Omniscius [Genshin Impact]

57: A Strange Way To Say Hello

It was the first time Soleil tried illustrating herself as if she was looking at a mirror. She never did self-portraits and preferred landscapes.

Still, that day, she had a resolve to finish her sketches. Because if she failed to picture how it looks like to look at herself through the mirror, in a way, she didn't know herself in her mind truly.

Her brows creased in a focused frown, her consciousness split in half: one on the pencil sketches on her lap, the other on her picture in her mind. Merging the formless image of herself into gray, lead strokes on paper has never been harder.

Yet it had been the most symbolic. By the time Soleil fully realized, the portrait she made was a whole lot different: small face, long hair with dark shades, and light strokes in the eyes.

Soleil's left hand trembled. She gripped her pencil tighter to mask it. She sighed. This was her when she was younger.

A faint and mocking smile surfaced. Maybe she still thinks herself a little girl. Even after many years passed...nothing has changed. She hasn't changed.

Deep inside, there were no true developments that made Soleil look forward to the future. But now, she feared with every sunset and every sunrise.

Why? Because someone was targeting her. But since she cannot be approached or killed directly, the target is painted on the backs of those who are close to her.

Kaeya's insight had been a great hint to what was happening. Someone was trying to masquerade as her. The reason why is what made Soleil uncomfortable. This incognita may know something deeper and darker that she may or may not know and needs to be 'Soleil' to achieve something.

This is bad, Soleil thought with a frown. This unknown girl, the incognita, may as well be behind all the commotion in the recent weeks and month. If so, she has a large influence to keep her identity hidden.

Even Luna's influence in the network is useless against the girl. And that spoke volumes because Luna, so far, had been the stealthiest and most resourceful girl Soleil had working for her.

"She's a real piece of work, I tell you. It's like she doesn't even exist," Luna had once said with a frown. She was displeased that someone was making her work a lot harder than she expected.

"Did you ask everyone in your circle?" Soleil asked, "Have you asked 'him'?"

Luna raised an eyebrow, "No... I thought you want your lover boy's friends out of it as much as possible?"

"You make a point," Soleil smiled and got serious, "But we both know he won't stop. So long as it's related to 'them', he won't stop."

"I know," Luna grumbled as she flicked her hair off her shoulder, "He's one of the most difficult people you hired me to watch over. Regardless, you need to keep your guard up. This girl... She's on an entirely different level."

You don't have to remind me, Soleil ran a hand through her hair and exhaled faintly. Things are getting out of hand.

At first, they were just small, insignificant games for her. Liyue was the board and they were the players. The Qixing, the Millelith, the criminals... They were pawns for them to use.

But when the lives of Chongyun and Teucer were threatened, Soleil had realized that her hidden enemy was only trying to get her attention to lure her... And trap her when the chance arises.

This is no longer a game. Soleil needs to make extra precautions and stop the incognita from ruining her few connections to her friends. She needs to find her and learn what she wants from Soleil.