"Hello."
——The puppet named Kunikuzushi spoke thus.
He stared calmly at the colleague before him.
"Why have you come?"
[La Signora]
Kunikuzushi did not like La Signora. Or rather, there were few people in this world he didn't despise. Likewise, he loathed this Harbinger dispatched to Inazuma City, because he knew this would hinder his plans.
He did not intend to build a Delusion factory in Inazuma—this was a peculiar persistence of his.
The Delusion experiments would bring new pollution. That old man had died purifying filth; although Kunikuzushi disliked Inazuma, he didn't want to defile that old fellow's death in this way.
But clearly, the Fatui were dissatisfied with his current progress—quite dissatisfied.
Otherwise... they wouldn't have sent Rosalyne here again.
This was an Inquisition].
Rosalyne-Kruzchka Lohefalter, the Eighth of the Fatui Harbingers, codenamed La Signora. Months ago, she had successfully retrieved the Anemo Archon's Gnosis.
"Hello."
La Signora spoke indifferently. She seemed no different from usual—elegant and beautiful. Her long black-and-white dress trailed on the ground; a black veil covered half her face, leaving only her ultramarine eye and her exquisite, elegant profile visible. There was no superfluous emotion in her eye.
"Your mission... has not been completed."
La Signora looked at Kunikuzushi. "The Fatui do not need useless people—you should know this. That is why I have come."
"Spare me your concern."
Kunikuzushi's temper was inherited; under someone's influence, he would retort against anyone, his words biting and sinister.
"I never care about the opinion of a pile of ashes. Nor do I need someone who burned away their past to guide my future."
Ashes...
Ashes.
She thought of ashes, of that sky-filling fire, of the husk that turned to ash before her eyes twice, and of that letter buried beneath the statue, buried in five hundred years of time, yet had long since become ash.
This was her past... and her present.
This sentence seemed to touch a reverse scale.
La Signora's expression darkened. Her pale azure eye brewed with a gloomy light; a chilling elemental aura slowly spread. She stared coldly at Kunikuzushi, "...You are welcome to say that again."
Her aura was imposing.
An ancient, deep pressure spread along with it.
Kunikuzushi hadn't expected La Signora to be so angry, but to him... so what?
Even, with his terrible nature, he felt... this was quite interesting.
Kunikuzushi met La Signora's gaze, his eyes calm.
The atmosphere instantly became oppressive.
He needed to drive La Signora away. Inazuma City could not have two Harbingers. No one could stop his plan, not even his colleague... The heartless puppet yearned for a heart so much that no one could stand in his way.
Inazuma's sky was terrible; leaden clouds pressed low. Gloomy winds scurried through the attic. They were by the pier; desolate waves beat against rugged reefs, splitting apart on the stones into fragmented corpses of sea foam.
"I heard—"
Finally, Kunikuzushi broke the silence. He didn't want to waste any more time on irrelevant matters. He also had something to ask La Signora.
"You executed a knight in Mondstadt... named Seino Fugin?"
"Do you know his origin?"
Seino Fugin... that boy was the last person to see the old man. Kunikuzushi had even met him once at Starfell Lake in Mondstadt, delivering intelligence about the Abyss and the Fatui to him.
What connection, what secret lay hidden between Seino Fugin and Seino Raimei—this was the conclusion he and that Guuji had discussed. But before he could start investigating, that boy was dead.
Killed by La Signora.
So he naturally asked La Signora.
But to his surprise, La Signora, whose temperament was originally indifferent and imposing, seemed to have a flicker in her eye when she heard that name... but perhaps it was just Kunikuzushi's illusion.
"Who is that?"
She averted her gaze from Kunikuzushi, expressionless, her tone indifferent:
"I don't recall clearly—I've long forgotten."
No one noticed her pale hand gripping the corner of her clothes tightly, with so much force that faint blue veins appeared on her nearly transparent skin.
Kunikuzushi believed La Signora's words. To La Signora, who was already a Harbinger, the lives of the weak were like ants. Naturally, she wouldn't remember an ant's origin, and naturally, she would forget an ant's name.
It was reasonable for her to say she had forgotten—but Kunikuzushi needed her to remember. He needed intelligence on that boy.
He tried to help La Signora recall, speaking in a calm tone:
"His name was Seino Fugin, about twenty years old, a newly promoted knight of the Knights of Favonius. Four months ago, on the beach of Windrise, at the dawn of early spring, he died after you dug out his heart... Do you remember now?"
Seino Fugin... four months... Windrise... dug out his heart... died.
She had clearly forgotten; she had clearly thrown those things away; she clearly...
Kunikuzushi's voice was calm, the words spoken ordinary, yet they drilled into La Signora's heart like twisted maggots, coiling in the scabbed-over wound, twisting out fresh injuries, bringing pain.
And the most painful part was that, despite the pain in her heart, she had to maintain a calm and indifferent facade. While allowing others to pierce her heart, she had to speak words that stabbed her own heart to show others she was fine.
——"I said."
She spoke calmly and indifferently, her voice cold as if fished from an ice cave: "I do not remember the names of the weak. The pure white new world has no names of the weak, and the Fatui hold no seats for the weak."
