Istaroth—that was a name from a distant age.
So distant that Lin Mo had nearly forgotten that the Sacred Sakura Tree had never originally stood atop Mt. Yougou.
Now, following Ei to the cavern beneath Mt. Yougou, Lin Mo finally recalled that altered memory. Five hundred years ago, it wasn't just the three clans of Inazuma and Ei who saved the nation.
Without the aid of Istaroth, the ancient god known as the God of a Thousand Winds, Inazuma would have been doomed to destruction!
Thinking of this benefactor of Inazuma,
Lin Mo remembered clearly.
The first time he had met Istaroth was in Mondstadt during the era of the God of Storms, Decarabian.
In that life, when he was called " Venti," he had given his life for Mondstadt's freedom, but the next cycle of reincarnation hadn't begun immediately.
Instead, as a soul, he had wandered to the border between life and death in Mondstadt.
In that era, the one who governed Mondstadt's boundary of life and death was not Barbatos.
It was the ancient god of the old era, the God of Storms, Decarabian.
But because Decarabian had died, and Barbatos had not yet been deified at that time,
Lin Mo, a soul from another world, had no idea where Mondstadt's border of life and death lay. He could only drift aimlessly across the land of Mondstadt.
No one knew how long passed.
Lin Mo's soul floated across the sea, arriving at a small island east of Mondstadt.
He still remembered vividly the scene of meeting Istaroth.
" Oh? Isn't this Mondstadt's great hero?
Why haven't you passed on yet? " A crisp voice called out.
It brought a measure of clarity to Lin Mo's lost soul, drifting over the sea.
He turned to look.
There stood a youthful-looking Istaroth, accompanied by a thousand wisps of breeze, arriving at his side.
" You are…" Lin Mo was puzzled.
He was certain he didn't know this beautiful young woman.
Moreover, her aura suggested she was an incredibly powerful being.
Istaroth extended a friendly right hand toward Lin Mo, smiling sweetly. " My name is Istaroth.
The world calls me the God of a Thousand Winds, or the God of Time. Mr. Venti, would you play a tune for me?
"
" You know me? "
Lin Mo was still confused.
" Of course~" Istaroth said proudly.
" Your good partner, it was I who helped it gain intelligence, you know? "
" My good partner gained intelligence…" Lin Mo frowned slightly.
In that instant, he suddenly realized that Mondstadt's struggle for freedom seemed far more complicated than he had imagined.
Because Barbatos was precisely a wind spirit that had gained a spark of intelligence from among the thousand winds within the wind wall.
With the powerful aid of Barbatos, Mondstadt had been able to defeat Decarabian.
Didn't this mean that Mondstadt's freedom had all been foreseen by this Istaroth?
Or perhaps, was it orchestrated by her?
" Why are you looking at me like that~" Istaroth pouted.
" Your soul is just drifting around anyway. What's wrong with playing a tune for me and chatting a bit~"
"…" Lin Mo was speechless.
If she was such a powerful being, he truly had no right to refuse.
Besides, she wasn't forcing him.
Rather than aimlessly searching for the border of life and death, taking a break to play music and chat wasn't such a bad idea.
In the days that followed, Lin Mo's soul stayed with Istaroth.
On this island, far from the mainland,
known among players as Crab Island.
During the day, Lin Mo would play the lyre for Istaroth, or they would simply chat.
Lin Mo remembered that the story he told, " The Fox Spirit Matchmaker," had actually moved Istaroth to tears.
Half a year later, Lin Mo's soul grew increasingly weak.
Unable to bear it, Istaroth reluctantly led him to Mondstadt's border of life and death, beginning the next cycle of reincarnation.
In many subsequent lives,
Lin Mo never encountered Istaroth again.
Until five hundred years ago, in the life when he was Rostam, he sacrificed himself to defend Mondstadt in the snowy mountains.
His soul naturally returned to the border of life and death, preparing for the next reincarnation.
But unexpectedly, he ran into an old friend he hadn't seen in ages.
" Yo~ Our great hero has sacrificed himself for Mondstadt again~" A familiar voice, still so pleasing to the ear.
There stood Istaroth at the entrance to the border of life and death, her face blooming like a flower, as if she had been waiting for a long time.
" How did you recognize me? "
Lin Mo couldn't help but smile bitterly.
" Look, no matter what form you take in your reincarnation, your soul always looks like this~" Istaroth said matter-of-factly.
" Then what do you want from me this time…? "
" To hear the lyre! To hear stories!
"
Istaroth immediately interrupted, her face full of eagerness.
She looked at him expectantly and said, " I haven't heard you play 'All I Miss Are the Stars' for thousands of years…"
" And also~"
" You haven't finished telling me the story of the little fox spirit from the Tushan clan yet. "
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T/N:
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