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“Is it just Paimon, or is the blue algae really thriving here?”
Lumine eyed the strange glowing algae with a suspicious eye. Ever since she’d stepped into this hidden forest, alarm bells had been going off in her head. They were clanging now, sounding like loud ringing church bells. She couldn’t help it, this entire place set her completely on edge.
For a supposed paradise, the Traveler felt like she’d stepped into somewhere that might just be the exact opposite. What’s worse, her connection to the elements was far too weak for her to ever feel comfortable. Every time she stepped into the shadow realm, she felt naked.
Flamefeather Valley, she mused to herself. Was it named after the feathers of the mythical phoenix? Her Snezhnayan wasn’t perfect, so the translation might not have been completely accurate but she had a feeling it was pretty close. Especially with how her newest companion was talking about a new form of life and what sounded like transcendence.
She squeezed Nastya’s hand a little tighter, not for the first time glancing out of the wooden antlers growing out of her head. Her hair was the color of autumn leaves and Lumine doubted it’d originally been that way. None of this place felt natural at all, and while she wasn’t familiar with alchemy beyond the basics she doubted it was meant to be used like this.
It was definitely alchemy, she’d seen enough of it when around Albedo and Sucrose. She wondered what they’d think if they saw the magic twisted and perverted like this. Probably all of the exact same things she was thinking right now, actually.
“I feel very warm and cozy when I look at it,” Nastya said, her eerily golden eyes growing wider. “I can see it shine... It's some sort of strange light…”
If only Lumine felt as comfortable about that as Nastya did.
There was a massive tree rising tall out of the mirelands, and at the size it’d grown it had to be incredibly ancient. Maybe the same age as the great tree that Sumeru’s Akademiya called home.
Oh, there were those bad memories again. Of sages who thought they knew better and a week inside a samsara. Lumine didn’t know why those memories were taking residence in her mind again right now, but the fact that they were was probably another sign that she should take Nastya and run.
“This must be that super big tree you talked about, Nastya!” Paimon said, gaping. “It's gotta be at least a hundred Paimons high, right? Is this where your family lives?”
“I think so? At least I can become like everyone else here…” Nastya trailed off, sounding not sure at all about that even if she tried to hide it.
And that was when Lumine made up her mind. Squeezing Nastya’s hand tighter, she tugged her back but it was like the little girl was rooted to the ground. Maybe she was, all things considered.
“Wait, where are you taking me?”
“Safety!” Lumine said, straining a little.
“But home is safety, I have to get home!”
Lumine felt sick to her stomach and she held back the bile rapidly rising up in her throat. The longer she’d spent inside this valley of the damned, the more unwell she’d felt. If she didn’t stop herself now, she’d be no better than that madman who’d destroyed this entire village.
He’d murdered children. Children! Turned them into his idea of perfect lifeforms, their skin replaced with bark and moss and nothing flesh remained. Koschei the Deathless. Ever since she’d heard that name come up again and again and she wanted to stop the shuddering chill running down her spine every time.
She hadn’t been home in a long time, but Koschei was a name she knew on her home planet as well. He was a villain from old fairy tales, who liked to hide his ‘death’ inside tiny objects, even things like thimbles. Now this world’s Koschei wasn’t a lich like her world’s had been but the similarities were eerie enough. And on Teyvat, fairy tales were often very real and fairly often incredibly horrifying.
Lumine liked to think she’d seen enough by now that nothing on Teyvat could phase her. That was something she liked to keep telling herself and every time it never worked. There were plenty of madmen here who liked to tamper with the natural order and leave shattered lives behind them.
El Dottore.
That’s who this ‘Koschei’ reminded her of. She’d thought she’d seen the last of the man while Irminsul burned. She’d watched him be dragged off to hell by his other discarded selves, nothing more fitting as a fate. His past lives making sure his current excuse for one would never cheat death any longer.
A part of her wondered if Koschei was a forgotten segment that he hadn’t discarded and once again the man was still haunting her. No, it wasn’t him. Not this time, anyways. Madness and arrogance weren’t unique traits to the ‘Doctor’.
“No,” Lumine said. “We’re getting out of here, and I’m taking you far away from that damn tree and whatever Koschei/Moreau/whatever the hell else he calls himself had planned for you. I’m done playing his sick game and I’m taking us off the board.”
