Twalin's pupils rippled.
The huge wings beat once, and a long, low, ancient dragon call rolled across Mondstadt's night — not anymore, but… responding.
Venti opened his arms.
Soft, warm Anemo gathered out of nothing in his palms, like dawn condensed into wind. It rose, then spilled down over Twalin's body like a spring rain.
That power was old. Intimate.
Like the first breeze after a long winter.
The dragon's massive frame shivered. Azure pupils flashed with surprise. He stared at his own claws, feeling the current of wind flowing again through every membrane, every bone, every feathered wing — the very same breath that had once tied him to Barbatos.
"This is… the Anemo Archon's retainer's grace?" Twalin's voice was hoarse and unsure.
He turned his long neck and looked back at the little bard on his back — at his god — with shock, confusion, and a complicated guilt.
He still flapped his wings, but the gales they raised were no longer shrieking tempests. They were gentle updrafts circling the group, like Mondstadt's own winds were welcoming back a lost guardian.
"But… I'm no longer one of the Four Winds," Twalin said, still hesitating.
Venti just smiled, green eyes reflecting the starlight.
"Ehe~. Even if you're not an official Four Winds guardian anymore… you still protected Mondstadt, didn't you?"
Twalin froze.
Yeah.
Even while being slandered, even while being controlled, even while the Abyss whispered, he had never once turned his back on this land.
He looked at Venti again — who wasn't judging him, wasn't ordering him, just… looking. Warm, earnest, the exact same way as a thousand years ago.
The dragon was silent for a long time.
Then he threw back his head and roared — this time with relief.
Wings spread. Clean, bright wind swept out over Windrise, blowing away the last bit of suffocating, Abyss-tainted air. Twalin shot straight up, circling, testing this free sky again.
Up there, only the wind and his god could see his joy.
"Tonight… Mondstadt's sky is really quiet again," Jean said softly, head tilted back, eyes shining.
That was it.
Really faster than she'd prepared for.
Her gaze slid to Kairo — and the admiration in it was completely undisguised.
Paimon finally reacted, little hands cupped around her mouth as she yelled up, "He's flying sooo high—! Waaah! This view is too good!!"
High above, the dragon cut through the night like a streak of turquoise lightning — no longer Stormterror, but the East Wind Dragon of old.
Very soon, Twalin carried them across half of Mondstadt and set them down at Windrise.
Everyone dismounted.
Only then did Twalin rise again.
Jean looked up at that giant silhouette and couldn't help the faint sting in her chest. She'd spent days signing reports about "Stormterror attacks." She'd discussed defensive budgets, evacuation routes, damage control…
And now the "enemy" was just… gone. Freed.
Diluc was quiet too, thumb absently rubbing the guard of his claymore, eyes far away.
Paimon hugged herself against the wind. "This time he's really free, right?"
Venti nodded, smiling like a breeze. "Fly, Twalin. From now on, the wind will guide you again."
"Take my blessing with you."
The dragon in the sky actually turned back to look at him once — at Mondstadt once — then beat his wings and vanished into the clouds.
This time, he wasn't "Stormterror."
He was Twalin, the Wind.
The wind over the hill carried away rage, confusion, and pain — and only freedom stayed.
They stood on Windrise's slope, watching the dragon disappear.
The moon washed Mondstadt silver.
The city walls, the patrols on the battlements, the far-off lamps — all of it looked peaceful, like the city had always been safe.
Jean drew in her gaze, turned to Lumine and Kairo, and bowed.
"Thank you."
Her voice was tired but sincere. "Mondstadt's dragon crisis… is finally over."
"Tomorrow I'll make a formal announcement on behalf of the Knights. We have to explain why a dragon attacked… and then suddenly didn't. The citizens deserve to know."
She straightened, face softening. "For tonight, please rest in Mondstadt."
Venti stretched lazily, night wind ruffling his hair. "The wind changes directions eventually… it will blow toward a brighter place. See you tomorrow, everyone~"
And, like wind, he was just gone.
Diluc turned. "I'll take my leave as well."
Jean nodded.
Lumine yawned hard, Paimon echoed her. "Yeahhh, after all that today… I could sleep for three days."
While they were scattering, Kairo was smiling to himself.
Because his vision lit up with system text.
[Because you accepted the Trailblazer's invitation and guided everyone to the Stellaron, you happened to meet Cocolia, who brought Bronya.]
[Bronya tried to persuade her mother, but Cocolia ignored her. After seeing all of you there, she flew into a rage — why are you here?]
