a satisfying blow nonetheless. The soldier stumbled, taken aback by her unusual strength. A split second later, she barely managed to dodge the sling of a battle hammer. It lightly grazed the skin on her arm, leaving a small cut behind.
Mere moments ago, the mighty traveller didn't have enough stamina for as much as a light jog. She was obviously in no condition to fight now. Her coordination was shabby, her movements sluggish, and her focus was far from perfect. The weapon did little to help her. Perhaps it was stupid to presume that the strangers wouldn't react rashly, but it did seem equally irrational for them to be aggressive from the get-go.
Her knuckles turned white as her fingers clutched onto the sword for dear life. She was preparing for the impact of yet another strike, when the attacker suddenly wavered.
A blinding light whooshed by her back, flying past her ear with a frightening speed.
Something sharp had lodged itself in her opponent's chest, crackling with electricity. Their companions recoiled in terror.
From behind, an intimidating voice resounded with pure confidence.
She had no clue what it was that he had said, but it must have been something ominous.