“But-”
Nastya’s eyes were watery and Lumine felt guilty for basically kidnapping her. But she’d seen the girl trembling in fear with every sick twist this ‘adventure’ showed them.
“But remember Furiosa?” Lumine pleaded. “She wanted you to get away from here. She doesn’t want you to become a part of the ‘perfect tree’. She wants you to live your own life!”
“She…” Nastya looked heartbroken. “She tried to stop us and… Why? I don’t get it? She should have… she should be a part of this perfect tree. Like mommy and my aunt and-”
“You told me the closer you get to home, the more nervous you feel,” Lumine asked, still trying to pull her close. “...well okay the doctor did and he was wrong and if this place is your home, Nastya why are you so terrified?”
“Because…” Nastya’s lip quivered. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, what if it goes wrong and… what if I never see mommy or my aunties or any of my friends ever again or-”
Oh Lumine’s heart was breaking again and she knew either way no matter what happened that the poor little girl would never see any of her family again. Not as anyone she recognized and that was another crime laid at 'Moreau’s' feet. He should consider himself lucky he was dead already, because Lumine absolutely wanted to murder him.
A loud screech cut through the air and the next thing the Traveler knew she was swept off her feet. She felt ill looking at her attacker, Zhara only resembled a bird in the vaguest sense that a nightmare resembled anything natural. A humanoid body sprouted up from the chimeric lower half of the creature though the head was far from human. It looked like a budding flower, the creature covered in burning orange feathers.
“Nastya,” Lumine said, bleeding a little from the monster’s talons. “Get behind me.”
If this wasn’t another excuse to get out of here, then she didn’t know what was. She had the firepower to stop it, probably. But the little girl she’d been guiding to her doom came first. If death was Nastya’s fate, written for her? Then Lumine would rewrite that script entirely and change how this story ended.
There’d been warning after warning and now she was heeding all of them.
She could feel it, her connection to the elements of Teyvat returning. The shadow realm’s connection with this place wasn’t solid enough yet, it hadn’t replaced what remained of this little town and not all of the ghosts had risen from their graves yet.
“Big sister Lumine? What are you… Why is it getting so hot?”
“Because…” Lumine said, with a kind look at Nastya and a venomous one directed to that ‘bird’. “That phoenix is going to burn hotter than even it can handle.”
She became a blur of instinct and red hot rage and swung the Exaiphanes Blade again and again. Slashing through air as a hot knife would carve through butter. She hadn’t ignited like this since the duel with the Abyss against that dragon. Not even Ronova herself had made her call on this much power.
“Perhaps humans are no different from moths drawn to a flame. But so be it. Even the most ordinary life yearns to survive. If that’s the case, then… I won’t let anyone hurt HER ever again!”
Her sword blazed and it sliced and cut and reduced anything it touched to ash beneath otherworldly steel. She was screaming herself hoarse, letting all of that rage and frustration and naked disgust out. Finally there was nothing left to cut and she was tired and sore but she wasn’t done yet.
“Lumine?” Paimon asked, shaking in shock. “That was… wow, Paimon hasn’t seen you like that since…”
“And hopefully you won’t ever have to see me like that ever again,” Lumine said, the world already twisting around them. Her voice was shot and she wanted to cry from what’d been done here. She held Nastya tight, squeezing her close to her chest.
“You trust me… right?” she asked.
“I… I think I do, Big Sister. But where are we going?” Nastya asked, golden eyes wide in shock after seeing the Traveler all but detonate.
“I don’t… I’m not sure yet, but anywhere is better than here I think. No, I know it.”
She snapped through waypoint after waypoint, going mile after mile across Teyvat. She wasn’t sure where she was going yet. But she knew what direction it’d be.
Far from here, anywhere that wasn’t this dead valley and this ghost town.
-----
“...where are we?”
Lumine blinked, feeling a little exhausted from the day’s events and she walked past the waypoint. The cool breeze gently splashed itself across her face as soft waters lapped at the shore.
“Hey, Paimon recognizes this beach! Wow, talk about memories flooding back! This is where our adventure together truly began!”
