Unleashed: Lust

Love That Consumes

There always exist a fine thick line between lust and love.

Love is about someone who loves another for who they are, not what they are. Love is about liking someone's soul, liking their personality, liking the way they live their life. It's all about compassion and cares, and it was a beautiful thing.

And as for lust on the other hand... They are nothing but a sin that consumes you, rotting your heart from the inside. It's like eating salt when you're thirsty, hoping that it will quench your thirst when it was doing the opposite, and you'll never get satisfied until it is too late.

She knows that very well, for she have seen many examples of it, from other people, and... From herself.

And that is how she is able to tell the difference between love and lust the moment she sees it.

"Don't you heard what she said? You are not needed."

On one bright afternoon in Mondstadt forest, three people were seen standing amidst a clearing surrounded by trees. Two of them are girls, while the other one is a man. The two girls and the man are standing on the opposite end of each other, having an intense staring contest as the winds brushes against area, rustling the tree leaves and swaying their hair and clothes.

One girl has ash blonde hair that is tied into twintails, she has a white nun dress and a little hat on her head, a nurse purse hangs from one of her shoulders, as she has her hands wrapped around the other girl's arm. With the said girl being a young woman with short bright blonde hair in a pristine white dress, giving her a majestic and divine look, though unfortunately, the same couldn't be said to her face which are covered with rolls of bandages that specifically wrapped around her eyes, rendering her with no sight.

On the other hand, the single male in the commotion is a man with short light brown hair that wears a light green shirt with darker green pants. His eyes colored purple, and as of currently, they're glaring daggers towards one of the two girls, the one with a sealed eyesight specifically.

"Barbara-sama... How could you?"

The man that stood before them is Albert, the self proclaimed Deaconess Barbara's number one supporter, as well as apparently being the creator of Barbara's fanclub. Just the type of person that a certain blind Traveler is not a fan of.

Normally, Lumine is not the type of person who cares enough to put her nose on other people's business or personal matters, Fanboys or Fangirls were no exceptions either, it's good for someone to have someone they could idolize of, giving them at least someone that they could look up to. But of course, there will always be limits to everything, and idolizing someone has its limits as well.

And what Albert did, it is beyond that limits, and it sure is pissing Lumine off. Especially when it was Barbara who being his target.

At first, she didn't know about this ordeal at all. He was just an ordinary citizen of Mondstadt in her eyes that she shouldn't have paid much attention into, but things starts to change after one ordinary day when she received a specific commission that sees her climbing the steps towards the cathedral, where a very annoyed sister Victoria awaits her, enlisting her help in kicking out a very dodgy person, that has been lurking around the place trying to get himself inside without notice. And that's how she starts taking notice of him.

He's already looking and acting suspicious the first time they interact with each other. Trying to come up with multiple excuses to remain on the cathedral grounds even after she warns him, he even made her go sweeping the dead leaves littering the grounds as well, which she did in a matter of seconds, but even then, he's still hesitant to leave after promising to do so beforehand under that condition. It was only after she warned him again that he finally left, beginning her series of encounter with him.

After that first encounter, Lumine would find the same commissions given to her again and again, with the same commissioner, the same tasks, and the same individual that need his butt kicked. Though after repeatedly doing the same commissions several times, it seems like the man had learned his lesson, and would immediately flee the moment he saw even a single dot of gold hair heading towards the cathedral, which is a good thing since it automatically cleared the commission, as well as finally teaching him a lesson to never messing around with her again, or Barbara.

However... The situations are much worse than Lumine initially imagined.

It turns out, Albert is not only the type of person who follows his idol to the place where she works, but he's also a straight up stalker!

She learnt of this fact when she went to Wolvendom to help the deaconess to gather some red Wolfhooks fruits after sister Victoria informed her about it. At first, Lumine had expect that day will going to be a moment to relax with her dear friend, picking up fruits together in a forest while chatting and spending quality time with one another. But against her wishes, it turns into a day of anger and annoyance instead.

Immediately after arriving in Wolfendom and walking around, she hears a familiar voice echoing through the woods, as a certain brown haired man is inside, shouting from the top of his lungs, calling out his idol to come out of hiding and meet him, like he was calling for a dog to come instead of an actual person with feelings and privacy.

Just hearing his voice already made her skin crawl from irritation, to see him behaving even worse than she imagined. And so she went straight to him, calling him out as she stepped into the light and away from the shadows of the leaves that blocks the sunlight. The moment he sees her, he immediately went weak in the knees, face twists into fear and anxiety as she glares at him with her nonexistent eyes. Yet the sharpness of her glare is still strong enough to penetrate the barriers that blocks her vision, and went straight at him.

She knows of what his intentions are, but even after she call him out for it, he continues to deny her accusations, viewing himself rightsious and her being the bad guy, who constantly harassing him who had done nothing except for "helping" Barbara. And since he view her that way, then she'll gladly acts like it. Honor and pride be damned, she'll act as the villain if she needs to, if it means that she could keep Barbara safe from this creep.

And that's exactly what she's been doing for the last few weeks. Visiting the Mondstadt cathedral regularly, helping out with the church affairs and hanging out with Barbara every time. She knows of Albert's fear of her, so clinging to the one person that he idolize the most will surely drive him away for good. Though this strategy only partly works as even though she hasn't seen Albert much lately, she still sense him always lurking nearby whenever she and Barbara are together. Watching from the shadows as they hang out, getting closer with each time they being together. And although Lumine has no eyes she could use to see him, she's still could feel the darkness seeping out from his faint presence, the anger, the hatred, the jealousy, the lust... She felt them all.

And so she decided that a little more provocation would do the trick to finally putting an end to this.

"Hey Barbara... Would you like to go out on a picnic with me?"

Lumine approached the Mondstadt's Deaconess one day, during the latter's day off when she is taking a break from the church affairs and is usually immersing herself in practice for her idol life.

"A picnic?" Barbara tilts her head at her.

"That's right. You're free now, right? Well, I don't have any urgent work at the moment. So might use this opportunity to sit back and relax, you know?"

"Hmm... But I need to do some practice for next week performance." Barbara mutters, scratching her chin, she looks confused, as if she wanted to decline and continue her practice, while on the other hand, she's tempted to go out with the Honorary Knight.

"Hey, it's okay to relax for once in a while you know." Lumine shook her head, approaching her friend, she placed a hand on the Deaconess' cheek, earning a small gasp coming from the latter as her face starts heating up. "You've been working so hard lately, attending to the church affairs, healing injured people, and practicing for the show next week. It's gonna be bad for your health if you keep this up, surely you don't want to make everyone worry about seeing their beloved idol fell ill, right?"

"I-I guess that's true..." Barbara said with a slight stutter. Lumine took off her hand and Barbara breathed out a sigh of relief. "Okay then, I guess I could use some time off."

"Great. Then let's get going."

She grabbed Barbara by the hand as they went to the picnic spot that Lumine had prepared before hand. She gently smiled with how Barbara reacted when they hold hands, while mentally grinning when she senses a faint growing dark presence in the corner, all directed towards her, who put up a face of obliviousness in order to lure her target further in.

That dark presence would tail them up to their designated picnic location, a forest near Mondstadt, where there's a clearing that is a perfect spot for one to lay a mat down.

There were things already prepared there, from the picnic mattress, an umbrella in case it gets sunny or rainny, the dishes for lunch, and lastly of course, the two of them as the "actors" of this finale of a "drama."

They sat down and enjoy themselves a lunch that the traveler had prepared. Opening up the stage for the actors to begun to play. Lumine knows full well of the lurking shadows hidden amidst the shade of trees, with it's eyes glaring sharply at them, or to be more accurate, towards the blonde haired traveler among them.

Just a little more, a little more push and it should do the trick.

Lumine intentionally let herself gets a little close to Barbara, sitting right by her side instead of in front of her, feeding her a spoonful of her dishes by using the same spoon she used to eat, and also gives her a hug or two while rubbing their cheeks together. And each time she does one, the darkness grows larger and larger, it just need one single push...

"It's pretty relaxing isn't it?" Lumine said out of the blue, as they've finished eating and is currently just sits there and enjoying the breeze. "Taking a break from all your worries and pain, sitting and eating together with friends, lying down under the sun..."

"Yeah... its is." Barbara nods her head, her lips turned into a small smile. "I almost forgot about all the worries in my mind moments ago. The show next week, the cathedral affairs, the practices... Phew, it's like the wind just brushed them all away." She breathed out a sigh, giggling a little.

Darker...

"Heh, ain't that the truth. I know of how stressful work can be, people need to relax every once in a while after hours of work. And that's where a good food and a good friend comes in, great to restore your energy up to the fullest." Lumine smiled, she laid herself down on the picnic mat, putting her hands behind her head as she lie on her back.

Barbara looks to her side where the other girl is lying down, though the rolls of bandages that wraps around her eyes hides most of her most important facial features, Barbara could tell that Lumine wore a relaxed expression on her face judging from her eyebrows and her lips. And seeing it made the Deaconess remembers the events that happens during the last couple of weeks, of how the Honorary Knight frequently visited the church to help its affairs and always drags Barbara away once her works done.

"Hey, Lumi-chan, there's something I wanted to ask." Lumine turns her head towards her, a sign that she's listening. "I know that being Traveler means that you have a lot of free time in your hands, but why do you use it on me?" Barbara asked, eyeing Lumine with stares of curiousity.

Darker and darker...

"Why? Well..." Lumine tilts her head away slightly, as if avoiding eye contact with Barbara. (Though even then, she already did it with how her eyes are always sealed) "It's because I've seen of how busy you are sometimes. Like I said, it's not healty for one to constanly worked without break, so I thought that perhaps I should give you a hand with that."

Darker, darker, and darker...!

"Hmm... A guess that's one reason. However, why does it have to be me?" Barbara asked again putting a hand on her chest. "I mean, when compared to Jean, I think she's the one deserved to get some breaks, my workload is nothing compared to hers. So why?"

A gust of gentle wind brushes against them, swaying the leaves on the trees and the grass around them. As silence took over the air, Lumine straightens her head, to gaze up directly to the sky above. The time has come.

"Well, it's because you seem so lonely sometimes, and I couldn't leave you like that." Lumine paused a little, inhaling silently, she paused for a moment before opening her mouth again. "Because I like you."

A pause. Everything went silent the moment she said it.

"H-Huh?!"

Barbara exclaimed loudly, eyes blown wide open, mouth gawked which she use her hands to cover it, a faint blush appears on her cheeks, as she stares in shock.

It's done. Now she'll just have to wait.

"W-What are you saying?" Barbara asked stuttering, from shock and... Something else.

"Lumi-chan... Does she mean it like THAT?!"

"Heh, it's really hard to admit it, but..." Lumine sat up, facing Barbara, she slowly scoot closer. "Your workaholic nature, your kindness, and your overall personality, it's very charming and cute. I can see why so many people loved you, and I was one of them too, admittedly." The traveler confessed, her lips turn into a small smile.

"Lumi-chan..." Barbara don't know what to say, she could only stare at the other girl as she came closer and closer to her.

"Well, now that the cat's out of the bag, what do you say?" Lumine asked which met with only silence, just like before.

Her mind is swirling, she can't think straight. But deep down, Barbara knows of what her heart truly feels. This feeling that blooms inside her chest the moment she heard Lumine's confession, it's time for her to release it.

"Lumi-chan... I can't believe she feels the same..."

Barbara opens her mouth to speak. "Well... I-"

"Barbara-sama! Step away from that fiend!"

"Huh?!"

Barbara quickly stood up the moment she heard a voice that sounds familiar. She looks to her front to see a familiar person came out of hiding from behind the tree. It was Albert, and he has mixed up expressions of anger, hatred, and sadness on his face, making him look like someone who wants to cry while also screams in anger and anguish upon witnessing something utterly horrible, which is exactly what happened in this case.

"You are Albert! What are you doing here?" Barbara asked in surprise. She is the most oblivious person among them in here.

"Barbara-sama, please, I'm begging you! Get away from that monster in human skin right now! It's for your own safety!" Albert said while pointing a finger towards Lumine.

"You're not answering my question." Barbara said, a little sternly. Not only is she upset for him to ignore her question, but she's also angry at him for calling Lumine like that.

"Heh, finally had enough watching us, huh?" Lumine spoke up, silencing the two as she slowly stood up, dusting her dress off while doing so. She walked in front of Barbara, facing Albert heads on. "Tell me, did you enjoy the show?"

"Lumi-chan, what are you saying?" Barbara asked in confusion with how Lumine seemingly acts different than just moments ago.

"Allow me to explain: This creep has been following us from Mondstadt all the way to here, and he's been watching us from the very start of our date till the end of it." Lumine explained, specifically using the word "date" instead of picnic like before to provke a reaction, to which it did, as she saw to corner of Albert's eye twitched.

"He's been spying on us?!" Barbara gasped in shock, she then looks at Albert in disbelief and a little fear. "A-Albert... Is this true?"

The moment he is questioned by her, his expression changes, slightly. "N-No! I am not!" Albert denies, shaking his head and waving his hands in denial. "I-I would never dream of doing such things! I-I was just- simply passed by and-"

"You seriously need to think of a better excuse next time for that to work." Lumine cuts in, and all eyes are on her once more. "Not spying on us? Passing by? Don't make me laugh. You've been looking at me from the very moment I put my foot on the cathedral grounds. And you continue to do so as talk with Barbara, walking with Barbara, holding hands with Barbara, eating with Barbara, and confessing to Barbara. Your eyes never left me."

A strike to his cord, Albert looks like he's about to fall into his back when she exposes him, but he stood his ground well. She'll have to give him that.

"And that's just today. Who knew how many times you did the same the day before, and the day before that, and the day before and before that as well."

"Ngh! A-And what's your proof?!" Albert retorted, pointing his finger towards her in accusation. "You can't even see! How the hell do you even know when you can't even see what's in front of you huh?! You're just spouting up nonsenses to make me look bad in front of Barbara-sama! You're a monster!" He shouted, his voice rings through the air.

"Heh, I don't even need eyes to see through your lies." Lumine shook her head in amusement. "I may not be able to see you, but I can sense you. You and that unrelenting lust and jealousy you have." Lumine stated causing everyone to pause their breath for a moment.

"Lust and... Jealousy?" Barbara repeated, looking at Lumine and then at Albert.

Lumine sighed a little, she turns around to face Barbara, and although the blindfold over her eyes masks most of her expression, Barbara knows she's looking at her gently, softly.

"Barbara... This man, Albert. He is the person who found and lead the Barbara Fanclub, the group of supporters that always be on the front lines of every of your show." Lumine began, her expression becomes unreadable. "Though I have no resentment towards those who support and idolize in general, this particular man, he's been crossing the line way too far." Lumine lightly shook her head. "You can ask sister Victoria about that, of how much trouble she went through because of him, to the point that she even needs me to keep him away from you."

"Trouble? What did she do to sister Victoria?" Barbara asked, curious and cautious.

Lumine shrugged. "Nothing, just acting like a creep he is, lurking around the cathedral, trying to get himself in to see you, and disrupting the peace around the cathedral ground in general." She explained simply.

"Why did sister Victoria never tell me about this..." Barbara mutters, sounding shocked by the information. "Could it be what Rosaria meant when she has to "take out the garbage" that one time?" Her blue eyes looks forward, to the form of Albert. "Albert... is this true?"

"Barbara-sama please listen to me!" Albert begged before the Deaconess could reach a conclusion. "I never had any bad intention. Never! All I ever wanted is to help you! I wanted to see you smile, to make you happy, that's all!"

"Yet you're doing it wrong." Lumine shakes her head with a click of her tongue. "If you truly wanted to make her happy, then you should've known your place and stay out of her personal lives-"

"Shut your mouth! A stranger like have no right to speak to Barbara-sama like that!" Albert shouted, cutting off Lumine's sentence. "You're not from Mondstadt, you're not from around here, and you don't know about Barbara-sama more than I do! You're no one! What makes you think that you have the right to approach or even lay a finger on her, huh?! You're just a brute that's good at threatening people! I bet that that's even the reason why the knights accepted you, because you forced them to! Barbara-sama doesn't need a nasty person like you, a monster in human skin who can't even see for-"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!"

Shockingly, it's neither Lumine nor Albert who shouted this time. It was Barbara. She finally had enough, and she silences Albert in an instant. In front of her, Lumine mentally smirked upon hearing her shout.

"Barbara-sama... why-"

"Enough... don't say anything anymore... don't you dare say anything... about Lumi-chan!" Barbara yelled, stepping forward, now it's her turn to face Albert heads on.

"But Barbara-sama, she's-"

"I said stop!" Barbara shouted again, stopping him from saying anything. "I won't let you speak badly about my dearest friend like that. Lumi-chan is right, you're out of line!"

"B-But Barbara-sama! You really need to stay away from someone like her!" Albert retorted, gaining back his wits to talk back. "She is no good for you, a cruel person like that monster should not be near to someone as kindhearted and sweet like you. I'm trying to protect you because I care about you!"

"I don't need your protection." Barbara said sternly, giving Albert a scowl. "Especially from someone who just insulted my friend like that. You don't care about me, you care for yourself. If you really care about me, then you wouldn't have insulted Lumi-chan like that, you're breaking my heart, and I don't wanna see you anymore."

Albert fall into complete silence after that. His eyes widened and his mouth wide open. He couldn't believe what his ears just heard. His whole world cracks and threatening to crumble.

And thus those events led back here.

"Don't you heard what she said? You are not needed." Lumine spoke up after a while, smirking at Albert a little, as she crosses her arms on her chest.

She stepped to the front, glancing at Barbara who smiles at her, the nun puts her hand on Lumine's arm, squeezing it gently as if seeking for comfort.

"Barbara-sama... How could you?" Albert mutters in despair, the lights in his eyes have faded, and those purple orbs have drowned in darkness.

He looks up to the form of the two girls in front of him. Barbara has her hands wrapped around Lumine's arm, cradling it lovingly, smiling beautifully as she does so. How could this be? How could she has her hands wrapped on someone's arm that isn't him? How could it turn out like this?

The answer to his question is very obvious. It came in the form of that girl, that... monster! The beast who took her away from him, who robbed him of his princess!

"Go away now, or else you'll gonna see an even uglier turn of events than this."

The monster shoos him away like he's just an animal. Albert glares at her, his eyes came into contact with her lips, her lips... that turned into a grin, that grin, that damn grin! She's mocking him, she's making fun of him! He'll make her pay! He'll make her pay for taking away the one person destined for him!

"You...! It's you! You're the one doing this!" Albert screams like a madman, completely losing his mind. "Look at what you've done... How dare you tainted Barbara-sama's pure white lovely heart with your evils." He chuckles, a little crazily, one hand reaches out to his back where he grab something. "Don't worry Barbara-sama, I'll make sure to free you, from this wretched demon's influence!"

Without warning, Albert suddenly charges at them, he held something in his hand and points it forward.

"Lumi-chan look out-"

Barbara was about to warn Lumine about it and she was about to act, but Lumine pushed her, sending her away to fell to the ground, away from Albert.

There's a sound of something sharp piercing through a thick wall of flesh and muscles. And Barbara opens her eyes to see in horror at the form of Lumine and Albert standing above her. The object that Albert is holding on turns out to be a large knife, and he holds it with both of his hands as he runs it towards Lumine, who took the knife into her abdomen, standing still as if to protect Barbara that lays on the ground behind her. Red crimson liquid drips from the place where the knife buries itself into hers, staining her white pristine white dress and the grass below her.

"LUMI-CHAN!" Barbara screamed in shock and horror upon seeing the horrifying scene before her.

Lumine didn't respond, instead of saying anything, her body falls back, limp and almost lifeless, as Barbara caught her in her arms.

"Lumi-chan! Lumi-chan! Please say something!" Barbara shook Lumine's body in her arms, but there's no response, her body is limp and she's not even breathing. The stab wound on her abdomen is fatal, as blood continues to flow out of it as well as from the corner of Lumine's mouth.

Meanwhile behind her, Albert is snickering insanely, his body trembles as he laughs, still holding the knife in his hand which drips with Lumine's blood.

"Serves you right... Serves you right you bitch! That's what you get from stealing Barbara-sama from me!" Albert exclaimed as he laughs like a maniac.

Barbara went silent as she heard the insane man's words. Her hands clenching into fists. A scowl formed over her lips, as she slowly stood up and turn around to face Albert.

"Look Barbara-sama, I've saved you from that evil person's clutches! Won't you thank me about it? Did I do a pretty good job? Won't you fall for-"

PLAP

A sharp sound pierced through the air in conjunction with Albert found himself on the ground with a throbbing pain on his cheek. Looking up, he sees Barbara, with her hand high in the air, using it to smack him to the ground.

"Leave." Barbara said, without a hint of any mercy or kindness that should've always filled her voice. "Leave or I call the Knights of Favonious over."

Albert stares in shock and horror at the person above him. The Barbara he saw right now has neither the kindness or warmth of the idol he's so fond off. She's a completely different person, staring down at him with such a hateful and unforgiving stares. She's changed completely.

"Barbara-sama... How could you..." Albert rubs the spot where Barbara smacked him, his hand bawled into fist as anger overtook him once more. "It's all because of her fault. You've changed because of her! You're not the Barbara-sama I know!" He grabs the knife from the ground. "I want her back, give her back!"

Albert stood up and is about to rush towards Barbara with the knife in hand. Barbara doesn't know what to do, but she need to protect herself nevertheless in order for her to live and heal Lumine. So she calls upon the Hydro energy from her Vision and readies herself.

"Cool it!"

A new voice spoke up, and before Barbara could do anything about her assailant, Albert was already taken care of by someone else, as frost crawls on the ground, and a shower of ice is sprayed upon Albert's form as the man yelped in surprise.

In one second, Albert finds himself unable to move, his body from neck down is encased in ice, paralyzing him in place.

"Tsk tsk, attacking Mondstadt's beloved Deaconess and the Honorary Knight? How very despicable." A voice of a man spoke up, as a figure emerges from the woods.

Barbara lightly gasped when she sees a tan skinned man with blue hair that she recognised as the Calvary Captain of the Knights of Favonious shows up, and not only him, but the Acting Grandmaster and a few other knights as well.

"Captain Kaeya! Jean!" Relief washed over Barbara as she sees her close acquaintances, arriving in time when the situations is bad.

"Are you okay Barbara?" Jean asked in concern, she didn't get an answer from her sister, but Barbara rushed towards her and hug her older sibling, indirectly telling her that she's fine.

"I-I'm... I'm fine big sister. B-But... I'm so scared!" Barbara mumbles into Jean's chest after some moments, shedding some tears while doing so.

"I know. I know you are. It's fine now, we're here." Jean comforts her, rubbing circles on Barbara's back.

Looking over her head, the Acting Grandmaster assess the situation. Albert is paralyzed in ice, his hand is holding a bloody knife that still looks fresh, and not far from him, there's Lumine, the Honorary Knight, lying on the ground with a gaping wound on her stomach, her once pristine white dress is now stained with the blood from her stab wound. Anymore time than this and she'll surely die from blood lost.

"Gah! Why are the knights are out here? How is this possible?!" Albert questioned, desperately trying to free himself to no avail as his limbs are stiff.

"Why? Why indeed. Would you like us to answer it, or you answer it." Kaeya shook his head with a small chuckle, standing right in front of Albert with a smirk plastered on his face.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Albert asked angrily, though he is genuinely confused at this one.

"Oh, looks like our little friend here likes to play Amnesia." Kaeya's smirk grew wider as he put one hand on his waist. "Well then, allow me to jog your memory. Isn't it you who wrote this letter?"

Kaeya took something out of his pocket, a rolled up paper. He unrolls it, and shows its contents to Albert, whose eyes grew wide, from shock, and confusion.

"I have your sister, Barbara. Come to this location, alone, or else you'll never see her again." -A

Is what written inside the letter, as well as a handrawn map that points towards this very location.

"You held our beloved Deaconess hostage, injuring our dear Honorary Knight, and threaten Acting Grandmaster Jean. You have guts, I give you that. But this isn't the kind of thing we could tolerate so easily pal." Kaeya said, rolling the letter and putting it back into his pocket.

"I-I-I didn't do it! Honest! T-That letter is fake, a fake! Someone is trying to frame me! I didn't write that!" Albert defended, desperation and fear filled every gap of his voice.

"Save it for the interrogation. You have a lot of questions that you need to answer." Kaeya said, crossing his arms across his chest as the knights gathered around Albert. "Take him to the Headquarters, I'll make sure he'll talk."

"Yes sir!" The knights simultaneously saluted.

Kaeya releases the ice that holds Albert in place as the knights grabs him and put a handcuffs on his wrists. Dragging him back to Mondstadt city as he screams and yells that he's innocent.

"Well, that's certainly easier than I thought it would be." Kaeya mutters with a silent huff, mentally glad that he doesn't have to do nothing much during his free time.

He glanced to the side, finding Barbara and Jean on the ground. Barbara is cradling the Honorary Knight's body gently, resting Lumine's head on her lap, while Jean in on her side, grabbing Lumine's wrist to check her pulse.

"How is the Traveler?" Kaeya asked curiously, but there's a barely small hint of concern in his voice regarding his comrade's safety.

"She's still have a pulse which means that she's still alive. But, her injury need to be tended." Jean answered, small gust of wind gathered in her palm as she is ready to heal Lumine's injuries. "Kaeya, please do me a favor to make sure that the prisoner is escorted to headquarters. I can't rest until I make sure that he's there. I'll take care of the traveler." Jean commanded, without even looking at the Calvary Captain.

"Roger that." Kaeya oblige. Nodding his head, he turns around and walk away. Catching up to the rest of the Knights escorting Albert away.

Once the blue haired man leaves, Jean breathed out a sigh of relief. Her complexion softened, and her eyes looks at Barbara gently, full of concern and the the ever existing fear that has been hidden under the tough exterior that she wore before.

"Barbara, that man didn't hurt at all, did he?" Jean asked, full of concern and worry, she looks at Barbara who is staring down at the unconscious Lumine on her lap.

"No." Barbara shook her head, a small pout appears on her lips. "He didn't hurt me at all, and even if he had any intention to do so, Lumi-chan takes it all to herself." The nun explained, there's a hint of sadness in her voice, probably of concern and worry about her friend who took the blow for her.

"I see..." Jean nodded, her eyes then drifts towards Lumine. Silently giving the blonde girl a small nod of respect. "So the traveler had protected you with her own life. I'll make sure to pay her back for her kindness."

Barbara nods, Lumine has done all of this to protect her. Now all she needs to do is to make sure that she lives, or else they'll never be able to repay her back...

"Heheh, I'm glad that it works pretty well."

"Huh?"

Both Barbara and Jean gasped lightly in shock, as a voice came out from below them. The "unconscious" body of Lumine sat up slowly, stretching her arms upwards with a popping sound, releasing a sigh of relief in doing so.

"Still... Holding my body stiff like that wasn't a pleasant feeling." Lumine mutters, tilting her neck to the side to crack the soreness away.

"Lumi-chan, you're awake?!" Barbara asked in shock.

"Course I'm awake. I was here the whole time." The traveler shrugged lightly.

"Wait, so you've been conscious the entire time?!" Jean asked similarly in shock as well, looking at Lumine in disbelief. "You're pretending to pass out? Why?"

"What do you think? To make it more believable of course." Lumine answered, looking at the two of them. "I knew that you're coming after you received the letter, and you were nearby the moment Albert pulled out his knife and lunging at us. Making him stab me with the knife and pretending to be dying from it will pit him against the corner more for the knights to arrest him with crime of attempted murder." The blonde girl explained.

"Wait, how did you know about the letter?" Jean asked in confusion.

"Simple. Because I'm the one who write it." Lumine answered, gaining a look of shock from both Barbara and Jean.

"So you baited us all here, just to catch Albert?" Jean muttered, there's conflicting emotions swirling in her eyes, before she looks at Lumine and asked. "Why are you doing this?" To which Lumine releases a heavy sigh.

"Listen, Acting Grandmaster Jean, Albert... He's an awful person." Lumine said with a light shake of her head. "He's been obsessed with your sister Barbara, lusting over her, I can see it, in his eyes, the deep desire of wanting, wanting to possess all, all of her. He's been a menace to Barbara and everyone around her, and will continue to do so if no one does something about it. You see it for yourself, how truly insane he can be, running a knife straight at me in his insanity. Who knows what kind of atrocities he could do if we let him be, or who will be his victim of lust aside from me. He needs to be stopped, and I've been pulling the strings in order to do so, including involving you and the knights, though I'm very sorry for that."

Jean went silent, she thought over what Lumine said, and find some truths within it. She is right, Jean has seen it with her own eyes of what that man could do. He's a menace, and he needs to be stopped, and thanks to Lumine, they're able to do that.

"So... What you're saying... Is that you intentionally hurts yourself to catch him?" Barbara asked, her voice is devoid of emotions, making it hard for anyone to tell what she's feeling.

"I guess so. It's not like it doesn't hurt, but I've suffered even worse, and this simple injuries won't be able to kill me-"

Before Lumine could finish her sentence, she found herself being tackled to the ground by Barbara, who hugged her tightly and pressing their bodies against one another.

"Lumi-chan you idiot!" The nun exclaimed into her ears, tears raining down from her eyes. "I was so scared! I was... I was afraid that you died!"

Barbara continues to cry while hugging her. Lumine lightly smile at this, and pat her friend on the back for reassurance, that she's fine and still alive.

"You're still the same as ever... Still a crybaby."

Lumine mentally thought, immersing herself in the hug.

~o~0~o~

In the end, despite of already telling her that she's completely fine, that her injuries aren't life-threatening at all for someone like her, Barbara and Jean still insist on taking her to the Mondstadt cathedral for healing. And since they're so insistent about it, she couldn't say no.

After a while, when the sun beginning to set on the west, she is free to go now, and so she exited the cathedral, followed by Barbara who accompanies her.

"You know that you don't have to accompany me." Lumine mutters as she enters the cathedral grounds, feeling the nice cool breeze of the afternoon on her exposed skin.

"I insist." Barbara shook her head lightly. "After all, there's still so much I wanted to talk about."

"Right..." Lumine nods her head lightly. Clearing her throat a little, she turn around to face Barbara. "Look, I really need to apologize to you Barbara." The blonde girl said, making the nun tilts her head in confusion. "I know that I'm doing all of this for your sake, but from the methods I used to achieve my goal, it's not surprising to think that you and everyone else thought that I was using you for my selfish needs. I even made Grandmaster Jean panic and dragged you into that place where you could've got hurt. I'm sorry."

Barbara stared at Lumine in silence, as the traveler bows down in apology. But the nun thought over her words, and the events that transpired today, and she shook her head.

"No. Please don't apologize Lumi-chan." She stepped forward, reaching out a hand that she used to pat Lumine's head that came to her level when she is bowing. "You said it yourself, Lumi-chan did this for my sake. How can I ever hate you for that?" Barbara asked with a little smile. "Lumi-chan is my precious friend, and I'm very happy to know that you care that much about me. So please, don't think bad about yourself, be happy."

"Barbara..." Lumine whispers softly. Going silent for a moment, before a small smile formed on her lips. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Barbara smiles back.

The two stares at each other for a moment, each smiling at one another. They've been through much on this day, so this parting better be as good as any other.

"I think it's about time I head back. Paimon will be worried if I don't return home soon." Lumine lightly exhaled, turning her head to look west towards the setting sun. She had sent the little fairy to play with Klee and Amber as the latter had promised to treat her to a Sticky Honey Roast at Good Hunter, and that was this morning, who knew how long she had waited for her companion to return.

"Mm, I understand. I'll see you later, Lumi-chan." Barbara nods her head, still smiling.

"Later, Barbara." Lumine nods back at her, smiling back, before turning her body and prepare to leave.

As she watched the form of the traveler is about to leave her all alone, Barbara suddenly remembered something, something crucial, what Lumine had said to her during the picnic.

"Lumi-chan, wait!" Barbara called out to her, stopping Lumine from walking away any further.

"What is it?" Lumine asked, looking back at Barbara.

"Lumi-chan... About what you said to me, during our picnic..." Barbara gulped, looking nervous and almost afraid. "Do you... Mean it?"

Lumine stares at her in silence, and they keep it that way for several seconds before one of them breaks it.

"Heh, do you still need to ask?" Lumine asked, smirking a little as she scratch the back of her head. "I like you Barbara, you're so cute and charming, and I love you. Haven't I said it already?"

"U-uhm..." Barbara feel like she wants to back away, but her body couldn't move an inch, as Lumine approached her.

"How about if I prove it to you?" Lumine asked with a teasing smirk, reaching out to cup Barbara's chin. And pulling her face close to hers.