Only by immersing herself in work, only by immersing herself in that pure white dream, could she avoid remembering those past events, remembering those ashes. She spoke to Kunikuzushi in a condescending tone:
"Do what you should do, Inazuma's [Puppet]."
Inazuma's puppet...
To Kunikuzushi, this was also an insult. Kunikuzushi did not belong to Inazuma, nor to that woman in Tenshukaku!
"Rosalyne, you are also welcome to repeat what you just said."
Kunikuzushi stared into La Signora's eyes with cold, dead stillness, speaking gloomily: "I will eventually obtain a [Heart]."
No one could save Kunikuzushi; only he could save himself. The puppet must obtain a [Heart].
He would dig out that woman's heart.
The color in his eyes was gloomy almost to the point of obsession—a deep obsession, a manic, unscrupulous obsession.
Wanting a heart...
Yes, someone had left a heart for him.
But La Signora would never give it away. She would not tell Kunikuzushi about the existence of that heart, because her past was already ashes; nothing remained. She only possessed that heart. If that heart disappeared too, she would have nothing but ashes left.
So... La Signora's obsession ran deeper than Kunikuzushi's.
She would bury this secret deeply in her heart.
Not just the 'heart'.
——But everything about Seino Fugin.
"Then go try. Go to Tenshukaku."
She met Kunikuzushi's gaze coldly. Summer weather was just this fickle; the overcast sky rolled with flashing thunder. Wandering lightning snakes ignited Inazuma—this was the first meeting of the two Harbingers in Inazuma.
——
Summer weather was just this fickle.
When the last rain of late spring ceased, the warm early sun fell gently on the upper layers of the clouds. When the light of the morning sun faintly penetrated the gaps in the night curtain, summer arrived.
Start of Summer was the first solar term of summer; in Liyue's common talk, it was also called 'Spring's End Day'.
The air in Sal Terrae after the rain was fresh and clean. Water dripped from the bricks and tiles of the ancient city-state; ivy on the outer walls spread its greenery. The undried puddles on the blue-stone alleys reflected a sky as if washed clean, looking as if a piece of that blue sky had fallen onto this city reborn from ruins. In this city, even the puddles on the ground were beautiful.
Lia was watering the flowers.
Sunlight skipped lightly in the translucent stream of water, splashing onto the rose petals along with the water. Besides roses, this garden also had begonias, rugosa roses... the fragrance of flowers filled the air.
Her movements were gentle and serious. Her white dress hem trailed by her ankles; her silver-white long hair refracted shallow light particles like mercury.
After getting up in the morning, the first thing she did was water the flowers.
Lia watered every bunch of flowers, then had breakfast... perhaps gods didn't need to eat breakfast.
After taking care of every flower, Lia had nothing else to do.
So she propped herself up on the steps, gazing at the city, chin in hand, sitting for the whole day.
This city was beautiful; this city lacked nothing. It had streets, excellently built bridges, various shops... it lacked nothing. The only thing missing was... whether on the streets or on the small bridges, there wasn't a single person.
This was a city without residents.
Not a single person. They had all left. They once said they would never betray, but they left in the end.
That person had also said such words.
So no matter how wonderful it was, it was just a dead city. Just like the seawater on the beach—after evaporating completely, only dead salt grains remained.
Summer has arrived.
She tilted her head back, looking at the slightly scorching sun in the sky. Early spring had just faded, and summer was showing its power. Earthly heat began to rise in this city, giving people an oppressive and restless feeling. Summer cicadas also began to chirp noisily on the paulownia trees.
Lia rested her chin in her hands, thinking of the sea.
Yes, the sea. One should go to the sea in summer. Walking barefoot on the beach, under the reflection of the sparkling sea light, feeling the temperature of midsummer slowly permeating the skin.
But she never went to the sea, even though she had nothing to do all day.
Lia couldn't find him again.
Just like two thousand years ago.
She picked up those two fragments. The crystalline heart fragments scattered layers of radiance in the sunlight. Lia was the only one who possessed two fragments... upon them were recorded the past covenants:
[Covenant Five: Go to 'Sal Terrae', find the Salt Jar and Salt Ruler, and wake her]
[Covenant Six: Use salt as seasoning to cook sardines, and dine with her]
That person had carved the covenants onto his heart.
"Idiot." Lia rested her chin in her hands, scolding softly. "Where are you hiding?"
It seemed everyone thought Seino Yaku was dead—heart pierced, whole body polluted by Karma. In such a situation, one couldn't survive no matter what.
But Havria didn't think so.
Seino Yaku was hiding.
It was just that she hadn't found him.
She leaned against a stone pillar, gazing at the water-like sunlight, gently humming a tune. The cold and melodious singing voice was like summer sea salt; the taste of salt had never changed.
It was like this thousands of years ago, and still like this thousands of years later. Just like this city-state—how it was thousands of years ago, it remains thousands of years later. Nothing has changed; only the people have changed.
...
"Vos estis sal terrae."
...
"Quod si sal evanuerit, quid loco eius ponetur?"
...