She hadn’t intended to end up here, but her mind had been praying for safety and trying to work out where she’d feel the most comfortable. Monstadt, of course it’d be Monstadt. It’d taken her in while she’d been trying to figure out where to go when searching for her brother. It figured even in a haze of grief and anger, the Land of Freedom would still stay clear in her mind.
“Now Nastya, Paimon didn’t understand everything that happened back there but she knows you’ll be safe from that big nasty bird and anything else that tries to harm you.”
“...but this isn’t…” Nastya wanted to argue, her words dying in their throat as she yawned. Lumine couldn’t blame her, they were all tired from that nightmare.
“Hey, it’s okay. Paimon heard you say you trust Lumine right?”
“You are like my big sisters, but… I want to see Mommy!”
“You will,” Paimon said, looking at Lumine helplessly. “One day!”
Lumine felt a little guilty, but not that much and more importantly she felt like she’d done the right thing. This wasn’t a kidnapping, not when there was nobody left to object and the person she’d kidnapped had been in far too much danger.
“Just trust me, Nastya,” Lumine soothed, running a hand through the girl’s hair. “I’ll try to explain. …well, I’m not sure I can but I think I know who can do it better than I can.”
“Paimon thinks that you mean Albedo, right?” Paimon said, having spent enough time with her by now to follow half of the traveler’s thoughts.
“Yes, a gold star for Paimon! He’s probably asleep right now, but…” Lumine yawned, dead tired. Better than just plain dead, she supposed. “...that’s exactly what we should be as well honestly.”
“The Teapot again, then?” Paimon asked, and was given a nod as a reply. “Liyue layout again tonight, then?”
“I’m not sure I follow,” Nastya asked. “What does a teapot have to do with sleeping?”
“Just watch,” Lumine winked, feeling a little better already as a mischievous smile rested on her face. “I’m gonna show you something cool!”
Lumine saw the awe and wonder on the little girl’s face at the sight of the Liyue style layout and felt herself relax as she tucked her in. Heading for her own bed, the Traveler wondered if she could keep that feeling. Practically falling into the sheets, sleep soon took her and for the next few hours she didn’t have to wonder about it at all.
-----
Not for the first time, Lumine hated how baby-faced she was. Not that it’d help anyone if she got drunk this early in the day really but she definitely wouldn’t mind something to soothe her mood. She took a breath to calm herself, having left Nastya with Albedo who could -hopefully- explain what kind of cult she’d been raised in better than the Traveler ever could.
Her knowledge of alchemy only went so far, ending at crafting simple recipes and no real knowledge of the deep inner workings of the art. Not that she’d ever call what was done to the girl’s birth family and village ‘art’. The point being, she was exactly the wrong person to explain how monstrous the act truly was.
That and… well, right now, Lumine couldn’t exactly look the poor girl in the eye. She felt like she’d failed her, not being able to save the rest of her family. She knew she was being stupid, they’d probably been dead for quite a while now. They’d passed the point of no return since…
Time around her slowed down to a crawl, before halting entirely. Lumine felt her breath hitch, a chill running down her spine. She’d felt this horrible oppressing feeling only a few times, but there was no mistaking it.
“Oh Qlipoth, she’s here…” she breathed out, her voice a deathly whisper. Fitting, given who was walking up with a feeling like someone had just stepped over the Traveler’s grave. Her heels clacked against the stone, no other sounds but the ones belonging to the two of them.
“Traveler,” Ronova said, the Ruler of Death having a voice that could freeze even a volcano. She wasn’t a tall woman, but she was nonetheless imposing. She wore a black dress, black as night and black as shadow. Usually people wore them to mourn the departed. Lumine doubted that was true in her case.
“So, is this a follow-up visit?” Lumine said, being cheeky in the face of Death. It was a habit that might get her killed one day. “Are you here to kill me in front of everyone in Monstadt to make a point?”
“No, your time hasn’t arrived yet and as long as you stay out of the Tsarista’s affairs then you shall never need to fear me, Lumine Hesperos. Our relationship will stay cordial and in time we might even call one another friends.”
Well, Lumine doubted she’d be able to abide by any sort of promise she couldn’t make about that. She was the nosiest person in Teyvat, she couldn’t stop meddling.