It should be illegal for one to do stuff like this on the holy grounds of the cathedral dedicated towards Lord Barbatos. But Barbara couldn't find the will to resist, she fell for her temptations, and as Lumine's face came only inches away from her, she close her eyes and brace herself for a kiss-

"Just kidding."

Chu

"H-Huh?"

Barbara opens her eyes in surprise, Lumine leans in to peck on her cheek instead. And after that she releases her and turn her body around once more.

"It was just a lie, Barbara. One to use in order to lure Albert out, that's all. I'm really sorry to have mislead you because of it." Lumine apologize, without looking back towards Barbara.

"Lumi-chan..." Barbara mutters, disbelief and disappointment exist in her Voice.

"So Lumi-chan doesn't feel that way towards me..."

"You're a good girl, Barbara. So kind and caring, always care for someone else, even to bad guys as long as they need a helping hand." Lumine holds her breath for a moment, before releasing a small sigh. "Someone as sweet and kindhearted as you deserves someone's better, someone who's also as kindhearted like you."

Barbara blinks, once, then twice. Someone as kindhearted like her? Is Lumine saying that she's not a kindhearted person? After what she just done for Barbara today?!

"Lumi-chan, I don't understand..."

"Albert is a bad guy, Barbara. He's likely the type of person who shows up on your front door with a knife disguised as a flower bouquet to stab you with. That's the kind of awful person he is." Lumine said out of the blue.

She glanced back at Barbara one final time. And although Barbara couldn't see her eyes that is covered by the wrappings of bandages, she could tell that Lumine is making somber expression, one that speaks pain... And regret.

"But... If you were to compare me to him..."

Lumine looks back to her front, and starts walking away.

"Then you'll find me to be ten times worse than he is..."

And with those words said, Lumine leave without further words. Leaving Barbara all alone an confused.

How could it be? How could someone as kind and graceful as Lumine to be worse than someone like Albert?

Barbara doesn't know, and she'll likely never find the answer.

~o~0~o~

As she walks the evening streets of Mondstadt all alone. Lumine thought over of what happened today, she's finally able to kick that pest away from Barbara's life, ensuring her friend's safety from the lustful dog that chases over her like she's a walking bone. She should've feel happy about but...

She couldn't help but find it ironic, to think that it has to be her who needs to take care of this mess. A lustful dog, taken care of by a lustful demon how ironic...

Sniff sniff

Lumine's nose caught a familiar scent in the air. It came from nearby, from her body in fact. It smells of rusted iron.

She raise her hand, looking at her palm, she sees her hand still has a little taint of red on it, from the blood of her wounds that Albert inflicted upon her. Barbara had cleaned it before but... There's still some remnants of it...

Just smelling it reminds her of...

Lumine sticks out her tongue, and licks her palm clean, until there's no longer stains of red remain in her hands.

"I wonder if there's someone out there selling blood like they're selling water..."

~o~0~o~

Lust may exist in many different forms.

While the general view of lust are often associated with the concept of blind love, loving someone of their outside appearance instead of what they are as a person, the truth is, lust can be used on anything that made a man crazy for it, hungry for it.

Lust for power, for someone who desires power above anything else. Lust for revenge, for someone who's vengeance has consumed their soul and blinded their heart. Lust for description, for a madman who simply wants the world to burn.

And... There's also lust for battle, for someone who dedicated their life for battle, and spent their entire life looking for a worthy form of the man they called "Childe."

Though she couldn't see it during the first time she meets him in this world, she would learn later on of just how much this guy loves to find trouble, even it was essentially unnecessary.

Lumine laid her eyes on the man for the first time during the Rite of Descension in Liyue, the once in a year day where the god, Rex Lapis, would descent into the world to meet his people and give answers to their question. Though Lumine does came there to seek the Archon's guidance regarding her missing brother and the truth behind the day of disaster, she also has her own personal reasons for going there, and who would've thought that she not only met one, but three familiar faces under a single day. With a certain ginger haired man being among them.

He shows up during an unexpected time, in an unexpected situation. Just when she thought that that day will goes smoothly, a giant dragon fell down from the sky, crashing into Yujing Terrace where Rex Lapis supposed to descent.

Everyone panicked at the sight of the lifeless corpse of the giant dragon, who apparently, is none other than their god. The Qixing declared him dead and that he was assassinated, with the assassins nearby and everyone currently present could be one, which led to a quarantine where everyone got inspected by the Millelith.

But Lumine knew better than all of them.

Rex Lapis isn't dead, the dragon that just fell is but a shell, and empty husk, made by Celestial energy that made it appear to be alive when it's not. And added with the information she got from Venti, she sees no Gnosis inside that shell, meaning that both the divine artifact as well as the being who possesses it is somewhere else, clearly plotting something by shedding his skin like this in public.

And so she tried to leave the scene quietly, not wanting to waste time there being inspected. But apparently however, having a weird floating fairy by your side and walking around freely with bandaged eyes without a cane is a sight that is totally suspicious in their eyes. And after just one single movement, she found herself surrounded by the Millelith, with their spears all pointed towards her. But not like they pose any real trouble.

Seeing as there's no way of running past them, she took out her sword.

"Hey girlie, hold still!"

A voice suddenly spoke up, and out of nowhere, a figure jumped out from hiding and came into view. A tall man with ginger hair and blue eyes, he got a grey uniform on and a red scarf that trails behind one shoulder.

"You...?!"

She didn't expect to see him here, but then again, this is Tevyat we're talking about.

The man materializes a twin sword made out of water in both of his hands, ready for battle, only to realize a little too late that all the Millelith that had surrounded her are all already on the ground, unconscious.

"W-Who are you?" Paimon asked the newcomer, surprised and confused by his sudden appearance.

There was a sound of more Millelith coming their way. The man overcame his shock and gestures to them to follow him.

"No time to chat. Come on, follow me, I know a hiding place." He said before running away, with Lumine and Paimon following him behind.

They descended the walkway out of Yujing Terrace, and successfully avoided the Millelith's pursuit. Finding a hiding spot in one obvious place where the Liyue officials would have to second guess, the Northland Bank, the base of operations for the Fatui in Liyue. So her guesses are correct, he and that lady are related in this world as well.

"So just who are you exactly?" Paimon asked the man again, now that they're safe from the pursuing Millelith. She glares at him up and down, inspecting his appearance closely, eyeing him in full suspicion.

"Me? You may call me Childe." The man replied, smiling at them a little cheerfully.

"Childe? Are we supposed to dote on you or something?" Paimon asked, clearly not getting the reference behind that name.

"It's an alias, Paimon." Lumine corrected her. Crossing her arms across her chest, she turns her head to look towards him, seeing him doing the same towards her. "His real name is... Ajax. Though only a number of people know that."

That statement caused a reaction from him, his eyes widened in surprise, while his lips are unmoved. Surely such an expression would become memorable to the minds of some people.

"Most people knew him for his alias, Childe, or his title, Tartaglia." She finishes, raising an eyebrow at him as she asks. "Am I right?"

Childe went silent for a minute, before the corner of his lips quirk up and his body shook, as he started snickering, which then turned into a full blown laugh.

"Ahahaha, as expected from Signora's assailant. You really are as unpredictable as they say." He says while still laughing. After his laughter dies down, he lightly shook his head before eyeing her curiously, crossing his arms on his chest. "Tell me, girlie, how did you know all of this?"

"I have my ways." Lumine said with a shrug of her shoulders. "I can say more if you want."

"Ahahah, I would rather that you don't." Childe waved his hand, though he hid it well, there's a hidden expression in his face that begs her to please not do it.

"Wait, how did you know about Signora?" Paimon asked, still remember the name of the lady that attacked Venti, and gotten her butt whooped by Lumine as a result.

"It's because they're comrades, obviously." Lumine answered her question.

"Comrades? You mean... He's a fatui?!" Paimon gasped in surprise, immediately backing away from Childe while raising her arms defensely.

"Oh please, don't ever liken me to the likes of her." Childe rolls his eyes hard, looking very annoyed. "Though we stood on the same ranks as a Fatui Harbinger, her number are three times above mine. And ugh, who wants to be friends with that old hag anyway?" He asks, as if the people before him know about that kind of problem.

"Three times above?" Paimon asked with a tilt of her head.

"That's right. There are a total of eleven harbingers in the Fatui. Numbered one to eleven, and they're all ranked by strength." He explained, before sighing and placed his head on his palm. "And as much as I hate to admit it, I'm number eleven, while that hag is the eighth, and thus making her stronger than me."

"Oh, Paimon see." Paimon nods in understanding. The fairy then flew closer to Lumine and whispered to her ears. "Hey Lumi, since you've already beat number eight, then this guy should be a piece of cake for you right?"

"There's no guarantee for that Paimon. But, we'll see." Lumine whispered back.

"Anyway, enough about that." Childe clears his throat in order to get their attention after being left out from conversation. "I'm here to help you."

"Help? Why would we want help from a fatui?"

"Hey come on now, I'm not the bad guy here." He paused for a bit. "I mean... I guess I am kind of a bad guy, but I'm not related to anything that happens up there." He shakes his head before crossing his arms, his expression turns serious. "I have my eyes on you the whole time, so I know that the assassin is not you, it was someone else, and I'm here to help you look for them."

Lumine considers whether she should tell him or not about the truth of the situation, that Rex Lapis isn't dead, and what they saw is simply just a shedded skin. But since this is Fatui, she is ultimately against it, knowing that they'll learn the truth for themselves eventually.

But all of that aside, there is another thing that piqued Lumine's interest...

As she stares at Childe, she looks into his to see if there's anything there. And she found nothing... His eyes, though beautiful to look at as it was, are dead and empty, like there's not a single hint of emotions in them. Just what caused this sort of phenomenon?

It's even deader than he is...

~o~0~o~

He knew that he should've expected anything, but Childe couldn't believe that she was actually like that!

He still remembers the reports he received weeks ago, how his interest in her first piqued, and eventually blossoms into desire to meet and fight.

"Any other things worth of my attention?"

The eleventh Harbinger asked the other man in the room. The ginger haired man is sitting on a chair while raising both of his legs that he placed on top of the desk. Having a boring expression on his face as he halfheartedly listens to all the reports being given to him.

"Yes sir, there is one more." The Fatuus replied, to which Childe rolls his eyes, mentally glad that it's nearing the end. "We received a letter this morning, it came from Snezhnaya."

Now this perked his interest. He turns his head to look at his underling with interest, raising his eyebrow.

"From Snezhnaya? Is it... From them?"

Come to think of it, it's been a while since he received or sent any letters to his homeland. It won't be surprising to find that they've sent him one with how long it has been since he was away.

"No sir, it's from the Zapolyarny Palace." The underling shook his head, before his expression turns serious. "From her royal highness, the Tsaritsa."

Now THIS surprises him even more. Her majesty just sent him a letter? Is there something urgent happening in Snezhnaya?

"The Tsaritsa?" Childe repeated, losing his relaxed demeanor instantly. Sitting straight on his chair, he thought about it for a moment, before he gave another order to his henchmen. "Read me about its content."

The Fatuus nodded. He opens the letter and starts reading its contents as Childe patiently and anticipatingly waits.

After a few minutes passed, the Fatuus finished, and lay it all down on him.

"It says that... Lady Signora won't be coming to Liyue as early as planned." The Fatuus revealed, gaining a curious look from the Harbinger. "Something unexpected happened, and as of currently, she's out of commission due to injuries that needs to be tended."

"Injuries? Hah! Did she stub her toe on Barbatos' statue while leaving the cathedral or something?" Childe grinned, thinking about the thought of the great crimson witch of embers who had lived for the past 500 years would be hospitalised by a simple injury.

But then again, it does hurts as hell when you stub your toe, especially against bed frame or table foot.

"No sir, she was assaulted." The Fatuus shook his head, his expression is serious. "An unknown assailant attacked her while she was retrieving the Anemo Gnosis. Not only did they make her hospitalized, but they injured some of our men too."

"Huh, how interesting. So it wasn't the Knights?" Childe asked, receiving a shake of the head from his underling. "Any information about this mysterious assailant?"

"It's not much... But she says." The Fatuus looked at the letter once more. "A blonde haired girl, in a knightly white dress, and... She is also blind... Apparently."

A... Blind person? What kind of joke is this? He would expect Varka or someone else to do it. But, a girl with a vision impairment? How laughable this whole situation was!

"The letter also says that she'll likely go to Liyue next. It's best that we proceed our objectives with caution with her around." The Fatuus finished, closing the letter in his hand.

He's right, it is best for the Fatui's interest to be careful and not mess around with this person while they proceed with their objectives.

But when speaking of HIS interest on the other hand... His heart is burning from excitement!

And there she is. The blonde haired traveler that makes his heart burns with excitement. And just like they said, she really does looks like a knightly princess, especially with her pristine white dress. And then there's also that blindfold that covered her eyes, though Childe understood why anyone would thought her to be blind, the Harbinger doubted if it's true.

There's no way that a blind person could do some amazing feats like her after all.

He stares at her as the blonde traveler and her fairy companion left for Jueyun Karst to seek the Adepti. Never leaving her form until she disappears in the distance. He smiles widely.

He'll be looking forward to it. The day when he could test out her strength!

~o~0~o~

Sometimes, people are born with the ability to conceal what they truly feel or what their emotions are. Other times, they went through some circumstances that made them that way.

These types of people are clever in hiding the true desires of their heart, and conceal their emotions and expression under the mask of politeness and cheerfulness.

And she finds an example in this man she met in Liyue.

They went inside the Golden House when they heard that the Qixing hid the Exuvia inside, making it the target of the Fatui who searched for Morax's Gnosis. Most of them haven't known that the lord of Geo isn't dead yet, and right now, they're trying to force their way inside to claim the Gnosis that they thought to be inside his dead body.

Lumine already knew the identity of Morax's vessel, but she did not know whether he holds his Gnosis in hand or not, which is the reason why she went to the Golden House as well.

She easily snuck inside the building, and make a quick work of Millelith guarding inside by knocking them all unconscious in order to remain undetected, silently apologizing to them for her rude behaviour.

Once those were taken care of, she walks further inside, looking up to see the mighty form of the mountain dragon at the other side of the building. Overlooking the huge platform in the middle like a statue guards and watches his makings, namely the mountains of Mora below.

"Looking at it up close like this... It does looks kind of terrifying huh?" Paimon softly mutters as she looks up at the form of the dragon above her. "Paimon can't help but think like it's staring down towards Paimon like she's it's lunch. Ooh... how scary."

"It won't eat you, Paimon." Lumine reassures her friend. "Just think of it as a statue, a lifeless figure made of stone." Lumine said, gaining a half-hearted nod from Paimon.

They came here to check on the Exuvia, better make this quick.

Silently, Lumine raise her hand, reaching to the wrap of bandages around her head. She tugs at the piece of cloth gently, pulling it down a little, allowing the light of the outside world to reach her eyes for the first time in dozens of days. Her eyelids opens up to reveal a pair of shiny golden orbs.

"Scanning."

She looks at the Exuvia above, her gaze pierce through it's scaly brown skin, through it's flesh, through it's fiber of muscles, and into it's core where it's heart supposed to be. And Lumine finds... Nothing. Nothing, it's totally empty.

"What is it? What did you find?" Paimon asked her after seeing no changes in Lumine's expression.

"It's empty." Lumine shook her head. Closing her eyes again, she fixed her blindfold back to it's original position. "The Gnosis wasn't inside the Exuvia."

"Wait, what?!" Paimon exclaimed in surprise.

"Looks like Rex Lapis didn't left it there for someone to take it. He must've stored it away somewhere else, where no one could find it. Or..."

He simply still holding on to it.

"Come on Paimon, let's go. We've finished our job here." Lumine suddenly said after a pause, turning around to face the direction towards the exit.

"Eh? Where are we going?" Paimon asked which Lumine did not answer immediately, but she still follow after her friend.

If the Gnosis really is still in the God of Geo's hand, then she'll have to ask Zhongli about this.

"Now now, where do you think you're going, girlie?"

Lumine looks to her front, seeing a familiar figure slowly approaches her. His deep blue eyes staring straight at her, filled with what she could decipher to be mirth and amusement, supported by the smirk he's making with his lips.

"Gah! It's Childe!" Paimon exclaimed in surprise upon seeing th Fatui Harbringer that they just met and get acquanted mere few days ago.

"You sound like you're surprised to see me. Do you really not expect me to show up at all? When my objectives were THIS close?" The ginger haired man asked, putting one hand resting on his side.

"Not really." Lumine replied with a shake of her head. "I always knew the Fatui's goal will be to claim the Gnosis, in some way or another. That's the reason why you decided to stick around and even lend a hand for the Rite of Parting procedures, in the end, it's just a tactic to discover where the Qixing had hid the Exuvia and take the Gnosis from it. You even use me in doing so as well. So it's not very surprising." The blonde girl, crossing her arms and looking at Childe with a knowing look, though it's not like the man could see it.

"Hah, as expected of you, you cacth on pretty quickly." Childe says with a small huff, his lips turned into a full smile now, as he looks up towards the Exuvia in the distance. "But you are correct. As one of the Eleven Fatui Harbringers, it's my duty to see the will of the Tsaritsa fulfilled. She will get what she desires." His eyes drifts back down, looking directly towards her. "You've already fulfilled your tasks as guides, so you shouldn't keep lingering here. I will take the Gnosis, and you wouldn't stand in my way."

He reaches an arm to her, looking like he's ready for battle, but Lumine don't have time to waste here, and personally... She would rather not have a fight with him, due to personal reasons. So she decided to make it quick.

"What if I tell you that the Gnosis wasn't there?" Lumine asked, causing a pause.

Childe raise an eyebrow at her, curious and confused, while Paimon looks at her in wonder of what she's currently thinking.

"I've looked inside it already, and that body is empty, there's no Gnosis inside." Lumine continues, pursing her lips to form the correct words needed to be said. "Someone must've already taken it, and place it somewhere else, either that, or they're the one currently holding it." She shook her head lightly. "In other words, you're wasting your time here, perhaps you should be looking somewhere else."

"Hah, do you really think you could just fool me like that?" Childe scoffed at that. "You need to come up with better reason next time, girlie."

Lumine's response is just to huff in annoyance. She has told him the truth, it's up to him to believe her or not. Though he can just simply went up there to confirm it himself.

"Go ahead and check it out for yourself if you don't believe me. I have no other business here. Let's go Paimon." Deciding to not heed him anymore, she walks away towards the exit, walking pass by him who stood in place as she ignores him, with Paimon closely following behind, still unsure where they are heading now, but she'll always follows Lumine to wherever she goes.

She almost reached the exit, when suddenly feel something's wrong.

"Now now, let's not be hasty here, girlie."

Lumine felt something has changed in the air, and she stepped back. Wall of flames suddenly errupts before her, spreading quickly along the sides of the platform she's standing on, eventually making a big circle that crawls up into the air and meeting at the center point above, forming a dome-like shape.

"W-Wha- What's this?!" Paimon asked in shock, looking around to see the almost transparent walls of flames have surrounded them.

"A barrier." Lumine answered.

For an elemental barrier to be placed like this... It seems to be too much for the Qixing to cast simply for protection against intruders. In other words, someone else must've placed it in order to entrap or prevent something or someone to leave. And with that fact in mind, the man behind her is definitely the one who cast it.

"Don't you think it's a little rude to leave a man behind while he's not finished talking yet?"

Lumine turned herself around, facing Childe who stared at her with a cool smile, one hand placed on his side while the other hangs beside him. That's when Lumine noticed something: his eyes has changed. It's still the same dark soulless blue just like before, but now, there's something sparkling inside, burning desire, unyielding lust.

Is this the emotions hidden behind his tragedy? His hidden side masked by a polite and cheerful persona?

"Though claiming the Gnosis remains my first priority as a Harbinger. I have my own priorities right here." Childe said, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Gah, just tell us what are up to mister!" Paimon yelled, crossing her arms while glaring sharply at Childe.

"It's pretty simple really." Childe smiles widened, he raise his hand, and pointed his finger towards Lumine. "I wish... To have a duel with you."

"W-What?" Paimon asked in surprise, her eyes widened slightly. "You just want to have a duel with the traveler?!"

"Why of course." Childe nods his head. "I've always wanted to challenge those who were stronger than me. My life is but a constant battle, that's my life's philosophy. And in fact, the main reason why I joined the Fatui in the first place."

Childe then sighed heavily, putting his hand on his palm.

"You wouldn't know just how much boring it is. To find yourself already too strong that nobody's left to challenge you and giving you a good fight. I joined the Fatui to find a worthy opponent, only to realize that no one is able to match my current strength, while those ten above have too much time in their hands to lift their blade. Tch, all this boredom and frustrations are killing me!"

Lumine listened closely to his ramblings. And somewhere along the way, she could feel a pang rising from the depths of her chest that resonates with his words, especially when he said about wanting to find a worthy opponent and have a good fight. It causes some dark feelings to rise, but Lumine pushes it all down immediately, putting a hand on her chest and trying to steady her breath.

So this is an alternative form of lust... His lust for challenges... It's ̶i̶n̶c̶r̶e̶d̶i̶b̶l̶e̶ ridiculous!

"But you... You are different." Childe looks at Lumine, with eyes full of amazement and... Admiration she guess. "You're not like those arrogant fools who keep looking down at me, nor are you those weaklings who could kill me with boredom. You are magnificent."

Lumine didn't know whether she should take those as compliments or insults. But then again... She really is different from any other person.

"That's why I wanted a duel with you so badly. Those reports I've read about you... How you easily injure Signora so easily... My hands are itching to clash my blades with you!" Childe bawled his hands into fist, his lips turned into a smirk, fully displaying his hunger. "Now come, and face me!"

Lumine looks at his form. Memories flashes of the pasts when she saw someone so similar to him... Yet they feel different.

"I don't want to fight you." Lumine whispered softly, lowering her head slightly.

Childe scoffed, still smirking. "It doesn't matter whether you say yes, or no." Childe's eyes glow, something materialized in his hands. "What really matters is... How much are you able to satisfy me!"

In one second, multiple shots of arrows made of Hydro energy are launched towards her, flying with the speed of sound, with anyone barely able to comprehend what happened.

Splash

The sounds of water hitting something rings in the air. Childe stares to see that his arrows did not hit his target. Instead, his hydro arrows crashed against a Geo structures that he swears are not there seconds ago.

"Paimon..." Lumine spoke up as the Geo structures crumbled, revealing Lumine behind it. "Do me a favor and go back to your dimension." Without looking at her companion, Lumine stepped forward, facing Childe whilst guarding the pixie with her body. "Things are about to get wet here."

"But Lumi..." Paimon looks at Lumine, somewhat in concern. "What are you..."

"Don't worry." Lumine tilts her head to the back slightly, looking at Paimon. "I'm not gonna kill him. Not yet."

Paimon looks unsure, but she nods her head anyway and pops out of existence, returning to the safety of her pocket dimension.

"Heh, how confident you are, thinking that you could actually kill me. But..." Childe raises his arms, a white and and blue bow in his hands charged with hydro energy, prepared to fire another shot. "Go ahead and try, I would like to see it."

~o~0~o~

The fight inside the Golden House took forever for it to be finished.

But it's not because Lumine had difficulty when she is being faced with one of the eleven most powerful humans in this world, but rather, it's because this is a one-sided battle. Only one of them throwing the offensives, while the other simply repelled everything that is being thrown at them.

Childe called her out for this, after continuously shooting hydro arrows at her to which she either dodge or block using her Geo powers to create shield and walls of stone. Even after he changes his offensive techniques, from simply firing arrows to firing waves of waters towards her, and even threw a giant hydro familiar in the shape of a whale towards her, she still persists on not lifting her blade.

"Fine. Guess I'll have to use this!"

His great annoyance for not being able to hit his enemy enough for them to retaliate causes him to go for the second option. Childe reaches for his mask on the side of his head, and puts it on properly. And the once humid and wet air is now crackling with electricity as something have changed inside Childe.

Lumine looks on at him, seeing the changes made to his body. Not only the uniform he wore has changed colour, from grey to black, but the elements he's using changed too, as well as the energy source that empowers it.

He's using that same dark energy that the fair lady also uses in their brief scuffle in Mondstadt.

If he's using a bow in his previous stance, then this time, he favours himself to use blades instead. Using the bendable electro energy coursing through his body to form a projection of a weapon, a twin short blade that looks similar to the hydro version of it, as well as a twin bladed spear that can be formed by combining the twin blades. So he's a close range fighter now.

His mask may have conceal his eyes. But Lumine could feel it, this darkness that exudes from him that keeps getting stronger and stronger, his hunger and lust, it steadily grows more and more as he becomes more impatient with every second. He really is a warrior, born only for the sake of the rush of battles.

Something churns in her stomach with this sudden increase of dark feelings. This is ̶a̶m̶a̶z̶i̶n̶g̶ concerning.

"You're wide open!"

Lumine widen her eyes, as she saw a little too late as Childe blitz towards her in a split second. Her inner throughts caused her to get distracted that she couldn't move to dodge, so instead lift her hand...

Clang

Blades meet blades, Childe's eyes narrowed behind his mask, as his spear met with the surface of a blare, Lumine stood there, holding her sword with one hand gripping the handle while the other is supporting the blade. Blocking his attack.

"Hah! Finally! Now we can start getting serious!" Childe screamed out, applying force to his weapon to push Lumine back, but it failed.

"Gale Blade!" Anemo energy swirls around Lumine's sword and her body, and with a violent breeze of wind, she pushed Childe away with such force that it surprised him.

He stumbles back, almost falling over his feet before he could steady himself. He looks up towards Lumine, who twirls her sword once to disperse the wind before holding the sword with one hand.

He grins under his mask, finding this situation interesting.

"Heh, didn't think you had that card up your sleeve. Now I see why you're such a formidable opponent." He took a stance and charge his electro energy once more. "Now, let's begin our dance, girlie."

Lumine didn't say anything, afraid that the next time she said something, it won't be from herself.

Now with her sword out, dodging no longer an option.

Childe no longer needs his bow to shoot her, not when he could just simply blitz around the arena while thrusting his spears forward, attempting to stab her or slash her in two.

But even after finally drawing her sword, it didn't make things easier for Childe in the slightest. In fact, it just made him more frustrated.

A blade is made for battle, to strike at opponents in order to wield one's life goals. But Lumine didn't lift her sword to do that at all, she simply use it as another form of protection. Blocking anything and everything Childe throws at her like it was nothing, making the Harbinger even inwardly wondered if his swordsmanship skills or even his master are comparable to this traveler he's facing.

"Heheh, your swordsmanship is very impressive. I wonder if even my master got what it takes to beat you." Childe says as he stood distances away from her, quietly panting from exhaustion in contrast to Lumine who remains cool. "Since you've blocked any other attacks, then... How about this!"

Electricity fills the air around him. Childe took a stance with his spear, electro energy swirls around him as a large amount of energy building up.

Is he putting his all into this one attack? With that much energy, surely he has enough to bust out a giant hole on the Golden House wall. And knowing this, Lumine prepared herself.

"Break!"

In one second, Childe is far away, and in the next, he's already in front of Lumine, with his spear aimed directly towards her, and would've slashed her in two if it wasn't for her defending herself.

A gale of wind gathered around Lumine and swirls around her body, forming a strong barrier that Childe's spear is unable to penetrate no matter how fast that blitz attack was.

But Childe doesn't give in. He put as much force into his attacks more, plunging his spear even deeper into barriers made of wind.

Lumine notices this and sees him getting close to breaking her protection. With no way to block it without dispersing the wind nor dodging, she has no other choice but to retaliate.

She raises both arms and opens her palm forward, her hands start sucking up the wind around her.

Childe realizes the sudden change of the wind, and considers pulling away, realizing too late that his spears and his whole body is being sucked inside when Lumine's hand is absorbing back the Anemo energy she released.

"Wind Blade!"

After building up power by absorbing back all the Anemo energy, Lumine releases it in the form of a violent gust of wind that blows Childe away, sending him flying across the platform.

"Uaagh!" Getting launched several meters away, the Fatui Harbinger crashed against the wall of his own barrier. Choking on air as the force of impact forces oxygen to exit his body.

Falling to the floor, he starts coughing heavily as he try to regain his breath. Watching him, Lumine is simply glad that she's not doing it a little too much.

"Damn girlie... You're a rough one are you?" Childe asked as he slowly gets up, one hand clutching his chest while the other wipe the corner of his mouth. "I would like to fight you more... But business matter first."

Childe looks up behind him, finding himself standing beneath the Exuvia, Lumine's counter attack had unintentionally send him here. Lumine saw this and is about to act but before she could, Childe already gone from the spot before reappearing right beside the Exuvia, somehow managed to trespass the barrier walls without deactivating it.

"Hahaha, I quite enjoyed our little "fight" there girlie. You really are a strong opponent that no one should underestimate." Childe says with a grin forming Underneath his mask. "But I'm afraid our playtime is over."

Lumine narrows her eyes at him. "I told you, it's empty. There won't be anything inside." She told him to no avail.

"Hehe, well, let's see about that shall we?!"

Electro energy gathers in his palm before Childe plunges his hand into the Exuvia, attempting to reach for the Gnosis inside. He reaches in and in for a while, before pulling back his hand and open his palm...

"Huh?"

...Only to see that it was empty.

Childe's mind goes blank for a moment. He slowly turn his head to look at Lumine, who stared at him and scoffed lightly.

"Told you." Lumine silently muttered.

Childe clenched his fist tightly, his body shook as he began to chuckle darkly, which then turns into a full blown laugh.

"I see... I get it. Of course it was empty." He then turns his whole body to face Lumine. "You already beat me to it from the very start, didn't you?"

What kind of logic is that?!

A huge surge of electro energy appears, even more than before, and Lumine sense danger incoming, so she quickly jumps away just as Childe blitz and strike the ground where she stood.

The air around them changes drastically, the atmosphere becomes heavier than normal. Bubbles of water formed all around and floats upwards to the air before popping, crackles of electricity formed that causes all her hair to stand on ends.

Childe stood on the middle of the platform, both Hydro and Electro energy slowly envelopes him.

Badum

Lumine feel her heart rate increase. It's not just Hydro and Electro energy that appears around them. Negative energy quickly rising up, and it comes from Childe, who's body begin transforming into something else that almost doesn't look human.

A blindingly harsh light explodes and makes Lumine shields her eyes, and when it dies down enough so that she can look back, her voice gets stuck in her throat. Because the man she knows as Childe is not there anymore. Covered in midnight black armor radiating of abyssal power, the Fatui swings his gigantic double-ended spear over his shoulders, everything around him sizzling with electricity.

BADUM BADUM

Lumine finds herself unable to breathe. She clutches her chest tightly with one hand, while using the other to cover her mouth as she feels the urge to gag.

Just when she thought things were ̶g̶r̶e̶a̶t̶ bad already, it escalates to ̶i̶n̶c̶r̶e̶d̶i̶b̶l̶e̶ worse! The negative energy seeping out of his body reeks of corruption, a very ̶p̶l̶e̶a̶s̶a̶n̶t̶ foul smell that makes her want to ̶d̶e̶v̶o̶u̶r̶ puke.

"No time to be sick now. Hand over the Gnosis to me, girlie!"

Childe's altered voice that sounds not at all like him before rings throughout the Golden House. Electro energy gathers around him as he's about to unleash another attack.

He is right. There's no time to be ̶l̶u̶s̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ disgusted now.

Taking a stance, Lumine points her sword towards him and ready for round two.

Scratch the part of not wanting to kill him. She'll make sure to ̶d̶e̶v̶o̶u̶r̶ destroy this ̶m̶a̶j̶e̶s̶t̶i̶c̶ ugly form of his once and for all!

~o~0~o~

"Urkk!"

Childe in his Foul Legacy form screamed as Lumine successfully ran her sword through his chest.

Their fight drags on after his transformation. Even after becoming even stronger than before because of it, he still can't manage to even put a scratch on her, the most he could do is to make her sweat and her breathing to become unsteady, but even that as he noted, has already happened the moment he transforms. Which made him wonder if it was his strong aura that caused a reaction out of her.

Gripping the hilt with both hands, Lumine harshly pulls out her sword turning her back on him as she flicks her blade to the side to clean it from his blood. Not even needing to turn around to look as his transformation fades and he returns to his human form, falling to the floor on his knees.

"D-Damn..." Childe croaked out, panting heavily and his voice hoarse, one hand is clutching his chest where it hurts the most "That was so harsh... Girlie."

