Lumine: "After Irminsul deleted her, all traces of her life in Sumeru were erased. Even the belongings in the house where she used to live vanished."
Rukkhadevata asked again, "Did she... have any family in Sumeru?"
Lumine: "Kaveh, Alhaitham, Nahida..."
Lumine could only think of these few who had been closest to Silaya.
One had raised her like a brother, one had taught her knowledge like a teacher, and one had accompanied her in studying and playing, her Lesser Lord Kusanali.
Rukkhadevata didn't press further. She needed to return and verify some things.
After a brief silence, Zhongli spoke:
"Traveler, you mentioned earlier that the girl with the Pure Soul in Snezhnaya is Childe's sister. Her name is Angie, correct?"
"Zhongli, you know her?"
Zhongli nodded slightly. "Does Childe know about her Pure Soul?"
Lumine: "Yes, he found out in Sumeru. That's when I confirmed Angie possessed a Pure Soul as well. People of Pure Soul are highly sensitive to dreams and can easily sense when they're trapped within one."
"In your opinion," Zhongli asked, "does the Abyss know that our young friend Angie possesses a Pure Soul?"
Lumine pondered for a moment, then replied, "I don't think so. If the Abyss knew how desperately they crave Pure Souls, they would have made their move long ago."
Angie's situation differs from Silaya's. Silaya had been erased by Irminsul, her soul completely annihilated, which explained the Abyss's desperate measures.
Moreover, before Silaya was erased, Lumine had heard rumors about a young girl being hunted by Abyss Monsters behind Sumeru City's back gate. After Silaya's erasure, the incident was never mentioned again.
It seemed likely that the girl hunted by Abyss Monsters had been Silaya.
"Discovered by the Abyss... How did the Abyss find Yuna?" Ei murmured to herself. Ever since learning that Yuna possessed a Pure Soul, Ei had kept her secluded on Narukami Island.
Could it have been during the Test of Courage? Or perhaps those with Pure Souls simply radiate like beacons to the Abyss?
Venti: "We must find these individuals before the Abyss does, protect them, and stop the Abyss's hunt."
The deaths of Rola and Qingge weighed heavily on Venti and Zhongli's hearts, leaving them with deep regrets. They knew they had failed her.
Now, unable to do anything more for her, they turned their attention to protecting others who possessed Pure Souls like hers.
Zhongli: "I will write to the others, explaining the stakes. Finding the remaining Persons of Pure Soul will depend on you, Traveler."
Lumine: "I'll do everything I can!"
With that, Lumine prepared to leave, leaving the remaining time to the four God.
"Paimon, come on. Let's go see Yuna one last time and bid her farewell."
Paimon followed silently beside Lumine.
Lumine gently patted Paimon's back. Paimon's spirits were low; the usually talkative companion hadn't uttered a single word.
"Paimon, are you still crying?"
Lumine turned Paimon's small face toward her and saw tears still streaming down her cheeks. She gently wiped them away.
"Don't cry anymore. Your eyes are all puffy. When they're puffy, you're not as cute, and you won't be the cutest little Paimon anymore."
Lumine hugged Paimon tightly. Hidden from view, she blinked rapidly, trying to hold back her own tears, but they overwhelmed her defenses.
Amid Paimon's quiet sobs, Lumine's tears finally overflowed.
-
Chu Xi remained seated on the rock, waiting. When she saw Lumine and Paimon approaching, she quickly stood up.
"Lumine, Paimon!"
"Chu Xi, why didn't you go back with the others?" Lumine asked, wiping away her tears.
"I was waiting for you. Paimon, she..."
Lumine patted Paimon's back gently, as if comforting a child, and sighed.
Chu Xi understood perfectly; wasn't she feeling the same way?
Chu Xi took a piece of candy from her pocket, unwrapped it, and offered it to Paimon's mouth.
Paimon looked at Chu Xi with wide, innocent eyes, then took the candy in one bite.
Chu Xi took Paimon from Lumine's arms. Lumine's shoulder was already soaked with Paimon's tears, and the little fairy didn't resist, obediently nestling into Chu Xi's arms.
Neither Lumine nor Chu Xi spoke as the three of them walked silently down the road.
Chu Xi had been severely injured earlier, but she had absorbed some power from the Delusion given to her by the Doctor, which accelerated her healing.
However... Chu Xi didn't notice the few strands of white hair that had appeared among her once-entirely dark hair.
Perhaps even if she had noticed, she wouldn't have cared.
-
Narukami Island.
The Shogunate Army was clearing the battlefield.
Although Inazuma had emerged victorious in this defensive war, vigilance remained high. The entire city remained under martial law, with ordinary citizens sheltering indoors and the streets eerily deserted.
Even from this distance, the aftershocks of the distant battle could still be clearly heard.
Fortunately, the commotion soon subsided. While everyone else was filled with anxiety, Kujou Sara radiated unwavering confidence.
The Raiden Shogun's martial prowess is unparalleled. No malevolent entity can dare to rampage through Inazuma under the might of her Musou no Hitotachi.
The Kamisato siblings had already returned to the city. Ayaka was deeply concerned because they hadn't seen Lady Guuji Yae or her associates since the battle began. Messengers sent to the Grand Narukami Shrine found it completely deserted.
Earlier, Yuna had been ambushed and injured within the city. The Abyss's true target was likely Yuna herself.
Heizou shared Ayaka's concern, having personally witnessed the injured Lady Guuji Yae being rescued by another great yokai.
The monsters they faced directly were weak, likely deployed only to delay them.
If even Lady Guuji Yae had been wounded, the fiercest battles—aside from those involving the Raiden Shogun herself—must have been raging at the Grand Narukami Shrine.
If only we knew what's happening there, he thought, his anxiety growing.
The Crux Fleet was resting on the beach. Throughout the earlier battle, no one on the fleet had realized they'd struck a black-robed figure.
Beidou chatted casually with representatives from the Shogunate Army while discreetly gathering information.
Inazuma was facing a crisis of unprecedented scale: the Raiden Shogun had been forced to intervene personally, and the Abyss's invasion bore eerie similarities to the catastrophe that had once struck Liyue.
She needed to gather as much intel as possible to report back to Ningguang.
-
Lumine and Chu Xi finally caught up with Kuki Shinobu and her group, who were already on their way back.
Using the Serenitea Pot and Teleportation Array, the group swiftly returned to Narukami Island.
They decided not to publicly disclose Yuna's death. Kuki Shinobu and Itto took Yuna's remains back to the Arataki Gang's headquarters.
At Kuki Shinobu's request, Yae Miko and the others remained silent.
Yoimiya, Ayaka, and others who came to inquire were turned away at the door. Heizou sensed something amiss but refused to believe it, so he sat outside the Arataki Gang's headquarters, waiting.
Kuki Shinobu knelt before her sister's remains, her face etched with despair.
How could she ever face their parents and older sister now?!
She had been the one who brought Yuna to join the Arataki Gang, the one who took her away from home. Her mother had always told her to take good care of her younger sister—and this was how she had protected her in the end!
Though none of this was Kuki Shinobu's fault, she was too distraught to consider such things.
Her sister's brutal death had shattered her reason completely. All that filled her mind now was the expression on Yuna's face atop the final altar: pain, despair, fear...
What had Yuna been thinking at that moment? Did she resent her older sister for failing to save her?!