“We will never be friends,” Lumine spat. She still had nightmares of that long week in the Korolevskiy Theatre. She’d extended teapot invites to everyone who’d been there, everyone still alive. Just so she could hold them, and hug them and make sure they were still there. Still alive.
“Hmmm,” Ronova said, barely acknowledging her words. “I’m actually here to thank you.”
Lumine coughed, surprised. Of all of the things she’d ever expected the Shade to say, that was low on the list!
“I’m sorry?”
“You heard me, unless you’ve suddenly lost your sense of hearing. I don’t remember killing that, though.”
She’d killed a lot of people, Lumine doubted the Shade ever remembered any of their names. She wanted to dare her to try.
“Koschei defied me, and killed far more people than a mortal has any right to. I’m the only one who decides when someone’s time has come. And he did it all in a misplaced, mad quest for immortality. A foolish notion, especially in defiance of my Rules.”
If Lumine didn’t know better, she’d almost say the Shade sounded furious. It was hard to tell, with how monotone her voice was. It was dry as a bone, apathetic to all around her. Had Ronova killed all of her emotions as well?
“You plan to end his life.”
“I plan to end the suffering.”
“Either way,” Ronova said, a hundred eyes all belonging to the same owner upon their meeting. “Both have the same result. I came only to thank you for that, and to wish you good hunting.”
Time resumed, Death returned to the shadows and Lumine just wondered when exactly she’d earned the Shade’s approval. She hated it and now she really wanted that drink.
-----
“Big sister Lumine!”
Nastya threw her arms around the blonde, crying and clutching her tight. The little girl was whispering thank yous amongst broken sobs and Lumine instinctively pulled her tight. Whispering soft soothing words, she ran her fingers through the little girl’s hair.
Childe did a lot of horrible things, the Harbinger wasn’t exactly the most admirable person in the world but Lumine had started to understand him a lot better recently. Accepting Paimon as her little sister had felt natural after months of time and Lumine suspected it’d take even less time for Nastya.
She also understood how and why the Harbinger would move mountains for his little siblings. Even fight gods, which was something they had in common by now weirdly enough. Koschei wasn’t a god mind, and Lumine doubted he could even put up any sort of fight anymore either. Good riddance, the Traveler thought. He’d dodged death enough.
And she was not happy. If Death could feel anger, and all. Ronova had certainly almost sounded like it. Apparently Lumine had been temporarily promoted to be her instrument, and to reap Koschei’s soul with a makeshift scythe. Hooray. She felt so ‘honored.’
“What you described…” Albedo frowned. “It goes against everything Alchemy stands for. That isn’t change, or transformation.”
“No…” Lumine said, sadly, looking down at her new sister. “It’s not.”
Furiosa, she’d wanted the poor girl to be free of that living nightmare. The Volkodlak gangs, they’d probably be able to smuggle her out of Snezhnaya. The whole plan would have gone off without a hitch, had Lumine not blundered into their story.
She’d done quite a bit of that, inserting herself into others’ stories. This time, she probably shouldn’t have interfered. But she had, and now she had to rewrite the ending of this one.
“You did a good thing,” Albedo said, soothingly, upon seeing the warring conflict in her eyes. “That’s Monstadt’s Honorary Knight that we’re all so proud of. Sure, you didn’t know what was going on, not at first, but you figured it out just in time.”
“And what if I didn’t?” Lumine asked.
“But you did, big sister!” Nastya said. “You protected me, and now… I believe in you! Albedo said he should be able to reverse what that crazy jerk Moreau did to me. Him and Big Sis Sucrose sounded certain that they could!”
“It’s an easy enough matter,” Albedo said, rather calmly. “I’ve puzzled out far more significant challenges, such as the matter with Durin. This will be a rather relaxing mental exercise, by comparison.”
Lumine gave him a ‘look’, coughing and at this the man flushed in embarrassment.
“Sorry, I suppose I should have phrased that better,” Albedo said, before putting a hand on her shoulder. “Point being, you can rely on me. You managed to pass the hard part, now let me take over Honorary Knight. You don’t have to do everything by yourself, remember?”
She felt herself relax, no wonder she kept returning to Monstadt. The Knights of Favonius and their personnel always had everything in hand, meaning she could just go with the flow.