Inwardly, Childe is thankful that Lumine did it while he was still in his Foul Legacy form, the Abyssals Energy used to sustain that form managed to reduce the damage done as minimal as it can in order for it to not be life threatening. But still, it hurts as hell! Which speaks of just how much power is put into that attack by Lumine. If she were to use it on him in his human form, Childe doubted if his upper body was going to be left intact after that.

"You did it. Look! Childe's back to normal again." Paimon pointed out as she pops out into existence, appearing beside Lumine. "Uh... You didn't do a little too much on him did you?"

Lumine sighed, a bit heavily. "Perhaps I did, or perhaps I'm not. But either way, his transformation should protect him from that." Lumine said with a small shake of her head.

"Ah... How interesting." Childe muttered behind her, promoting Lumine and Paimon to look at him. "You seem to know a thing or two about my Foul Legacy transformation... Are you perhaps even knowing that I was nearing my limits there?"

"I did." Lumine said with a nod of her head. "You're using Abyssal Powers to make that form, an energy that should not be wielded by humans, yet you are able to control it." Lumine crosses her arms as she continues. "But still, that power is beyond control of any human, the fact that you are able to, doesn't mean that you can do it forever. You can only use it for some time, before the energy starts to consume you. I know of this, and that's why I decided to stop you before it happens."

Childe went silent for a moment, taking time to catch his breath. And after a while, he pushed himself up from the floor until he stood on his two feet, though it is visible that it takes everything for him to not fall over.

"You really are a very interesting individual, girlie." Childe says as he took a deep breath. "I always respect anyone who's stronger than me, but I even have more respect for someone who doesn't act all arrogant and flaunts their powers to the week. And you have both of those aspects in you, I respect you, but even more so than that, you are someone that I even could consider a friend, even if our friendship could only be shown in battle against one another."

"Pretty sure that's not the normal way to make a friend." Paimon said, narrowing her eyes at him, causing him to smirk a little.

Sighing, Childe's serious demeanor is back again, his eyes show it all to them.

"Unfortunately, I must bring this amiable conversation, to an end. My quest still beckons." He begins, looking up towards the Exuvia far above them. "Given that the Gnosis wasn't taken by either of you, or it might as well be never inside the Exuvia to begin with. Then it must mean that it was in the possession of someone else. And the Exuvia... Is nothing but a diversion."

"Wait? What are you saying?" Paimon asked, confused.

"The Exuvia is supposed to be one of the many forms taken by Rex Lapis when he descends into the mortal realm. If he dies, then the Gnosis should've been still inside his body, yet it's not, and there's no way that the Qixing or anyone else in Liyue except for the Fatui to know about the Gnoses' existence. All of this points towards one possiblity..." Childe pause as he stares at both of them. "That Rex Lapis... Is still alive."

"What? Could that be true?" Paimon asked in surprise.

The same reaction didn't come out from Lumine. Instead, she huffed a little, and crossed her arms, gaining a look from both Paimon and Childe.

"Finally realizing the truth, huh? I guess it's not a secret anymore then." Lumine softly whispers, causing both Paimon and Childe to widen their eyes at her.

"Lumi, you knew?!" Paimon asked in shock.

Lumine nods her head. "Why of couse. I knew it since the very moment I see the Exuvia when it fell down." The blonde girl looks up towards the form of the dragon above. "That body of a dragon you see right now is just a shell, a husk. There are no traces of life energy inside of it. It is merely Celestial Energy condensed into a form a dragon, nothing more. The real Rex Lapis on the other hand, has taken a diffrent form to live somewhere in Liyue, in fact, I've already met him, and the two of you might as well."

"Wait, what?! So Paimon already met him before?" Paimon asked in shock. "Who is it?"

"Sorry Paimon, but I can't tell you while he's still around." Lumine shook her head, gesturing towards Childe. "That's the contract I made with him."

"Tch, I see... So you are already beat to it then... Not even when it started." Childe sighed heavily, putting his face on his palm as he took a deep breath. "Well... Since you won't tell me anything about it, and Morax is still alive, I guess it's time for me to resort to our backup plan then."

"Backup plan?" Paimon questioned, confused.

"I had hoped it would never come to this. I absolutely detest working with those who are weaker than I." Uncovering his face, Childe narrows his eyes, looking at them with seriousness. "The truth is, the world belongs to those of us who desire to become strong, I seldom willingly mingle with any dull and boring weaklings who think otherwise." He sighs once more, showing genuine annoyance towards something. "Unfortonately, we cannot be picky about our methods as Fatui Harbringers. Children must all learn to eat their vegetables sometime."

"So, what are you planning to do?" Paimon asked once more, still confused at where this is going.

"I will awaken the god that lies dormant beneath Guyun Stone Forest."

"You're going to what?!" Paimon exclaimed in surprise. Though Lumine didn't show it much, she is surprised by this as well.

"Osial, Overlord of The Vorte, who was defeated by the Geo Archon in the Archon War, and who has remained pinned beneath the waves by the Geo Archon's spears ever since." Childe huffs silently, he turn his head to Lumine, and smirks at her lightly. "If such an ancient god were to be unleashed upon Liyue Harbor, defenseless without the protection of its deity... Do you think the cunning Rex Lapis would just stand aloof and watch the ensuing destruction?"

"Tch, I won't let you!"

Lumine lunges at him, sword in hand, already wanting to stab him. But her sword ends up only passing through empty air, as Childe dissapears and reappears elsewere.

"You can't stop the Fatui Girlie, no one can."

Childe spoke up, Lumine looks up to see him appearing on the platform above, far from her reach. But he's not the only thing that appears, dozens of small familiar looking objects also appears, all floating and circling around him.

"Wait, those are Sigils of Permissions!" Paimon exclaimed.

"So all those duplicates are for the sake of this... And here I thought I burned them all to ashes." Lumine mutters softly, but inwardly however, she's very pissed.

"Hah, how right you are. You don't know how hard we have to work to replace all that you've destroyed." Childe lightly smirks at the memory of his men coming to his office and complained about all of their hardwork being dstroyed in seconds by the Traveler. It took everything they got to resume their work in secret without the Traveler finding out again. "With the power of so many sigils of permission concentrated in one place, along with that which was bestowed upon me as a Harbringer of our Tsaritsa... Breaking the subduing might of the Geo Archon's spears for a time should be no obstacle."

The Sigils start to glow as he holds out his arms, unleashing the full power of the ancient talismans. It sends a wave of golden lights that spreads quickly in the air, making the ground shook as it spreads to all over the area of Liyue Harbor, up to the Guyun Stone Forest far away.

"Using the powers of ancient gods in such a situations fails to interest me and is largely against my principles." He looks down towards Lumine, and his smirk widens. "But knowing that such an action will not only force the Geo Archon to show his hand, but you as well... That makes matters a little more intigruing,"

The earth shakes violently, causing everything inside the Golden House to shake, the mountains of Mora all around them creates a loud rattling sounds as they shakes and falls to the ground. But if that's bad enough, then the situation outside is even worse, as a gigantic five headed sea monsters emerges from the dephts of the ocean, showing it's faces once more upon the world after millenia of being sealed underneath the sea floors. Emerging from the sea to drown this whole nation in water.

"Oh no! What is happening?!" Paimon panicked, grabbing her head with both of her tiny hands.

"Hahahahaha! Let's see." will the nation that has lost its deity be swallowed up by an ancient malice once more?" Childe laughs as Hydro energy bubbles around him as he was prepared to transport himself. "If you wish to drown together with the people of Liyue, you're free to-"

Childe sneaks a glance downwards to look at his "two" spectators, only to find one missing. Only Paimon's there, floating all alone.

Where is-!?

TWACK

In a speed of light, Childe got his answer. Lumine appears right before him, arms lunging forward in the form of a fist, ramming her knuckles into Childe's chest with a sickening crunch follows afterwards. He is 100% sure that his entire ribcage just crack because of this.

With a batch of blood puking itself out of Childe's mouth, he looks up by using his remaining strength that quickly fades along with his consciousness.

And what Childe sees is perhaps the second thing in his life that could frightens him aside from that unholy beast he saw in the Abyss all those years ago...

A girl with not even the slightest of emotions exist on her face. The bandages around her head loosened up slightly, threatening it to fall off, and it opens up enough for Childe to see what lies beneath the rolls of cloth: An ominously glowing blood red eyes that shows nothing but pure wrath towards him, glaring right to his eyes as if glaring directly into his soul, taking his still beating heart into her palm and squeeze it tightly.

That was the last of his thoughts before darkness completely overtaking his brain and he lost his consciousness.

~o~0~o~

Childe's body fell to the ground with a thud, out cold.

Lumine stood before him, panting heavily, both hands clenched into fists. She can't believe she did this... but he forces her to!

But it doesn't matter, she did it too late. Osial has been released, and is rampaging outside, she could feel it.

"Lumi!" Paimon's voice spoke up behind her as she finally reach her way up. Lumine hastily fixed her blindfold before the Pixie could get to her side. "What did you do? Is- Is he...?!"

"There's no time for it Paimon." Lumine said, turning around and prepare to leave. "Liyue is in danger, we must go."

"B-But, what about him?" Paimon pointed towards unconscious Childe.

"Leave him be. He's the least of our concerns now." Lumine said, before running towards the exit. Paimon nods and go after her.

Lumine didn't know what will become of Childe after this, whether he'll be arrested by the Millelith, or will he be able to wake up and escape before that could happen, she doesn't care. What matters is she managed to refrain herself from killing him, hopefully, she'll able to clean up his mess.

~o~0~o~

Lumine haven't met Childe ever again ever since that day. There are some Fatui activities in Liyue that she had taken care of, but none of it made her meeting that ginger haired man again.

And in all honesty, Lumine is glad for it to be that way, she hated him for what he's trying to do with Liyue harbor by unleashing Osial, and she hopes for them to never meet again.

But her body has a different reaction however to the matter however, which goes against what her mind willed it to.

Every time the thought of Childe crosses over her mind. All she remembers is... That form, that Foul Legacy Form that is filled with... Such an enormous amount of Abyssal Energy... If only she were to see him transform into that form again... Then she will-

"Heellooo! Big sister? Are you there? Teucer to Ms. Nice Lady, please respond!"

Lumine snapped out from her thoughts as someone called her out. She inwardly blinks to see where she was, walking among the paths in Liyue's wilderness, being led by a child who held her hand and pulled her along as he walks. Paimon is hovering nearby.

"Ah, apologies, what were you asking?" Lumine lightly shook her head, looking back at the boy before her.

"I'm asking how you come to know brother. How did you two meet?" The young boy asked, curiosity fills her eyes.

"Ah... About that. Well, it all started with..."

How she ended up in this situation is quite a surprise. The traveler was just strolling around the west area of Liyue, when she came by a Millelith soldier informing her of the abnormal situation in the area which is about the sudden appearance of many Ruin Guards that have been attacking any passangers nearby. She volunteered to investigate the case, only to be met with an unfamiliar yet still familiar face.

She thought of it to be just pure coincidence, but then she learns of the name of the boy she met near an inactive Ruin Guard to be Teucer. A name that... Really sends chills down her spine and causes many alarms to set off inside her brain. Who would've thought that in this world he's...

But that's the least of her concerns. The fact that this boy is here in Liyue because of a pure accident by him entering a boat that sails from Snezhnaya all the way to here is alarming, and someone needs to take care of him.

And who else is better at doing it other than his own brother?

And so here they are, traveling back to Liyue harbor and to the Northland Bank, the place where that man better be inside. Or else this boy is gonna get upset for not finding her brother.

She didn't even bother to knock on the front door, just straight up pushing it wide open for them to get inside. Chances are, the Fatui already knows she's coming in, and had already prepared a trap for her or something.

To her surprise, he really was there. Casually chatting with one of the employees in the bank, which unfortunately must be interrupted by her explosive entrance. But that was a good thing, because his eyes immediately looked in her direction, looking at her first with a genuinely shocked expression, before quickly averting his eyes to look at something else, towards his younger brother.

"Yay, my brother! I found you!"

Teucer runs up to his older brother, and the Fatui Harbinger and his entire face lights up in glee. Which is a very unexpected sight coming from him.

"Teucer! My goodness, what a nice surprise!" He bends down and opens his arms, his little brother running straight into his embrace.

"I thought I would have to wait till I return home before seeing you again... How are the others? Tonia and Anthon? Is everybody keeping well?" Releasing his embrace, Childe looks at his brother, his eyes are... Tender and loving. He cares a lot about his family, much like him, and that's very reassuring to Lumine.

"They miss you a lot! Tonia prays for you every day at dinner..." Teucer giggles as he excitedly retells the story of their family.

"aimon guess even a Harbinger have something they cared for a lot, huh? Even to someone like him." Paimon whispered to Lumine, who nods silently.

Childe smiles warmly as he listens to all her brother's story. But his smile slowly fading as realization over the situation gradually dawns at him.

"Wait a second, what are you doing here in Liyue, Teucer? How have I not heard anything about this?" Childe asked his brother, surprised and confused.

The little boy averts his eyes as if he's been caught stealing. "Well... what happened was... I saw a boat that looked like it was selling toys, so obviously I thought you were on board... And then when I got off, I just kept walking and walking... and then I found a Mr. Cyclops! Mr. Cyclops scared off a bad guy, and then I found this nice lady."

Teucer pointed a finger towards Lumine behind him. Childe's eyes follow the directions, and remembers about her presence after getting carried away by Teucer's story and completely forgots that she's even there. And now that he remembers, Childe's face darkened.

"She says that she knows everything about you. And tell me where I could find you. And in return, I helped her walking, since the roads here is veeery bad. I'm good boy for helping someone in need right?" Teucer cheerfully asked, blinking at Childe sweetly.

"Ah yes..." Childe mentally thought. "With that kind of appearance, Teucer will definitely think that she's disabled."

"Well, I'll be thanking her later." Childe coughs into his fist, as if trying to say something that he couldn't at the time. "Teucer, what you did was extremely dangerous," Childe turns back to his brother and sends him a disapproving frown. "I'm so happy to see you, really I am, but please promise me you won't do anything like this ever again."

Teucer nods guiltily, twiddling his thumbs together. "Okay, I promise. Please don't be mad at me?"

Immediately after that, the stern expression on the Fatui Harbinger's face softens.

"I'm not mad at you, I just care about your safety, that's all. If you hadn't met these nice people, things could have been a lot more dangerous for you. I hope you said a big thank-you to them?" He sneak a glance towards Lumine.

Teucer's sullen look becomes bright again when he looks back at Lumine.

"Yup! I always remember my pleases and thank-yous! I was so surprised when Ms. Nice Lady told me she was your business partner!"

Childe's eyes widened, he flips his head in her direction with a gob-smacked expression on his face.

"It's such a pleasure to finally met Mr. Ajax beloved baby brother. He told me a lot about you. Just hearing those stories made me want to give you a big cuddly hug." Lumine said, wearing a smile on her face, she hugs herself and shakes her body from side to side.

"Uh... Since when did Childe ever tell you about this?" Paimon asked in slight confusion.

"Just play along, Paimon."

"Hehe, why don't you just say so? Hug!" Teucer runs up to Lumine and gives her a hug, circling his arms around her much bigger body.

Childe coughs into his fist again, purposely much louder this time, which gains everyone's attention.

"Teucer, mind if you uh... Release the nice lady a little? I need some minutes to discuss something with my... Comrade!" Childe spoke up, feigning a smile when he was really serious inside.

Once Teucer releases his hold, Childe rushes over to her and puts his hands on her shoulders. He guides her to a slightly secluded corner and hisses to her in a voice quiet enough that Teucer and Paimon doesn't hear.

"Girlie, I swear you'll be the death of me."

"And I nearly was."

"Ssh!" Childe presses his index finger over her mouth with a panicked face. "Please don't remind of that. That hurts as hell, and I still haven't even recovered yet."

"Good for you then." Lumine shrugged lightly. Childe's eyes twitched at that.

"Look, I know we're not on the best of terms after what happened last time. But please, can we forget about that right now? Please tell me that you haven't told him anything about that, I really don't want Teucer to find out about... this side of Snezhnaya." Childe said, practically begging her for it. It feels nice looking at him being distressed like this.

Lumine's eyebrows furrowed at that, her lips turn into a pout, making a sad and disappointed expression.

"Aww, too bad, I've already told him." Childe's face turned alarmed immediately, as if he just stared at the open gates of hell. "Just kidding."

Veins pops out on his forehead, and the corner of his eyes twitched. Childe wonders if he should just slit her throat right now in spite of his brother being right over there.

"But I'm very curious though." Lumine spoke up, glancing back at Teucer who is talking with Paimon and the Fatuus woman who joins in the conversation awkwardly. "Why do you lie to him? He's going to find out one day. And the revelation about it will be even more painful the more you lie to him."

Childe puts a hand behind his neck and averts his eyes as he sighs. "I only told him that so that he'll look up to me. In the eyes of a child, working with toys must be the best job imaginable, right? I don't want my family to have anything to do with the Fatui's... Or should I say, Snezhnaya's... Darker side." Childe's voice lowers at that remark. "The older ones already know that I serve the Tsaritsa. But Teucer is still so young. And in his eyes..."

"You're a nice, loving, caring, and the best big brother in the world." Lumine finishes his sentence, to which Childe nods in confirmation.

"Just humor me in front of Teucer. If you would be so kind." Childe whispers at her, his eyes are looking at her pleadingly, while wearing a begging expression.

Despite her dislike of the man, for what he did that day, Lumine completely understands. She could empathize with him, after all... She too has plenty of secrets that she's been keeping from her own brother. Secrets that she absolutely won't allow for Aether to learn about it.

"I understand." Lumine nods her head. Slightly surprising him with how easy it was. "Having to keep your lifetime secret from your brother must've been pretty hard huh? Really makes you think "if only the circumstances were different, if only I was destined to become what I imagined.""

Childe looks at her confusingly, not understanding where she is going with the conversation.

Lumine simply sighs at his confusion, and turns around towards Teucer and Paimon nearby.

"You look like you have some jobs that need to be done. Don't worry, I will keep Teucer company until you finish." She says before walking away, leaving Childe to stand there.

~o~0~o~

The traveler is a really interesting person.

Childe knew he said that multiple times already, but it's true. She really is an interesting individual, there's never been a moment where being with her is boring or tiring. In fact, with every new seconds that the Fatui Harbinger spent with the Outlander, he came to learn about new things about her.

Like the fact of how good she is at babysitting.

Prior to their encounter during this day, Childe always knew the traveler to be the quiet type, she much prefers for her fairy companion to do the talking at any given situation, and only start talking herself when it's serious business, but even then, the only time that she does start talking, it's always done with such straightness that almost makes her sound stiff and even devoid of emotions sometimes, and when she does show some emotions, it's always be when she was provoked to do so, and so far, the only clear emotion that Childe ever see directly on her face is that one time when she almost killed him, twice. So yeah, definitely not the type of person you want to be around kids, especially if it's his younger brother.

Except that he's completely wrong about that.

Childe didn't meet Teucer for a while after he entrusted him to Lumine's hand along with a pouch of Mora for use as well as being they payment should there be any leftovers.

Hours have passed, and even Childe is starting to get worried about what happened to them. It wasn't until he was doing the last assignment of his work for the day which is to baptize a batch of new Fatui recruits according to the rules in which a Harbinger must do that his worries were finally at ease, as well as getting replaced with a new kind of worry.

Teucer and Lumine appear while he was in the middle of giving a speech. Interrupting him midway, and severely butchering his intended speeches that were turned into a blubbering mess that his brain must produce in a split second that just caused total confusion to the future hands of the Tsaritsa.

This is the kind of thing he didn't want Teucer to learn of, and yet there she is sitting on the sidelines, doing nothing, and let Teucer watches him doing his job.

He tries to gesture to her to get him somewhere else so that he can work. But all she did was giving him a thumbs up as if reassuring him in a mocking way that it is TOTALLY okay to let a child watching this.

He almost tempted to shoot her with one of his arrows because of this, only not doing so because one, Teucer is right in front of her, two, because he knew that she just gonna dodge it anyway, and three, because the little fairy right by her side is chuckling and smirking at his predicament, which made her twice as annoying as her companion, so maybe he should shot the emergency food instead.

But still though, despite of how annoying this whole situation was, in the end, he made it out successfully, without any downsides from both Teucer and Lumine's presences, which is quite a surprise as he would've thought that things won't be going as smoothly as it was, he's even afraid that today will be the day when his whole world of lies will crumble, but it wasn't, thanks to Lumine.

"Brother! You were amazing!"

Childe sees his little brother, accompanied by the traveler approaches him. And once he dismissed all the Fatui recruits, he immediately ran over to them.

"Oh, Teucer! What in the world are you doing here?" He is extremely glad to seem again after a day of work, but at the same time, he's extremely worried that he'll find out about his secret along the way. "There I was thinking that the Traveler had taken you to play at Wangshu Inn, haha!"

"Yup, we did! The scenery is so amazing there! I almost could see the whole world from up there!" Teucer nods cheerfully, smiling happily at the memory.

"Wait... So you actually went there?" Childe asked, caught by surprise, he glanced towards Lumine who stayed silent.

"We went there for lunch, but we also showed Teucer the scenery around." Paimon answered him.

"Ah I see... Good to hear. I hope you enjoyed your little trip, Teucer?" Childe asked his little brother.

"Yup, I enjoyed it very much!" Teucer nods his head with a cheerful laughter. "Big sister Lumi is amazing! She got all kinds of stories! She even shares her stories about working with you! Like how you two first met when she was in the middle of giving out toys, how she teaches you how to use... Uh... What is it called again? Chop... Uh- chop... Chopsticks, yeah! Chopsticks! Or, when you and her finally decide to work together! Working together to make lots and lots of toys!"

Childe looks at Lumine once more, who merely shrugs her shoulder. Now he knows why his brother wasn't around until now, It looks like the traveler is not only good at babysitting, but she's also good in the art of lies as well. Though he really hoped that she leaves about the chopsticks part, that was really embarrassing.

He mentally sighs, although he and Lumine have worked hard to keep this facade up, he can't do it forever, and the traveler, for all her strength, Childe doubt that even she could do the same as well. The sooner they sent Teucer away, the Better.

"You've had a nice long time here in Liyue, haven't you, Teucer? Isn't it about time that you took the boat back home?" Childe looks at his brother, with a concerned look on his face.

Teucer's cheerfulness immediately fell apart. "But, but... But you've been so busy, and we didn't get any time to play together yet..." The small boy complained, looking sad and angry.

"Teucer, you know I'm very busy at work... And hasn't it been fun traveling all over the place with her, a proper traveler?" Childe sneaks a glance at the two people behind his brother.

"He's just worried he won't be able to keep up the Toy Seller act forever..." Paimon whispered, to which Lumine simply nodded.

"W-Well, how about this? If you just do one little thing for me, I'll be a good boy and go back home!" Teucer promises, hope and eagerness filled his tiny eyes.

"Oh dear, who taught this little devil to bargain..." The Harbinger sighs once more, at the corner of his eyes, he sees Paimon averting her eyes from him, which gives him some idea. "Alright, what'll it be?"

"Take me to visit the Institute of Toy Research!" Teucer answered.

Though he's not showing it much, Lumine catch some glimpse of shock I'm Childe's eyes. Now how is he going to deal with this she wonders...

"Do you think he means that ruin the Millelith was telling us about? The one where all those Ruin Guards were coming from?" Paimon asked Lumine quietly.

"Probably." Lumine replied, seeing there's something glimmering at the corner of Childe's eyes, as if showing hope.

"Done deal. After all, you've come all this way for me, Teucer..." Childe nods his head, reaching a hand out, he pat his brother's head. "As your brother, it's only right for me to grant you one last wish before you leave."

"Exactly! hee-hee."

"Um, are you sure this is a good idea? It doesn't seem like the best place for kids..." Paimon whispered again, looking unsure and concerned.

"No need to worry." Lumine lightly shook her head, placing a hand on her chest. "If things get a little out of control... You have me."

"Uh... Paimon's not sure if that's reassuring..." Paimon muttered while scratching her head.

"You should come along too, Traveler! This time, it's Teucer's turn to take you sightseeing!" Lumine felt a tug on her arm, looking down to see Teucer pulling it, urging her to come.

"Let me think... Yes, the Institute of Toy Research is not far at all from Lingiu Pass." Childe nods to himself, looking a little confident, yet unsure at the same time.

Childe glance at her, smiling cheerfully at Lumine, but she knew better to never believe that fake smile.

"Now Traveler... You're not the sort of person who would disappoint a kid now, are you? You've already babysits Teucer for the entire day, wouldn't hurt to lend a hand for the last time now, right?"

He sounds provoking, using Teucer as blackmail for her to come. But Lumine knew that deep inside, it was his way of saying "Please! I'm begging you! I need your help!" Which is a shame because she kinda wants to see him on all fours, groveling on his knees while crying and begging her... What a bizzare thought...

"Sure." Lumine said with a nod of her head. "I'm curious about the place as well, wouldn't hurt to see just what kind of magical place it was."

"Haha, Great! Alright then, why don't we head over there now? The sooner we get there, the better."

~o~0~o~

"Here we are. Welcome to Liyue's Institute of Toy Research."

They arrived at the place, which is a not so obvious entrance to a ruin. How Childe knew about this place is a mystery, though Lumine deduced that he probably has some "connections" that link to it.

"Yeah, we're here! I can already hear the sounds of machinery inside. Awesome!"

Teucer's enthusiasm completely contrasts most of the people in the group. Paimon is really worried about this idea, Childe looks confident but still a little unsure, and as for Lumine... She didn't know what to expect, but she'll prepare herself for whatever lies inside.

"Hey, so what is this place? And how do you know about it?" Can't hold her curiosity anymore, Paimon silently asks Childe, using the opportunity as Teucer is busy being amazed.

"Uh... I have only little to no information about this, but if I'm not mistaken, I believe this is one of Dottore's research facilities." Childe answered, rubbing the back of his head.

Lumine visible jerked a little upon hearing him, snapping her head to look at him with such seriousness, even though her eyes are hidden behind her blindfold.

"Did you just say Dottore?" The traveler asked, sounding quite surprised.

"Dottore is another one of the Fatui Harbingers. He loves tinkering with old things, it's a... Personal passion of his. So, he converted these ruins into a Ruin Guard research lab." Childe explained, his eyes looked at Lumine with hidden interest for her strange reaction just now.

Lumine didn't say anything for a while, before sighing heavily, putting her palm on her face.

"I know I shouldn't have expect less from this world." She muttered under her breath, one thing that Childe caught on.

"Wait, so the Ruin Guards are built by the Fatui?" Paimon asked, shocked and confused.

"No. They have much more connections to the Abyss, so strictly speaking, they're as much our enemies as anyone else's... We just do research, nothing more." Childe explained, shaking his head. "As to why the Ruin Guards have been moving outside of this area recently... I can only imagine that he's gotten bored of playing around with them, and has lost interest in this place."

"Wow, yet another Harbinger with bad attitude!" Paimon narrows her eyes at that, crossing her arms on her chest.

"I believe the word "bad" is a major downplay when it comes to that man, Paimon." Lumine said with a silent huff. Looking at her, Childe made a mental note to ask The Doctor later about if they ever met or not.

"But at least this explains why you were totally okay with bringing Teucer here. Seems you did your homework ahead of time."

"Well... I wouldn't go that far. I actually have no idea what this place is like on the inside." Childe said with a toned down voice, scratching the side of his cheek.

"W-Wait, so... Are you or are you not worried about your brother's safety?" Paimon asked in confusion.

"Of course I am... But no matter what the danger is, I will parry it. Isn't that what any older brother would do?" Childe asked, a small sigh escaped from his lips as he continues. "Even Teucer understands that, now he knows what he's fighting for... It's the very same reason that has nestled in my own heart for so many years...

In the corner of his eye, the ginger haired man saw a slight jerk from Lumine's form, as if she was surprised by what he said. She stopped breathing for a moment, and then her head dropped.

"What are you guys chatting about?"

Before Childe could ask her what was wrong and continue their conversation, Teucer came into view, stopping their conversation as he urged them to go inside the facility.

"Come on, let's go in! I can't wait to see all of those toys!" Urges Teucer, tugging at Childe's hand.

"Haha, alright. Follow me."

Nodding Childe leads the way for them to enter, gesturing Lumine and Paimon to follow them from behind.

They enter into the facility, and immediately after they enter, Lumine could already the mechanisms and machinery that made up this place. The sounds of gears, clockworks, and heavy machines echoing throughout the place, even in the entrance, it was pretty loud. And not to mention there's also the strong smell iron, smokes, and gas. This place is not really suited for children.

"I'm going to go play with Mr. Cyclops now!"

"Hey, Teucer, wait up..."

But if a completely oblivious child isn't bad enough, then a child with so much enthusiasm like Teucer is twice the times bad.

His excitement causes him to run away without protection, entering a large doorway that immediately starts closing in the moment pass by. Childe and Paimon tries to run up to him, but there's no time. So Lumine put as much as Anemo energy to her legs and dashes forward with the speed of the wind, barely passing through the door before it fully closes.

"Th-The door's shut!" Paimon exclaimed, by the time the door is before her, it's already closed. "Hey Teucer! Are you alright?"

"Don't worry, he's with me." Lumine's voice came from the other side of the door. Slightly surprising both Paimon and Childe as they realize it just now that blonde girl is not on the same side as them.

"Whoa! Big sis, how did you get here all of a sudden?!" And it seems like Teucer is no exception as well.

"Ah, Girlie, are you in there?" Childe presses his head against the door as to let his voice pass through. "There's another path here that I could go. Meet me at a crossover, and please keep Teucer safe for me, okay?"

"Got it. Watch yourself as well." Lumine replied back, and just hearing her response caused relief to wash over him.

"Come on." He looked at Paimon and gesture her to follow, which she did, reluctantly.

In a separate path, the two groups explored the facility. One group is having fun during the tour, like they were walking on the park, while the other group on the other hand, is scared and worried to death over the other's safety. Especially when the individual paths they took were separated far from one another.

In all honesty, Childe is extremely worried and scared for his brother's safety, but at the same time, he couldn't help but felt some sort of relief knowing that Teucer are in good hands. Childe knows Lumine wouldn't dare to hurt his brother, nor allowing any harm to come over to him, She's one of the kindest (and meanest) person he knows. Despite her sometimes annoying or extremely weird and confusing nature, it doesn't change the fact that she's looking after Teucer... A little bit too much, if he says so.

Faintly, his ears could hear the sounds of her voices. She explains the things exist in the facilities like it was normal, acting like a tour guide of sort to Teucer, who eagerly asks her various other questions, including about how long she and his brother have been known each other among other things.

Eventually, there was a crossover of the roads. And when they finally reunite, Childe feels himself sagging in relief.

"Phew, back together at last. You're not hurt, are you, Teucer?" Childe immediately runs over to his brothers, putting his hands on both of the younger brother's shoulders and looks at him up and down.

"Hurt? No way. This was really fun!" The boy respond with glee. "This place really is as magical as you said. Big sis Lumi explains everything on how it works. I kinda wanted to work here as well when I grew up."

Childe glanced towards Lumine, the blonde girl brushes her hands against one another, shooting him a someone gentle yet smug looking smile. She's really gonna be the death of him, is she?

"Fun for you, maybe, but we were all scared to death!" Paimon stomps her foot in mid-air, crossing her arms. "You can't just run off like that!"

Unluckily for her, Teucer doesn't seem to be listening, as his attention was to somewhere else.

"What's that over there... Wow, this room is huge! Is this where Mr. Cyclops takes his friends when they come to visit?" Teucer asked with sparkles in his eyes, as he stares at the room next to them, filled with a few Ruin Guards.

For a second, Childe feels his soul leave his body. The expression on his face shows nothing but pain, exhaustion, and a well hidden annoyance. Lumine looks at the room for a second, and finds out the reason why.

Mentally sighing, Childe turns his body to look at his little brother.

"It is. Impressive, isn't it? Now, how about a little game of hide-and-seek?" He asked suddenly out of the blue.

Teucer looks at him, confused. "Uh... now? But..."

Childe musters his energy and winks playfully at him. "Hehe, I have a surprise for you, you know."

"A surprise!" Teucer's attitude does a one-eighty immediately. "What sort of surprise?"

Paimon and Lumine shot a side glance at him, curious about what he planned.

"Don't worry, you'll have the chance to look for it later. But before that, you have to close your eyes, turn around, and count down from 60." Childe reassures her brother, giving the young boy a little smile.

"Okay... 60 is a really long time though." Although he pouts, Teucer complied. He turn his body around, put his palms to cover his eyes, and starts counting.

