✧*̥˚ {𝔊𝔢𝔫𝔰𝔥𝔦𝔫 ℑ𝔪𝔭𝔞𝔠𝔱 𝔒𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔱𝔰 & ℌ𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔠𝔞𝔫𝔬𝔫𝔰} *̥˚✧

𝕯𝖆𝖎𝖓𝖘𝖑𝖊𝖎𝖋

!!! WARNING !!!
Spoilers for Archon Quest: Requiem of the Echoing Depths

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𝖂𝖍𝖊𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖈𝖚𝖗𝖙𝖆𝖎𝖓 𝖋𝖆𝖑𝖑𝖘 𝖔𝖓 𝖒𝖞 𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖋𝖔𝖗𝖒𝖆𝖓𝖈𝖊, 𝕴 𝖜𝖆𝖓𝖙 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖙𝖔 𝖇𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖜𝖆𝖙𝖈𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖌. 𝕮𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖞 𝖔𝖓 𝖒𝖞 𝖒𝖊𝖒𝖔𝖗𝖞.

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The breeze was soft that evening. High up in the fronds of the palm tree I was sitting in, the song of the sea drifting in the wind, I found myself calm and content. At peace.

The instrument in my hands was light and sturdy, my partner in a song of my own. Every note that trilled from the strings lifted my spirits higher until I felt like I was soaring, reminiscent of this very view.

"What are you doing?"

I opened my eyes, the salty scent of the ocean disappearing and that beach view all but gone, replaced with my city. My home.

I looked down at the blonde male who stood beneath the branch on which I was perched, the tree no longer a palm but rather the rafters of my house. "I was busy imagining a Sumeru sunset—until you disturbed me, that is."

"Why Sumeru?" I opened my mouth to reply when he cut me off. "Or perhaps a better question is, why are you imagining being in a place that's not here?"

I let a soft sigh out through my nose, a tentative smile on my face. "As sharp as ever, Dainsleif. Here, catch."

I dropped the instrument I was holding—the only thing to have made it into my daydream unscathed—and he caught it with ease. With that, I slipped off the tree branch and landed with a soft thud, dust exploding in my wake. We began to walk, the soft breeze carrying not the brine of the Sumeru oceans, but the fragrance of... peace. Huh, what was that smell? It was... beautiful.

Home, I decided I'd call it. The best smell of all: the fragrance of Khaenri'ah.

The breeze rustled through my hair, as it did his, messing up my fringe. Dainsleif glanced at me—and his permanently calm expression revealed signs of alarm. I blinked at him and we both stopped. "What?"

As the soft wind died down, he reached over to again lift my fringe. And beneath it: a gash just barely holding itself together.

"I promise I wasn't trying to hide it," I said, throwing my hands up. "My fringe falls there naturally."

"Where did you get that?" he asked softly, not paying my words any heed.

I sucked on my teeth, grimacing. "A rock."

"What?"

"I would call it an ill-aimed shot, but I believe it hit exactly where they wanted it to hit."

"Who?"

I looked sidelong at him. "So... you know how some people think my obsession with the other nations is weird—"

"It's not weird," he butted in. "Your mother is from Liyue, is she not?" He paused. "You're being bullied by children?"

"Listen, I'm not fighting a bunch of eight-year-olds with a stringed instrument."

He frowned deeply, then removed his hand from my head. "We need to get that better looked after." He faced forwards and continued walking. "After all, don't you have a performance tonight?"