Deep in the forests northeast of Mt. Aocang, Lumine and Ganyu fell silent.
Ganyu had never imagined Teyvat once brimmed with such splendor. Compared to that bygone age, today's Liyue Harbor felt like a fishing village. Lumine was dazed too. Even a primordial dragon—and the Abyss besides—had been overturned by the Sustainer. The thought of Aether trying to challenge Heaven with a band of misfits made her shiver. Thank the stars she'd intercepted him; without Su Xuan, Heaven's awakening might have beaten Aether so badly he wouldn't even recognize his own sister.
"Right—!" Lumine suddenly remembered. "Su Xuan, you said 'Empty Moon' witnessed the two rebels, but didn't report it to Heaven—as if there was a bigger scheme. Why'd you skip 'Empty Moon'?"
Su Xuan: "…"
"You really are curious." He smiled and jotted one last entry.
[Lumine is especially nosy about Empty Moon.]
[Empty Moon is Teyvat's last 'new moon'.]
[As for her… I'll just post two logos linked to her. No further comment.]
Two emblems floated on the diary page. The longer Lumine stared, the stranger her face became. One looked oddly familiar.
"This one, with the star in the center…" Lumine rubbed her chin. Ganyu added, "Looks like a crown."
Lumine's pupils constricted. Flattened, it was a top-down glyph; imagined in 3D, it was identical to the crest perched on Paimon's head. The other emblem matched the motif on Paimon's clothes.
"Paimon?" Lumine and Ganyu blurted together.
Su Xuan shrugged. "You're a Descender capable of contending with Heaven's throne."
Lumine: "?"
So Empty Moon's "presumption" was to sit back, let the Sustainer fight the world, then—when Heaven was tired—pick a Descender she liked… and pit them against Heaven?
"Eh? You want me to go 1v1 the Sustainer?" Lumine pointed at herself, incredulous.
Su Xuan couldn't help laughing at her expression. "By rights, the Sustainer shouldn't betray Heaven. And every Descender brings upheaval or calamity. The Sustainer should've erased you and Aether. Maybe Empty Moon took a liking to you, fought the Sustainer to save you two, and… degenerated into a forgetful, food-loving pixie. Why else would she murmur 'the Sustainer is dying—you will be the new master'?"
"D-don't joke like that!" Lumine's hairs stood on end. She'd thought Aether was the reckless one; now it sounded like she was actually slated to cross blades with Heaven.
"I mean—we can't beat the Sustainer together, and Empty Moon wants me to do it? She's too fond of me; it's melted her brain."
Then her eyes slid sly. She cleared her throat. "Buuut… if you back me…"
"I suppose the Throne of Heaven wouldn't be so bad. I sit on the Sustainer's seat—and you sit on—"
"Absolutely not." Su Xuan stared, scandalized. "That mental image is… wrong on too many levels. Bed. Now."
Lumine clicked her tongue. In front of the innocent half-adeptus he wanted to play pure? As if he didn't understand her. Fine. Tonight she'd make him show his true form.
As for Paimon possibly being Empty Moon—Lumine didn't care. She liked Paimon as she was. Whoever ruled later, didn't matter. Lumine was a Descender; so was Su Xuan. As long as she could cling to Su Xuan for one more day, every problem had a solution. Ancient dragon glory? Heaven's terror? He'd been breaking rules since day one, gifting powers to diary holders—that alone defied Heaven. Was he scared? Not remotely.
Night deepened.
Inside the tent, Ganyu tossed and turned. Surely she wasn't the only one sleepless tonight. Whether for personal reasons, dread of Heaven's return, or the hope of carrying her people through the coming storm—everyone's thoughts would circle back to Su Xuan.
"Mmm…"
A small sound snapped Ganyu out of her spiraling thoughts. A second, inner psychokinetic barrier had appeared in the tent—one outside, one inside. Before she could wonder why, Lumine's voice rang out, fierce and imperious:
"Presumptuous cur! Do you know I am this world's new master…?"
"You, an outworlder, dare pry into my secrets? I have never seen someone so eager to die."
"Mmph—! I will mete out divine punishment—"
Ganyu: "?"
The half-adeptus' mind blue-screened. Had Lumine started muttering nonsense from too much Heaven-lore—some sort of nightmare?
No—the sounds of "battle" came next. A few "exchanges" later, the "new master" seemed decidedly on the back foot. Her tone slid from stormy wrath to… meek pleading.
Ganyu: "??"
Huh!? Did Lumine lose her mind?
Clearly not. She'd simply encountered a terrifying "foe." In the dark, Ganyu curled up, arms hugging her horns, trembling like a startled fawn. Time stretched into a haze—until the "war for the world" fell quiet.
Light split the tent. Lumine's gentle voice followed. "Ganyu? You okay? Nightmare?"