Nodding to himself, Childe turns towards Lumine and gestures her to enter. She smiles a little at him before entering the room. Turning to look at Paimon, he leans down to whisper to her ears.

"Please, watch him for me. I'll be quick."

He rushes off before she gets to respond, taking out his blades as the Ruin Guards begin activating, one by one. Coming to stand beside Lumine who already has her sword out, they stood side by side as the machines comes to life and slowly closing in on them.

At first, it was the two of them trapped in a room full of Ruin Guards. But in the next second, it becomes the Ruin Guards that are trapped in the same room with them.

"Are you guys okay? What's with all that crashing and banging?" Teucer questioned amidst his counting.

"Well, it's uh..." Paimon struggles to respond.

"Don't worry, it's all part of the surprise!" Childe shouted back at him as he shot an arrow straight towards one of the Ruin Guard's eyes.

Even more crashing happens, metals being crushed, giant robots falling down in pieces. If Teucer were ever to see this, he'll surely have a heart attack upon seeing the figures he's been idolizing is being shred into pieces.

"Heheh, who would've thought that we would have the opportunity to fight side by side like this? Must've been an impossible thought back then huh?" Childe asked Lumine, a little quietly for Teucer to not hear, while audible enough for her to hear.

"Hmm." Lumine hums in agreement. Raising her arms to launch multiple giant sharp shards of stone towards the Ruin Guard she's facing. "Thought that the next time I meet you, it will be when I kill you." She said, a little too honestly.

"Ahaha, please don't say that, girlie." Childe laughs, someone cockily. "I will live, for I will crush the thrones of the gods beneath my feet before death could have me."

Eventually, all the Ruin Guards in the room were damaged enough for them to shut down, but without destroying their body, per Childe's request. Childe dispersed his Hydro blades, and Lumine dematerialize her sword. Their job is done, all the danger in the room has been eliminated, Teucer's counting nearing it's end, and there is no other Ruin-

The sounds of gears being turned rings in the air. The machinery above them moves. And then, a horrifying sight come into view: just when they thought that they've done dealing with all the Ruin Guards, even more Ruin Guards are brought into the room. Three of them... And then five... And then seven...

"Okay, you're ready?" Teucer asked, his counting finished. Paimon besides him starts panicking.

"Give me another ten seconds Teucer... Still hiding..." Childe spoke up, sounding conflicted for some reason.

Teucer huffed in annoyance. "Now who's a cheater?" He pouted, before closing his eyes again. "Alright, ten seconds, that's it..." The boy nodded and started counting once more.

Seeing the advancing Ruin Guards, Lumine took a step forward, but Childe blocked her with his hand. She turned her head to look at him, inwardly surprised to see him giving her a smile, that looked weaker than his usual ones. She gets the meaning behind that smile, and her eyes blown wide open in surprise under their wrappings of bandages.

"Are you going to-!"

As one of the many Ruin Guards came near to punch him, Childe's form vanished in an instant without answering her unfinished question. The area around her explodes with purple electricity, and the Foul Legacy transformed Childe bursts into action. The remaining machines are no match for him, they're all slashed, blasted, stabbed, and crushed under his full might. While Lumine watches all whilst in the middle of the ensuing massacre. Childe somehow makes sure that no harm ever comes to her even though she's practically an inch away from destruction.

When ten seconds are up. Teucer opens his eyes and turns his body around. And immediately, his eyes sparkle in amazement and pure happiness, as the sight before him brings nothing but joy.

"This... this is everything I dreamed of! It's Mr. Cyclops world!" He screams in delight.

"Y-Yeah! This is what your big brother prepared for you, tada!" Quickly overcoming her shock from witnessing that form of Childe again Paimon plays along, opening her arms and gesturing widely to the fallen Ruin Guards.

"Awesome! Hee-hee!"

Teucer shouts in glee and runs around, "ooh'ing" and "ahh'ing" at the robots. Paimon has a relieved look on her face, and as she accompanies Teucer as he runs around amongst the fallen machinery, she wonders where could've Lumine and Childe went.

~o~0~o~

Childe is panting as he kneels on the ground, sweat dripping off his face. Looking like he's good as one step away from death. Leaning against the wall, he groans and hissed as he gets into a more comfortable position.

"Thanks for the help there girlie, I couldn't imagine how Teucer might react if I were to collapse right there." Childe muttered quietly, pain filled his voice, even speaking is hard to do for him.

Lumine who is right in front of him kneels down, she looks at the man before her, gently reaching out to cup his chin and raising his head so that she can inspect him properly.

"You don't look so good." she comments, and Childe lets out a deflated laugh.

"Well, looks like using the Foul Legacy Transformation while I was still injured took more out of me than I'd thought..." He sported a wry smile, though it was ruined by a pained grunt that appears after.

Lumine thinks back to that day at the Golden House. She swore to herself at the time that she would not kill him, that she didn't want to fight him. And yet... She ends up backing her in her own words... Her ̶h̶u̶n̶g̶e̶r̶ anger towards him has blinded her, to the point that she almost ̶d̶e̶v̶o̶u̶r̶ killed him that time. Added with the strain that Foul Legacy put on him... This kind of power should never be wielded by a human to begin with, yet he did, and he is more than willing to take the risk in order to become strong.

Normally, this kind of situation would really put Lumine in annoyance. She despise people who thinks they could gain everything by becoming strong, she hates it!

But... Childe... Childe is different. He wanted to become strong, he lusted for power, he wants to become the strongest, and for what? To protect his family and loved ones.

How can someone be so sinful... Yet loving at the same time?

But then again, she already has herself as an example. Though the latter part were only told by the eyes of the others, who saw a loving and gentle maiden inside her. While as for Lumine herself... She never saw herself as one, she saw herself as anything but kind or loving. For the only thing that Lumine saw when she looked at herself in the mirror... Is the embodiment of all sins that ever exist.

Lumine reaches up to the wrappings of bandages around her eyes, tugging it down to let it be loose and fall down from her head and to the ground. Two pair of golden eyes, opens itself, blinking and staring at Childe, who looks surprised by her sudden unexpected move, as well as this revelation being presented before him.

"Wow, girlie, that's... Quite a face you got there." Childe says, somewhat in a stutter.

So the Traveler is indeed never blind to begin with. She just used those bandages to cover her eyes, for purposes that he completely don't understand. Why would she hide her eyes like that, when she got such a pretty face?

"Your conditions are worse than I thought... That transformation... It consumes you from the inside. You really should've stop using it." Lumine muttered softly, her golden eyes looked at Childe's body, but judging from her expression and the intensity of her glare, it would be more accurate to say that what she is looking is actually what's inside his body.

"Haha, no way girlie." Childe wave his hand and shook his head. "Like I said before... I can never pass on an opportunity to test my limits. Even if it almost got me killed." His lips curves up to make a confident smile. "And that's why I, Tartaglia, am always getting stronger."

Lumine remains still, kneeling in front of him, she gives him a somewhat somber look.

"But was all of this worth it?" She asked softly.

Childe sighs, looking to the side, to the small gap where he could see his brother running around and having fun.

"Childhood dreams are all too easily shattered. Even if you just leave them be, they will fall to pieces all by themselves." he murmurs in a soft tone, his eyes turns gently as he continues to watch his brother plays with Paimon. "So, someone has to protect them, right? If you make a promise, you keep it, if you make a mistake, you apologize... and if you give someone a dream, you defend it to the end." He tilts his head back and his eyes find hers. "That is what family is all about, isn't it?"

Aether...

She doesn't reply to that, making the man chuckle. As she has her own multitude of thoughts crossing through her brain.

Promise... Mistakes... Dreams... Just how many... How many have she made them? How many promises have she broken? How many mistakes she had done in her lifetime? And how many dreams she have broken?

If family is all about that... Then... Is she... Not worthy of being family with her brother?

"Aha... Remind you of something, did I? Ugh..."

He coughs harshly, snapping her back into reality. She watches as he attempts to compose himself, staying silent the whole time. When his hacking finally dies down, he pulls something out of his pocket.

"I have a little something for Teucer." He showed it to her, and Lumine looked at it blankly. "I had it made to order by a Smith some time back. I had intended to give it to him on my return to Snezhnaya, but it seems that it would make a better souvenir at this point."

Using one hand to grab hers, he put the souvenir into her palm.

"Please give this to Teucer on my behalf alright?" Childe gives her an apologetic smile. "I have no idea what I'd do if Teucer saw me like this, deflated as a burst balloon."

Lumine looks down at the stuffed Ruin Guard toy in her hand, he really expects her to give this to him? While running away from his own brother all because of shame?! No. No this cannot be allowed to happen!

"No." Lumine sternly said, she shakes her head and drops the toy to the ground.

Childe presses his lips together, feeling that he's about to burst out mad.

"Girlie, look, I know that we're not exactly the kind of friends you made us to be but-"

Without warning, Lumine hooks her arms under his, pulling him up. He lets out a small yelp of surprise and pain when she forces him to stand up, pushing him against the wall by pushing her palms against his.

"Ouch! What are you- Mmmph?!"

And then, the even more unexpected happen.

Childe's hands were on the side of his head, pressed on the walls as Lumine's hands are pushing on them, her smaller fingers fills the gaps between his fingers, intertwining their fingers together. Childe's legs were open, Lumine's small stature fills the space between them, as she pressed her chest against his abdomen while having her lips connecting to his.

Childe's eyes are blown wide open, not expecting this kind of outcome at all. This is too good to be a reality, having this traveler of all people to be the one who stole his first kiss. And although it's not so much as being passionate, with Lumine being simply connecting their lips together, Childe kinda wish that she do more.

They lasted in that position for five whole seconds, before Lumine pulls away and separates their lips from one another. Childe is visibly out of breath for it's suddenness and for already being in pain, while Lumine looks fine, almost as if she used it.

"Girlie... What was that fo-"

"What an enormous amount of negative energy..."

Before Childe could ask her the motive behind that kiss, since the most obvious answer seems to be the most impossible, he heard her mutters something.

Childe looks at Lumine before her. Her eyes that were golden just seconds ago... Suddenly becomes crimson red, just like that time, drools coming out from the corner of her mouth. Her cheeks dyed in faint red blush, her eyes looked at him with a side glance, hot breaths comes out from between her lips.

"Oh shit."

Childe mentally gulped.

The expression on her face... It's the kind of expression you would expect from a predator upon seeing their prey. Or a courtesan who had found their intended bedmate.

"Ahn... I just want one more bite..."

Childe didn't know what to do. His body is being pinned to the wall by someone who is shorter than him. He could only gulped the lump in his throat and brace himself as tha face of "Lumine" approaches with an open mouth and fangs barred for him to see.

Lumine blinks once, and she sees Childe's face up close, her mouth is open and her body is pressing against him.

"Agh, no!"

She immediately stop her unconscious advances. Pushing herself away from Childe and turn her body around. Covering her mouth with her arm whilst shaking her head violently. As if attempting to shake herself away from her stupor.

Childe is totally confused by this. He stares at her in total confusion, and is about to ask if she's okay, but then, that's when he realized.

"Wait... what?! My body, it's...!" He's standing on his two feet! Childe could feel his body normally again. Just seconds ago, it was as heavy as stone, but now, he's like a leaf in the wind.

"Your body should return mostly to normal now. Now you don't have to worry about Teucer ever finding out." Lumine spoke up, he looks up to see her being back to normal again, even more normal now that he could look at her in the eyes.

"Girlie, what did you just do?" Childe finally can ask her, looking at her in a mix of curiosity, confusion, and some awareness.

Lumine simply shrugged her shoulders. "Not gonna tell you." She bent down to the ground and picks up the toy she dropped seconds ago. "Here, now you can give it to Teucer yourself." She pushed the toy into his hands, which he reluctantly took it. "Right now, you can say "we'll see each other again soonx and mean it. But one day, you might say the same thing, but you're unable to do what you promised, and you'll end up never seeing him again, and all the promises you made don't mean anything anymore."

Childe looks at her with widened eyes, and Lumine reaches out to curls his fingers around the toy in his hand.

"I don't think it matters to him whether you look cool or not. He already thinks you're the coolest thing to walk Teyvat. He just wants to spend time with you, and you should do just that, before you couldn't anymore."

He stays silent, his gaze flickering to the stuffed toy and her, and he eventually lets out a heavy sigh.

"Girlie, you're... You're the most mysterious individual I ever met you know. I'd never understand you."

In a rare moment of his lifetime, Lumine smiles, playfully. "I'll take that as a compliment."

He doesn't answer.

Lumine turns her body around and takes a few steps from him.

"I'm gonna go out for a while... Tell Paimon to go back to our room in Wangshu Inn by night."

Childe reaches out a hand to her, almost wanting to ask where she's going, but Lumine already disappears before he could do so, vanishing amidst blue lights.

Childe looks down at the toy in his hands once more, and gives himself a nod of reassurance, and with that, he stepped out from hiding.

"Big brother! There you are!"

The moment he saw Childe, Teucer's eyes immediately widens in joy and happiness, he runs towards the older man and give him the biggest hug of his life.

"I love it so much here! This is the most amazing surprise ever! How do you even do this?!" Teucer's asked, looking up at his big brother while still hugging him.

"Ahaha, that's a secret." Childe laughs, reaching down to pat Teucer's head when the small boy groaned for not being told.

"Wait, where's Lumi? Paimon she's with you." Paimon wondered, looking around for the blonde haired girl.

"She uh... She said that she has some business to take care of... You know? One that don't need me?" Childe nervously answered, trying to come up with an excuse.

"Aww, what? But she is so nice to me! I wanted to thank her too!" Teucer said, looking a little sad without Lumine being around.

"Ah, don't worry about it Teucer. I'm sure that you'll get the opportunity to meet the nice lady again sometime." He lightly smiled at the thought. "But more importantly though, I have something to give you."

Childe kneels down to come face-to-face with his brother, and he shows him the toy in his hand.

"Here, I got a Mr. Cyclops just for you, Teucer." he winks at him, and Teucer lets out a squeal of delight.

"Wow! Look at this!" He looks at the toy which he takes to his hands. "I never knew that they made Mr. Cyclops in this size!"

"And now you know." Childe smiles at him warmly. "Go check what's on the back."

Teucer did what he told, and his face brightens even more.

"Look, it even has my name on it! It's my very own Mr. Cyclops!" He squeals while pointing at his written name.

"Hehe, yup. I've made this one just for you Teucer. Only for you."

"Thank you thank you thank you! I love you big brother!"

Teucer throws his arms around Childe as he hugs him, and Childe returns it gladly. Paimon hovers nearby, looking at the scene with a mixed expression, mostly because she's happy to see it, while also being worried about Lumine's sudden appearance, and she has suspicions on Childe over it.

And speaking of Lumine...

Childe rubs the corner of his lips... The taste of her lips still lingers there. Just remembering that moment made his head blank, but as always, as Childe would do, he just smirks at the memory.

Mentally, he's wondering where Lumine could've gone...

~o~0~o~

"Ugh! I can't believe I just did that!"

If one were to travel along the paths in Wuwang Hill, then they will be presented with an extremely rare sight coming from this world... Or another world.

The blonde haired Traveler who had saved the entire Liyue from drowning by slaying an ancient god could be found sitting on the side of a mountain, hands used to cover her completely red face as she blushed intensely.

She knows that it's necessary but... Damn, she still can't believe that she just kissed him like that! A Fatui, and one of their top dogs no less.

But oh well... At least things still worked out in the end, and Childe is able to face his brother instead of running away like a coward.

Lumine uncovers her face, sighing heavily once she manages to calm down her rapidly beating heart, caused by that... Bold act she pulled off, as well as another thing.

Lumine looks down at her arm, finding a bite mark on it. She bit her own arm in order to restrain herself from losing control at that moment. If she hasn't done so... Who knew if the situation could get any ̶b̶e̶t̶t̶e̶r̶ worse.

She bit herself a little too hard, and it causes blood to come out from the injury. Without thinking, she stretches her tongue out and licks it.

Ah, how ̶v̶e̶r̶y̶ ̶u̶n̶f̶o̶r̶t̶u̶n̶a̶t̶e̶ glad she was that she ended up not going too far. At least it's only a kiss that she did to him. In another scenario... She might tear his chest open to get those negative energy out of him.

She'll blame her lust for this.

~o~0~o~

The pain of heartbreak is equal to the amount of love you have for someone. And sometimes, a part of loving someone is to learn how to let them go. But if you love someone so much to the point that you're unwilling to let go... Then it's no longer love that controls you.

What controls you then... Is lust.

She has seen one example of this in this world, as well as in the other world. And just like in the other world, she has disposed of it too, albeit with more regrets this time.

"Hey now, don't take your eyes from your enemy, girlie."

Lumine snapped her attention back to the real world, just in time as Childe thrust her Hydro Spear forward to stab her. She stomp the ground to make a small pillar of stone erupted from the ground to interrupt his way of attack, redirecting his arm upwards and miss her head by an inch.

"What's the matter with you? You're not like yourself today." Childe remarked as he jumps back to make some distance from her.

Well of course she's not, her mind is occupied by a lot of things right now, and yet this man insists on taking her on a spar like any other day, completely ignoring her inner struggles.

This has become their weekly activity ever since that day they spent together in taking care of Teucer. After deciding to forgive the man for his attempted genocide of the people in Liyue harbor, Lumine had offered him a private weekly training for him to get stronger by having him challenging her to a spar at any time of the week, so long as she wasn't busy with any other problems.

When she first offered him, he merely laughed and remarks at how terrible of a joke it was, until he finds her to be actually serious. She even gave him a realm dispatch for the serenetea pot in order to better contact her for their weekly spars, and that's how it began.

Every time in the week, while both have free time in their hands, Lumine would find Childe knocking on the door of her mansion, asking her out for a spar, to which she accepts.

However, although they called it a "spar," it's more accurate to say that it's a training regimen instead. For there's never been a time where the Fatui Harbinger ever won in their battle, only ended up exhausting himself when none of his attacks ever came to badly injuring her.

But still, despite his growing frustrations, Lumine could see how his training paid off well as he kept getting strong, with him admitting it himself as well. And that's why they continue doing it, with Childe hoping to get stronger and one day finally beating her in doing so, and Lumine who genuinely feel the same as she wanted him to be strong in order to protect his family in one side, while selfishly doing it because she wanted to have someone who could kill her on the other.

Usually, she accepts whatever challenges he has in store for her. But on this particular day however... She's not having it.

It's been a while since she last met Childe, in fact, it has been over six months since the last she saw or having a spar with him. Lots of things happened during that period, lots of bizzare things, to number a few, just recently, Lumine had not only abolish the Vision Hunt Decree that has been going on for over a year in Inazuma, defeating the Raiden Shogun, the god of Inazuma herself in the process, but she also has herself quarrelling with the Fatui again for the third time, meeting the sixth of their eleven harbingers, losing herself after being overwhelmed by the dark thoughts that keeps pilling up in her mind after witnessing all the horrible things happening throughout the land, and ends up killing the eighth in her rage, something that she's glad for doing it as much as she regrets it. And those conflicting thoughts still lingers in her brain, up until now.

The way she treats Signora's body... It's definitely something she could never forgive herself.

"You're not even gonna raise your sword for this? How can I believe that you killed Signora like this?" Childe asked with a smirk on his face, he moves with his Hydro Spear, trying to cleave her, yet Lumine keeps dodging it effortlessly.

Oh he's just gotta bring this up huh? She haven't seen him in half a year and he's already bringing the most unwanted topic to her face?

But then again... That woman was a Harbinger. She had great value within the organisation, and someone like that isn't something that you could just find in a supermarket.

"I didn't kill her..." Lumine blankly answered, arching her body backwards to avoid a horizontal slash. "She killed herself." She continues, tapping the ground to create a Geo structures that pushes her away from him to make some distance.

"Ahaha, that's an interesting way to look at it. Considering that it's not true." Childe laughs as if the fact greatly amuses him, but the truth is, he is greatly disturbed by it.

After all, nobody amongst the Harbingers would ever expect to just find severed body parts right by their doorstep one morning and recognized it to be the mangled parts of someone from among their ranks. Childe too received one himself, finding a box filled with platinum blonde hair that he thought to be a wig or something at first, only realizing a bit later the true nature of it once the Harbingers were called to a meeting at noon.

Two arms, two legs, a torso, a hair, a pair of ears, a featureless head, and a pair of eyeballs. All nine of the Harbingers received one, and only after reassembling them, did they find out who's body it really was.

Lumine stays silent. Childe fires multiple Hydro arrows at her in a rapid succession, yet she dodges them all seemingly without moving a single muscle, letting the arrows passing through her body like she was nothing but an illusion.

"What? Can't even remember how you killed your own victim?" Childe asked again, when Lumine didn't respond, he chuckles lightly. "Alright then, Let me jog your memory a little then."

He moves forward with his spear, rapidly thrusting at her, trying to turn her into a pincushion. She deflects them all with ease with a single spell that sends multiple blades of winds that blocks his attacks.

"Twenty eight stab wounds. Does that ring a bell?" Childe questioned, turning his spear into twin blades, rapidly slashing Lumine who use a Geo shield to protect herself.

Dottore's autopsy report concluded that Signora's body suffered a total of 28 fatal stab wounds from a variety of different kinds of blades moments prior to her death. Her limbs were severed only after that.

Lumine shows no change of expression, she kept a blank straight face, even as her shield breaks and she was forced to call multiple thunders to strike down the spot where he stood to force him away from her.

"Okay, then how about the fact that her body was mangled beyond recognition? Severed into nine parts, and delivered to each of our doorsteps? How did you even do that anyway? Nobody in Snezhnaya ever saw you entering and exiting." He smirked lightly when he felt a wetness on his cheek, along with a stinging pain, one of the thunder she called forth must've hit him.

Childe got himself a hair, the Regrator and the Captain received one arm, Marionette and the Rooster received the legs, the Knave received her plucked out eyeballs, the Damselette got herself a pair of severed ears, the Doctor received her Torso, and as for the Jester... he received her head, a head without hair, ears, nor eyes. The only reason why he could recognise whose head it was is due to the funerary mask it was wearing.

"Still can't remember? In that case, does the word "Death for the Fools" familiar to you, girlie?" Childe breathed out, dispersing both of his Hydro blades, he decided that a breather should do for a while.

As he was inspecting Signora's headless, armless, legless torso, Dottore found that there are words carved into the eighth Harbinger's back, written in ancient Snezhnayan's language. The word "Death for the Fools" is carved into her flesh, using burning hot iron of a blade. Even the Doctor, arguably the most despicable person among the Harbingers, stayed silent after seeing it.

Lumine lowers her head a little, with a single gesture, she disperses the three elements resonating around her body.

"I didn't killed her." Lumine repeated after some moments of silence. She raises her head back, looking at Childe directly. "She brought it upon herself."

"Oh?" Childe raised an eyebrow at her. "And what exactly did she do to deserve that kind of death?" Childe questioned, putting one hand on his chin while scratching it. "Is it for the people she harmed? The victims of the war from both sides? The people who lost their Visions?"

"For pissing me off." Lumine answered simply.

Childe just stare at her blankly, and she sighed as she looks up to the sky, the sun is warmly shining down on them, the wind brushes against them gently.

"The suffering of those who lost their Visions... the lives that were lost in the war between the Shogunate and Sangonomiya... the pain from the families who suffers from the lost... I carried all of their pain on my back, and deliver it to one responsible for all of it. That's simply what happened, I lost control." Lumine explained, even though the bandages around her eyes hid most of her expression, Childe could the mixture of sadness and anger in them.

"Ah..." Childe silently nods his head. He knows full well of what happened when the Traveler is emotionally provoked, tell that to the doctors who treated his cracked ribcage.

"Besides, I gave her a warning already, when we first met in Mondstadt. Yet, she still foolishly challenged me to a duel before the throne, even after I told her that I'll spare her if she were to leave Inazuma at once."

"Heheh, good luck on convincing her on that." He shrugged his shoulders lightly. "So you're saying that even after all of that, you're still want to spare her?" Childe asked curiously.

"Believe me, if the circumstances were a little different, I'd much prefer to keep her alive."

Keeping that vixen of a woman around as a pet wouldn't be such a bad idea after all...

Such tempting thoughts, Lumine licks the corner of her lips mentally.

"Heh, how curious... I wonder if you'd do the same to me if I managed to piss you off as much as she had."

The thought of Lumine butchering his body apart is a horrifying idea, but if it means that he could see her unleashing that side of herself again...

"You're a special case." Lumine shakes her head. "You have a loving family that you need to protect, It's impossible kill you."

Childe feel another smirk is slowly creeping up on his face.

"But... If you do manage to piss me off however..."

Any thoughts of him smirking quickly fades away. It was crushed under the sudden intensity of Lumine's voice as she glares at the Harbinger from under her blindfold.

"Then I guess I'll just have to "half-kill" you."

~o~0~o~

Two years have passed already since her involvement in everything that's going on in Inazuma. After digging down information about the Abyss regarding her brother and the truth of this world, as well as delivering blows to the Fatui, again, her journey has now taken her to the land of water and Justice of Fontaine.

She was mildly surprised to find the nation hasn't been submerged in water already, but that is a good thing.

After arriving at the port, meeting with a pair of unexpected twins, and having a brief quarrel with a certain ̶b̶r̶a̶t̶t̶y̶ ̶p̶r̶i̶n̶c̶e̶s̶s̶ mistress over a certain flying balloon, she gets on an Aquabus that would takes her to the main city, while on the way, she met a familiar face.

"Do my eyes deceived me, or is that the legendary Traveler I see?"

A certain reporter from the Steam bird gets on the vehicle right before it departs from the station. A pink short haired girl with a camera, a certain girl Lumine have met before a few months ago.

"It's Charlotte! What a surprise!" Paimon exclaimed upon seeing the familiar figure, probably the first Fontanian person that both travelers have formed a close bond with.

"Didn't expect to see you here." In contrast to her flying ̶b̶a̶l̶l̶o̶n̶'̶s̶ companion's excitement, Lumine maintain a quite disposition as usual.

"Hehe, still with that blankness too." Charlotte remarked with a giggle.

The travelers briefly catch up with their reporter friend, sharing stories about some of their recent adventures, namely helping the Pari race and spending the time of summer in a world hidden inside a bottle. While Charlotte on the other hand, shared the stories of her work as a reporter, retelling some cases that's been a hot topic in Fontaine recently. One of which piqued Lumine's interest enough for her to turn her head towards the pink haired girl and listened.

"So what is the "serial disappearances of young women" case? You mean the culprit hasn't been found?" Paimon asked about it curiously, Lumine silently listen to the ensuing conversation.

"Oh, it's arguably the most mysterious, the most confusing, and the most popular case that has been going on in Fontaine." Charlotte answered, crossing her arms across her chest. "The case started when the first missing girl in the record happened almost twenty years ago. And ever since, after a period of time, another girl disappears. What the cases have in common is that the girls are all of similar age, and that they've all vanished without a trace." Charlotte puts one hand on her chin as she scratch it. "But the scariest part is that to this day, none of the girls have ever been found. Many suspects have been arrested over the years in connection with this case. But shortly after each arrest, another disappearance would always happen."

A serial disappearances huh? Hearing about this makes her feel a little nostalgic... But still... This is even worse than that case. The fact that their bodies were never found is... Really disturbing.

"Do you think there may be more than one criminal at work? Or maybe there are copycat criminals?" Paimon asked again, tilting her head to the side.

"Hmm, it's possible. But either way, I believe that every case has some precise truth behind it, waiting to be exposed." Charlotte said with a light shook of her head.

"Yes, I agree. And at the very least, the families of those missing girls deserve some sort of explanation." Lyney said with a nod of agreement, giving his twin sister beside him a side glance. "I just imagined for a second what I would do if Lynette were to suddenly disappear... I'd pay any price to get her back and then find a way to track down the culprit." He said with a sigh.

"Please don't imagine that, Lyney." Lynette muttered in response, blankly.

"Yikes, that sounds creepy." Paimon then turns towards Lumine. "Lumi... Paimon thinks we should be careful around here, like, REALLY careful. What if the criminal saw you and tries to kidnap you with how you look like an easy target?" The fairy warned her.

Lumine shrugged her shoulders. "If being their target means that I could meet face to face with the criminal behind this case. I think would rather just let myself be kidnapped by them." Lumine answered, earning a shriek from her companion.

Great, a new nation, and yet another problem she encountered. Lumine hoped sincerely that she won't get roped into this. But knowing of what happened to the four nations she has visited previously... She highly doubts things will go her way.

~o~0~o~

And sure enough, things really didn't go the way she hoped to be...

What was supposed to be a simple day watching her newfound Fontaine's friends magic show turned into tragedy and a criminal case, when something goes horribly wrong with the Lyney twins performance resulted in not only the disappearance of one of the audience, but also the death of one of their assistants, being crushed by a water tank falling from above, breaking the exciting and joyous atmosphere that exists just now and sends panic to spread over everyone present.

In the end, the Opera Epiclese is put under quarantine, and everyone who came for the show is being locked up inside until the murder case is solved. Lucky for her, she could just easily get out of it by using her teleportation magic, or by retreating to her teapot. But, she has promised to clear out the Magician twin's names after they were accused by that bratty Archon for being behind the murder and disappearance case, so escaping from this is not an option for her until she helped them out.

"Hey, you! Yes, both of you! Over here!"

While she was wandering the entrance, wondering if she could find some clues there, Lumine heard someone calling out for her. So she turned her head to the side, finding that there's a group of people gathered there, two men dressed elegantly in suits with a hat on, arms crossed and eyes staring right at her. But the one who just spoke is neither of them, instead, it was from someone behind them, the only female in the group, a girl with an elegant black and white dress, her hair are golden brown and it trails behind her back. A cup of tea was placed on the table before her.

"I've been keeping an eye on you for a while now." The girl in the dress said as she smiled at her.

"Huh? you are...!" Lumine felt like her heart just skipped a beat.

"Uh, you're referring to us?" Paimon asked, pointing at herself and looking around just in case if she was mistaken.

"That's right! If I'm not mistaken, you're also among those who wish to cut down the thorns and pursue the truth, no? And by the looks of it, you're not from Fontaine." The girl spoke up, using one hand to adjust the heart she's wearing, she reveals her face, looking at them with her blue eyes.

So she's here... Lumine wonders what kind of big scenario is involved for her to be here.

"Um, who are you?" Paimon asked, curious and confused of this stranger who just called them out so suddenly.

"Hehehe, have you heard of the Spina di Rosula? From mediating disputes and providing protection, to solving conundrums, you name it, Spina di Rosula does it." The brown haired girl spoke up, straightening herself in her seat as she said her words with confidence. "And I, Navia, have the honor of being its renowned president... Though those who play by our rules call me "Boss.""

"I'm Silver, her attendant. Pleased to meet you." One of the men in suits spoke up next, the one with shades on.

"And I'm Melus. Demoiselle's various daily needs and affairs are under my purview." Spoke the other one, an old man with glasses.

"Huh? Boss, Demoiselle... What gives with the names?" Paimon asked with a tilt of her heads.

"They were basically tittles given to her, Paimon." Lumine answered her companion's question.

"Hehe, that's right. I'm the second-generation president of the Spina di Rosula you see. Melus and the others are still used to my... Previous title." The girl now revealed to be Navia explained, sneaking a glance at Melus, the old man in the room.

"My apologies, Demoiselle. Should you prefer "Boss," I will endeavour to use that instead." Melus said while bowing himself.

"No, no need. You don't have to call me Boss. Just "Navia" is fine!" Navia said with a shake of her head.

"Okay, if you say so... Not that we're members of Spina di Rosula, anyway!" Paimon said with a nod.

Yes... Navia... That was her name...

"Haha, all merely trifling details, never mind. Now, back to the situation at hand." Navia clears her throat a little before being serious. "I've always kept an eye on the serial disappearance cases, my interest stems from a matter from my father's time. And judging from the look of things, I find Lyney an unlikely mastermind."

"Really? We think so too! That's why we're looking for clues now. But how did you come to that conclusion?" Paimon asked again.

"Intuition, naturally. My unparalleled intuition!" Navia said confidently.

"Uh, okay..." Paimon sounds doubtful and confused, meanwhile, Lumine just simply tilts her head at that.

"Furina sure was quick to point the finger at Lyney without any decisive evidence whatsoever, wasn't she? But that's not uncommon for her. If you remember, the Justice had to interrupt her and ask if she was pressing charges just to keep her from getting carried away." Navia explained with a light shook of her head, crossing her arms across her chest. "Anyway, a trial begins the moment someone levels charges. And of course, there was no way Furina was going back down in that situation."