“Your friend is so cool!” Nastya said. “Is he your boyfriend, big sis?”
Lumine coughed and sputtered before snorting. If saving a little girl meant she’d never know a moment’s peace from her teasing, it was a small price to pay. Still…
“My job’s not over yet,” Lumine said, the ‘Garden of Life’ already pictured inside her mind. “There’s still one last thing I need to do.”
“Ah,” Albedo said, seeing the look in her eyes. “I’ve seen that expression before. Quite a few people have, usually right before questioning a lot of their life choices.”
He couldn’t resist the urge to joke either.
“Should we be worried about any international incidents?”
“I doubt it,” Lumine said, hair flickering with sparks of fire. “If anything, the Tsarista will probably owe me a favor.”
“Not sure she’ll like that,” Albedo teased. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on your little sis, okay? Who knows, by the time you return, maybe I’ll have sorted out her affliction!”
“I probably won’t take that long,” Lumine said, gently lacing her pinky with Nastya’s own. “But thank you, Albedo. I’ll be back soon, Nastya. Don’t cause too much trouble!”
“I won’t! Now go free my mommy and my aunties and my village!”
Lumine knew what she was actually asking her to do. Put an end to their suffering. Aeons, this poor girl had been forced to grow up far too fast. It only strengthened her resolve to make sure she was never hurt ever again.
“Alchemy created this nightmare, so it’s only right that a proper alchemist works to resolve part of it. It’s what mother would want me to do, after all.”
Lumine smiled warmly at him, her eyes bright like the sun before they darkened as angry as a solar flare. She snapped her fingers, and then she was gone.
-----
This time none of the Okoruv’s former inhabitants tried to stop her, several of the trees in fact actually parted for her. She could swear she could hear them whispering in her ears, talking amongst themselves in relief that finally someone had come to end their torment. She’d arrived too late to stop this tragedy, but she could make it didn’t take anyone else.
It was easy enough for her to remember a path through the village, the Traveler giving a certain ‘church’ a withering look as she made her way down to the mire. Swamp water sloshed beneath her feet, algae floating on top of it. Lumine shuddered remembering what this algae actually was.
No more.
Never again.
“I’m sorry I can’t reverse what he did to you, but I can at least free you from this awful trap.”
At the massive tree’s trunk, she was greeted. A particularly tall Leshy strode out of the gloom, coated with Abyssal slime dripping off it as purple sludge.
“Koschei, I presume,” Lumine said, her voice dripping with undisguised disgust.
“Descender,” the Thing said. “The 4th who fell from the sky, and twin of the Prince.”
“Take my brother’s name out of your mouth, or I’ll rip it out for you,” Lumine said, blade at the ready to cut this creature down. She’d have to prune this garden. “Honestly, I’m not really interested in talking with you, bastard. I don’t actually have much to say to you anyway.”
“Yeah!” Paimon said, arms crossed. “You’re a monster, and Lumine’s here to send you packing! You did all of this to Nastya’s friends and family, and for what? To be immortal? Paimon thinks this isn’t really living at all!”
“I suppose I did…” the Thing said.
“You suppose? What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Lumine narrowed her eyes before they softened as they caught the implied meaning. He didn’t really remember… Did he? He’d become one with the entire village, but lost himself in the process. Koschei as a person didn’t actually even exist anymore, his mind pulled apart into something ‘greater’.
“O everlasting dream, everlasting dream. A courtyard devoid of meaning and therefore entirely without suffering... For what reason did I seek eternity? Was it for... for…” the Thing’s words trailed off.
…well, this had to be the most anti-climatic ending Lumine had ever wandered into. She’d come here to slay a monster. He wasn’t human, not anymore and personally she doubted he ever had been. But this…?
It looked like Koschei had killed himself, accidently, in every way that mattered.
“You have forgotten what you wanted,” Lumine said, coldly, her voice frigid as the harsh winters raging outside the valley. She’d brought the blizzard with her, the raging winds dancing around her as swirling Ameno energy.
“Because wanting has lost all meaning,” the Thing said, merged with a thousand voices never his own. “O Eternity, that cold and merciless far shore, where even the fiercest love cannot reach…”
And now he was just rambling. Lumine could feel another set of eyes on her, not the Forest’s but something far more unnatural and spine-chilling. They’d been following her, all the way from Mondstadt.
