The final days in Mondstadt passed in a warm, happy blur of shared adventures and the quiet, satisfying work of filling his photo album. But the time, as it always did, had come to an end. His mission was complete, the seeds of a new, technological alliance had been planted, and the familiar, golden shores of Liyue were calling him home.
The morning of his departure was bright and bittersweet. It seemed as if the entire city, or at least, the small, powerful, and wonderfully chaotic cross-section of it that had become his new, extended family, had gathered at the city gates to see him off.
It was a cacophony of fond farewells.
"You promise you'll come back soon, right, pixie prince?" Klee said, her crimson eyes already shimmering with the beginnings of a tearful goodbye. "Promise! Or Dodoco will be very, very sad!"
"Of course I will," Ren promised, giving her a gentle, reassuring hug.
"I shall offer up a prayer for your safe journey every single day!" Barbara declared, her hands clasped together in a gesture of pure, earnest sincerity.
"Benny's Adventure Team won't be the same without its lucky star!" Bennett added, giving him a cheerful, if slightly wobbly, thumbs-up.
"Hmph! A Prince's journey is but a brief, fleeting interlude in the eternal tapestry of our fated bond!" Fischl proclaimed dramatically. "The threads of our destinies are now woven together, immutable and unbreakable!"
"The Prinzessin will miss you very much," Oz translated, his tone full of a quiet, genuine fondness.
Noelle, ever the practical one, pressed a small, meticulously packed box of snacks into his hands. "For the journey," she said with a shy, dutiful smile. "It is important to maintain one's energy levels during long-distance travel."
Lisa gave him a final, affectionate head pat. "Don't be a stranger, cutie. The world of elemental science will be waiting for your next brilliant idea."
Kaeya raised a glass of Dandelion Wine in a silent, charming toast, a roguish, appreciative smirk on his face. And Jean, standing at the head of them all, gave him a look of profound, grateful respect. "On behalf of all of Mondstadt, Ren," she said, her voice full of a genuine, warm sincerity, "thank you. You are always welcome in our city."
Ren, his heart a warm, swelling balloon of pure, simple happiness, knew he had to capture this one, final moment. He set up his Kamera, and the strangest, most wonderful, family portrait in the history of Mondstadt was taken.
Just as the timer was about to click, a new, unexpected, and very welcome, figure appeared, seemingly from a gentle gust of wind, and slipped into the back of the group with a cheerful, mischievous grin. It was a young, green-clad bard with a lyre in his hands.
"Wouldn't want to miss a good party, now would I?" Venti chirped, his teal eyes sparkling with a familiar, foxy light.
The flash went off, capturing the perfect, impossible, and utterly, wonderfully, complete, snapshot of Mondstadt's heart.
With his final, treasured photo secured, it was time to leave. Ren walked to the edge of the great, stone bridge, his hoverboard resting at his feet. He turned and gave them all one, final, happy wave.
He stepped onto the board, the latches clicking into place, and with a soft, familiar hum, he lifted into the air.
As he began to turn, to face the long, open road back home, a new, gentle breeze began to swirl around him. It was a warm, kind wind, full of the scent of sun-warmed stone, of sweet flowers, of the pure, untainted freedom of the skies.
He looked down and saw Venti, the bard, the god, looking up at him, a genuine smile on his face.
"Go, then, Little Prince of Liyue," Venti's voice, now not the cheerful chirp of a bard, but the soft, lyrical, and resonant, whisper of the Anemo Archon, Barbatos, seemed to ride on the wind itself, a personal, private blessing meant only for him. "May your journey be as free as the dandelion seed, may the winds always be at your back, and may your heart always find its way home."
The gentle breeze solidified for a moment, a soft, invisible hand at his back, and then, with a final, joyful push, it sent him soaring.
Ren turned and flew, a single, small, and very blessed, figure against the vast, open, blue sky, the winds of Mondstadt guiding him on the long, peaceful, and eagerly anticipated, road back home.