Lumine sighs a little at this. "Yeah... she's such a piece of work to be aeound." She said while rolling her eyes, but not like anyone could see it.

"Sounds more like you just don't trust the Hydro Archon." Paimon remarked.

"Well, what's your opinion? I must admit that she can be interesting at times, but liking her doesn't mean that I'll blindly agree with her." Navia responded.

"Hmm, that's true." Lumine nods in agreement. Furina is not that all bad, but still, sometimes, that brat can be extremely annoying.

"Alright, I've answered your questions. Now it's time you answer mine."

"Wait a minute, did that answer count?" Paimon asked with widened eyes.

"Well, I say it does. But don't worry! You won't hear any pointless questions from me!" Navia waves her hands before asking her question. "In your opinion, do you think it's right to treat a trial like it's an opera?"

"Um, well..." Paimon seems struggling to come up with a response, so Lumine answered it instead.

"Personally, it's not." The blonde haired traveler answered.

"And why would that be?" Navia raised an eyebrow at her.

"Because judging someone for their sins shouldn't have been about fun and games." Lumine said with a shook of her head, crossing her arms on her chest and head dropped a little. "I've seen many trials in my life before... And not all of them were pretty."

In fact, if one were to think of a trial as a process in which a criminal is decided whether to receive their intended punishment or not, then surely someone would think Lumine as a trial herself. For how many souls have she judged for their sins, and for the judgement she befall them as well.

"See, Silver and Melus? I told you they'd be different!" Navia said with a small laugh.

"Most astute of you, Demoiselle, I too think that the Traveler's response was most excellent." Melus nods his head as he turned to look at Lumine. "No matter how wonderful the script or how fervent the audience's expectations may be, the trials that go on stage here must be based in fact."

"I like your answer. You pass with flying colors!" Navia smiled happily as she put both of her hands on her sides. "Now, I need to make some preparations, following which our joint investigation shall commence. And you two shall be my assistants!"

"Wait, since when did we become assistant-"

"Awaiting for your orders, Boss." Lumine said immediately without hesitation, bowing her body while hiking up her skirt. Earning a yell from her fairy companion.

"Oh, didn't think you'd agreed that easily!" Navia said with a small gasp, using one hand to cover her mouth. "B-But anyway, like I said before, no need to be so formal, just call me Navia, Navia, alright?"

"Understood... Navia." Lumine responded, straightening herself back into position.

And that's how she gets herself a new ally in Fontaine. One that she or Paimon don't have to be wary around them as they don't have connections to any antagonistic factions as much as they know of. Unlike a certain twins that they've just met.

Thanks to the generous help provided by Navia, their investigation of the case became much more easier, and they came nearer and nearer to the truth, but that was not the biggest contributions of hers just yet.

Just as the ̶b̶r̶a̶t̶t̶y̶ ̶A̶r̶c̶h̶o̶n̶ Hydro Archon is about to annihilate them with tons and tons of accusations, while they are struggling to come up with a comeback due to the lack of more evidence. The leader of the Spina di Rosula burst into the trial while it was still going, and provided them with evidence that no one in the opera house would ever expect.

It turns out, the missing girl was never missing to begin with. She is the same girl who was a thief that Lumine caught just a day ago in the port of Fontaine. Lumine had initially thought that Lyney must have some sort of plan in choosing her as a volunteer, either that, or it was just pure luck coming from the lottery machine. But it was neither, the machine was hijacked from the very beginning, and culprit was related to the serial disappearance case.

Lyney's deceased assistant were in fact the one in the wrong here. He's the one who hijacked the machine to choose the thief girl as the volunteer for the magic show, thinking that she was a native of Fontaine, when she's actually not. Splashing her with a substance called water of the primordial sea which can turn any Fountainians into water, but since she is not from Fontaine, she remains intact, and the assistant assaulted her where she fights back, knocking him unconscious and placed him into the box where he was then crushed by the tank of water, which is also a set up by him who initially planned to cover up his tracks once his plan has succeeded. But in a twist of irony, that plan has backfired and ended up taking his own life instead.

How tragic... And by that Lumine means that it's a shame that they couldn't place a dead body for a trial.

But the revelation of what happened doesn't mean that the case is over. Just some time earlier, a garde said that he found a vial of water from the primordial sea inside Lyney's bag, yet Lyney's reaction and the girl's confessions just now didn't line up at all with the testament. As such, the garde has now become the true suspect of the case, but just as the man began to speak, something rapidly changed with his body...

At first, it looks like he was sweating a lot, likely from fear and nervousness upon being revealed of his true affiliations. But things took drastic turns when he started screaming, the once normal looking sweating turns into melting, his body literally melts and transforms into transparent, and in a matter of seconds, the once human standing on the stage is reduced to nothing but a pool of water, right before the audience's very eyes. It was such a horrible sight to see.

But that's not the only horror of that scene...

Lumine widened her eyes as she looked in complete shock and horror. That man... It's not just his body that transforms into water...

His soul... The one thing that gave life to a living being... His soul is gone!

How could a soul be gone just like that?! Just what is this Primordial Sea? And why are only people from Fontaine affected by it?

Lumine doesn't know, she doesn't know much about this Fontaine to come up with an answer. But one thing she knows for sure... To whoever is responsible for this, for the missing girls and their missing souls that were gone and denied an afterlife... They have successfully incurred her wrath. Lumine licks a salty taste at the corner of her mouth, she grits her teeth in anger so hard that she makes the corner of lips bleed from her fangs pressing on it.

This is utterly unforgivable!

Lumine licks her dripping blood to calm herself down. She can't afford to lose herself again here and burn the whole place to the ground from her wrath. The serial killer behind this is her main target, not anyone else here.

And now that the trial is over, and everyone is allowed to leave, Lumine prepares to leave as well...

"Hey there!" Someone called her out from behind, and she turned around to see Navia approaching her. "What was with the disappearing act you pulled right as the trial ended? I was just about to talk to you."

"Ah, sorry about that Navia. I just need to talk with someone else first." Lumine lightly shook her head.

There's actually nothing that she needs to talk with Lyney, but since he insists, she listened to his whole story about how he and Lynette ended up in their current positions. Her blindfold is still wet from that.

"Were you looking for us Navia?" Paimon asked, tilting her head a little.

"Well, this whole thing isn't exactly over, is it? I do feel that we're getting closer to solving the serial disappearance case, though. Don't you think so too?" The brown haired girl asked, putting both her hands on her sides.

"I guess so..." Lumine mutters softly, head looking down slightly.

"Hmm? What's wrong, my dear partner? You seem a little down." Navia remarked, sounding concerned.

Should she tell Navia about it? About how's the body is not the only thing that's missing, but also their souls? Navia and other humans in general are not born with the abilities to see them, perhaps maybe Hu Tao or Xiao... But... Will it do any good if she tell her?

Lumine thought over it for a moment, before shaking her head mentally.

It's not worth it. Even if she do, she'll probably just gonna freak her out, or else she'll just make Navia sad or mad about the case. Lumine really don't want to see nor imagine Navia like that... She is a kind and mentally strong leader. She will not break so easily.

"I was... I was just thinking about what we had witnessed just now." The blonde haired Traveler putba hand on her head, looking distressed. "To think that someone would just vanished that easily... Leaving nothing but their clothes behind, as they screams while their bodies melting... I can't get that picture out of my head." Lumine muttered with a heavy sigh.

"Ah..." Navia nods in understandment. "I see... Yeah I also can't imagine it too." The brown haired girl said while scratching the back of her head. "A had always thought that this case that I've been following for so long would be about kidnapping and murder, but I certainly never think it'd be that far."

Lumine nodded at that. That's what she thought first as well, a serial killing cases would be a much more simple and common story that Lumine thought this whole situation to be. But to think that it was not only that, but also a new batch of mysteries that even Lumine couldn't understand, is very surprising...

"By the way Navia, why were you calling us out again?" Paimon asked, now remembering about why the brown haired girl stopped them from leaving.

"Ah right! About that..." Navia clears her throat a little. "I was thinking about inviting you two for a dinner tonight, if you have the time, as a celebration feast for our breakthrough today."

"Breakthrough? What do you mean?" Paimon asked in confusion.

"Well, we did find out now of how the criminal behind the serial disappearance case operate. By using Primordial Seawater to cause Fontaine people to disappear, which likely why the victims' bodies were never found because they disposed it using the same method." Navia explained, before looking at Lumine with a smile. "And I have you to thank, thanks to your efforts today, we managed to uncover this truth, which is precisely why I'd like to reward you a little."

"Well, Paimon is happy to help. But..." Paimon sneaks a glance towards Lumine beside her, which prompt the blonde girl to let out a sigh.

"I'm really sorry Navia." Lumine began, putting her hand on her chest. "I was solely focused on clearing Lyney's name, and I became your partner for the sake of that reason only. I didn't pay much attention to this serial disappearance case."

"Huh?" Navia looks at Lumine with a surprised expression. "Well, that's true but..."

"I'm not entirely serious when I said that I became your partner that time. As I don't have much interest in the case as well as not wanting to get involved in it. In short, it's like I was using you for my own benefit, and I'm sorry for that." Lumine apologize while bowing her head.

"I see..." Navia nods her head in understandment. The two of them are travelers from outside of Fontaine, so getting themselves involved in this case should be-

"However, I have a change of mind."

Lumine said suddenly, making everyone to look at her.

"To see someone turned into water like that... Just disappear into a pool of liquid... After I saw that scene, my mind instantly think of the many victims of this case. All those precious souls... Disappeared, just like that." Lumine grits her teeth, putting her head on her palm. "I won't pretend that this case doesn't concerns me anymore, I won't turn a blind eye on it." She bawled her hands onto fists, feeling her anger rising up again. "I will never forgive them... Never. To whoever behind this killings, I swear, I shall being them judgement!"

She could feel the eyes of the people around her looking at Lumine with a mixed reactions, raging from concern to worry. Taking a deep breath, she calm herself down, uncovering her face as she looks at Navia.

"And that's why, Navia..." She began, before suddenly dropped to her knees, bowing her head and using one arm as support on the ground. "Allow me, for real this time, to ask your permission for me to become your partner. I shall lend you my strength, just as you have lend me yours. Until we break through this case, together."

Everybody was taken aback by this, even Paimon just floats there and gawked at her friend. But the biggest shock came from Navia, who looks at the person before her in shock, a faint shade of red appears on her cheeks.

"G-Geez! What's gotten into you all of sudden? Being overly polite to me like this?" Navia questioned, rubbing the back of her head with one hand. "Like seriously though, you don't need to apologize to me at all, nor do you have to ask me for permission." Navia waits for Lumine to raise her head to look at her. "I've always considered you as my partner, even now, so you don't have to ask for my permission to be one, you already are."

Lumine was a silent for a moment. Navia smiled after she said that, her smile brings a lot of nostalgic feeling to Lumine's chest... Her kindness truly is unchanged.

"Thank you." Lumine whispered softly, standing up from the ground, her lips turned into a small smile.

"You're welcome." Navia said while smiling back at her.

They stayed at a comfortable silence for a while, before the boss of the Spina di Rosula clears her throat.

"Anyway, about the dinner, it would just be a meal, so it shouldn't take up too much of your time. I really hoped that you would come along, celebrating our recent breakthrough is better when it was done with friends." Navia explained, putting one hand on her chest.

"Well, You don't have to twist Paimon's arm! If Boss Navia's treating, count Paimon in!" Paimon eagerly nods her head, seems like all the investigating has made her hungry.

"Let's go have that meal, then." Lumine nodded along with her. "I haven't tasted much of Fontaine's dishes yet, it would be a great opportunity to do so."

...As well as calming down the darkness that grows hungry within her.

"Perfect! Alright then, how about if we go to the Hotel Debord? I believe we'll make it just in time for dinner."

~o~0~o~

"Oho, everything looks so good! People in Fontaine sure know how to enjoy life."

A few hours later, the three found themselves sitting around a round table in their intended place for dinner. A variety of dishes laid out on the table for them to enjoy, Navia picks some of her favourites since she has been visiting the place a couple of times in the past with her father. Paimon on Lumine on the other hand, picks some food that they haven't tasted yet since the day of their arrival, Lumine picked at least three of them, while Paimon, as usual, picks five, all for herself.

"Why, of course. Go ahead, try whatever you like. If the food's good. I'll make a group reservation for the rest of Spina di Rosula next time." Navia said with a smile, a little true proudly.

"And if it's not?" Paimon tilts her head.

"Well, ah... Then I'll bring everyone, albeit with only one dish per table." The brown haired girl replied, with a dry laugh.

"You sure have your own way of doing things." Lumine remarked, she reaches out to one of the plate and began eating.

"Speaking of cases, do you think that the mastermind behind the serial disappearances will get caught soon now that this all has happened?" Paimon asked after a while, speaking while still munching on her proportions of foot.

"We've certainly taken a big step forward, but I feel that's about it." Navia responded with a shrug of her shoulders. "We know that there is an organization that means to dissolve these young women, but we still don't know what they are really after."

"If it hadn't happened right in front of us, Paimon wouldn't have ever believed that a person could be dissolved like that..." Paimon muttered, her voice lowering down upon remembering what she saw few hours ago.

"Right? Yet it was because this was such a preposterous notion that the investigation could never really move forward before." Navia said with a nod.

"Ugh, if only that guy could've finished speaking..." Paimon sighed heavily. "We were so close to hearing who was behind it."

"I doubt that he may want to speak about it, Paimon." Lumine said with a light shake of her head. "He may as well knows the consequences behind that actions. But it seems like our guy didn't take lightly to mistakes."

"That is true. In such investigations, even the smallest step can seem like a yawning chasm if the trail of clues is cut off." Navia agrees with a nod, before she narrows her eyes and a look of doubt fashion her face. "To be honest, I don't have high hopes for any follow-up that the authorities might conduct. It's not that I don't have faith in their ability, it's just that a different perspective is required in some matters."

Lumine and Paimon listened in while they were eating their food. Navia is busy explaining, that she plays with her food using the utensils in her hands instead of eating them.

"It's easy to guard against and deceive a single, narrow perspective. A shift in thinking is required at such times in order to produce a breakthrough."

She continues, observing her, Lumine finds an existing conflicting thoughts in her head that seems to bother the Boss lady, slightly making the traveler curious about her inner problem.

"And that is exactly why the Spina di Rosula exist. Those highfalutin folk are not all-knowing. That's why we exist, to seep into the cracks where filth falls through, where their watch fails them. That's the kinds of problems we solve." Navia explained, Lumine noticed a silent huff coming out from between her lips.

"Huh. Seems Paimon thought things were simpler than they actually are..." Paimon muttered softly, putting both of her tiny hands on her sides.

Navia sighed, lightly shaking her head. "It's alright, this was supposed to be our victory feast, we should've cheered up and not being all sulky like this." Clearing her throat, Navia turned her head to the side. "Boss, we'll have another two dishes! And a bottle of Fonta too!"

"Two of them please, I'd like to give it a try." Lumine added.

A voice responds to their additional orders, telling them to wait for a moment for them to be ready, to which both girls nodded and they wait for their new orders to come.

"How about if we talk about something else." Navia begins, crossing her arms across her chest. "Like... What are your future plans after this?"

"My plans huh? Hmm..." Lumine thinks about it for a while. There are still a lot of mysteries and questions that surrounded Fontaine. Things that needs to uncover and answered. But most of them were not as important as the obvious one, the reason why she came here in the first place. To meet her. "Honestly, there's plenty of things I wanted to do. But for now, my goal is simply to ask the Hydro Archon for some information... Which unfortunately we haven't had much opportunity to do so." Lumine answered, resting her elbows on the table to press her hands against one another, intertwining her fingers.

"That's true. We didn't have a chance to speak to her after the trial ended. It didn't really seem like the right time or place to do it anyway..." Paimon added with a shake of her head, sighing a little at her own remark.

"I see. So your primary objective which has been foiled so far was to have a chat with the Hydro Archon." Navia put her hand on her chin and scratch it as she think. "I've heard that there's a long line of people waiting to meet lady Furina. I suspect you'll be waiting for quite a while, considering that you missed your chance today."

"Yeah, we've heard that she's super popular here in Fontaine, and that it'll be tough getting any of her time." Paimon nodded.

"Hmm, well... Would you consider some more... unique ways? Perhaps even methods of, let's say, questionable legality?" Navia asked, looking at Lumine with narrowed eyes.

"Guess that's Spina di Rosula's boss for you... Chock-full of sketchy ideas." Paimon said with a shrug, looking at Navia, she asked. "Well, what did you have in mind?"

"Well, one way would be to infiltrate a performance troupe at the opera house, only to abandon your act at the play's climax and ask to speak to her after the performance. I'm sure lady Furina would be eager to see the ending, and would agree in order to finish watching the play, don't you think?"

"Huh, that's a good idea, knowing her, she'll definitely goingto do anything as long as she got what interest her the most." Lumine mutttered, considering the given idea.

The only problem about the plan would be the performance. Lumine already did a performance once in Sumeru at the Grand Bazaar, when she unintentionally offered herself to fill in an absent performer's show. Nilou's practically dragged for that, but Lumine has no regrets since her show ended up attracting everyone from Sumeru. Even Nahida the Archon and Alhaitham who's normally not interested in that kind of thing came to see her performing. That was a lovely night.

But still... Performing a show for ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶b̶r̶a̶t̶ the Hydro Archon... Lumine's not sure what's this Furina's likes and and interests, so even if Lumine were to perform in Opera Epiclese, there's no guarantee that she will be there to watch it, just like how she attends Lyney and Lynette's magic show.

"Uh, Paimon thinks that this plan seems pretty hard to pull off..." Sensing Lumine's confusion, Paimon spoke up, shaking her head at the idea. "Could you suggest something a little more practical?"

Navia nods in understandment. "Alright, here's another... find a way to conceal yourself under her bed. Then wake her up in the dead of night and demand answers. Don't let her go back to sleep until she answers all your questions!" The brown haired girl chuckles at her own thoughts. "I can personally testify that this one works. When I'm sleepy, I'll do anything as long as I can finally get some sleep!"

"Ah... Now this is a great idea." Lumine spoke up as if she finds the idea briliant.

Sneaking into Furina's bedroom doesn't seem to be something that is hard to pull off. Lumine has more than enough tricks up her sleeve to do it. The only problem being to this plan is about Navia's testament of someone would do anything to get some sleep. While it could work with basically someone else, the same thing couldn't be applied to a god like Furina, as gods do not necessarily needed sleep. it's just something that they could just simply do anytime they want, just like eating.

But still, Lumine couldn't help but be curious... What would happen if she do pull off this plan? How will Furina react when two sleepless being is placed within the same room in the dead of night? Mentally, Lumine thought that the whitenette would probably be flustered upon seeing her in her bedroom, especially after Lumine challaged her for a dance of midnight underneath the sheets during their first meeting (which of course, Lumine wasn't serious about, but still enjoys the tomato face that the Archon made.)

"Uh, that might work, but that's not really the problem. The problem is we don't want to get ourselves arrested." Paimon spoke up, putting both of her hands on her sides.

"We can just simply bust out of the prison if we do get thrown into one, Paimon." Lumine replied, causing the white haired fairy to look at her.

"Don't tell Paimon that you ACTUALLY consider to do this!" The little pixie said in slight disbelief. "Easy for you maybe to escape, but not for Paimon!" Lumine simply shrugged her shoulders at that.

"Ah, valid point. I overlooked that part. I was just thinking about leveraging a person's desire for sleep." Navia said with a small giggle.

"How can you overlook something like that?!" Paimon protested.

"Alright, alright, no more joking around. Perhaps you could... oh I don't know, cut the line when she's on a break." Navia suggested, earning a raised eyebrows from both travelers. "You did defeat her in court, clearing citizens of hers from false accusations, false accusations she had nearly upheld personally. I'd imagine that she feels quite ashamed about the whole thing... Or more specifically, ashamed by you." The brunette said while glancing towards Lumine.

"You mean that if we catch her while she's on a break, she might be too embarrassed to refuse?" Paimon asked, earning a nod from Navia. "That does make some sense."

It does make perfect sense! Furina is the type of girl who always did whatever it takes to not let her confidence break, and to maintain that aura of dignity that she always surround herself with. And Lumine had just successfully shatters those two aspects of her personality. Under condition like this, that girl will be vulnerable for a while, which gives Lumine just the perfect chance.

"That's a perfect idea." Lumine nods her head in agreement. "I think I'm just gonna go with that."

"Then how about if we give it a try after this meal? Y'know, strike the iron while the iron is hot and all..." Paimon said, agreeing with her.

A butler came into the room with a tray in his hands. He approaches their table and placed the tray on top of it.

"Here's your Fonta, madam." He says quietly, as he puts two bottles of Fonta on the table, as well as two glass.

"Thank you."

Navia thanked him, and the butler simply bowed his body slightly before taking off and disappear in the corner.

"Ah, finally. I always enjoys a good bottle of Fonta before the day ends. It's keeping me relaxed." Navia smiled upon seeing her favourite drink on the table.

"You really like the stuff huh?" Lumine asked, taking one into her hand, she eyed the bright colored liquid in a bottle closely.

"Why indeed." Navia nodded, she opens the lid of the bottle in her hand, which oddly enough, is surprisingly a bit loose than usual. And pour it into the two glass. "Here, have a taste of one for yourself. It's pretty good." Navia hands her one of the two glasses, which she takes it.

Lumine look at the colorful liquid in her hand. It smells nice, and it looks good as well, she wonders how it taste like. Lumine already has seen them displayed in some stores and bars in the city, as well as people who drink it, it looks like they enjoyed it, so she can't wait to find out for herself.

Lumine raise the glass, and take a big gulp of the Fonta.

Huh... It taste... Salty, and icky... It taste like... It kinda taste like...

No. It's definitely taste like...!

Lumine's eyes blown wide open behind their blindfold.

"Navia! Don't drink that!" Lumine yelled, rising up from her seat just as Navia has the glass mere inches away from her mouth.

"H-Huh?! What's wrong Traveler?" Navia asked the suddenly tense blonde haired girl, thankfully, she puts the glass away from her face.

Lumine stays silent for a while, as if thinking about how she supposed to say this. Both of her companions look at her in confusion.

She turned to look at Navia. "Navia, please give me your hair, just a single strand of it."

"Huh? What for?" Navia said in confusion of her partner's strange request.

"Just... Trust me." Lumine reaches out her open palm to her.

"Uh, okay..."

Reluctantly agreed, the brown haired girl reaches back to her hair, plucking a single strand from the sea of brown, from the one that she felt loose. And then place it on the open palm of Lumine.

Lumine looks at the strand of hair in her hand a bit suspiciously, she took Navia's glass of Fonta, and slides it close to her. She brought the strand of hair above the glass, and drop it. The long thin object floats above the liquid's surface for a while, before it suddenly vanishes into nothingness, leaving no trace of it.

"Whoa! What happened? It just disappear!" Paimon exclaimed in shock, she zeroing in to the glass of Fonta trying to look for the strand of hair, but it's simply isn't there, like it was never existed.

"Traveler..." Navia's lips parted to call her, looking at her, Lumine finds the girl is looking at her in complete shock and disbelief. A normal reaction from someone who realized that they've just avoid certain death. "Is this...?"

"Exactly what you thought." Lumine nods her head, looking back towards the glass where a seemingly harmless Fonta waits for an oblivious person to drink it. "Water from Primordial Sea is mixed into the Fonta."

Navia look like she just got her soul sucked out of her body from shock, Paimon has a similiar look of horror on her face.

Now that Lumine has seen it up close, now that Lumine had taste it. Lumine finally understand. The reason why a mere water could potentially cause doom to an entire civilization...

...For such water contains nothing but extreme concentrated amount of Negative Energy in them, more than enough to devour the whole body and soul.

~o~0~o~

Despite avoiding certain death for Navia, and getting themselves an evidence, the three didn't manage to catch the person behind her attempted assassination. They talked to the manager and also the butler who delivered their Fontas, but they found no answer.

But they do however, learn that there is someone who breaks into the hotel without notice, knocking one of the staff unconscious, tied him up in the backroom, and took his uniform, using it to disguise themselves as one of the staff in order to lace the Fonta they ordered with the Primordial Seawater. Unfortunately however, upon being questioned, the said staff claimed to not see his attacker's face, once again leaving them completely clueless.

Upon leaving the hotel, Lumine bid Navia farewell for the night, mutually reminding each other to watch their every step as their dinner for tonight has proven that someone is clearly targeting and wanting them dead.

Navia returns to her home, wherever that is, while Lumine decided to return to the Opera Epiclese with a goal in mind.

"The water from the Primordial Sea... How can such a corruptive substances be so..."

Lumine has taken both bottles of Fonta with her. Separating the drink from the dangerous substances is no hard task for her, and now that she got herself the Primordial Seawater in her hand, she could inspect it closely.

Drinking and tasting it herself already confirm her initial thoughts about it, but looking at it closely now, Lumine is able to determine what exactly makes this substance be so dangerous, and she finds out that it is because of the extreme amount of concentrated Negative Energy in them.

Negative Energy is dark and corruptive by nature, they are formed from the dark thoughts of humanity. The way it can corrupt both inanimate objects and living creatures' body, mind, and soul are what makes it so dangerous. With this great amount of Negative Energy contained within a single droplet of the seawater, surely it can cause massive damage to a living being.

But the fact that it could only affect a native from Fontaine is... Really strange.

Why does the corruptive nature of the water can only consume a Fountainian? While leaving other humans from outside of the nation harmless? Lumine has several hypotheses regarding the matter, but perhaps the most logical one is due to how the people from Fontaine are built.

While it was not visibly seen, each nation in this Tevyat is flowing with unseen Celestial energy related to the Archons that reside there. Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, and Sumeru are filled with an abundance of Anemo, Geo, Electro, and Dendro elements respectively. Fontaine too is similar to them, flowing with Hydro energy from the Hydro Archon.

And believe it or not, with those kinds of energy flowing in the air, in the ground, and also in the sea, it does affect the humans who lived here, from moments of their birth to their last breath.

Maybe the seawater are specifically made to target those kind of people, people who are born in Fontaine and has been living with the Hydro Elements that was flowing around them for years.

But those were merely her guesses, now she intends to find the correct answer herself by asking the two people she has in mind, the Hydro Archon, who rules over this land, and a certain dragon who used to rule it.

"We've arrived!"

Paimon's voice brought her back to reality. Looking up, Lumine finds herself standing in the yard in front of the Opera house, where she and Paimon are the only people standing there.

"There aren't many people around anymore. Looks like that boat we took to Erinnyes might have been the last one..." Paimon muttered as she looks around, finding nobody else there.

Now then, to talk with Furina... Lumine wonders how she should approach this, maybe she should go with the initial plan after all, sneaking into her bedroom and talk to her in the dead of night. But where could her bedroom will be? She needs to search around the Opera House first, and then maybe...

"Vacher..."

Lumine stops in her tracks. Hearing that voice again. Slowly, she turns her head to the side to look at the Fountain of Leucine, the source of where the voice comes from.

"What's wrong Lumi? Why stop walking?" Paimon asked confusedly when her partner abruptly stopped moving.

"I... I just hear the voice." Lumine answered, now turning her whole body to face the fountain.

"Huh? You mean those voices that you said before this morning?" Paimon asked again, she's still couldn't understand what the Traveler meant because she doesn't heard anything aside from the water sprouting out from the fountain.

"Yes... And it's clearer than it was during the day." Lumine said with a nod, just hearing the voice made her feel... Weird.

"Uhh... That's kinda spooky. Are you sure we don't wanna come back in the morning?"

Lumine listened to the voice more closely. It's getting louder and louder, almost feels like it speaks directly into her brain instead of normal means... Is this telepathy?

"Vacher... Vacher..."

Lynette says that hypersensitivity towards the Hydro Elements is what enables her to hear the voice, voices coming from the emotions of many contained within a single droplet of tears that eventually converges here... But is it fully the truth?

"Hey! Why're you still walking towards it? There might be something nasty in the water..."

Lumine didn't even hear what Paimon is saying. Her mind is getting blank, and her brain is on autopilot. Her legs moved to take her into the fountain... She feels... Dark... Cold... Is this...?

There's no doubt about it. Strong emotions are indeed leaking out of the fountain, dark and twisted thoughts, reeking of negative energy, not as much as the one in the Primordial Seawater but... It still lures her in...

"Hey, Lumi! Stop walking! C'mon, wake up!"

"Vacher... Vacher... Vacher...!"

~o~0~o~

Lumine wakes up to see a sea of blue filled her vision.

She is in a standing position, yet she feels like she is floating in a void of emptyness.

How unusual, she would expect to find herself stuck inside an endless void of darkness where no light shines. Yet this time, instead of darkness, the world around her are filled with the color of blue, it's almost like she is submerged underwater, yet she didn't feel like drowning, she breathe normally, and she is standing on her two feet like she is standing on top of a solid ground despite the fact that there's nothing under her.

Is this a different realm she finds herself in? A world of dreams like the one she encounters in Sumeru? Or for the more important question... Just what is the thing that is in front of her?

"..."

Turns out this space wasn't so "empty" as she thought. Existing inside the blue space alongside her, a strange entity floats before Lumine, with it's back turned on her. Looking at the shapes, the color, and the wetness it radiates, Lumine instantly could recognise the strange creature.

"An Oceanid?" Lumine mutters in wonder and confusion.

The entity, obviously heard her voice, turn itself around, facing her directly. And after seeing it, Lumine can confirm that it was indeed, an Oceanid, or at least some strange entity that looks similar to it.

"Vacher? Are you... My dear Vacher?" The thing asked her, her voice sounds exactly like the one she heard in the outside world. So this creature is the one who whispers those voice into her head. "No, wait, you seem to be someone else... Do you know Vacher? Do you know where my love is?"

"I'm afraid not..." well of course she doesn't know, she just arrived here a day ago. "Who are you, if I may ask?"

"I'm..." The Oceanid-thing was about to say something, before it cuts itself off. Appearing to be confused as well as hesitating. "Wait, who am I...?"

Lumine tilts her head at the creature's self question. She doesn't recognize it's own self, yet still remembers the name of another?

"I'm very sorry, I fear i do not know." The creature said while making a gesture akin to a shake of its head. "My memories feel like they have been washed away like a flood. So many fragments dissolved amidst the tide, never to be recovered." The entity then paused for a while, thinking over things. "How much have I lost? How many things that I once held dear while on land have I since forgotten?"

Lumine was silent as well, she thinks over the words the creature spoke. Dissolved... Lost... Forgotten... Is this creature perhaps a...

"Are you... A human before?" Lumine asked, a little bit hesitantly.

The creature nodded. "Yes, that is what I was once. But now, I am but the consciousness of one who has lost their form." It explained.

"Lost your form?" Lumine could feel this conversation is heading somewhere, and she wasn't sure she'll like it.

"I do not know how I came to be like this either. I only vaguely remember being covered in light blue water, and then all grew dim..."

""Light blue water?!" Could that have been..."

Alarms sets off inside Lumine's brain. All of her thoughts points out towards one thing in mind...

Remembering the absolute horror she witnessed today, Lumine reaches up to her head, and tugs at her blindfold lightly, pulling it down and allowing her eyes to see the void blue around her, as well as this strange creature. Her eyes glows a bright glowing blue color, as she closely inspect the Oceanid looking entity, and what she saw made her eyes blown wide open.

"What's wrong? You look... Surprised."

"Ah, it's nothing." Lumine shook her head lightly, fixing up her blindfold back in place. "You just reminds me of something that's all. Anyway, what else could you remember?"

"Ah, yes. I also remember going to many places. I loved adventure, love exploring places of peril." The creature begin, sounding a little somber as it continues. "And, no matter where I went, Vacher would go with me. I knew how dearly he loved me, and I also love him equally as much. But now... We can no longer go back. The pain of such parting... I never knew how heavy it could be." It says as it's body drooping down in sadness.

"So you wish to find him?" Lumine raised an eyebrow.

"No! Our reunion no longer has any meaning, there is no way for us to create any new memories." The creature shook it's head violently. "The thought of me gives him no succor, so let it lie forgotten beneath the waters." The creature sighed, once again shaking it's head as it looks at her. "If you meet Vacher, tell him not to look for me. Tell him to move on, that is the only thing I still remember."

"I believe it will be hard for him to forget you. Really hard." Lumine crosses her arm on her chest.

"Perhaps that is so... As I was submerged in the waters, losing consciousness, I saw Vacher above the surface. His eyes were filled with such sorrow, such longing. If only I could have comforted him, told him that I did not suffer. Indeed, I had felt a great warmth."