“...so, will you leave me to my fate?” the Thing asked. “My paradise?”
“This paradise…” Lumine said, stepping aside as the sky above went crimson red and time stopped again. “Was never yours to claim. Ronova, do with him as you will, just make sure to give the others…”
“I’m not a merciful woman,” the Shade of Death said. “So why ask me?”
“You owe me.”
“Don’t make demands of Death,” Ronova said, no real malice in her words. There wasn’t much of anything, really. “You won’t like the consequences. Don’t think of me as someone who could ever be reasoned or bargained with. Plenty before you have tried.”
Yeah, Lumine could imagine that. She could also easily imagine how successful all of them were. Knowing what she was thinking, Ronova let out a parody of a laugh. There was no joy in it at all and her expression did become something similar to looking kind.
“That said… this is a soul who’s evaded me for far too long. Not that he ever could run forever. So… I suppose I can be merciful to everyone else he killed with him.”
Several eyes opened on her bloody red wings, all judging the Thing with his sins laid bare.
“That child…” Ronova said, and Lumine felt herself almost age in an instant when the Shade looked at her. “Take care of her, and if you do… I won’t come for her for a very long time.”
Not a threat but a promise. From the Shade of Death, it wasn’t really comforting. Time resumed, and the forest fell silent forever.
Lumine left it all behind, never looking back. Cuddling Paimon close to her, only the future was ahead of them now.
“Let’s go home, Traveler,” Paimon said, sadly, sniffling. “My new sister’s waiting on us!”
Home was where the heart was, cliche as it was. And Lumine’s heart was with her family, no matter where they were on Teyvat.
-----
“Big sis!”
Lumine smiled, a huge weight off her shoulders as she watched a formerly suffering soul finally be free to spread her wings and fly with other birds. Mondstadt welcomed another strange traveler from distant lands like it always did, with open arms. And as she proclaimed herself to be Lumine’s little sister, they treated her with all of the kindness and care she’d always deserved.
The Honorary Knight having another sister would inspire more than a few new songs from Mondstadt’s many traveling bards. They already sung her stories across the windswept plains and her legend grew with every retelling. Somehow when trying to find her twin, she’d found herself a new home as well.
She hadn’t intended to stay on Teyvat, but she hadn’t intended on a lot of things on her journey. Best laid plans never survived first contact with the enemy, which had been an apparently not so irreversible loneliness.
She’d been on so many worlds, but none had seized her heart like Teyvat. And she’d never stop at protecting it and more importantly protecting everyone who lived on it. Which included some very special siblings.
“Klee and big brother Albedo were telling me you saved Mondstadt from a dragon! Is it true, did you really defeat him?”
“Better, actually,” Lumine said, watching Klee pounce on an unsuspecting Prune. The little rabbit sent the other child sprawling, the two laughing with Prune waving her hammer as a faux threat. “I made him my friend.”
“Big sis, really?”
“I did!” Lumine said, scooping the girl up on her shoulder. “I’m sure I can even swing a ride with him, show you Monstadt from the skies!”
“You’re so cool! What can’t you and Paimonka do?” Nastya said, stars in her eyes. “I didn’t know my awesome big sis was so awesome and a hero! I heard them call you an honorary knight but I didn’t know what you did to earn it!”
A gleaming Dendro moon wheel hung from her neck, at first bitterly ironic but then Lumine understood the real meaning. Nastya earned it by growing, achieving understanding of the world around her and so the tri-lunar authority had rewarded her. Her new life would never be stamped out, her second chance marked by a higher power. She would never wither, and Lumine would help her grow even taller into a proper tree flourishing under starlight. But anything but a perfect one, she’d never be a ‘perfect’ one.
“Oh ho,” Paimon said, clapping her hands. “Is it time for the greatest guide in Teyvat to say everything that the Traveler’s ever been up to since she arrived and since she met Paimon?”
“Maybe!” Lumine said.
“Really?”
“Yes, really!” Paimon nodded. “Oh, where should Paimon start? I guess maybe when she was literally fished out of a lake and that’s how she met the Traveler who would become Paimon’s best friend! It happened like this…”
fin