"Vos estis sal terrae."
...
"Quod si sal evanuerit, aliud loco eius ponetur."
...
——"Quod si sal evanuerit, forsitan nullus sapor dignus memoria erit."
A boy's voice sounded behind the garden.
Havria froze.
At this moment, the sunlight was brilliant. The early morning light of summer passed through the translucent garden dome, dancing obliquely between them. Lia turned around and saw the boy who had come to her city.
He had gotten lost earlier and walked for a long time, still panting. There were fine beads of sweat on his temples, and his shirt was wet. He looked a bit travel-worn. The dazzling sunlight made him squint his eyes slightly. He carried several lively sea fish in his hand.
"Sal Terrae... this city," Seino Yaku paused, then said, "is very beautiful. It's my first time here, and I almost got lost... Really, it looks very nice."
Lia stared quietly at Seino Yaku. After a long while, she said, "...Very beautiful?"
"Very beautiful."
"But there is no one in the city."
"So I came to find you."
"Why did you come?"
Seino Yaku paused and whispered: "I have made a covenant... Everyone betrayed you; I am the remaining salt person. I cannot betray."
He could easily part with Ganyu because they hadn't met in this life; the past life was just the past... But Havriawas different. When Seino Yaku prayed to her, he set the covenant for this life. This wasn't just Bosacius, but also Seino Yaku.
"What are you carrying in your hand...?"
"Fish." Seino Yaku raised the still lively large sardines in his hand. "I've forgotten the things from before... but when the Karma invaded me, it still faintly brought back some past memories, all very blurry."
"The old me always wanted you to taste Liyue's fish." Seino Yaku whispered, "But I failed to do it."
"The old you?"
"The day before you were killed." Seino Yaku said, "At that time I went to Liyue and bought sardines... but I couldn't taste them with you."
"So... I thought..."
Ah... so it was like that.
So that day she couldn't find that guy no matter what, because that guy went to Liyue to buy sardines.
Havria stared at Seino Yaku, her golden eyes reflecting his image.
What an idiot.
"If you don't mind, would you like to taste them?" Seino Yaku issued the invitation earnestly. "Lumine is also waiting outside... she wants to eat too."
Lumine, huh.
Lia leaned beside the begonia flowers, silver-white strands of hair scattering in the air with the petals. She suddenly asked: "Is the city beautiful?"
"...Very beautiful."
"This city," those amber-clear eyes stared at Seino Yaku, "every long street, every house, every brick and tile, is composed of grains of salt."
Lia pointed her slender, soft hand at herself, teasingly saying: "That is all Me... So, are you saying I look very nice?"
"This..." Seino Yaku hadn't expected such rhetoric. He wanted to say something, but before he could speak... Lia repeated: "Don't lie. This is your god's [Oracle]."
Havria was very beautiful.
Whether it was those amber-clear eyes, that exquisite, flawless face, or that triumphant expression like a kitten... as beautiful as this city.
Seino Yaku still remembered the throb when he first stepped into Sal Terrae. Walking forward along the blue-stone alley with light steps, when the slightly intoxicating sunlight fell on him through the late cherry blossoms, and the cool lake breeze dampened his clothes, he felt this city was truly beautiful.
"Nice looking." Seino Yaku finally nodded and admitted. "You are God; everything you say is right."
"So." Lia raised her head proudly, declaring sacredly: "Your nice-looking god is going to issue an oracle again."
"God says——"
"What oracle," Seino Yaku said.
"...Turn around." She suddenly said.
Seino Yaku obediently turned around. After a while, he felt the corner of his clothes being grabbed, grabbed tightly.
A long while later.
Summer day; warm breeze like a painting, dancing tree shadows.
"God says:" Lia's voice was very low, like a small animal: "Don't let God not find you again..."
"Mn..."
"You can't hide from God, can't not talk to God, can't be angry at God, have to plant flowers with God..."
"Mn."
"Have to praise God for being nice looking."
"You look very nice."
"Don't..." Her voice carried a tremor like a sob; she whispered: "Don't make your nice-looking god worry anymore."
Was she crying...?
"...Mn."
"Just 'Mn'?"
"Your believer listens to your teachings." Seino Yaku corrected himself, deliberately using a pious and sacred tone. "My nice-looking God."
"Idiot..." Lia seemed amused. She laughed aloud; in the midsummer sunlight, her smile was like a begonia flower.
"Turn around."
Seino Yaku obediently turned around. He was very close to Lia. Looking down slightly, he could smell the faint fragrance of her silver-white long hair and feel her moist and cool body temperature.
"One last oracle."
Havria stared into Seino Yaku's eyes, declaring domineeringly: "My city only has you. Only you are my guest. That blonde can leave."
Seino Yaku wanted to say something. "But Lumine paid for the fish..."
But before this sentence could be spoken.
Lia pulled his collar. Their distance closed rapidly, close enough to almost touch. The summer sunlight illuminated their shadows, swaying slowly with the shadows of the begonia flowers.
"Listen to God."
"But..." Seino Yaku said bleakly, "She's already here... just outside the door."
Wow... Miss Lumine is going to explode.