"So he was there to witness you dissolved..." The blonde girl muttered softly, thinking how sad, shocking, and horrifying it would be if she were him.

"Is that what you call it? "Dissolving?" If anything, I consider it a form of "release."" Lumine raise an eyebrow at the entity for that. "It was a state of neither fear nor frenzy, with only an endless peace, like the water's still surface. I could also liken it to being a thirsty person who drinks water for the first time, and only then sees how they have lived for so long in a world of endless want and anxiety."

"That's... An interesting way of describing it." Lumine silently comments under her breath.

There was a sound ringing within the space that comes from neither of them. It was unclear and distorted, as if Lumine was hearing it while she was drowning in water.

"I think I hear your companion. It's time for you to go, I think." The entity spoke up. So it can hear what's happening outside?

"Ah right, I wonder how much time passed in reality... Paimon must've been worried." Lumine softly whispered. Now that she remembers it, passing out in the middle of the street is bad move for her, especially knowing that someone is after her life.

"Farewell, then, I am glad that you were able to sense my presence. Remember, if you see Vacher, tell him not to seek me out any longer."

As the entity bids her farewell, the space arounds her are enveloped by a blinding white light, as Lumine could feel her consciousness getting pulled out of the strange space and back to her body in the real world.

And while on her way back to her body, Lumine couldn't help but to chuckle, as her mind thinks back to the entity she just saw.

It seems like dead or not, humanity is just the same... Always having a mask in their possession.

~o~0~o~

By the time Lumine regain consciousness, it was already chaos around her body.

Navia and her two loyal servants are there, for some reason, and they are defending her while she was left defenseless, from an army Mekas that came to kill her. Just as when Lumine wonders of how their enemy will have to deal with her considering that she is not as easy as a Fountainian who can get dissolved by a splash of seawater.

Anyway, right after regaining consciousness, Lumine dealt with the Mekas effortlessly, simply by flooding the streets with the water from the fountain behind her, and then raining down thunder upon the clockworks machines while keeping everyone safe by raising the ground beneath their feet into safe distances.

But Navia and her loyal followers aren't the only newcomers there. There was another one, a woman with purple eyes and dark purple hair, with a shirt that's probably a little too tight for her size.

But anyway, it seem that she came to help them, but too bad that by the time she arrived, all of the Mekas were already destroyed by Lumine's combination attack. But destroying the Mekas are not the only reason why she's here, according to Navia, who knows the woman, the Champion Duelist Clorinde, the same person who stood by Furina's side during that time at the port, as well as the person whom Childe has some sparring schedule with, she is there because she's been following Navia, stalking her one might say.

It seems like Navia has some history with her, and it's not a good one judging from the hostility that the brunette throws at the purplenette. It was something involving the former's father, as what exactly the latter did is currently unknown, Lumine made a mental note to find out about it later, if Navia don't mind.

Clorinde eventually leaves, not wanting to bother Navia much more than she already did, and so, Lumine is left with the Spina di Rosula again.

They parted ways back when they finished their victory feast with a message to watch their own backs, so why is Navia here, protecting her? That was the first question Lumine had asked the brunette about after things calmed down. But the reason turns out to be much mundane than what she thought.

Knowing that it was Lumine's second day in Fontaine, Navia correctly guessed that the Traveler must've hasn't found a place to stay yet in the city, so she decided to follow her back to the Opera House to give her one. A little unnecessary as it was since she has the Serenetea pot to go to, or that she can simply camp in the wilderness, Lumine still feel grateful nonetheless.

Navia leads the way there, taking the Traveler to underneath the Court of Fontaine, where one of the bases of Spina di Rosula is located. Since it was already nighttime, and Paimon is complaining of how tired and sleepy she was, Lumine decided to crash for the night as well. Deciding that talking to the Hydro Archon and the Hydro Sovereign Dragon could wait for another day. More importantly, she shared her newfound information to Navia, about her encounter with the mysterious being calling out for an individual named Vacher. And marking him as someone who holds an important info, the group determined to try looking for him to ask some questions, but Lumine has some other plans in mind.

Minutes later, they arrived at the base, a place called Fleuve Cendre where less fortunate people of Fontaine lives. It was quite a nice place, but perhaps a little bit of cleaning and rearraging would make it even better for Lumine's taste.

As they walked around the place searching for the place where they could sleep, Navia explains to them how the Spina di Rosula works, how their funds as of recent times aren't as better as it used to back when her father leads the organization. Which then prompts Paimon to ask regarding the matter, much to Lumine's displeasure for her who brought it up when it was clear of how much it still saddens Navia. Lumine herself doesn't know much of the details but... she has a guess or two.

Navia is fine with it though, thankfully, stating that she couldn't run from the topic forever, and decided to to tell them the story herself. Her father's name is Callas, and he was the leader of Spina di Rosula before her. Several years ago, he was accused of murdering his own friend, but instead of standing on trial, he choose to defend his honor, taking part in the Duelist Ring and died while doing so, at the hands of a champion duelist none other than Clorinde. That explains the animosity between the two earlier.

By the time of his death, her father has been investigating about the serial dissapeariance case, which may may be the reason why he was framed of the murder, at least that's what Navia thought so. As she refused to believe her father for committing such heinous crimes, Navia since then is determined to continue her father's investigation, hoping fullheartedly that in doing so will also uncover the truth behind the case that took the life of her father, even if the truth will be unpleasant, she still wants to know.

Seeing such a sad face on her face... It doesn't suit her at all, Lumine thought. She wish that she could comfort Navia... just like how she comfort her. But maybe Lumine could do that later, for now, she need time to think.

Hours passed and morning eventually arises. Today, the group decided to look for this person called Vacher, and they concluded that if there is one person or place that is good source for information, then it would be the Chief of Justice Neuvillette, at the Palais Mermonia.

Navia seems a little bothered of the aspect of meeting him, with Lumine guessing that it must have something to do about her late father's case. So Lumine held her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, telling her that it will be okay, and the brown haired girl seem to calm down a little after that.

Not wanting to waste anymore time, the three decided to go there now. After using the elevator to the highest level, passing through the front door, and stating their official business to the Melusine guarding inside. They finally entered Neuvillette's office. The man immediately stood up when he sees them, walking around the table to approach the group of three.

"Um... Sorry to barge in, Monsieur Neuvillette. We only lied to get in because we didn't know any other way..." Paimon was the first one to spoke up, greeting the tall man with a nod of respect.

"We'll get out and rearrange another meeting some other time if you're not available now." Lumine added, crossing her arms across her chest.

"It's alright. Please let me know how I may be of assistance to you." Neuvillette said with a light wave of his hand

"Uhh, so you're not mad at us?" Neuvillette shakes his head.

"Then we better make this quick before he does." Lumine whispered to Paimon's ears.

"We're looking for a man called "Vacher." He may have been an eyewitness in the serial disappearances case." Navia spoke up next, getting straight to the point, almost feeling like she doesn't want to be here more than she needs to. "If we can find him, we may be able to unearth some key information on the case."

Neuvillette looks at Navia for a moment, and for a split second, Lumine caught the small glint of emotions passing through his eyes, as if staring at the girl has reminded him of something, or someone. Before long, he's back to himself already.

"Ah, I see. In that case, please wait here a moment while I browse through the files." He nods his head, before turning to the side and approach the bookshelves on the sides.

While he is searching, they patiently waits for him. Paimon looks tense, perhaps feeling nervous if their visit to this place will even give them their needed info. Meanwhile for Navia on the other hand, Lumine could tell that she is unsettled by the very aspect of being in this room, or more specifically, being in the presence of Neuvillette. Lumine silently reaches out her hand to pat her on the back, the taller girl seem confused by the gesture, but Lumine did not say a word.

Several minutes later, Neuvillette returns empty-handed.

"Unfortunately... I'm quite certain that no one by the name of "Vacher" has been involved in any case, criminal or civil, in the past several years." Neuvillette revealed with a shake of his head. "There are no records of him either in the files or in my memory."

"So another dead end huh?" Lumine said with a click of her tongue.

If only Oceanids or... Whatever that thing was she met while unconscious has a biology that's the same or at the very least similar, to that of a human, then maybe she could use her eyes to-

"Lumi, what if it was all just a dream?" Paimon tugs at her sleeve, cutting off her thoughts.

"I know the difference between realities and dreams, Paimon." Lumine said with a shake of her head. "And what I saw and experienced that time, is no illusions."

Beside her, Navia slumped her shoulders, disappointed and sad from the lack of their desired info, she sighed, a little heavily, as she nods her head, weakly.

"Is that so... Alright then, thank you so much, Monsieur Neuvillette." She spoke up, though it's barely audible, Lumine could hear the weight of emotions that drags her voice down. "We'll take our leave now."

The brown haired girl turned to look at Lumine and Paimon, then gestured towards the door, they nods in understandment and follows her as they approached the office door and is about to leave.

"...Miss Navia, I can understand how you feel."

Just before Navia's hand could touch the surface of the door however, the Chief Justice voice reaches to her ears, and instantly, her body froze.

"Your father, Callas, was a truly exceptional man. We deeply regret his passing." Neuvillette finishes. Lumine looks back to see the man has his head slightly downturned.

In front of her, Navia's breath hitches in her throat. She stays silent for a moment, before taking a deep breath, her lips turned into a frown.

"And what are you trying to say, Monsieur Neuvillette?" Navia asked back, her voice... It loses all of it's usual tone. Mixture of emotions are clinging to her every word, sadness, anger, resentment, Lumine could feel it all. "Are you trying to console me? Extend your sympathy? Or just express some tendril of regret..."

She took another deep breath, before turning her body around, finally facing the Chief Justice once more. Her blue eyes glares at him with mixed emotions swirling like clouds inside. The was she looks at him is full of anger, yet it was clouded by layers of sadness, truly an unfitting look on the face of a girl like her.

"No... You are not trying to do any of that. I can hear it in your voice. There's no emotion behind your words, you only said those things because you felt like you should." Navia stated, shaking her head, she starts losing her composure, her voice cracks by the emotions.

And Neuvillette's response to that is merely silence, as his head lowers down slightly even more, his expression is unreadable.

"It's just like last time. After my father took his place in the Duelist Ring, I pushed through the guards to talk to you as a last resort... You even told me then that you thought there was something fishy with the case, yet you still allowed the duel to go ahead."

Navia slowly walks towards the silent man, tears began forming in the corner of her eyes. Paimon looks at her in concern, reaching an arm as if trying to say something, but Lumine puts a hand on her shoulder, shaking her head when the little pixie looks up at her.

"In your eyes, the value of a human life is nothing compared to those cold laws you hold so dear. If you truly regret my father's death, then why didn't you call a stop to the duel?!" The brown haired girl yelled, her words began to get cut off by her sobs. She feels like she should reach up and wipe her tears away, but she endures it, opting to continue giving the man before her a piece of her mind. "Why didn't you... give me the power to stop him from throwing his life away, why did you just let him die, despised and hated by all... Everything was hanging on a thread at that moment... Just the tiniest effort could have changed everything."

Her sobbings intensifies, and she took some moments to stabilize her breathing first, before continuing.

"There are still so many things I never got to tell him... So many questions he still owes me answers to..." She stood right before him now, her face approaches him, as her teary eyes stares directly into his unmoving ones. "If you really have no heart, then just look me in the eyes. I, Navia, will show you the true meaning of "regret!""

Neuvillette does look deeply into Navia's eyes, seeing the depths of sorrow inside those beautiful blue marbles, just like the sea outside... So blue and so deep...

"...I'm sorry, miss Navia." Is his single response. Without a shred of emotions.

Navia lightly huffed, lowering her head slightly, as she takes a deep breath.

"You and my father are truly alike. You'd keep all kinds of things in your heart, and never say a word to anyone." She lightly shook her head. "It's not so much that you can't feel, but that you would never express anything."

Reaching up, she finally wipes the tears on her eyes away. Exhaling, she turns her back on him.

"Oh well... In any case, everyone already knows full well the apathy of the Chief Justice. My apologies for taking my emotions out on you, Monsieur Chief Justice." She said without even looking back at him. Walking away with the heels of her shoes filling the now completely silent room with it's clacking sounds, she walked pass her two companion. "Let's go, Traveler and Paimon."

Paimon nods her head silently, following after the brown haired girl as she opens the door for them.

Lumine was about to follow them as well, but she look back at the Chief Justice again once, seeing him still in that position, as if frozen in time.

"It must've been really hard to express your emotions to those who are naturally below you, huh?"

Neuvillette's body finally moved after it stays still for a long time. He looks up to see the blonde haired Traveler is still in the room, looking straight at him. He knows that she feels certain emotions right now, but she couldn't express it, not with the blindfold that sealed her eyes. She almost like... him.

"But I understand how you feel. Someday, you might understand it, when fate decided to."

Lumine says before exiting the office as well, leaving Neuvillette there alone with his silence.

~o~0~o~

The trio exited the Palais. With no word said as the atmosphere is a little heavy for them to say anything. With Navia on the front, she has her head looking down, and one hand placed on her face, hiding it, but the two people on her back know full well of what she truly feels.

"Navia... are you okay?" Paimon decided to break the long silence, looking at the brunette in concern.

"I'm fine... Paimon. I'm... Really fine, it's just-"

Navia tries to look back at her two companion to show them how fine she was. But the moment she turned around, something threw itself at her. Pressing against mid section, and wraps a pair of arms behind her back.

"Wha-" Navia stares in shock, as the blonde haired Traveler gives her a hug. It's a weird feeling, to see someone shorter than her wrap themselves around her, but she couldn't deny the comfort it brings. "Traveler... Why are you..."

"You don't need to hide and pretends that you're fine Navia. Not in front of me." Lumine softly whispered at her, Navia could feel her hugh tightens a little. "I'm here for you... and I believe in you, no matter what. Even if the whole world doesn't believe in your father's innocence, then I'll be the only one that will believe him. That is how much I trusted you."

Navia was stunned by her words. What is with this sudden statement from the Traveler? They've just met like yesterday, and suddenly she already trusted her THIS much?! Is it because of the fact that she went her way to protect her while she was unconscious last night? Or maybe because she helps her in proving the Lyney Twins innocence? Or is it because of something else? The Traveler does in fact an interesting person to say the least, the way she acts sometimes baffled Navia, and her relationships with others can sometimes be intriguing as well. She is someone that interest Navia a lot, and the brunette could say that she's definately not making a mistake in choosing her as her partner.

"Thank you... I guess?" Confused of what to say, Navia could only thank the blonde girl instead. Her hands instinctively went to her back and hug her back.

They stayed in the awkward (or at least Navia thought so) position for a few seconds. Before it was interrupted by a feeling of something small landed on their skin, making them wet.

"Ah... rain... It's raining." Navia softly mutters, looking up to the sky as it suddenly grows dark and heavy clouds settles above the Court of Fontaine.

"You're right... Wasn't it sunny when we went into the building? And there shouldn't be any active trials today, how strange..." Paimon added, covering her head with her tiny arms in futile attempt to stay dry.

"Hmm..." Lumine hummed as she release her hug from Navia. Looking up into the sky, that was definately bright and sunny moments ago, she knows that this isn't a natural phenomenon. Not to mention the fact that they've just exited the Chief Justice office. So that could mean...

"It's said that a Dragon of Water once resided in Fontaine. Though we don't know where the dragon went, every time it weeps, the skies will cloud up and pour out rain."

Lumine remembers the words said by Freminet. Although she has some doubts about it before, now she is fully sure of it. Even if one couldn't project their emotions outside, the heart won't ever lie.

"What's wrong Traveler? You look like you have some thoughts." Navia asked, looking at Lumine who stayed still as she gazed into the crying skies.

Lumine looks at her, and smiles a little. "Oh, it's nothing. Just wanna say to you that... even someone couldn't express emotions through natural means, it doesn't mean that they couldn't express it through other ways." The blonde girl said, causing Navia to tilts her head in confusion. "No need to understand it, it's just something I'd ike to say." Lumine shook her head a littlt. "More importantly however, this rain made me thought of something."

"What is it, Lumi?" Paimon asked in curiosity.

"About your father's case... when it happenned was he outside? And was it raining that time?" Lumine asked Navia.

"Huh? How did you..." Navia look shocked, before pausing for a bit and then nods her head. "Yeah, he was outside... It was uncovered and the rain could fall there. Why? Do you think the rain could have affected the crime scene? That thought has occured to us before. We've even expanded the search area to try to account for that, but didn't find anything of value." The brunette explained.

"I was just thinking..." Lumine puts one hand on her chin, while the other circles on her waist as she explained. "Your father investigated the serial dissapearances case right? And that would made him a target of the mastermind, just like we does. And if he was indeed framed and the info we have aren't public knowledge at the time..."

"Oh? Wait, you don't mean..." Navia widens her eyes as realization hits her.

"The fact that people can be turned into water." Lumine answers, snapping her fingger, mimicking a certain detective in Inazuma. "The true murderer could have been turned into water, and then got washed away with the rain. No one would have believed your dad even if he explained what he saw to the authorities."

Paimon beamed in joy from her deductive. Navia still took some moments for her brain to process the information. And after a while, she smiles, replacing the ugly frown on her face from earlier. Lumine is really glad that she is able to make her smile.

"I really think I've found a true genius for a partner... You're completely right, how did I not connect the dots earlier?" The taller girl chuckles a little, a look of determination formed on her face, as she brought her fist into the air. "With this new lead in mind, we'll get to the bottom of my father's case for sure!"

"Yeah! We're gonna make progress for sure this time!" Paimon nods in agreement, while Lumine merely smiles.

~o~0~o~

With a reignited hope, their continued investigation brought to the Spina di Rosula's main base in Poisson. A small underground city located in the Belleau Region.

They went there to talk to Melus to inform him of their newfound information, the connection it has with the case involving Navia's father, and uncovering some new truths in the process as well.

Through talking with Melus, he reveals that many years ago, there was a drug that's been selled in Poisson called Sinthe, which Navia is now certain to be created from water from Primordial Sea, which gained popularity from the side effects it induced to the user.

As the overseer of Poisson, Navia's father called for the ban of the drug's abuse, desiring to put a stop to it once and for all, by uncovering the mastermind behind Sinthe operations. To that end, he formed a relationship with one the dealers, Jacques, a dealer who regret his actions after seeing the many families he destroyed by selling the drugs, and thus agreed to become Callas' informant, becoming his friend.

So, turns out Jacques is the said friend of whom Navia's father is accused for murder. When Callas hosted a banquet to exchange information with Jacques over some food, a series of unknown an unseen events occurred, two gunshots are heard coming from the courtyard, and by the time people had gathered there, they see Callas holding a gun, while the body of lifeless Jacques is lying on the ground. It was a case with a culprit that seem obvious, but with an unclear motive.

At that time, Callas being the culprit might've been the most obvious answer. But by looking back at it, with the information they have now, they determined that it wasn't the case, especially after remembering there is one detail that have been overlooked at the time: a piece of clothing left on the wet ground of that raining day.

Now only a few steps away from the truth, they only left with one more key to finally crack this case now. The third person, the one whom Jacques worked for, the one behind the Sinthe's productions, and the one behind the missing girls. Just one more step, and the truth be revealed!

And speaking of truth... Melus also reveal another thing. The reasons behind Callas' demise all along... Is to protect her own daughter.

The former Spina di Rosula's boss is already knew the connection between the Sinthe's productions and the missing girls cases. And from that, he learnt that Navia is the next target to "disappear," and after being told that he only got five years left to live due to the rare illness he contracted, he decided to sacrifice himself by turning himself into the main target of his enemies and redirecting all the dangers in the present and in the future from Navia to himself.

So dying in silence, being accused of a murder he didn't commit, and being labelled as the unfaithful, is far better than to be dying in front of his daughter... Callas is truly a great man, Lumine respects him for that.

Navia is near to breaking down for the second time that day upon hearing the truth. But this time, she has Lumine there, the blonde girl took the taller girl's hand into hers and held it tightly, just to give her some comfort, and it seems to be working as she calmed down much quicker, giving Lumine a smile of gratitude of doing so, while Lumine returns it with a nod.

And now, with a single goal left for them conclude all of these. The only thing they needed to do left are two things: one, infiltrate the place where Sinthe is produced, which was uncovered by Callas moments prior to his death and have been shared with Melus, his butler. And two, uncover the mastermind behind the Sinthe and the disappearance case using whatever evidence they could find inside the Sinthe headquarters and what they already have.

For the mastermind behind all of this, Melus concluded that it must be someone who is familiar with Spina di Rosula, meaning that they could be a mole within the organisation, or that they have an informant planted inside. The suspects are three people, the senior advisor of Spina di Rosula, the bridge that links the organisation with the gardes, and lastly, the head of a guild in Poisson called Confrerie of Cabriere.

With their targets marked, the three made up their minds and took off to search for this targets, hoping to finally being able to unmask the enemy among them, whoever it is.

After a brief visit to Jacques family, his daughter and wife, reassuring them that they will uncover the truth behind the man's death, they went straight into their first target, Florent, the said senior advisor of Spina di Rosula. After some questioning which reveals more small details surrounding the Jacques death, Lumine mentally concluded that he is unlikely the culprit they're looking for.

Next one on the list is Thierry, a garde that is also a member of Spina di Rosula, and who has been bridging the relationship between the two factions. Every Garde in Fontaine has some authorities of the Guardmeks, so remembering the event that happened last night when they were attacked by horde of those machines, they asked the garde about it, and Thierry reveals that hypothetically, it's impossible for him to be the one behind the attack. As the Mekas who attacked the group that night, as revealed by Clorinde, are all without serial numbers, meaning that they were private units, and each one is very expensive. Meaning that whoever owns them is super rich, with business like selling Sinthe will be profitable enough for it.

Not just Lumine, even Navia as well thinks this one is on the clear of their suspect list. Leaving them with only one left...

For the last one is Marcel, The head of Confrerie of Cabriere. Navia refers to him as "uncle" due to how frequent she talked with him and becoming close in the process. It would be a shame if it turn out that he's the culprit... But oh well, you never knew of how close your worst enemy can be until you see it, Lumine knows.

In the contrary to the other two... Their talk with Marcel didn't reveal anything, other than some mundane things that they didn't really want to know. Suspicions arise inside Lumine's mind, her eyes glares at the old man behind their covers. Is this guy... F

Truly what they've been looking for?

Perhaps they could prove it by finding more needed evidence from the enemy's headquarters that Melus had told them. And if it's not... Lumine still has some other ways.

After talking with Marcel is over, they went to the city square and go over all the clues they've got.

"We've talked to all three suspects, purely based on their conversation with me... And none of them sounded particularly suspicious." Navia muttered as she scratch the base of her forehead with her fingers, looking confused.

"Yeah, none of them really stood out as a suspect." Paimon agrees with a nod.

"I suppose that's to be expected, though. If a single conversation's all that's needed to find them out, then my father wouldn't have needed to investigate the case for so many years." Sighing, Navia shook the thoughts away as she chose to focus at the present situation. "Anyway, even though we didn't make a breakthrough, let's still compile what we were able to find shall we?"

"Hmm... But where should we start?" Paimon asked in confusion.

"Jacques' motive." Lumine answered.

"Ah, you're right! Florent mentioned that Callas probably only ended up with the gun because of circumstance. Meaning that killing Jacques is definitely not his intention." Paimon said, remembering what the senior advisor explained to them.

"According to Jacques' family members, he already told them that he had been discovered and that he had no choice before he left home that day. Hmm, if I had to guess, he probably received an order from the Sinthe boss to kill my father. Had he refused, he and his family's lives would have been forfeit." Navia guessed, putting one hand on her chin, as she thought.

"So, Jacques fired the first shot?" Paimon guessed.

"I don't think so." Lumine shook her head, gaining the intention of the other two. "Personally, if I were to be in Jacques' position... I wouldn't have fired a shot at all."

"Oh? And why is that?" Navia questions curiously.

"Because I wouldn't even trust a cold blooded killer like the Sinthe boss, not even a bit, especially if it involves my family." Lumine explained, her lips turned into a sour scowl.

"Ooh, that's a good point!" Paimon nods in understandment. Getting what Lumine is pointing at. "Jacques already knew that he was just being used as a tool for murder. And once he had completed his mission, he'd be of no use to his boss." She explained.

"So, what would make more sense from his prespective would be to turn his back on the order, and seek protection from my father." Navia finishes the fact.

"Seems the third person was the one who derailed everything."

"Make sense, but without evidence, that's still just a theory..."

Navia sighed once more. Shaking her head slightly, she looks at her two partners and continues.

"Beside Jacques, the attack from the Gardemeks has been bothering me for quite a bit as well. It's obvious that our enemy has become more antsy after the secret if the Primordial Seawater was revealed."

"Do you think he knew, even then, that we'd follow this lead to the end?" Paimon questioned.

"Given everything that's happened since... It's quite possible." Navia nods her head, placing her hand on her chin, the girl wondered. "But who among the three suspects would have the ability to control owned Gardemeks?"

The three went silent for a moment. Navia continues to think, while Paimon is scratching her heads to think of an answer. Eventually, their answer came from Lumine, who clears her throat.

"I think I have the answer for this." Lumine spoke up with a raised hand.

"Oh? Who do you think it is Traveler?" Navia asked, curious and nervous.

"It's Marcel." Lumine answer.

Paimon release a small gasp, while Navia's eyes widened slightly. They were shocked by her answer, but at the same time, they couldn't help but to admit mentally that it does make sense.

"Uncle Marcel?" Navia asked, even if somewhere in the back of her mind the brown haired girl refused to believe that someone who is close to her ever since she was a child is the one behind her beloved father's death, she's still desired to know the truth, even if it's ugly. "What makes you think it's him?"

Lumine huffed a little, crossing her arms across her chest as she began to explain.

"Marcel is someone that is close to you, is he not? Then it must means that he also very close with your father." Lumine began, laying out the clues one by one. "With that closeness, it's possible for Callas to put his trust on himz and through that, he for sure would know a thing or two about the Spina di Rosula's inner workings. However, it was the Gardemeks' attacks that really pins my suspicions on him. Thierry said that converting the Gardemeks for personal use is no easy matter, and even if he found a way to do so, that kind of tampering will not go unnoticed by the authorities, and not to mention that it'll be easier to find out when and how that happened. Buying those mekas are the only rational option for the culprit to pull this off. And who do you think among the three is wealthy enough to afford that?"

Navia is silent after Lumine asked that. She lowers her head, taking a deep breath, before responding.

"Florent... It is true that he was closest to my father, and thus had the best chance of learning about his dealings with Jacques... But as Spina di Rosula's adviser, his work mostly deals with personel and security, so he shouldn't have much means when it comes to finances. And as for Thierry... It's just as impossible like you said." Navia narrow her eyes, a look of doubt and uncertainty filled her eyes. "But as for Uncle Marcel... my father did really trust him, and they worked together on a large number of projects. Maybe that's how he got to know Jacques. And with funds from the Confrerie, he could also afford a large number of Gardemeks... It's still hard for me to imagine, though. After all, Uncle Marcel has been around since I was just a child... "

Navia took a deep breath, releasing it with an exhale. Looking up, she look at Lumine.

"But... You know what? If I think everything through, Uncle Marcel is indeed the most suspicious of them all..." Navia said with a nod of her head, now feeling slightly confident in her belief. "The suspect is knowledgeable about the Spina di Rosula's internal affairs, has the means to dispatch meka to assasinate us, and possesses significant intellect and foresight... Even if I don't want to believe it, I'm starting to see how things could all tie back to Uncle Marcel."

Lumine nods her head at that. "I understand how that feel, he is someone who's very close to you, after all. But sometimes, reality is a bitter pill to swallow."

"Yeah, and besides, we still have another trump card on top of all the theorizing and speculating. The Sinthe production base!" Paimon added, nodding her head.

"Yes... Melus did say that charging straight in there would be extremely risky, but we don't have any other options right now. We'd need far more solid proof before we can hope to go charging in on our enemy." Navia stated, to which her two companions nod their heads in agreement.

"Navia, here you are... I've been looking for you."

A voice came from their side, and the three turned to the side to see Thierry running towards them with a distressed look on his face.

"Huh? Aren't you the guy from the Gardes? Did something happen?" Paimon questioned, confused and curious.

"Yeah, news came from Erinnyes just after you left! We've got another trial on our hands!" The garde revealed.

"Wasn't that place built specifically for holding trials? What's so newsworthy about this one?" Navia curiously asked.

"I know, I know, but they said the person they're putting on trial is a Fatui Harbringer called Tartaglia!"

"Wait, Childe?!" Paimon exclaimed in shock.

"What has gotten him into this mess this time..." Although she doesn't show it, Lumine is inwardly surprised as well.

"What? Is that someone you know?" Navia is curious about her two's reactions, she asked them.

"Yeah, we know him, maybe even a little too well..." Paimon replied nervously, scratching the side of her head.

"He's a friend." Lumine answered.

"Well, he's been acused of being the true culprit behind the serial disappearances case. It's absurd, don't you think?" Thierry added, causing them to get even more surprised.

"Wait, how? None of our investigation have had anything to do with him."

"That's what I thought was strage about it... So I came to tell you the news right away. If the charge against him stands, then it'll be next to impossible to get the Gardes to support any of our planned investigations." Thierry explained.

"Right, because they'll think they've already found the culprit..." Navia mutters softly.

"Yeah, and it'll be a lot harder then to clear Mr. Callas' name." The garde finished her sentence.

"I understand. Well, partner..." Navia turned to look at Lumine. "What do you think we should do? We still haven't found any conclusive evidence..."

"It's obvious isn't it." Lumine crossed her hands across her chest. "We split up."

"Hmm, split up? What do you mean?" Navia tilts her head a little.

"You can go to Erinnyes, try to stall the trial as long as you can, and might as well press charges at Marcel if you think you can. In the meantime, I'll go investigate "that place," and search for the evidence we need to end this once and for all." Lumine explained, straight to the point as always.

Navia is silent for a moment, before her lips turned into a smile, and then, she laughs, certainly impressed and feeling pleasant with the idea.

"Hahaha, just as expected of my partner!" She declared, a confident smile adorn her face as her spirit rises. "Since this is a trial about the serial disappearances case, the culprit's attention will be focused on Erinnyes, leaving his home base wide open." Navia said with a confident nod. "You're right, this is our best opportunity. Alright then, let's do this. I'll stall them at the opera house and charge Marcel as the true culprit. But I won't have any chance of making that charge stick though, unless we find more evidence. It'll be up to you to make it back in time and hand the decisive evidence to me."

"I promise, I'll be there by the time you connected all the dots." Lumine said with a nod, putting one hand on her chest.

"We'll help you just like you helped us in Lyney's trial!" Paimon added.

"Demoiselle, please allow us to accompany you."

"I'm ready."

Two people approached from behind Navia, and she turns around to see her two most trusted servant standing there, looking at her.

"Melus, Silver... when did you two get here?!" The brown haired girl asked in surprise and confusion.

"We heard that you'll be leaving Poisson and figured that you might require our assistance. It's our hope that your confidence will be bolstered with the two of us by your side." Melus answered, while Silver merely nods along.

"Hahaha, thank you so much, you two. But really, you don't have to do this." Navia shook her head, as she glanced back towards Lumine. "My confidence will goes unshaken, even without you two by my side. After all, I already have them."

The boss threw a smile towards Lumine, and the blonde girl returns it with a smile of her own.

"Then, let's make haste for Erinnyes! Paimon, Traveler, I'll see you at the opera house!"

~o~0~o~

Inside the Opera Epiclese, another trial is being held. The Chief of Justice who stood by his usual spot above the audience, but still below the Hydro Archon, sighs heavily as he pinch the bridge of his nose while lightly shaking his head.

"It would appear that I must repeat my question again, Mr, Tartaglia." He opens his eyes to look at the suspect being held in this trial. A certain ginger haired man from Snezhnaya. "Do you accept the charge that you are the true culprit behind the serial disappearances case?"

The man known as Tartaglia on the outside, and Childe on the inside, scoffed as he crossed his arm. He didn't even know how he ended up in this mess. Just when he thought his vacation will goes peacefully, or at least, as peaceful as it can.

"To be perfectly honest, I don't understand your country's complicated court system, or the reason why I'm being charged with something I've never even heard of." Childe shrugged his shoulders without care, not even taking this whole thing seriously. "However, I did hear that people who have been charged can choose to participate in a duel to clear their name. Is that right?"

He sneaks a glance towards the throne above, occupied by the Hydro Archon, though the bratty girl sitting there is not the one he's looking at, rather, it was the woman who stood by her side.