[Driven by the Stellaron, Cocolia became the Mother of Deception and activated the Creation Engine, striking at you with full Stellaron power.]
[But because of your advance intel, the Trailblazer reached the top of the Creation Engine first and batted the Mother of Deception with a bat… only to get countered and knocked away by the Lance of Preservation.]
[Because of that clash, the Trailblazer was noticed by the Aeon of Preservation and in the consciousness space learned Cocolia's past, obtaining the Preservation's lance and the Creation Engine's authority, and walked the Path of Preservation.]
[In the end, the Mother of Deception was defeated and the Stellaron was sealed. Cocolia's form disappeared.]
[You saw the Stellaron's true form, and learned how the Astral Express team seals a Stellaron — it must be mediated by Path power…]
[Congratulations, you have obtained Option 1 reward: Light Cone — "Le Pi": a Light Cone imbued with the Path of Destruction. The wearer deals 20% more DMG to enemies whose current HP is above 50% of their Max HP.]
Kairo narrowed his eyes.
Nice.
Not only did he pocket a Destruction-path Light Cone, he also saw the actual sealing procedure.
Meaning: if a Stellaron shows up in this world later — he can steal it.
He glanced at the night sky and filed the "Path power as medium" line away.
So Belobog's Stellaron is hard to grab. But Xianzhou Luofu's… might not be.
"Let's go back to Mondstadt, then," Jean said with a smile.
They walked back beneath the wind.
At the gate, night-shift Knights blinked in confusion. "Acting Grand Master Jean? Sir Diluc? Honorary Knight? …Adventurer Kairo?!"
They saluted immediately.
Jean just nodded and went inside.
Paimon snickered in a whisper. "They didn't even know Jean came out today. Super secret mission~"
Lumine's eyes curved. Yeah. Way smoother than it should've been. And most of that… was Kairo's doing.
Mondstadt at night was quiet. Only streetlamps, cats on rooftops, and the smell of barley from the square.
"Everyone rest," Jean said softly. "Tonight… ends here."
They all split.
Kairo headed back to his little place.
He opened the door — and arched a brow.
Spotless.
Way cleaner than when he'd left.
Not even dust on the table. Floor polished. Light, elegant fragrance in the air. A fresh pot of violet flowers on the bedside table. Quilt folded military neat.
Fischl had very obviously done a full sweep before leaving.
Kairo chuckled, tossed his coat on the chair and flopped onto the bed.
Long day. Even with a system, even with Path buffs… fighting dragons, dealing with Abyss, carrying Mondstadt — it tired you.
He let himself drift.
…
At the Fatui Embassy in Mondstadt.
Candlelight flickered over the snowflake sigil.
Debt Handler Chaimenhoff sat behind his desk, face dark. The Electro Cicin Mage's secret signal had just come in.
— Acting Grand Master Jean returned in the night.
— Diluc Ragnvindr returned with her.
— No public Knights operation.
— And no one came to search the Embassy for Skyward Harp's twin — the Skyward Lyre — even though the Fatui had openly made trouble over it in the day.
Too calm.
Too abnormal.
A day ago, Mondstadt was still in an uproar over "Skyward Lyre stolen." A day ago, he had planned to press the Knights to apologize.
Today? The Knights hadn't even bothered to come argue.
And now Jean was sneaking in at night?
"...This is far too unusual."
Chaimenhoff tapped his fingers on the desk, eyes cold.
Someone had beaten them to the lyre. Then, today, the lyre was used. Then, tonight, the entire Knights high command pretended nothing had happened.
That could only mean one thing — they'd concluded something big, and didn't want Snezhnaya to know.
Probably Stormterror.
Maybe Skyward Lyre.
Maybe both.
He picked up a pen and wrote quickly:
[Situation in Mondstadt abnormal. Acting Grand Master and Knights appear to have carried out a concealed operation. Suspect connection to Stormterror and to the Skyward Lyre. Request judgment from the Harbinger. — C.]
He sealed it with the Fatui crest.
A tiny black shadow fluttered in through the window, took the envelope, and vanished into Mondstadt's dark.
…
And far away, on a lonely peak outside Stormterror's Lair, a few shadowed figures stood in the wind, watching the now-quiet ruins.
The dragon had calmed.
The lyre had fallen silent.
The Knights had gone home.
"...So they really resolved it," one of the shadows murmured.
"But that outsider's power…" another voice said slowly, "— that wasn't Mondstadt's. Not Teyvat's."
The wind rose again, swallowing their words.
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