I smiled wryly. "You know the bowl's not gonna run away, right?"
Lumine didn't answer. All her attention was taken by the bowl of warm noodles, and she was too busy devouring it with abandon. I glanced at the owner and muttered a silent apology, but the old man just laughed.
Seeing that the owner was fine with Lumine's behavior, I decided to return to my own bowl, though eating at a much slower pace.
I've been thinking about something. Lumine was a Descender—someone from past this world's false sky, who had travelled from planet to planet. And so it was natural that she had knowledge about stars and the universe and other things the people of Teyvat had no clue about.
But if that was the case, what did that make me then? Could I be a Descender as well?
I rolled the thought around in my head for a few moments, but it didn't spark anything. It didn't seem to fit quite right.
…
I discreetly sighed as I shook the thought away. I supposed it didn't matter anymore. Who I was in the past, what led me to wake up with no memories—they mattered little now that I had a life of my own. Maybe I'd recover the secrets of my past life someday, but it wasn't something I urgently needed.
I decided to open my Inventory next. I had quite the mish-mash of items here, but I went right to the item I received after I saved Lumine from her fall.
[Astral Token 5★
A powerful gift, once belonging to a nameless traveler blessed by the Aeon Akivili. Holding the power of Trailblazing, it allows a traveler to cast their hearts into the Imaginary, carrying them into worlds and skies unknown.
When used, the User will be presented with two possible Adventures that can be undertaken. The chosen Adventure will be determined by a coin flip. Every Adventure can only be undertaken once. A cooldown of 20 days activates after every Adventure]
Something I've noticed is that my -Fate Defiant- Achievement gave me rewards based on the person whose Fate I've changed. Altering the destiny of Tianqiu's descendant gave me a Talent scroll that boosted my [Swords Dance], changing Guizhong's fate gave me a Talent scroll that'd turn me into a very skilled engineer—though I haven't used it yet—and so on.
So it was interesting to see that Lumine's reward was related to adventure. But I was quite surprised to see that it was a coin blessed by an Aeon of all things. And though the description was vague, I couldn't help but feel like the 'nameless traveler' being mentioned was someone Lumine knew.
Would that make me and Lumine similar then? I who walked the path of The Hunt, while she followed the path of Trailblazing.
I didn't pull out the [Astral Token], and didn't think I'd be doing that anytime soon. I wasn't sure if I was strong enough to go on these Adventures yet. For all I knew, I could suddenly be dropped into the den of hundreds of demon gods or something. The only thing the description told me was that it'd be somewhere 'unknown', after all.
Maybe once I got all my base Attributes to 40. That'd take a while though, considering I just barely managed to raise my Mind to 30 over these past 3 years.
…maybe I could raise my Attributes more easily if I went on these Adventures though.
Hmm. Hmm, hmm.
Ideas to ponder for later. For now,
I finished the rest of my bowl, and then turned to see that Lumine was on her way to finishing her third bowl. I smiled wryly as I watched her practically drink down the bowl of noodles, but I didn't blame her. I acted quite similar the first time I came here. It was just that good.
I was fine with my one bowl though. It was more than enough to fill my stomach.
Lumine finally stopped eating after her fifth bowl, and that was only because Lumine seemed embarrassed to continue. I'd just leveled my most unimpressed stare, and she shrunk into herself as she attempted to smile. "I was just hungry, okay!?" She whispered, cheeks burning red.
I smirked. "If you say so~"
After piling my empty bowl atop hers, I went to the owner and began 'arguing' to allow me to pay him. And as always, he attempted to deny my Mora, saying that it wasn't appropriate to charge one of Liyue's gods for something as meager as a few bowls of noodles.
I managed to convince the old man eventually, and after making my payment, I also discreetly shoved a few thousand Moras from my Inventory into the cupboard in the old man's noodle stall. The old guy more than deserved it at this point.
Soon, both Lumine and I were back on the streets, walking towards the higher parts of Liyue Harbor. "So, where to next?" Lumine asked as she admired her surroundings. It still awed her to see how similar Liyue Harbor was to China.
I smiled. "I'll introduce you to Guizhong. I mean, she probably already knows about you from all the Shadows watching us." Lumine nearly tripped when I said that, and quickly began looking around. I giggled. "You won't spot them. But anyway, might as well introduce both of you." I then huffed. "I would also introduce you to Morax, but he's out doing something right now."
"How's she like?"
"She's our Head Inventor. All the cannons you saw on the city walls? She was the one who made them." I smiled. "She's obsessed with learning new things, and you came from beyond this world. You'll definitely get along."