Ganyu's eyes flew open. Lumine was kneeling beside her, peering down with concern; Su Xuan sat just behind, watching quietly.
"Su Xuan," Lumine scolded lightly, "I think you overdid it with all that past-and-future talk. You've scared Liyue's half-adeptus—the secretary of the Qixing—into a clinical condition. If work gets delayed, that's on you. Go—prep a checkup. Properly."
Su Xuan rose, stepped through the inner barrier. Ganyu clearly saw him pour a cup of water and take out a small, medicine-like pill from who-knew-where.
"I'm not sick," Ganyu mumbled, hands flying to her horns, gaze downcast.
Lumine shook her head, leaned close, and whispered rapidly into Ganyu's ear. "I know what's gnawing at you. You're a half-adeptus who's lived millennia—you're not stupid. You're just too shy to say it."
Ganyu kept rubbing her horns, silent.
"So—it's a heart ailment. Treat it early, treat it right. Keep stewing and you'll end up with a real disorder. Trust me: close your eyes and let Doctor Su give you one precise 'acupuncture'—cured on the spot."
Ganyu's eyes went wide. Lumine patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Relax. I'll be with you tonight. When I was the one with a 'heart ailment,' you and Cloud Retainer stood guard for me outside like sentries all night. I'm not ungrateful."
Ganyu swallowed. No wonder Lumine had been weird all evening—she'd known everything, and came to balance the scales. That actually made Ganyu feel… embarrassed.
But Lumine had a point. Ganyu was quiet and gentle, even a bit dopey at times—but not dumb. With the cards laid bare, pretending ignorance would only make things awkward.
"You're right. Heart ailments are troublesome," Ganyu whispered. "The knot must be untied by the one who tied it… and the only one who can is, well, Su…"
"Tut!" Lumine smiled. "I just said—'Boss Su' sounds stiff. Call him Su Xuan. Too much formality kills the fun."
She glanced back. Su Xuan had finished his oh-so-solemn preparations and turned to return. Lumine patted Ganyu's shoulder one last time. "I'll take Paimon and sleep elsewhere. Good luck."
"Eh? You're not staying?" Ganyu blinked. "Didn't you say—"
"Can I?" Lumine teased.
Ganyu thought two seconds, then shook her head like a drum. "I think… treatment is best faced alone."
Lumine spread her hands. "Called it."
Then, in her heart, she rolled her eyes at Ganyu: if I weren't worried you'd die of embarrassment, tonight I'd collect certain debts with interest. No matter. There will be plenty of chances to "avenge" myself on that master-and-disciple pair of immortals. For this "revenge," all it takes is Su Xuan's nod.
Next morning — Northland Bank, Liyue Harbor.
Rosalyne crossed her long white legs and lounged on the sofa like a queen. "So your operation failed?" she asked Tartaglia, voice dripping with contempt.
He blinked. "Did no one brief you on what happened? Osial got blasted in one shot by Ningguang's Qunyu Pavilion. I still don't know how she pulled it off. And I never found the Geo Archon's Gnosis in the Dragonspine reliquary either."
"So you've been cowering in the Bank ever since?" Rosalyne's stare was icy.
"Hey! Were you listening?" he snapped. "That mysterious power on the Pavilion was scarier than Her Majesty's ice itself."
In truth, he felt helpless. Who could have predicted such power hiding on Qunyu Pavilion? And once Osial was unleashed, the General Affairs Office had the Bank under watch. Moving around freely was asking for disaster.
"Ugh." Rosalyne flicked her wrist. "Fine. Since I'm here, this no longer concerns you. Leave the rest to me. You, take your men and get out of Liyue."
She paused—then added, almost offhand, "Before you go, withdraw 50 million mora from our master account in your name."
Tartaglia: "?"
"How much!?"
"Are you insane? What do you need that for—and why under my name?"
She gave him the look one saves for idiots. From his report, it was clear Ningguang and Yelan had done an excellent job burying Su Xuan's identity. But that wouldn't stop a diary holder like her.
Besides, Rosalyne already knew of the contract between the Tsaritsa and Morax. She knew Morax wasn't truly dead—and knew the mortal name he wore. As for that fifty million? Naturally, a gift for a certain handsome man. She'd also brought Snezhnayan wine and specialties to deliver alongside it—before she went hunting down Morax.
"It's for 'greasing wheels,'" she said primly.
Tartaglia squinted. Something about her was off today, but he couldn't pin it down. Ordinarily he'd insist on tagging along to meet her "contact." But as the man who unsealed Osial… yeah, lingering in Liyue was unwise.
He thought it over and nodded. "Fine. I'll head back toward Snezhnaya and wait for your message. Once you find the Geo Archon's true body and secure the Gnosis, hand it to me. I'll take it home."
Rosalyne waved him off, bored. "If I said I'll deliver, I'll deliver. Enough chatter. Go sign—and bring me the money."
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