Hearing those words, Tartaglia, who was sitting on the bed, gaped in astonishment, too shocked to speak.
Angie: "Oh, by the way, your master Skirk is here too."
"What?!"
Tartaglia instinctively shot to his feet, only to jerk in pain as the movement aggravated his wound, causing him to wince and grimace.
"Master Skirk is here?"
Angie: "Senior Skirk came to retrieve the All-Devouring Narwhal but left shortly after."
Tartaglia forced himself to sit up straight. "No, I have to go back to Fontaine. I've finally gotten news of my master after all this time."
Angie poked his chest, making him gasp sharply in pain.
"Little Sister, what are you doing?"
Angie: "You think you can return to Fontaine in this state?"
Tartaglia: "I know my own body best. I'll be fine. Besides, I can rest on the ship. I'm awake now, and this minor injury is nothing to me."
Angie: "Were you even listening to me? I said Senior Skirk left Fontaine almost immediately after appearing. Who exactly are you planning to find by going back?"
Tartaglia countered, "Little Sister, you don't understand. I haven't seen Master in ages. Even if she's likely already gone, I still have to go. This is the only lead I've had in years."
From the age of fourteen until now, Tartaglia had never given up searching for his master. Now that he finally had a lead, he refused to let it slip away.
Angie sighed. "Alright, go ahead. But... be careful."
Tartaglia struggled to put on his shoes. Seeing his clumsy efforts, Angie knelt down to help.
"Hey, hey, Little Sister, I can handle it myself. If I can't even put on my shoes, what business do I have going to Fontaine?"
Tartaglia gritted his teeth, enduring the pain, and his movements gradually became smoother.
"Little Sister, you haven't told the family about... my injury, have you?"
"You don't want them worrying, so I should make them worry instead? Don't be silly. No one at home knows you're hurt. But Mom and the younger siblings often talk about you. Go to Fontaine, and when you come back, remember to bring some gifts for them."
"Rest assured. I'm off then. You keep training hard in Snezhnaya."
As she watched Tartaglia leave, Angie shook her head.
"Ailina."
"At your service."
"Prepare for departure. We leave the day after tomorrow."
"Understood!"
-
Sumeru.
After returning from the Desert, Rukkhadevata dove headfirst into Irminsul, searching near the imprint Silaya had left behind. Despite days of relentless searching, she found nothing.
Venti had also come to Sumeru, and not just him—Zhongli had arrived at his invitation.
When they reached the Sanctuary of Surasthana, they learned that Rukkhadevata was searching for another safeguard left by Sumeru's Pure Soul. Choosing not to disturb her, they decided to wait.
One day, two days...
By the ninth day after Rukkhadevata's return to Sumeru, she finally found a thread of a clue!
The feeling was akin to solving a complex mathematical problem, finally grasping a key technique after tireless effort—a sensation Rukkhadevata hadn't experienced in ages.
Finding this thread hadn't been easy.
After scouring the entirety of Irminsul without a single trace, Rukkhadevata began to doubt her instincts. Perhaps "she" had left no further clues.
Yet an inner intuition compelled Rukkhadevata to persist.
She meticulously reviewed every possible way "she" might have left clues. After being purged by Irminsul, "she" would be erased from all forms of existence, remembered only by those from outside the world who had come into contact with her.
Previously, "she" had exploited a temporal paradox to leave a Teleport anchor behind in Teyvat.
Rukkhadevata began to think along the timeline, ultimately focusing on the extinguished Vision.
The Vision reminded her of "her" last appearance in the Desert, where "she" had directed the Second Vessel to The Mausoleum of King Deshret. It seemed more like a pre-programmed directive than a genuine return.
Immediately after that encounter, the originally intact but extinguished Vision had developed noticeable cracks...
Eventually, that Vision transformed into a seed, which Rukkhadevata carefully collected and stored away.
-
Player World
The Fontaine questline had concluded, bringing the series of missions involving Fidelle to an end.
Chen Xiyao was among the players who progressed through story quests relatively quickly. After completing the final Fontaine quest, a new one appeared with a single-word title: Her?
Intrigued, Chen Xiyao turned to the omniscient online community for guidance:
"Her? This seems like a serious Archon Quest. Could it be about Chu Xi?"
Upon accepting the quest, the screen displayed a conversation between Lumine and Paimon:
Paimon: "It's been so many days already! I wonder if Rukkhadevata and Nahida have found any clues yet. Lumine, let's go check on them!"
Lumine: "Mm, it's been nine days already. Let's go to Sumeru, Paimon."
[ Sumeru? So the clues are finally emerging! I thought we'd have to wait for another major update! ]
[ This "Her" probably refers to Chu Xi, but I think Silaya is the most likely candidate. ]
[ I remember Venti also went to find Rukkhadevata. I hope it leads to a good outcome... ]
-
Sumeru, at the entrance to the Sanctuary of Surasthana.
"Nahida!"
The tiny Nahida stood at the entrance, the pitiful Little Dendro Archon once again assigned gatekeeping duty.
"Hello," Nahida said. "Mom said you could just come in if you arrived."
Lumine and Paimon exchanged glances and immediately entered the Sanctuary of Surasthana.
-
Inside the Sanctuary of Surasthana.
The three Gods—Rukkhadevata, Zhongli, and Venti—were gathered around a seed floating in mid-air.
"Very well, let's begin," Venti said. "We'll try to decipher it."
Rukkhadevata nodded gently.
She retrieved the Dendro Gnosis and began analyzing the seed as if it were a database.
Venti and Zhongli, lacking expertise in this area, simply waited.
The analysis proved less difficult than Rukkhadevata had anticipated. As the Gnosis's power surged into the seed, the entire object dissolved into shimmering particles, scattering across the sanctuary.
Moments later, these particles coalesced into a translucent figure—Silaya!
Lumine and Paimon had just entered when they witnessed this scene. Paimon's face was filled with confusion, unsure of who this person was, while Lumine's eyes widened in astonishment.
There's still another trick up her sleeve!
Rukkhadevata's breathing quickened slightly. This was the first time in her memory she had ever witnessed Sumeru's Pure Soul!
Silaya stood before them, her warm, maple-leaf-yellow hair cascading down her back. A mischievous smirk played on her lips, and her eyes darted around like a cat's, brimming with cunning and appraisal.
As Rukkhadevata gazed at the girl before her, the sense of familiarity grew stronger.
She must have seen "her" before!
Venti and Zhongli were also observing Silaya intently. This child... her abilities are truly remarkable...
The entire Sanctuary of Surasthana fell into complete silence, no one uttering a word.