[The ghosts in the courtyard chattered around you, offering comfort. Little by little, your emotions steadied.]
[After everything you'd been through, you thought you had already grown past breaking down. You never expected your feelings to spiral out of control like that.]
[Embarrassed, you wiped the tears from your face.]
[When you lifted your head, the little girl from earlier was still glaring at you in open dissatisfaction.]
[She looked around five or six years old, much younger than you. And yet you had cried in front of her.]
[Your cheeks flushed with shame, but you finally remembered what you had meant to do.]
"You can't hurt my friends." You lowered your head and looked at her with unwavering resolve.
[Her bright red eyes focused intently on you.]
["You're the one hurting them."]
[You froze, not understanding what she meant.]
[Hu Tao was clever, but she was still a child. She didn't know how to explain her thoughts clearly.]
[She stomped her foot in frustration. "Ugh, I can't make you understand! Anyway, you're hurting them! Come with me!"]
[She grabbed your hand and tugged you along.]
[Because you were deeply worried about what she'd said, you followed without resisting.]
[She led you straight to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.]
["Grandpa! There's someone breaking the balance between life and death! You have to help me!"]
[She threw herself at an elderly man, waving her hands dramatically as she described everything that had happened at Liyue's famous haunted mansion.]
["It was like this, Grandpa. After seeing him, those ghosts' wishes were fulfilled and their souls started to fluctuate. They were close to leaving."]
["But then he started crying, and now they made a new contract with him! They can't move on anymore!"]
[The old man nodded slowly, signaling that he understood.]
[He looked at you kindly. "Young one, you can see ghosts, can't you?"]
["Yes…" You swallowed hard. "But what did she mean when she said I was hurting them?"]
[Wisdom gathered in the old man's eyes, shaped by years of guiding spirits. He gazed at you as if revisiting an old memory, his expression distant and deep.]
["The living have their path. The dead have theirs. You and they should not remain too closely entwined. Tell me, do you know which ghost in that home has lingered the longest?"]
[You nodded. "Grandpa Li."]
[He had been the mansion's very first owner.]
["And did you notice what makes him different from the others?"]
[You thought about it carefully before answering.]
["His color is the faintest."]
[Every ghost appeared to you wrapped in a soft blue glow.]
[And Grandpa Li's glow had always been the palest of them all.]
["You can see it that clearly? Impressive. Your Talent is on par with Hu Tao's." The old man praised you, then continued. "Yes, what you're seeing is the energy clinging to a ghost's soul."]
["The longer they linger among the living, the more that energy fades… until eventually, it disappears."]
[A cold dread spread through your chest.]
["…What happens when it disappears?"]
[The old man sighed, his voice weighted with sorrow.]
["They scatter. Their souls shatter. They can never reincarnate."]
[Your face drained of all color.]
[You had always believed ghosts didn't age or get sick, that they could stay by your side forever.]
[Only now did you understand that they, too, could vanish.]
[Scatter forever. Never reincarnate…]
[Your thoughts jolted to Katarina, far away in Snezhnaya.]
[Her glow had been faint as well… even paler than Grandpa Li's.]
[Was she going to disappear too?]
[Once you entered the House of the Hearth, the Fatui had kept you under constant watch.]
[You never had another chance to see Katarina again before leaving Snezhnaya.]
[You'd thought you would meet her again someday. But what if… that last goodbye had already been your final farewell?]
[The pain swelled inside your chest once more.]
[People said receiving a Vision meant receiving the blessing of the gods.]
[If that was true, then why did the gods keep taking away the things you treasured most?]
[Kael remembered Katarina's mischievous smile and felt a deep ache. He had never understood the workings of life and death, so he hadn't known she was close to fading. In his ignorance, he had even made a contract with her.]
[And knowing what she was like… she would stubbornly keep that contract, waiting for him in that old mansion, even if it meant lingering until her soul scattered.]
[The old man watched you cry again and his heart softened.]
["They haven't scattered yet. You still have time. They forged a contract with you, and only you can resolve their regrets and guide them onward."]
[You nodded, though your thoughts were tangled with worry for Katarina.]
[You had to reach Snezhnaya before she disappeared. You couldn't let your best friend simply fade away.]
[Seeing your agreement, the old man smiled with relief.]
["Child, your Talent would be wasted anywhere else. Would you like to join the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?"]
[Faced with his invitation, your options are...]
1. Accept.
2. Refuse.