Lumine glanced down, her confidence faltering for a moment. "I hope so."
"Hey, hey." I gave her back an encouraging pat. "Don't worry. She isn't like that. And besides, I'll also be here."
Soon enough, we reached Liyue's head office, situated at the highest point of Liyue Harbor. The handmaidens greeted us as we entered, and I led Lumine towards Guizhong's personal lab. After walking down a few corridors, we finally made it to Guizhong's lab.
Just in time to see something explode, coating the entire room in a black smog. Lumine cried out in surprise at the sudden explosion, but I only sighed. This was, unfortunately, fairly common. So common that none of the handmaidens were worried whenever they heard an explosion occur from inside the room.
I snapped my fingers, and a swirl of wind appeared around me. It dragged the smog up and out of the building, sending it flying towards the sky.
Once the air was cleared, I could see Guizhong in the middle of the room, coughing softly as she pushed aside a bunch of knick-knacks on her table. She blinked as she saw the smog clear, and then smiled as she turned to me. "Venti!"
I smiled back. "More experiments?" I asked, staring at her clothes. Her normally pristine robes were stained black with soot.
She grinned. "More experiments." She agreed, before she finally turned to Lumine. "And you're Lumine, yes?"
Lumine blinked. "So you do know…" She whispered. "Uh, nice to meet you?"
"Nice to meet you too!" She smiled gently. "And you don't need to be tense. If Venti considers you his friend, then you're definitely a good person."
Lumine raised an eyebrow and turned to me. I just winked back. There's no need for her to know that my [Windblume Festival: Resonance] could do that.
"By the way, you've been looking for more inspiration, no?" I gently pushed Lumine forward. "Well~, my dear friend here just happens to be a Descender from the stars. If there's anyone that knows more than I do, it'd be her."
Guizhong gasped as she heard that, before she zoomed across the room and clasped Lumine's hands in hers. "Really!?" Her eyes twinkled as she asked. Lumine stared for a moment, before she managed a slow nod. Guizhong squealed in delight at that, and she proceeded to drag Lumine towards her worktable. "Come on! I need your help with this!"
Lumine turned back to me in a panic. "Ah, wait-"
I smiled. "You'll be fine~" I winked. "She doesn't bite."
"That's not what I-!" Before she could finish, Guizhong began explaining whatever it was she was working on, and I quietly slipped out of the room. I quietly closed the door behind me, and I held back a giggle.
Though I knew Lumine needed this. Over the past week of traveling, I've noticed that Lumine was quite introverted. Shy even. Her gremlin energy would appear whenever we were alone, but she'd become quiet whenever someone else she didn't know appeared.
And like I did, I doubted it'd be long before Guizhong's enthusiasm wormed its way into Lumine's heart.
I just worried over how her interactions with Morax would go. I had a feeling I'd need to directly supervise their meeting once it happened.
…
My smile fell as I brought out the [Astral Token] from my Inventory. The coin looked normal enough; a piece of minted silver, with one side filled by a carving of a four-pointed star, and the other by what looked to be a lighthouse—or maybe a tRaIN?
I winced slightly. Did I-, I likely just thought of something forbidden.
That aside, though I was still apprehensive on what an 'Adventure' meant in this regard, I wondered if I should just make an attempt now. After all, raising each of my Attributes by a single point had become a herculean task by this point, and using the [Astral Token] might just be the boost I needed.
Things were peaceful now, but that was only because Liyue no longer had any demonic gods to contest Morax's position. The Archon War still raged on across the rest of Teyvat, and there was no telling when some other big threat would appear to threaten our home.
I took a deep breath, and let it out. The danger was there, but what was an Adventure without any danger? Who knows—maybe I'd end up blessed by another Aeon if I did this or something. Wouldn't that be funny?
There was no reward without risk. Or as Guizhong liked to say,
"Fortune favors the bold." I whispered, and with one last breath, I infused some of my Energy into the [Astral Token].
[Generating two possible Adventures…
Embers of the Crimson Witch (Genshin)
Fears of a Demon (Star Rail)]
Both sides of the coin began glowing white, though I had no clear idea which side corresponded to which Adventure. In the end, all I could do was flip the coin. I watched as the coin rose and fell, and with one last breath I caught the coin in my palm. Making one last prayer to Morax, I cautiously opened my hand.
And saw that the coin was showing the side with the four-pointed star.
[Chosen Adventure: Embers of the Crimson Witch (Genshin)
Beginning transport…]
Before I could even blink, the world around me went white, and weightlessness took me as I vanished from the world.