"In which case, as long as I accept the charge, I can have an all-out fight with that Champion Duelist Clorinde, right? I've gotta admit, that's one of the most enticing offers I've ever received." He then scoffed once more, a look of displeasure on his face. "When I privately sparred with her last time, she was obviously holding back... Real dissapointing."

"Hey, don't you understand? You're currently the prime suspect for a major case! This isn't the place for you to be looking for fights." The Hydro Archon's voice rings throughout the opera house, making sure everyone present heard her.

"Oooh? Sounds like the Hydro Archon wants to lecture me on the ways of the opera house..." This time, Childe fully turn his body around to face them. He glares at the white haired girl sitting on the throne with a challenging look. "Then why don't you duel me, too? I'm the kind of student who learns best in the heat of battle."

Immediately after, her confidence immediately fell after that.

"A-ah, no no no, that's not what I meant..." Furina muttered out, waving her hands in front of her.

Neuvillette sighs once more. "Alas, it would appear that communication with the defendant is going poorly, and we have made very little progress." Inwardly, he wonders what he should do in order for this to proceed and they don't just waste time doing all of this. "In that case, let me explain everything from the very beginning again..."

"That case had nothing to do with him! You've got the wrong man!"

Everyone in the audience turn their heads to look back to see three familiar faces walks into the court. The brown haired girl Navia, and her two loyal servants. And the audience began to wonder what she's up to this time.

"Miss Navia, this is the second time you've interrupted the court proceedings." Neuvillette sighs yet again for that day. Annoyed to have this girl interrupting a serious matter such as a trial, again. "I only tolerated your behaviour last time because you were able to provide the court with key eyewitness. But that was an exception rather than standard court protocol. I can very well charge you with contempt of court for your interjections."

"Please, did you think I had any respect for this place's pointless theatrics?" Navia rolled her eyes, hard. "We can put that discussion aside for now, I'm not here to argue with you. I'm here to charge the true culprit behind the serial disappearances case." She stated, before looking to the side towards Childe who looks at her with slight confusion. "And if my charges prove true, then Tartaglia here will be proven innocent by default, correct?"

"Oh? A young lady has charged in and offered to clear my name, how fascinating." Childe lightly smiled at her. Not expecting this kind of unknown support. "Well, I'd gotten half bored to death by all these rules and procedures anyway, so I'll take you up on that offer." He then turned to look at Neuvillette again and asked. "So, Your Honor, is there nothing else for me to do now?"

Neuvillette shook his head. "You may take a seat for now in the audience, but that doesn't mean the suspicions against you have been lifted." Childe sighs a little at this, but he obliged nonetheless and leaves his spot. The Chief Justice then turned his attention back to Navia. "Now then, Miss Navia, who is the person you would like to charge instead?"

"That person is Marcel, the head of Confrerie of Cabriere!" Navia answered, causing the audience to get confused, both from not knowing who he was or why did the president of Spina di Rosula blames one of it's own comrade.

"Please let me remind you, Miss Navia, that charging someone is an incredibly serious matter. Committing to the charge also means taking on the legal responsibilities associated with it." Neuvillette reprimanded, narrowing his eyes slightly towards the brown haired girl. "And if the charge fails, depending on the circumstances, you may also be charged with the crime of making a false accusation. Knowing this, do you still wish to charge this man?" He asked her.

"Yes, I do." Navia answered, full of confidence.

And in return, Neuvillette gives her a nod of acknowledgement.

"In that case, I declare the charge to be valid. Miss Navia and attorneys, please take your places on the court. Members of the Gardes, please contact Mr. Marcel right away so that he may stand trial." He commanded, and all the Gardes who are present in the court immediately spring into action.

Navia looks at her two companions, and nods at them. It's time for them to take the stage.

"Hiya there, miss." As they're on their way to take their place, they walked into Childe. "Thanks for your help. I don't know who you are, but you have my gratitude for taking me out of this boredom of a trial." He said while flashing her a smile.

"No need to thank me Mr. Tartaglia. The Traveler are the one you should be thanking. She asked me to stall this trial in order to expose the true culprit." Navia shakes her head, putting one hand on her chest.

"Ooh, so you're one of Girlie's new friends? I see." Childe's face immediately brightens up at the mentions of the Traveler.

""G-Girlie?"" Navia repeated, sweatdropping a little at the nickname.

"Well, I can't help but admit that she does know how to attract all kinds of people. It's her special nature." Childe says with a small smirk.

"Hmm, yeah, she really is special in my eyes."

"Heh, guess I'll have to thank her for this later. Best of luck for you." He lightly patted Navia's shoulder as he walked past her.

"Yeah, thanks."

Navia and her two accomplice take their place in the court on one side. After waiting for several minutes, Marcel shows up and occupies the other, alone. He looks at Navia, whom he saw like she was his own daughter, confused and a little disappointed.

"Mr. Marcel, you will not require an attorney, is that correct?" Neuvillette asked the old man on his left side, who wore a confused expression on his face.

"Ah... Apologies, it all happened so quickly, I still haven't figured out what's going on." Marcel said while rubbing the back of his head, turning his gaze to look at Navia, who glares at him sharply. "I think an attorney won't be necessary. This is probably just a misunderstanding between me and Navia."

Neuvillette nods his head. "Very well. In that case, since both sides have now arrived, Miss Navia, please present your charges." He turned to look at the brown haired girl on his right side.

Navia nods her head, as she start this trial.

"I would like to take everyone back three years ago, to the case of "Callas the Unfaithful." Only through elucidatinh what really happened in that case can we connect all the dots for the serial disappearances case."

"Navia, do you really think I was the one who killed your father?" Marcel interrupted before Navia could lay out the full explanation in her mind. "Come on, why would I do that? Callas was my benefactor, and remember, both you and I only ran to the scene when we heard the sound of a gun. If that's enough to make me a suspect, wouldn't that make everyone at that banquet a suspect as well?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I, uh... I think there's no point in getting into the specifics right now. The audience doesn't even have the big picture yet. Even I'm... ahem, struggling to remember some details of that case." Furina's voice came from above, and the audience below agreed with their god's words.

"Exactly correct, Your Honor. I must refresh everyone's memory about that case before I can explain my charge and reasoning." Navia said in agreement.

"I see. In which case, I will recount the findings about that case as originally recorded by Maison Gardiennage."

Neuvillette nods his head. Turning to look at the audience before him, he starts to recount the reports about the case, by his memory of it alone.

"On the day of the murder, Spina di Rosula hosted a large banquet in a countryside estate owned by the Confrerie of Cabriere. During the banquet, all attending guests heard two gunshots from the courtyard. When the guests arrived at the scene, they found the primary suspect, Callas, holding a gun, while his acquaintance, Jacques, lay dead from a gunshot wound. The Gardes' investigation did not recover any other firearms from the scene. As a result, they concluded that the suspect's first shot must have missed, while the second must have taken Jacques' life. The suspect did not dispute this conclusion, and also declined to defend himself in court. Instead, he chose to prove his innocence through a duel. Callas was defeated by Champion Duelist Clorinde in the ensuing duel, and soon succumbed to the injuries. These are the known facts about the case."

Everyone took their time to let the information sinks in. Those who were there at the time when that happened merely hummed as they wonder about what kind of truth Navia will bring to this old case that has been closed for three years. Meanwhile, others who haven't heard any of it, curiously wondered how this will connect with the disappearances case.

"Thank you for the summary, Your Honor." Navia spoke up after taking some time rummaging through her thoughts. And after carefully sorting out her mind, she's now ready to reveal the truth. "Of course, the Gardes' conclusion appeared quite sensible to us at the time. However, we should revisit the case now that we've gained new information about the abilities of Water from the Primordial Sea."

Clearing her throat, she began her explanation.

"First thing first, the testimony of the victim's family confirms that Jacques had thoughts of assassinating Callas when he set out for the banquet. However, in the end he reconsidered, and instead shared everything with Callas, hoping to seek the latter's protection. Unfortunately for Jacques, the true culprit had already considered this possibility, and had sent out another assassin. This assassin first shot Jacques, then turned to shoot Callas, only for Callas to wrestle the gun from him and kill him instead. A pile of clothing was found at the scene. The Gardes once believed they were used by Jacques as a costume to disguise himself... But now, it is clear that the clothes were proof that there was a third person at the scene, and that they were turned into water after committing the murder. And since it was raining that day, the culprit was confident that they could use the rain to wash away all traces of their dissolved accomplice. Realizing this, the true culprit caused the hired assassin to dissolve into water, leading everyone to believe Callas was responsible for Jacques' murder. This is the true version of events."

The audience "oohs" and "aahs" filled the court from Navia's explanation. Surprised to learn the truth behind that events that they've once believed to be reality for so long.

"What a great theory. It also explains Callas' and Jacques' respective motives... I guess they didn't shoot each other after all." Marcel spoke up after a while, he doesn't look at all offended.

"Mr. Marcel, you are the one being charged with a crime. You should provide a rebuttal if you wish to prove your innocence." Neuvillette said to the old man, to which the latter shakes his head.

"Ah, but I think I agree with everything Navia just said. In fact, there was nothing in her speech that directly implicated me." Marcel replied.

"Th-Then, may I ask some questions?" Everyone turned to look at Furina who raise one hand. "In my opinion, we primarily need to determine two things. One, do you have the evidence to back up your claims?" The Hydro Archon asked, which caused Navia to fidget in place.

"I... I'm afraid not, at least, not at this very moment." She said with a shake of her head.

The sounds of disappointment came from the audience bellow. Some of them even boos her for coming here not even prepared.

"However..." Navia began, gaining everyone's attention once more. "Even though I don't have the evidence with me, I know where I could go collect it." Everyone looks at her in wonder and curiousity. "If we look up the deserted clothes against a record of people who went missing at around the same time, we should be able to find a match. Considering the serial disappearances case, the Gardes probably kept careful records of all missing persons from around that time, regardless of age or gender."

"That makes sense to me..." Furina muttered with a nod of her head. She looks at Neuvillette below and asked for a request. "Monsieur Neuvillette, I would consider this to be a reasonable investigative direction."

Navia tilts her head slightly in confusion. "Huh? Why do I feel like Furina's acting a little differently today?"

"Maybe she's scared of embarrassing herself again?" Silver beside her guessed.

"Alternatively, she's becoming more diligent after charging an innocent citizen in the last trial." Melus replied in a whisper.

"Alright then, as for my second question, it has to do with the ensuing duel. If the truth is indeed as you described..." Furina paused for a bit, as if considering what she should say. "Then why didn't Mr. Callas explain himself in court? If he had testified that a person had been dissolved, he could have at least mounted a defense."

Navia lets out a sigh at this, a little bit heavily. Inwardly, she gathers her strength to form the words she need to say. And after taking a deep breath, she nods to herself in reassurance, looking forward to the crowds before her and spoke up.

"I've thought about this too, and the answer is actually pretty simple. He felt there were things that were more important to him." She answered, making everyone raise their eyebrows. "The dissolving power of Water from the Primordial Sea is an important secret for the true culprit of the serial disappearances case. My father could have exposed it for all to see, but he chose to take it to the grave. Because at that time, Spina di Rosula was in dire straits, and his reputation had already been shattered. He had no guarantee that going forward with the truth would allow the culprit to be brought to justice." Closing her eyes, Navia put her hand on her chest. "But what was certain to him, however, was that it would paint a gigantic target on my back."

Melus could feel the surge of emotions rising inside Navia, and so, he stepped forward to continue instead.

"Boss once told me that Demoiselle had already been selected as the next target of the serial disappearances case." Melus revealed, and everyone gasped in shock, even Furina the Hydro Archon is equally shocked as well.

The old man is about to continue, but Navia put her hand on his shoulder. He looks at her and she gives him a shook of her head, signaling for him to stop and let her take care of this. He understood, and he goes back to his initial position, as Navia step forward and continue.

"If the secret had gotten out, the culprit would have fought an all-out war with the Spina right there and then. I wouldn't have been the only one in danger, all of us would have stood to lose our lives." Navia explained, shaking her head as she continues. "Of course, the Gardes might eventually figure out the truth of the matter, and determine that we were in the right. But what good would that do? How can a hollow verdict protect anyone?" She asked, and everyone in the audience start to understand what she's saying. "Had this opera house ever given my father any kind of confidence in it's brand of justice, Spina di Rosula would have had no reason to exist! But by staying silent, we retained the ability to deter our opponents, and continue the stalemate. I was also able to become Spina di Rosula's president, which made me harder to target, as well as giving me more time to grow and learn. And once I figured out the truth and stepped up to the challenge, I will do what this opera house cannot, and restore my father's truth and honor back to him!"

The opera house went silent for a while. Everyone in the audience murmurs among themselves regarding what Navia said, meanwhile both the Hydro Archon and the Chief Justice stays silent to think over her words.

"So..." Furina spoke up after several minutes of not saying anything. "You mean to say... Your father intended to die in the Duelist's Ring?" The Hydro Archon asked, to which Navia lowers her head a little.

"That's right." The brown haired girl nodded.

"Do you have any proof?"

"Of course. All you need is to ask his opponent, Clorinde." Navia turned to look at the woman standing beside the throne of the Hydro Archon, who kept a straight face throughout the entire time. "I don't need your apology, your guilt, or your support from the shadows. You don't have to do anything for my sake." The brunette shook her head at the purple haired woman. "But since he entrusted his will to you, Clorinde, you should tell us the truth about his sacrifice."

Furina then looked at the woman beside her, who averted her eyes immediately, clearly hiding something.

"So... During the duel, did you believe that Callas was intending to die?" The white haired girl asked the woman, who sighs heavily, before nodding her head.

"Yes, I did." Clorinde replied. "As a Champion Duelist, I've fought many battles, and taken a countless number of dishonored lives. In my line of work, I've seen all kinds of people give their all for the faintest hope to continue living. Some were determined, others passionate, and some even manic and twisted. Just one look and I can tell if a duelist is hoping to live, or if they're looking to die." The electro user turned to look at the audience, her face shows nothing but seriousness. "I hereby swear on my name and honor as a Champion Duelist that Mr. Callas never intended to leave the Ring alive."

The audience once again becomes silent from her words. Some of them are praising Callas for his actions, while others are still slightly confused.

"Since that's your testimony, I have no more questions. It appears there really are good grounds to reopen this case." The Hydro Archon spoke up.

"I concur. However, Miss Navia, you still have not explained the link between your father's case and the serial disappearances case." Neuvillette, who is completely silent for a long time, finally spoke up, he looked at Navia and continued the trial, despite of some emotions that's starting to surface in his mind.

"Of course, Your Honor. The two cases are connected via a matter of timing." Navia answered, beginning her explanation. "In my father's case, the culprit intended to kill both Jacques and Callas. As a result, they planned to act after hearing two at the end of Lyney's trial, the culprit is also only dissolved the victim in front of everyone because they realized they were at risk of being identified. The culprit could only time their actions so precisely if they were already at the scene."

She then glanced at the person standing on the other side of the court, the man she once called her "Uncle."

"Coincidentally, Marcel attended both the banquet and the trial."

"So that's why you suspected me... Even after hearing your reasoning, I still can't help but find it a little preposterous." Marcel sighs as he waves a single hand at her. "I'm used to it, though. You've always been an impulsive and sentimental child, Navia. It's one of your most endearing traits."

"No need to appeal to pathos." Silver who is beside Navia silently mutters.

"I won't try to refute your points one by one, but even if everything you just said was true, can you prove that I was the only person present at both events?" Marcel continues, starting to pressure her with questions Navia knows she couldn't answer. "On top of that, does a person have to be physically present to control the timing? Can't someone remotely monitor the place?"

"Ah..."

The scale of the Oratrice tilts, raising the one on Marcel's side, while dropping the one in Navia's side. Her testimony is being rebuked.

"I know that even with that, you might still think you can reduce the list of suspects with some further investigations, until I'm the only one left on the list." Marcel sighs, making a hurt expression, as if trying to get everyone's sympathies. "Alas, who won't feel at least a little hurt by an accusation of murder from a girl you see as your own daughter? But if I were to dismiss this completely, you'd think I'm not being considerate of your feelings. Ah well, let Uncle Marcel teach you another lesson." He crosses his arms on his chest as he glares back at Navia. "Do you know what the biggest flaw in your reasoning is?"

"I suppose you're going to tell me anyways..." Navia said, not knowing anything else to say.

"It's "timing," again." Marcel answered, causing Navia to raise an eyebrow slightly. "I'm a businessman by trade. From that standpoint, there's no reason for me to kidnap young women. It's high-risk action with nothing to gain." He began, starting his explanation. "In addition, I left my home in Snezhnaya when I was young to come to Poisson and work in some trade. My business only thrived when I received Callas' patronage. But the disappearance began before I ever stepped foot in Fontaine."

Another shot of rebuttal that Navia couldn't deny. If this continues on, she'll surely lose in this trial!

"I do apologize, Demoiselle. This was my mistake." Melus apologized, seems like he overlooked this detail.

"No, it's not your fault. I'm sure he had come prepared." Navia said with a shook of her head.

"Is there anything else you'd like to say? Would you like to check the date of my first business license against the first known case of the serial disappearances?" Marcel continues, making this harder and harder for pinning the blame on him. "You can also take a look at my border entry records, or ask my friends and family when I left Snezhnaya for the first time. Could those records and testimonies do something to appease the unspeakable anguish in your heart?"

The Oratrice's scale tilts once more. And now, the scale is in an even position, meaning that if Marcel manages to rebute her charges one more time, then Navia will lose the case for sure.

"I think you've done a superb job of dissecting your father's feelings as he neared the end of his life. But aren't you going against all of his wishes and expectations right now?" Marcel questions, so now he decided to attack psychologically, trying to lift down her spirit that has been built up for this. "He wished for you to become more rational, collected, and conscientious, instead of dwelling only on your own feelings. Once you've learned to be more considerate of others' feelings, and to stop rushing headlong into things, you've met most of his expectations."

Navia gripped the hem of her skirt tightly. She can't give up now. Not after all those years she spent weeping for her father and swear to clear his name. The Traveler... Lumine, she is the key for this to be done. The blonde haired girl have put her trust on her fully despite of having been acquainted for a few days. And in return, Navia should feel the same as well. She trusted Lumine fully, trusted her for her kindness of offering help to her and the Lyney twins despite of barely knowing them, trusted her for the hardwork she puts in helping Navia solving this case, trusted her who is there to comfort her during this long journey.

She trusted that Lumine will come back, and with her, the evidence they need to finally solve these cases once and for all.

"This isn't just about me, and it never has been..."

Navia spoke up after a while, putting her hand on her chest and shaking her head.

"The biggest difference between me and the rest of the victims is that I still have the ability to search for the truth, while that same agency has long been taken from them. The people whose family were destroyed by Sinthe abuse, the people who lost their loved ones to the serial disappearances, and the people who suffered tragic ends due to their sense of justice... Many people's images are flashing before my eyes. I'm sure some are coming to those of you in the audience as well..."

She then glares towards Marcel, sharp and piercing.

"And whose image do you see, Marcel?" Navia asked, narrowing her eyes at him. "Is it a man named "Vacher?""

"...?!"

Marcel made a surprised expression. Navia could barely make it out due to the distance between them, as well as just how good the old man is at acting. But she is a hundred percent sure that he was indeed shocked, upon hearing the name.

"Oh? So you do know that name." Navia muttered, her eyes narrowed even more.

"I'm merely surprised you'd suddenly say the name of someone I've never even heard of." Marcel replied, trying to sound confused, but the slight stutter in his words is all it needs for her to be sure.

"I was waiting for you to say that."

Before Marcel could say anything. There was a sudden shift in the air, as if the atmosphere suddenly becomes slightly heavy. Everyone in the court were silently confused by the feeling they thought to be just mere imaginations. But it wasn't until a new voice spoke up.

"Heh, you said that you never heard of it? Even if it's no one but yourself? How laughable."

Everyone in the audience gasped loudly in shock, as they see a figure of a blonde haired girl in a white dress suddenly appears in the midst of them. Sitting with one leg crossed, in an empty seat right beside where the Fatui Harbinger is sitting.

"W-Whoa! Where did you come from Girlie?!"

Childe feels like his heart is about to leap out of his mouth from shock when he finds Lumine sitting beside him where she definitely wasn't there one second ago.

"From outside." The blonde girl simply replied. Now that Childe looks at her carefully, he sees that her whole body is soaked, even the blindfold that seals her eyes. "How the heck did you become the suspect? Don't tell me it's because you're picking fights with girls that look strong on the streets." Lumine asked, giving the Harbingers a pout.

"Ahahaha, it's a little more complicated than that Girlie..." Childe replied, scratching the back of his head.

"Naviaaaa! We're baaaack!" Paimon pops out into existence right after, announcing their return.

"Ah, as expected of my partner! I just knew you'd return in the nick of time." The moment she sees Lumine, Navia's eyes immediately brighten up, the doubts and fears she has just now instantly subsided.

"Just how often do you intend to flout the rules of this court..." Neuvillette muttered hopelessly, face palming himself.

"It's alright, Monsieur Neuvillette. Given their confidence, I expect they've found crucial evidence." Furina reassure him, immediately setting her gaze to the blonde Traveler below.

"My deepest apologies for interrupting while the court is in session, Monsieur Neuvillette." Lumine spoke up, slowly standing up from her seat. "But I came here not without a reason. I came here to give you and everyone else here the evidence we need to solve this case. To prove that Marcel, is in fact, guilty." She said while pointing a finger at the middle aged man.

"Huh?!" Marcel could only stare in confusion at her.

"Well then, without further ado, allow me."

Lumine raise her arm up and snap her fingers. Dozens of objects materialized in the air, and then dropped to the stage right in front of everyone. At first, it looks like the things she just willed to appear looks like a bunch of useless junk. But upon closer inspection, everyone realized that each of them has history on it, as well as some level of sentimental value.

"Hey... That necklace! It's my daughter's! I gave it to her during her birthday! Before she... Before she's..."

"That's the dress Coralie wore before she's gone! It's... I can't believe I would be able to see it, after so many years..."

"So many items... Just how much girls have gone missing under the Gardes' radar?!"

The audience all had a mixed reactions upon seeing the belongings that Lumine brought. Some of them realize that it belongs to the missing girls who were part of their families. While others simply stared in horrors upon realizing just how many victims this case hadevod devour.

"Ladies and gentlemen. As you've already guessed by now, these were the belongings of the missing girls of the serial disappearances case, taken from the lair of the mastermind behind the serial killings, as well as the one behind the Sinthe's productions, and the case that took Mr. Callas' life." Lumine raise her hand, and points her index finger towards Marcel. "And that mastermind, is none other than Marcel AKA, Vacher himself!"

Neuvillette and Furina share a shocked expression, and the audience followed suit.

"We've investigated your lair, and we already know everything!" Paimon added, putting her hands on her sides as she glares at the man. "After your lover, Vigneire, was dissolved, you kept abducting young women to experiment on in hopes of bringing her back to you! You even created "Marcel" as a new identity, and destroyed all records of your past as Vacher!"

"So that's it... Even the villains in opera performances rarely go that far. And with that, Marcel's motive has now been established." Furina mutters out, her heterochromic pair of eyes looks at the blonde haired Traveler below, with admiration and amusement.

Neuvillette silently lets out a huff. He looks at the Traveler, inwardly impressed by her abilities to overcome every obstacles in a trial, both this, and the last one.

Before he knows it, that same girl raised her hand.

"Monsieur Neuvillette, if you allow me, there is one more evidence I would like to show you, the last one that will put and end to this." Lumine requested, without even turning her head to look at the Chief Justice, not that it matters though since she won't be able to see him anyway as long as she has that blindfold on.

"Huh? We have another?" Paimon asked in confusion. Navia is also curious about this.

"If it can provide a testimony for one side. I'll allow it." Neuvillette answer with a nod.

"Thank you. But... I require Mr. Marcel's cooperation first, as he has the evidence in his possession right now."

Marcel hears the voice coming from behind him, and he screams to see Lumine is standing right behind him, where she wasn't just one second ago. The audience share a reaction as well, realizing a second later of how the Traveler just suddenly disappeared from her spot among the audience, and is now above them in an instant. But for a man named Childe however, he merely grimaced as the action of his comrade brings certain memories back to him.

"Wh-What evidence?!" Marcel questioned the blonde haired girl before him. "I don't even have anything on me! I left it all at home because the Gardes dragged me here!"

"I can see that, you really have nothing on you right now." Lumine chuckles a little while shaking her head. Marcel didn't understand it, but that simple motion unnerved him. "But..." She paused, taking a few steps towards him. "You do however... Have something IN you!"

"Blarrgh?!"

Without warning, Lumine lunges an arm at him. Aiming to his neck, she choked him, and brings him down to his knees as he struggles to breathe.

The audience gasped in shock and horror upon seeing what she's doing, Paimon and Navia did the same and looks at her with widened shock eyes. Childe meanwhile, narrowed his eyes and wonders of what Lumine's doing.

"Traveler, violence in court is strongly prohibited. Release him, now!" Neuvillette's voice loudly enters Lumine's ears, but she doesn't pay any attention to it, she ignores it completely.

"Wh... What are you...?"

Lumine ignores Marcel's pained croak. She use her free hand to reach up to her face, and pull down the blindfold over her eyes, allowing her eyelids to snap open, revealing a pair of glowing blood red eyes.

"Scanning." She softly mutters out a word. Her eyes connects with Marcel's, staring deep into them as if entering his very soul.

Neuvillette raised his hand, preparing to do something, the Gardes climb up the stairs leading to her location, prepared to split the two apart from one another.

When she hears the sounds of footsteps of the incoming Gardes. She finally release Marcel from her chokehold, just in time when they arrived.

"I'm done. I got the evidence I need." Lumine declared, fixing up her blindfold as Marcel violently coughs on the ground.

Before Neuvillette could say anything. She disappears from the place she's standing on, again. And reappears back on the stage below, facing the audience who all look at her with a variety of looks.

"Now then. It's time for me to show you all. Show you, of just how much of a despicable of a mad man Vacher really is. Watch carefully."

Everyone is confused as Lumine turned her back on them. She reaches both of her hands up, and fully takes off the blindfold that seals her eyes, dematerializing it out of existence. With her eyes still closed, Lumine took a deep breath...

"Project."

The moment Lumine opens her eyelids, lights shoots out from her eyes. She turns around to face the audience, and looks up to above, where the lights that comes out of her eyes formed to make a projection in the air, one that everyone could see and hear, as if what they're seeing is from their very own eyes.

"So where are we going now? Do you have a place in mind?"

"Ah, I do! I just find this one beautiful place underground, it even has underground lakes and rivers in it, you're gonna love it!"

"Huh?!" Marcel exclaimed in surprise. A voice came out from the projection, and it sounds just like... "Is that me? And... Vigneire...!"

The projection then shifted, forming and image of a girl with long hair and a familiar looking green outfit. The girl is smiling and laughing inside the projection, as if she was smiling towards someone.

"Is this... Some kind of video?"

"Yeah, seems like it. But..."

"Why does it feel a little..."

Lumine nods her head. "What you're currently seeing right now is the memories of Vacher, the man who'd one day become Marcel." She answered the audience questions, while continue to create the projection. "He is an adventurer, who worked with his partner and lover Vigneire."

The projection then shifted again, now showing the image of a scenery of an underground cavern, with stalagmites and stalactites in every corner, and waters dripping from the ceiling to form small flowing rivers and lakes around them. Vigneire is among these scenery, and she is shown to be happy and excited as she walks around it.

"Vigneire and Vacher loved one another. They promised that wherever one of them will go, the other one will also follow. But unfortunately, a tragedy would happened that Separates the two forever."

In the projection, Vacher sees the love of his life screaming, as she just touched something on the ground. Her body starts to drip with water, and eventually, her whole body dissolved, turning into water and leaving only her clothes behind.

"Vigneire! What happened?! Vigneire! Vigneire!"

The audience gasped in shock, even though this is an event that already happened plenty of years ago, seeing someone simply gone just like that is still a very terrifying image. Marcel particularly, look like his soul is almost leaving his body, due to seeing the memory that has been haunting him for decades once more.

"Discovering the existence of Water from the Primordial Sea. Vacher then began to experiment on them in hopes of restoring Vigneire back, given that dissolving along with her is not an option. And to that end, he begins to kidnap young women, as test subjects."

"Gah! Who are you? What are you trying to do to me?!"

"Please, take anything you want, please! Just let me go!"

"H-Help! Help! Someone help me!"

"You're a monster! Release me this instant!"

"N-No, no! I don't... Wanna die..."

"Mama... Papa..."

What the projection shows next is the complications of Vacher, now taking the name of Marcel, kidnapping, locking, and experimenting on a bunch of different girls. He would subdue these girls first using chloroform, and then silently drags them to his base where he locks them up in a cage, or chained them to a pillar, before eventually killing them by turning them into water.

"Another failed subject. What an utter disappointment."

And he would brushes off all the lives he takes like they were nothing. All of the people present could feel their anger and resentment grows, and all of it is directed towards Marcel.

"But for his research to continue, he needs funds, lots of it. And after learning that a diluted concoction of Water from Primordial Sea can cause the drinker to feel a sense of Euphoria, he invented the drug called Sinthe. And began to sell it in Poisson, where he would meet an objection from the Spina di Rosula's Boss, Callas. And after years of exchanging blows with the Spina di Rosula, he decided to assassinate their president. Though it was didn't go as he expected, he is able to turn Callas into the murder suspect, eliminating his biggest obstacle."

The projection shifted, and now it shows Marcel in the middle of dealing with some people. And one of them being Jacques. He ordered him to assassinate Callas, to which Jacques agrees to do so, due to the safety of his family being on the line. But, unsure of Jacques loyalty, he sent an assassin to make sure things went right. And when it didn't goes as planned, he turns the table around, by making Callas a criminal.

Lumine closes her eyes, ending the projection. With everyone's eyes fixated on her, some are still wondering how did she managed to do that.

"And the rest, is history. Vacher tried to frame Lyney the magician to be the culprit behind the serial disappearances case, but it backfired on him and cause the existence of Water from the Primordial Sea to be revealed instead. And that is how we conclude this case."

The whole opera house went silent at first. Still processing the information being presented to them.

But before long, one person clapped their hands, followed by another, and another. Until eventually, almost everyone clapped their hands. Some of them even cheers and shouted.

~o~0~o~

"Yippee! We helped Navia bring the bad guy to justice!" Paimon cheers happily, jumping in the air as she does so. "He's hurt so many innocent people, now he's finally getting what he deserves."

With the Oratrice proclaimed Marcel guilty righteously, the Gardes escorted Marcel out of the room. The old man has been throwing tantrums after the revelation, madly blames everyone instead of himself for what he's done. Even drinking a bottle of Primordial Seawater right in front of the audience as if to boast the fact that he cannot be dissolved unlike everyone else, that he has no choice but to bring his lover back due to that.

Meanwhile, on the platform above the audience, Navia could be seen covering her face with her hand, hiding it as if to not show everyone the emotions spilling out from them.

"Demoiselle, you are absolutely brilliant." Silver behind her spoke up to comfort her. Even the usually quiet man knows how to ease someone's pain, or at least tried to.

"The day our late Boss had always hoped for has finally come. You can rest easy now, knowing justice has been served." Melus added, putting one hand on her shoulder and give it a gentle squeeze.

"Yeah... Yeah, it's finally over." Navia nods her head, wiping a tear away from the corner of her eyes with one hand. She then turns around to face her two loyal followers. "It's all thanks to you guys. Thank you, Silver, Melus, for everything." She smiles brightly at them. But not forgetting someone, she glanced to her side, and her blue eyes landed on the form of the Traveler. "And it's all thanks to you too... Lumine."

Meanwhile, on the audience's seats. Lumine slowly walks to the front row seats, where two of her friends waited.

"Well done there Girlie, you cracked that case as easy as cracking an egg. You sure are something, huh?" Childe said to her, giving her a cool smile.

"Not as easy as you may think." Lumine replied, staring at him blankly. "You still owe me an explanation on how you got yourself in this situation."

"Ah, come now. You know who I am, a Fatui Harbinger isn't the kind of person someone, at least the normal ones, think kindly of." He shrugged his shoulders before standing up from his seat. "Oh well, perhaps some other time. I've got some business to attend to, so if you'll excuse me..." And with that, her turns his body and left.

"Ugh, and just like that he left us here again!" Paimon groaned, stomping her foot in the air.

"Please wait just one moment, Mr. Tartaglia." Neuvillette's voice spoke up, stopping Childe from leaving.

"Oh, what now? None of this has anything to do with me." Rolling his eyes, Childe looks back to Neuvillette above.

