The morning of their departure dawned under a strange, ominous sky. The usual cheerful blue over Mondstadt was veiled by a thin, sickly green haze, and the wind, the city's constant, gentle companion, had a new, mournful edge to it, whining through the alleyways and rattling the shutters of the inn.
Inside, the Liyue delegation was in the final stages of packing. Carts were being loaded, manifests were being checked, and a general air of quiet, efficient departure was underway.
But Ren stood motionless by the window of his room, his small hands pressed against the cool glass. He wasn't watching the preparations. He was watching the sky. He felt a pressure in the air, a wrongness in the wind that was more than just a change in the weather. It was a feeling of deep, ancient sorrow and rage, carried on the churning currents. He remembered the game's opening scene, the frantic, desperate flight.
Could this be it? The thought sent a jolt of cold dread through him. La Signora was probably here. The final pieces were in place.
His peaceful, happy interlude in Mondstadt was over.
"Ganyu! Keqing! Yelan!" His voice, sharp and urgent, cut through the calm of their preparations.
The three women were at his side in an instant, their expressions a mixture of surprise and immediate concern. They had never heard him use that tone of voice before.
"What is it, Ren?" Ganyu asked, her hand coming to rest on his shoulder.
"The wind," he said, his eyes still fixed on the churning, greenish sky. "Something's wrong. Terribly wrong. It's… angry."
Keqing and Yelan exchanged a sharp, serious look. They could feel it too, a subtle but undeniable shift in the elemental atmosphere. This was not a natural storm.
"We have to warn them," Ren said, turning to face them, his glowing azure eyes wide with a desperate urgency. "The Knights of Favonius. Master Jean. Now!"
There was no questioning his sincerity. The sheer, unadulterated conviction in his voice was enough. "Go," Keqing commanded. "Ganyu, stay with him. Yelan, have the Millelith secure the caravan and get our people to a safe, sheltered location. We're not leaving until we know what this is."
Ren and Ganyu didn't wait. They ran from the inn, the wind whipping at their clothes, and sprinted through the increasingly deserted streets towards the Knights' headquarters. The citizens of Mondstadt, sensing the unnatural turn in the weather, were already rushing indoors, a growing panic in the air.
They burst into Jean's office to find the Acting Grand Master and Lisa already staring out the large window, their expressions grim.
"Master Jean!" Ren cried, his voice breathless. "Something is coming! The wind is—"
As if on cue, his words were drowned out by a deafening, soul-shaking roar that seemed to rip the sky in two.
The entire building shuddered. Outside, the sky went dark, the sun blotted out by a colossal, winged shadow. The wind, which had been a mournful wail, became a furious, destructive shriek.
"It's Stormterror," Jean breathed, her knuckles white as she gripped the windowsill. "He's attacking the city directly."
From their high vantage point, they had a terrifying, panoramic view of the assault. The great dragon, Dvalin, circled the city, his majestic form twisted by the dark, corrupting energy that emanated from him. With every beat of his enormous wings, a hurricane-force gust of wind slammed into the city, tearing tiles from roofs and sending debris flying.
Then, the true attack began.
Stormterror opened his maw, and a swirling vortex of pure, violent Anemo energy formed. He unleashed it, not as a single blast, but as a series of smaller, vicious tornadoes that descended upon the city like divine punishment. They tore through the main plaza, ripping apart market stalls and shattering windows. They howled through the residential districts, their furious funnels of wind threatening to tear the very houses from their foundations.
Panic erupted in the streets below. The Knights of Favonius, brave and disciplined, were trying to get civilians to safety, their forms small and fragile against the overwhelming power of the elemental assault.
"This is bad," Lisa murmured, her usual playful demeanor completely gone, replaced by a cold, serious focus as her hands crackled with Electro energy. "He's never been this aggressive before. He's trying to level the city."
Ren watched the chaos, his heart pounding a frantic, terrified rhythm. This was it. The prologue was over. The story had begun, and he was standing right in the middle of the opening cataclysm.