~•~•~
"Ugh, if only Lyra were here! We would have an easier time to find this abyss herald... but no, instead, we are following these loose clues!", Paimon complains.
A tall blonde man in black clothing with blue accents looks at the Pixie. "Hmm... this 'Lyra' person you are talking about... is she perhaps your other travelling companion you told me about?", he asks.
"Yes. Why..?", Aether asks, sceptically.
"Interesting... if my memory serves me correct, she is a traveller from Fontaine and she bares the constellation 'fatis divinitas' which means fated divinity... she is a mysterious girl to most, even to me... even I am unable to figure her out...", the man states.
"You are one odd man, Dainsleif. What is so important about knowing more about her, anyway? People have their secrets, not to mention, yeah, she is mysterious, but that is just who she is, alright?", Paimon says.
"... you're right. We should focus on hunting down that abyss herald. However, the next time we see each other, I hope to meet her myself. Maybe that way, I can figure out what makes her so mysterious, but trusted to so many... anyway, there is one more place we can check for that abyss herald: the ruins of old Mondstadt, or also known as Stormterror's lair."
~•~•~
The sun sets as both half-Qilin and fallen Qilin sit together, leaning onto the red-leafed tree behind them. "Wow... it is so breathtaking...", Ganyu awes, to which Lyra giggles.
"It truly is, isn't it? Even as the Tianquan, whenever I had the time, I would come here and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere... coming here always brings back good memories of the past...", Lyra reminisces.
Ganyu looks at her. "If you don't mind... could you tell me some of your memories as an Adeptus? If I remember correctly, as my mother, you were older than even the geo archon himself, right?", Ganyu asks.
"Oh? To be honest... if we count all of the years I have lived throughout all of my lives together, I am still older than that geode. Well, instead of 900 years, it is only around... 400 years now. But regardless, I know that blockhead the longest."
Ganyu chuckles lightly. "I have heard from cloud retainer that you loved teasing the other Adepti, even the gods, especially Rex lapis."
"indeed. Perhaps you don't know, but I used to be Morax's mentor, so it was quite odd for both of us if I called him my lord. It felt so wrong to him to the point he hated it whenever I would call him that. Which was why I used that the most to tease him.", Lyra laughs as she remembers all the times she got the stoic and always serious geo archon to blush of embarrassment whenever she did so.
"Really? What did you teach Rex lapis, exactly? From the few decades I had spend with you, you were always the strategic mind together with Guizhong while Morax was the strongest head-on fighter.", Ganyu inquires.
"Oh, that blockhead has always been stubborn and back then, he had troubles comprehending human emotion and valuing mortal lives. However, because he had become a god, he had to make an effort to care and keep safe his people. His mind wasn't his sharpest tool, no question, but his willingness to work with Guizhong and I in topics he didn't quite comprehend, is definitely what made the Guili Assembly thrive back then.", Lyra tells Ganyu.
"I am glad to see that he managed to gain strategic knowledge after all...", she sighs. Ganyu laughs.
"He sure sounds a little different than he is now." – "oh, he was! Always a warrior, fighting other gods, who pose a threat, head on and always so stubborn! Guizhong and I had a lot of fun teasing him, especially since he took everything so literally!", Lyra hollers.
"You and Guizhong were close?" – "oh, yes we were, I even consider her my best friend- or well, one of my best friends. I met her before I got to know Morax, actually. I was wandering around the open plains of Liyue when I stumbled upon a field of Glaze lilies. Entranced by the flowers, I sat by them and started singing to them. After a while, Guizhong approached me and we got along well very quickly! She was such a kind goddess...", Lyra reminisces.
"I see...", Ganyu mumbles. "Anyway, I believe that this is enough for now. We can go up to cloud retainer's abode for the night, since that is closer than going the whole way back to the harbour. Unless you wish to camp out here?", Lyra asks.
"Ah, well... I'd rather not be ambushed by monsters or the like, so I suppose we can go up to cloud retainer's abode...", Ganyu answers.
"Well then, allow me." Lyra creates a cloud and jumps onto it, holding out a hand to Ganyu. Ganyu takes it and sits on the cloud as the cloud ascends up and floats towards the entrance of cloud retainer's abode.
~•~•~
After the few days she got to spend with Ganyu, Lyra decides to pay a visit to Ningguang.
"Hey Ning-ning!", she says as she arrives at Ningguang's temporary office, since the Jade chamber was destroyed.
"Oh, Lyra... you really like that little nickname that you gave me as Azure?", Ningguang says. "Ahaha, of course I do!", Lyra laughs.
"You seem as cheerful as ever, even with the most recent events. How come?"
"I suppose... when you have lived through multiple lives and aren't quite sure what comes next, you become... less affected by such things. I have learned to live in the present and not let what happened in the past influence me as much as possible. While I cannot prevent it from influencing me, I do my best to keep the influence to a minimum. Always worrying about what happened and what could happen will only lead to a sad and negative life, especially when such thoughts carry over multiple lives.", Lyra shrugs.
"I see... well then, a... friend of mine is coming here soon, would you like to join us for some tea?", Ningguang asks.
"Oh, sure, if you don't mind."
~•~•~