"According to court protocol, since this trial was initiated due to a charge against you, a verdict must also be made regarding the initial charge before the trial can conclude." Neuvillette explained.

"Ah c'mon, is this really necessary? Haven't you already caught the real criminal? Isn't it time for side characters like me to exit stage left?" Childe complained, clicking his tongue in annoyance.

"Please respect the laws of Fontaine. This has always been the rule." Neuvillette simply replied.

"Just do what he says." Lumine muttered, Childe looks back to see her behind him. "We knew of the true culprit already, so it shouldn't be long."

"Tch, alright, alright, but this sure is a lot of hassle." The ginger haired man scoffed while rolling his eyes again. "All I need to do is to stand over there, right? Let's get this over with."

Neuvillette nodded. Childe climbed up the stairs and take his place in the court. Waiting a little impatiently as the Oratrice glows a blue color.

"... Through evidence presented in the public trial that was just held, it has been established that Mr. Tartaglia has no direct connection to the serial disappearances case. The guilty party has been identified, and thus, it is logical to suppose Mr. Tartaglia is innocent of the charges. We now turn the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale to render the final verdict on the charges."

After a while, the Oratrice finally prints out the result of the final verdict. Neuvillette takes it and read it. And after a while, something changed. Although his expression remains unchanged, the small glints in his eyes indicates confusion and uneasiness. Making Lumine wonders what is happening.

"According to the judgement of the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale, Mr. Tartaglia is... Guilty."

Everyone lets out a shocked gasps. Both Lumine and Childe shared a wide eyed expression of shock.

"What?!" Paimon exclaimed loudly.

"Hey, hey! That's not funny... Didn't you say I'm supposed to be innocent?" Childe yelled in anger, glaring sharply at the Oratrice. "What's with this verdict? Is your justice machine malfunctioning?"

Neuvillette above looks totally confused. He sighs to voice this confusion, however, he is a man lived by law. So even with this confusion he...

"The judgement of the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale is, by law, the final verdict of the court. We must accept the guilty verdict." Neuvillette announced, putting away the paper in his hands as he gestured towards the Gardes below. "Gardes, please take the suspect into custody per court protocol."

Childe stays silent, his eyes narrowed, and his blue eyes starts to emit some emotions.

"Childe, wait. Calm yourself." Lumine who noticed this, and immediately steps in. Holding Childe's hand to prevent him, he looks back to see her suddenly appears behind him. "Just come quietly with them for now, I'm sure we'll figured out what is going on here."

Childe looks at her, and then flashes her a smile, one that definitely not a good one to look one.

"Sorry Girlie, but I think you forgot..." Purple electricity crackles around him, and Lumine widen her eyes. "I don't always play by the rules!"

He yanked her hold on him with sparks of electricity. Lumine gasped lightly as she looks down to see the man jumped down to the stage. His appearance changed as he dons the Fatui mask, electricity course throught his body, filled with Negative Energy. Gardemeks began to surround him.

Badum

Lumine clutches her chest, feeling the darkness that starts filling the air. Damn it, she can't let this continue!

"So this is how justice is done in Fontaine. What a joke." Childe says with a wry laugh. As the Mekas closing in on him, he materializes his twin blades created from Electro Energy and began to slashing his enemies into pieces. "You've got your rules... Well, I've got mine too!"

Furina and the other audience in the opera house gasped as they have a full on battle happening before them. Sparks of electricity filled the surrounding, and bits and pieces of the Mekas fly everywhere as Childe utterly destroys them all with ease.

Even more Mekas came in, dozens of them now, all surrounding Childe who stood alone in there. The man scoffed, he raised both hands as dark purple energy began to pour out of his body, lightning struck the ground around where he stood, the atmosphere inside the opera house becomes heavy, almost suffocating, the audience were ready to leave, Furina stood against the railings and look down in worry and fear, and up above, the Chief Justice Neuvillette is inches away from standing up from his seat. When suddenly...

Splash

"Huh?!"

Childe feels a wetness on his cheek, and a little stinging pain afterwards. It was like something just threw a water ball towards him. Which might be the case as he looks to the side to see Lumine standing there, eyes closed, and a finger pointing towards him, the gem in her clothes glows blue, emanating Hydro Energy.

"Heheh, of all times..." Childe lightly rubs the spot where Lumine shoots a water ball at him. Turning his body to face her. "You choose to pick a fight now Girlie?!"

Childe's body creates even more intense aura. Dark purple smokes reeks out of him and filled the room. Paimon nervously considers if she should stay and watch or go back to her pocket dimension. Navia and Furina both watched cautiously at what is happening, meanwhile, Neuvillette is tempted to step down and resolve the matter himself, but something tells him that he should leave it to the blonde girl below.

Childe groaned as his body is encapsuled with Abyssal Energy, armor starts to form around his arms and legs, starting his Foul Legacy transformation and-

"Stop."

"Ghnh?!"

Lumine, whose eyes were closed just now, open her eyes. Her eyes glows a crimson blood red color. She opens her palm and spreads his fingers towards him. And then strangely... Childe's body complies with her words.

Childe loudly groaned whe he somehow no longer able to control his own body. It moves on it's own, or rather, it moves according to her.

"Kneel."

By Lumine's words, Childe's body forcefully made to fall to his knees while keeping his upper body straight. The Foul Legacy transformation subsided before it was even finished, the Abyssal Energy dispersed, returning the air back to normal.

Childe looks up to his front. Seeing Lumine slowly approaches him with silent steps, her blood red eyes stares at him blankly. This isn't the same Lumine whom he frequently spars and talked with. This side of Lumine... Is what happened when he pisses her off.

"G-Girlie... Y-You..."

She came to stood before Childe, staring at him emotionlessly, while he stares at her with the kind of expression you make when you see someone who's definitely going to be the end of you.

"I'm sorry for this..."

Childe hears her muttered softly. Without another word, Lumine turn her back on him.

"Knock yourself out."

With the command and a simple hand gestures. Childe's body moved by itself, arching his back slightly before smashing his head against the ground, so hard that it leaves a crater there, and he instantly passed out.

Everyone who watches it is stunned in silence. Even the Hydro Archon and the Chief Justice is unable to say anything as well.

Members of the Gardes looked at one another, before nodding their heads. Immediately went into the stage and take the unconscious Childe into custody, taking him out of the opera house.

~o~0~o~

"Hey, Lumi, are you alright?"

Paimon finds her at the back of the stage, leaning against the wall while clutching her head with one hand. A pained look appear on her face, making the little pixie worried.

"I'm... I'm fine Paimon." Lumine replied after a while, sighing a little as she took her hands off her face. Blinking her golden eyes to clear her vision. "Just a little headache."

"Ah, okay. Paimon was worried when you suddenly disappeared again." The floating fairy nodded, but then, she remembers something important that she should've asked. "But wait, that's not what Paimon wanted to ask. More importantly, what the heck did you do just now?"

Lumine stares at Paimon, who look at her with furrowed eyebrows and a pout on her lips.

"The way his body moved, and his expression that betrays his movements. It almost like he's... Like he's being controlled." She then looks at Lumine, somewhat warily. "Is that you... Lumi?"

Lumine was silent for a while, before nodding her head with a hum of confirmation.

"Wha- How did you do that? You're not secretly able to control people's mind, are you?" Paimon knows she made a joke about the Traveler having telepathic powers, but she doesn't know it was real!

"No. That won't work on him." Lumine shook her head. The words she chose for that sentence actually made Paimon's belief even stronger. "All I did was simply controlling the "water" in his body that's all." She said, quite simply.

"The water in his body?" Paimon asked in confusion, tilting her head to the side. "But didn't he give you the Hydro Vision a few days ago?"

Lumine shakes her head again. "No Paimon, I wasn't referring to his Hydro power." Lumine averted her gaze a little, looking down at her hands "I was referring to the liquid that flows inside his body. Namely, his blood."

"His blood?" Paimon repeated, and Lumine nodded her head.

"Ideally, every living organisms has water inside their bodies. Even the small bacteria possess water in their cells. Humans were no exceptions, their bodies are composed of sixty percent water, after all, especially in their blood." Lumine opens her hand, Hydro Energy gathers on her palm, swirling around like a river's flow. "And the power of the Hydro Elements in this world, is the power to control water. So if one can control water on the outside..." She closes her palm, dispersing the water into nothingness. "Then they also be able to control it on the inside."

Paimon still can't understand the full concept of it, but she could make out what Lumine is trying to say: controlling the fluids inside someone's body, like controlling the water in the outside world.

"So you're meaning to say that all this time, you can just freely controls people's blood, to make them submit yet you just simply choose not to?"

Paimon questioned, this kind of power sounds pretty dangerous, and although Paimon knows what kind of person Lumine is: being the kindest person on earth in one day, and the person who'd shove her stockings down your throat in the other. She's still worried nonetheless.

"Not exactly." Lumine said with another shake of her head. "It's my blood that I can control, not other people. Remember that Dewdrop that I shot at Childe prior to his attempt at transforming?"

"Oh, you mean that water ball you threw at his face?" Paimon saw that, and she was initially confused on why would the blonde girl would throw such a seemingly puny attack like that to someone who is a one man army in the Fatui.

"That Dewdrop actually contains my blood. When it hits Childe on the face, the dewdrop create a small cut on his cheek, and through it, my blood entered his systems."

Lumine raised her hand, and Paimon looks at it to confirm that there was indeed a small cut on Lumine's fingers, deep enough for blood to drip down.

"The blood that I injected made contact with his own blood, and a connection was formed between us that enables me to manipulate the flows of blood in his body, and with it, his muscles and bones." Lumine looks up to the ceiling, as if thinking over her decision. ""Bloodbending" that's what this technique called."

Paimon's... Not sure if she should be impressed or not. But then again, this is Lumine they're talking about, always full of surprises.

"Wow, you sure have a lot of tricks in your... Arsenal, huh?" Paimon muttered, sounding unsure of herself.

"Hmph, I'd much prefer to never use this, honestly." Lumine said with a small sigh. "But that guy gets into my nerves, for acting recklessly even after I warned him. Not to mention my mood that are already down from this whole case. Adding him to it just pisses me off!" She said with huff.

"R-Right... But well, at least it's all over now, right?" Paimon asked, putting her tiny hands on her sides. "After all, Vacher has finally been caught after avoiding authorities for so many years. We finally brought him to justice!"

Lumine thought about what Paimon just said. Bringing that man to justice? Hmph, no, not yet. In order for justice to be truly served, there's still one more thing she needed to do.

"No. No it's not over yet." Lumine replied, pushing herself from the wall, and took a deep breath.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Paimon asked in confusion.

"There is still one last thing that needs to be taken care of." Lumine stated. And without answering any further questions from Paimon, she headed towards the entrance of the opera house.

~o~0~o~

Near the entrance of the opera house, a Garde is seen escorting Vacher away. They're just about to exit the building, when a voice spoke up behind them.

"Excuse me, mister Garde. May I have a word with Vacher please?"

The two men heard the voice, and they turned around, only to see the blonde haired Traveler and her companion standing there, with the Traveler is smiling.

"Ah! Traveler! Perfect timing! There's something I want to ask you as well!"

"H-Hey!"

Vacher yanked the hold that the garde has on him, and quickly approaches the Traveler.

"Gah! Marcel! What are we doing meeting him here?" Paimon asked Lumine beside her. Is meeting him the last thing that needs to be done?

"Stop resisting arrest! Cease, or we'll add another charge to the list!" The garde quickly gets behind the criminal, and restrains him once more.

"No, no, wait! I just wanted to ask the Traveler something... I'm not looking to run away, please, please, just let me ask this one small thing." Marcel begs desperately. In the corner of her eyes, Lumine saw a figure approaches.

"Let go of him." Neuvillette ordered, the garde looks at him in slight confusion. "Let him say what he wanted to say."

The garde nods in understandment, and release Marcel.

"Ah, thank you... Thank you." Marcel thanked the man, before turning his attention back to Lumine. "I was being led away when I finally realized something... Where did you first hear the name "Vacher?"" Marcel asked, confused and curious. "I erased all records of that name, so how did you..."

"What do you think?" Lumine raised a single eyebrow at him. "I heard it from "her," from Vigneire herself."

Marcel's eyes widened in shock, full of disbelief and surprise, yet there's no denying the euphoria he feels upon hearing her name.

"A-Ah... Really? You, you did? You're sure? You met her... But how could that be, how did you manage to do it?!" He immediately asked her, still in disbelief yet full of hope.

"I am." Lumine nodded, pointing her finger towards the exit. "I met her there, by the Fountain of Lucine"

"The Fountain of Lucine?! Then... Then she's been so close to me all along?! And I just never..." Marcel trails off, as he realizes.

"That's right. She's been calling out to you, every single day, but unfortunately, you just simply can't hear her." Lumine nods her head, making a saddened expression.

Marcel's face becomes pained. His lover has been here the entire time, longing for him as she repeatedly calls out his name. Yet... No matter how much, how long, and how hard, he just can't hear it.

Marcel turns to face Neuvillette, and claps his hands together as he begs the Chief Justice.

"Please, please give me a chance to talk to her again, just let the Traveler take me to the Fountain to see her one last time... This is the last request I'll ever make in my life, you can do whatever you want to me afterwards, I don't care..."

"What, give you an inch, and you wanna take a mile? Do you think serial killers get to make requests like that?" The garde scoffs at him.

"Hmph, Paimon agrees! Why should we give him what he wants when he's only done a ton of super terrible things?" Paimon added.

"Because... Even the most evil person could still have family that they care about, Paimon." Lumine answered, looking at Marcel. "He's been dedicated his whole life looking for a way to see his beloved again. It wouldn't hurt to reunite them together at least for a while, after all, we already got him, he wouldn't go anywhere."

"Uh, that's true, but..."

"But you know, Vigneire also missed Vacher as much, hoping to see him again one more time. Just imagine being all alone stuck in an unknown place with an unknown form, terrible isn't it?" Lumine added, looking to the side, she sees Marcel's face becomes even more sad.

"This request, is it worth as much as your life?" Neuvillette asked the criminal, approaching the group.

"Of course! Wait, no, it's worth even more than my life!" Marcel answered, and his words made Neuvillette inwardly surprised.

Humans... Will they betray the instincts to live just to satisfy spiritual needs...?

"Very well, I will grant your request." The Chief Justice nods his head.

"Your Honor, I fear that..."

"I will go with him. You do not need to worry about any escape." The white haired man reassured the garde.

"Ah... In that case, I shall leave him in your most capable hands, Chief Justice."

"Thank you, thank you, Your Honor..." Marcel thanked the Chief Justice, clapping his hands together.

With Lumine's lead, she brought them outside to the Fountain of Lucine. The waters sprouted out from the fountain calmly, making a gentle relaxing noise that one couldn't help but stop and listen to.

"Is this the place? You said she's here, but what do I need to do to see her?" Marcel questioned, they stood before the fountain now, but there are no sign of a woman with Vigneire's image around.

"It's simple really. All you need to do is to increase your sensitivity to the Hydro Elements." Lumine answered, gaining a look from Marcel.

"Hydro sensitivity? But how could I accomplish that?"

"Back when I met her. I drank the Primordial Seawater that you spiked into our Fonta." Lumine answered, glancing at the fountain where she could already feel the whispers of the entity calling out for Vacher. "It what enables me to see her. Since you've drank a lot of it back in the court. You should be able to start hearing her voices now."

"Vacher..."

Right on cue, Vigneire's voice came out of the fountain. Louder this time, and Marcel seems to heard her voice as well.

"Ah, there she is. Looks like you're able to hear her too."

"Vigneire, it's me! It's me, Vacher!" Immediately, Marcel called back to her.

"Vacher... Vacher..."

"I'm here, I'm here... Where are you, Vigneire? I'm coming for you, I'm finally here for you..."

Marcel's legs moved to take him closer to the fountain, step by step, he walked...

"Hey, wait, be careful, hey, waaaaaait!"

Not heeding the voice behind him. Marcel keep walking and walking and walking, until he walks out of reality and into another space. Unaware that as he disappears, a pair of lips turned into a grin behind him.

~o~0~o~

"Vigneire... Is that you? It's me, Vacher... Vigneire...!"

Marcel keep walking and walking, the world around him has changed. He's no longer in Fontaine, nor in the real world. He has entered into a void of blue, like being submerged underwater, but he wasn't drowning nor dying.

"Vacher... Why did you come... Didn't I say... You don't need to look for me..."

A voice spoke up, and Marcel look forward to see a mysterious entity floating before him. It has the shape akin to an Oceanid, with it's big bright one eye.

"You... You look a lot older than I remember... How long has it been?" The creature questioned as it look at him curiously.

"It's been... More than twenty years. I've suffered for over twenty years since the day you left..." Marcel answered, a look of sadness mixed in with happiness upon seeing his lover again. "All this time, only the thought of bringing you back has kept me alive... Nothing else mattered to me..." Marcel confessed, he could already feel the tears slowly forming on the corner of his eyes. "Ah, I must be dreaming... Who would have thought I'd get the chance to tell you all of my feelings like this... Vigneire... You are my everything... I really don't know... How I could live without you..."

The entity went silent for a moment, before it spoke up again. The tone of it's voice changed somewhat from before.

"But Vacher... If you ask me, this world would be better off without you." The thing said, causing Marcel to pause.

"Wh-What are you saying?" He asked in utter confusion.

"If not for you, I would have finished my law degree, and probably become a top-tier attorney one day..." The entity said, it's voice has changed again. "If not for you, I would have continued to pursue my love of the arts, and my works would have been displayed in the Palais Mermonia itself..." Another voice that's different from before also spoke up. "If not for you... I would at least have been able to take care of my mother, and she would not have grown old and died alone, with nothing but the tears on her cheeks..." And then, all the three voices spoke up in unison. "It's all because of your selfishness, Vacher, it's all because of you!"

Vacher was completely stunned by their words. How could Vigneire say something like this? On top of that... These stories are all wrong. Unless...

"You... Wait, you are not Vigneire... Who are you?!" Marcel questioned, pointing a finger at the creature.

"You're right, I'm not Vigneire... I am... The "sacrifices."" The creature revealed, causing Marcel to widen his eyes in shock. "Every woman who died by your hands... As our bodies dissolved, our consciousness flowed back to the Primordial Sea. Our thoughts circulated endlessly within the Primordial Sea, and we were no longer individuals, but we became one, just as streams of water come together in the sea."

"I'm Crecy."

"I'm Lemonie."

"I'm Aisine..."

"The only one I am not... Is Vigneire."

Vigneire... So she's not even here?! But then... Where is she? If these were all the victims dissolved by the Primordial Seawater, then she should be...

"Why... But then, where is Vigneire?!" Marcel asked desperately.

"She doesn't want to see you anymore... Every tendril of her consciousness is avoiding you." The creature answered, shaking it's head as if berating him for what he's done. "This is what you hey for your selfishness! Your selfishness robbed us of our lives and our futures. You said time and time again that you'd do any and everything for her. But did you ever consider whether she'd want to see you do the things that you did?! If she would despise you for what you became?"

"I... I..." Marcel find no words to say anymore.

"You are a liar, a heartless murderer, and a cowardly narcissist. The only thing you're not... Is Vigneire's beloved." The entity stated. "From the moment your first victim died, and her consciousness merged with Vigneire's, she has had nothing but pure hatred for you."

"No... Vigneire, she can't hate me... Let me see her, please, have mercy..." Marcel begged.

"You still don't understand? When I said, don't look for me... That came from the real Vigneire, she really doesn't want to see you anymore." The creature then let's out a sigh, as the voices starts to speaks in unison again. "But on top of that, she also said that because... It's her final drop of pity for you. She said that because she knew... That is you did come here, "we"... Will show no mercy to you."

"Vacher..."

"Vacher..."

"Vacher..."

"Vacher..."

"Vacher..."

"Vacher..."

"Vacher..."

Ghostly apparitions began appearing all around him. All of them were the girls he kidnaped, he experimented on, the ones he killed for his selfishness. They all surrounded him, all eyes glares at him as sharp as daggers, piercing through his being and slicing it apart until there's nothing left.

"Drown." The voices of the spirits all said in unison.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"

In one second, all that Marcel could see is the apparitions of the girls closing in on him, filling his vision with nothing but blue. And in the next second...

...He sees nothing at all.

~o~0~o~

"H-Hey! What happened?! He just stopped breathing!"

Back in the outside world, by the Fountain of Lucine. Marcel's body had fallen unconscious when he enters the unknown space, just like how Lumine was when she first entered it. However, unlike Lumine...

He doesn't come back at all. In fact, he stopped breathing entirely.

Paimon floats over his now dead body, in a state of fright and panic. Neuvillette was beside him, grabbing Marcel by the wrist in order to check for a pulse, but there was nothing...

"He doesn't have a pulse." Neuvillette stated, causing Paimon to look at him in horror.

He truly is dead, but how could that be? What did he saw in the other side? What did he encounter? If the Traveler could come back safely just as she said, then why did he...?

Neuvillette heard a voice coming from behind him. He look back to see who it is, only to see the Traveler standing there. The shades of her hair cover her eyes, but there's no denying the huge grin she wore on her face, a grin that speaks of malice, of satisfaction.

"Heheheh, so... They've finally done it huh?" Lumine asked to no one in particular, a dark chuckle escaped from her lips.

Neuvillette narrows his eyes at her. She's the one who said that Vigneire is here, she's the one who urges Marcel to enter the fountain. Is she... the one who did this?

"Traveler, what have you done?" Neuvillette questioned, if she's purposely killed Marcel, she might as well be charged with murder.

"Ah, me? I didn't do anything." Lumine said with a shook of her head, before pointing a finger towards the fountain. "But, they did."

Neuvillette narrows his eyes in confusion. "Who are you referring to?"

"The missing girls, the ones that he shouldn't have killed." Lumine answered, her voice becomes serious. "Those girls... Or rather, what is left of them, are what killed him. Their vengeful spirits have destroyed his soul."

"Vengeful spirits?" Paimon asked in curiosity and confusion.

Lumine approaches the fountain. "When I saw how a person can be dissolved into water by the effects of Water from the Primordial Sea, there is one detail that no one is aware of." She stood by the fountain, her eyes unmoved as they stare into the water flowing out from the monument. "The fact that it's not just the bodies that dissolved, but the very soul of a person gets dissolved by the water as well."

"What? For real?!" Paimon exclaimed in shock, while Neuvillette just widen his eyes very slightly.

"That's right. It is such a horrifying sight, to see the very thing that made up a person's life to just disappear like that without a trace, it's so terrifying that it gave me nightmares."

Lumine muttered, sighing heavily as she puts her palm on her face and her face grimaced.

"However..." He uncover her face, her eyes narrowed and sharp. "That time when I fell unconscious here, I finally learnt of what happened to those souls that got dissolved. It turns out, once a Fotainian is dissolved, their souls are brought into the Primordial Sea, where they would born into a new form." She explained, causing Paimon to let out a gasp.

"B-But... Didn't you say that you met Vigneire here? How did Marcel end up getting killed by the victims instead?" Paimon asked, a look of fright and confusion on her face.

"That's what I thought initially as well." Lumine nods her head, crossing her arms across her chest. "However, I realized later that what I met that day is not "her," but "them."" She reveals as she close her eyes. "Vigneire was only one amongst the many souls trapped within the Primordial Sea. When Vacher murdered those girls by dissolving them, their souls entered the Primordial Sea as well, it merges with Vigneire's to create a singular being with multiple consciousness. I doubt that the one I talked to that day wasn't even Vigneire at all. I was obviously talking to the victims, and they tried to trick me into thinking that I was talking to Vigneire so that I would bring Vacher to them."

Lumine's lips turned into a smirk, and she lets out a scoff of amusement to the two's watchful eyes.

"Heh, but those kinds of tricks won't fool my eyes. And besides, even without tricking me, I would've brought Vacher to them anyway." Lumine said, causing Paimon to jerk.

"W-Why? Why would you want to do that? We already caught him, so why did you do this, Lumi?" The fairy asked, concerned and scared.

"Because Vacher is a terrible person, Paimon."

Lumine answered, opening her eyes again to look at fountain somewhat somberly.

"He deserves death for what he's done. He thinks that his love for Vigneire is what drives him to do what his done, a justification for the crimes he committed. Thinking that his lover would still love him as long as they could be reunited. Ignoring the cries, the pain, and the suffering for others. He wholeheartedly thinks he did is out of his true love... But what he fails to realize is that... A part loving someone, is learning how to let them go. By clinging to that love and not willing to let go, he let his love turns into lust, he lusted for that reunion with Vigneire, and that lust is what drove him to kill those girls. For such great sin... He deserves nothing bit death, I would've killed him myself if I wanted to. But I figured, that that kind of privilege should be placed in the hands of his victims who were robbed of their lives and future instead of someone like me. And besides it's better this way, thinking that he finally find his true happiness once more, only to realize it was the very thing that'll robbed him of his life. Such a satisfying ending."

Lumine chuckles darkly at her own words. Grinning widely as she does so. Paimon and Neuvillette looked at one another not knowing what to say.

When Paimon tries to say something, Neuvillette beats her first.

"So this is a planned murder then?" Neuvillette spoke up. Lumine side glanced him, before turning her body to face her.

"Why, would you like to charge me for his death, Neuvillette?" Lumine asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

The way she acts right now is severely different than he ever seen. She's so haughty, so challenging.

"I am but a Traveler visiting Fontaine. I don't always go by the rules. All I did was for the sake of the missing girls, what Vacher did to them have turned them into vengeful spirits seeking revenge. But now that I've delivered them to the one person they wanted, I could feel them finally at ease. In fact, I don't hear their callings anymore."

It's true. Lumine couldn't hear the voices calling out Vacher's name again. As if their world has been muted

"Their desires for revenge is what keeping them ties into the mortal world. I can neither hear their voices nor feeling their negative energy no longer. I've put them to rest for good." Lumine muttered with a sigh. Turning her body to face Neuvillette again, she looks at him in the eyes. "But... If you think what I did was wrong, then arrest me if you want. I don't mind it now that I've finally set those souls free."

Her eyes, Neuvillette noted, they've changed colour from red to gold to match her hair's color. She is a person who fascinates him. Not just her personalities as a person, but also how she generally acts. She may have a side that is both dangerous and terrifying to others. But there's no denying it that behind every actions she's done, lies a kindness that she gives away freely without expecting anything back.

For a person like that, even the apathetic Chief Justice couldn't bring himself to do any harm to her.

"I won't." Neuvillette said with a shake of his head.

"Huh?" Paimon exclaimed, eyes widened by his decision. "Wait, you won't arrest Lumi?" Paimon asked, to which Neuvillette nodded his head.

"Professionally, what you've done now is definitely against the law. You've played a part in Marcel's death, when he should've been alive to be transferred to Fortress of Meropide. However, there is no indecisive evidence for this case to be put into trial." He explained, but he wasn't done yet. "And as for personally, I feel like there is no need to do that. What you've said about Marcel is true, he deserves more punishment for the crimes he committed. And since you're not directly responsible for his death, then it's only natural that you're innocent in theory." The chief justice finished.

Lumine went silent for a while, looking down slightly, her eyes shows conflicting emotions. Between guilt and ease. But after a while, her lips turned into a smile, a small one. She nods her head and looks at him again.

"I see. I thank you for your understanding, Monsieur Neuvillette." She muttered, still smiling.

"You're welcome." He replied back.

After that, Neuvillette called over the Gardes to take Vacher's body away to be buried somewhere. The Chief Justice bid them farewell, since it's already late at night. Leaving the two alone still by the fountain of Lucine. And shortly after Neuvillette and the Gardes left, another person came to them.

"Ah, Lumine, Paimon, there you are!"

Lumine and Paimon turned to see Navia come out of the opera house and approach them, a happy smile adorned her face.

"Look, it's Navia! What are you doing here?" Paimon asked the brown haired girl as she came to stand before them.

"I've been looking for you since the trial is over. What were you doing outside? You're not thinking of disappearing on me again without at least saying goodbye, are you?" Navia asked, eyeing them suspiciously, putting both of her hands on her sides.

"Oh, um... Well..."

"You look like you need some time alone after the trial is over." Lumine answered in Paimon's stead who is confused on how to answer. "Solving the case that took the life of your beloved father after years would surely make you emotional. I understand that, so that's why I think we shouldn't intrude." Lumine explained.

"Well, you're not wrong about that one." Navia scratches the side of her head. "But still, who do you think you are? Without the two of you, this case will never be solved, and my father's name would never get cleared!" Navia asked, looking at them with a serious look, causing Paimon jerk at the voice. "I owe the two of you so much... I wanted to thank you, for everything."

"Aww, don't say that Navia." Paimon replied after a moment. "We were always happy to help anyone in need. No need to feel like you owe us anything. We're always happy to help a friend!"

"Paimon's right." Lumine agree with a nod. "You are my friend Navia, I will do everything to help you. Just call us and I come in immediately."

"You two..." Navia looked at her two friends, both of them smiles at her kindly. "Thank you. Seriously..."

"You're very welcome."

They stay like that for several moments. With only the sounds of water from the nearby fountain and the breeze of the night wind that filled their ears. And after several seconds passed, Navia clears her throat.

"Ahem, say... Lumine. Would you... Like to go for lunch with me? Tomorrow?" Navia invited out of the blue.

"A lunch?" Paimon asked, her eyes immediately lights up at the mentions of it.

"Y-Yeah! You know, it's another victory feast! To celebrate our victory for this case as well as a thank you from me to you." Navia explained, a faint shade of red appears on her cheeks for some reason. "So... Are you available?"

Lumine considers it for a moment. Unlike before, she doesn't have any particular plans for tomorrow. Meaning that she'll be free to do anything she wants starting from the next day, and Paimon would've urged her to go anyway, so she'll accept.

"Sure." Lumine said with a nod, causing both Navia and Paimon's face to brighten up. "All of these running around solving this case makes me hungry anyway, I don't think my hunger will be dated until tomorrow."

"Great!" Navia clapped her hands in joy. "In that case, I'll see you again tomorrow, partner."

After that, Navia bids them farewell as well. She waved her hands at them cheerfully, and Lumine could only watch with a smile on her face as the brown haired girl walks away and disappears in the distance. Leaving the two alone once again.

"Welp, now that it's all over. Whaddya say if we crash the bed for the night, Lumi?" Paimon turned to look at her, it's been a long day, so the pixie would be very tired.

Hmm... She would like to get some sleep as well. But...

"You go on ahead Paimon." Lumine said, waving a hand at her as she turn her back on her. "I... I would like to stay here a bit longer."

"Huh? But what do you want to do here?" Paimon questioned.

"Nothing, just... Staring into the fountain. I need to calm down a little." Lumine answered, without even looking at her companion.

Paimon looks at Lumine in silence for a while, contemplating what she should do. Before eventually nodding her head.

"Alright then... Paimon will wait for you, okay?" She gets a nod from Lumine, and after that, the fairy returns to her pocket dimension.

~o~0~o~

The courtyard of the Opera Epiclese is a lonely place at night. Nobody is left there as they've all returned back to their respective home to rest their tired bodies after watching the latest trial being held inside.

But if one were to go there and take a look at the lonely scenery, they would see a young girl with short blonde hair and a pristine white dress standing before the big fountain at the center of the place.

Her body is unmoved, as well as her eyes. Staring blankly into the waters flowing out of the fountain, as if in a daze and beung captivated by the waters...

The sounds of waters flowing, and the gust of wind of the night enters her ears... But there is another...

The truth is, the sounds of the vengeful spirits of the dissolved girls aren't the only voices she hears from this fountain. There is another... One that is different than the others.

She heard it only once, and for a short time as well, but it was there, she hears it, she knows it, she recognized it... The voice that speaks of pain and sadness... She still remembers what it says.

"It's terminal..."

"So lonely..."

"How much longer...?"

Lumine blinks her eyes once. There's no doubting it, she knows of who that voice belongs to. It belongs to her friend, her... Family.

"Furi..."

She whispered out that name. Mentally imagining a certain girl with white hair would immediately came before her with a happy look on her face, like a dog being called by her owner, or a cat upon being presented can food.

But it didn't happen. And it made her realized how different things were than it was before, and all she could do, is to make the best of it.

"I don't know the kind of pain you're going through this time... But I swear, I'll be there for you, I won't run away."

Lumine whispered to no one else in particular. She's talking to herself, but it feels like she's saying it to a certain someone.

"After all..."

Her lips curves up into a small smile, her left hand reaches to rub the ring finger on her right hand.

"I wouldn't be a good "wife" if I don't, am I?"

There's nothing attached to her finger. But somewhere in her memory, she vaguely remembers the feeling of a ring placed on it.