"In your eyes, is Liyue's prosperity my prosperity?!"
"Ah?! Senior Ganyu, you… aren't you the Secretary of the Qixing, the one who cares for the people of Liyue and diligently guards over the city?"
Secretary of the Qixing. That title, like a cruel twist of fate, again.
Half-human, half-adeptus, she stood in the Jueyun Karst, gazing up at the sea of clouds.
Loneliness enveloped her.
Even amidst the throngs of people in Liyue, she felt even more alone than she did in the Jueyun Karst.
It was the solitude of a non-human being in the mortal world, a solitary existence.
Three thousand years. A full three thousand years of days passing, one after another.
Until the arrival of Junior Brother Jingchen, he was her ray of winter sunshine.
He treated her with such tenderness.
He was her gentle breeze in the scorching summer, bringing her the icy moon of companionship.
Ganyu closed her eyes, and for the first time, she cried out in a manner that was considered rude.
"But a future without you is not the future I want.
Without you, I will only be alone, living in the mortal world.
The prosperity of Liyue, the well-being of all living beings, that is one side of me, the Adepti Qilin.
But the human side of me, it only has you!! Jingchen!!"
As Ganyu's cry faded, the night sky was filled by a new moon, and a cold snow began to fall.
Unnoticed, tears like snowflakes and flowers streamed from Ganyu's eyes.
Jingchen was slightly stunned. Senior Sister Ganyu, she… she has this side too?!
"Senior Sister Ganyu, I… Sigh, Senior Sister Ganyu, I…"
Even though tears still lingered at the corners of her eyes,
she continued to smile gently.
"Junior Brother Jingchen, I'm sorry for letting you see this unseemly side of me. Anyway, I feel so much lighter after saying all this.
The heaviness in my heart is gradually disappearing."
"Thank you for listening to my rambling."
"Ganyu-shijie, I... I'm sorry."
Ganyu shook her head slightly.
"Jingchen-shidi never needs to apologize to me, because you are my only shidi, and I am Jingchen-shidi's Ganyu-shijie.
That's enough."
A new moon, white snow, a still lake.
Everything around was silent. Ningguang, Keqing, and Shenhe watched the two from afar.
"Ningguang, what's going on with them?!"
"Keqing, I don't know. Just don't ask."
Suddenly, a soft sneeze broke the silence.
Jingchen turned his head and looked, seeing Columbina and Cloud Retainer hiding behind a tree, watching him from afar.
"Jingchen, go and find Columbina."
"Thank you, Ganyu."
"Mm."
Jingchen stepped on the frost and quickly went to Columbina's side.
"Aya, when did you wake up?!"
"Hmm?! The moment you left, I sensed it. So, I came with Cloud Retainer to take a look."
Jingchen wanted to explain to Columbina.
"I... Aya~"
Columbina suddenly stood on tiptoe...
"I believe you, Jingchen."
"Aya."
Columbina suddenly sneezed again, and Jingchen hastily covered her with his white robe.
Then, she nestled close beside her.
Ganyu smiled, but the feeling of a fishbone caught in her throat was something she understood better than anyone.
She kept comforting herself.
Perhaps, watching his and her backs like this for the rest of her life…
Wouldn't be bad, but...
The wind and snow gradually faded, and a sliver of dawn broke the silence of Mount Aozang.
Jingchen carefully held Columbina's hand, strolling in the morning light.
Cloud Retainer suddenly descended before them, a hint of displeasure on her face.
"Huh?! Master, what's going on so early in the morning?!"
"Sigh, one of your colleagues has arrived, and it's one of his… segments."
"Segment? Dottore?! What's he doing here?!"
"Do you want to see him?"
"This…"
Now wasn't the time to completely fall out with Dottore. Better to see him.
"Aya, you go back to the Realm Within a Jar and rest."
Aya clutched Jingchen's hand tightly, shaking her head.
The moment she brought Jingchen to Snezhnaya, Dottore fixed him with a stare.
Perhaps, in his eyes, Scaramouche was the best test subject initially, but that changed the instant Jingchen appeared.
He realized then just how lackluster Scaramouche was, and that Jingchen's secrets were what he truly wanted to uncover.
Columbina spoke to Jingchen with a wary expression.
"Just a fragment, that one. If he dares to speak out of turn, just erase him directly."
Jingchen gently flicked Columbina's forehead.
"Alright, Aya, now is not the time to completely fall out with Dottore."
"Sigh, as long as the Tsaritsa doesn't act directly, I can protect you even from all of his fragments."
Cloud Retainer chuckled softly.
Jingchen coughed awkwardly.
"Aya, let's not dwell on that for now. Why don't you meet Dottore's fragment first?"
"Alright."
Cloud Retainer led the two of them down the mountain.
The fragment was a young man. The moment he saw Jingchen, his face was filled with disgust, tinged with a hint of fear.
He seemed to despise Jingchen to the extreme...
And the other fragments were also very disgusted by him, a disciple of a Liyue Adeptus.
A public opponent of Dottore and all his clones, a colleague of Arlecchino's House of the Hearth.
If the Captain represented absolute justice, then this Jingchen was the epitome of a knight.
Always concerned for the weak, possessing immense power, yet ignorant of how to command, and even more ignorant of destruction.
"Hmph, Jingchen, if it weren't for her request, I wouldn't want to see you in this lifetime."
"What does Dottore want to do?"
"It's not what Dottore wants to do, but rather, Her Majesty the Tsaritsa has requested your return to Snezhnaya."
"Mm. I understand."
"Oh, right, do you know about Rosalyne's disappearance?"
"Rosalyne is missing?! Wait, does that mean he actually dared to attack a fellow Harbinger?!"
"Heh, who knows. After all, he had some unspeakable secrets with her.
I've already relayed Her Majesty's decree. As for when you depart, that's up to you.
Of course, I'd prefer you to remain in this backwater forever."
This particular fragment didn't look back, fleeing quickly. After all, he knew better than anyone.
He was the weakest of all the fragments, his strength not even enough to stand against Childe.
Columbina and Jingchen could erase everything about his existence as a fragment with a single thought.
....
Completed Eng PDF of this fan-fic on my Patreon shop if you want to support and own the full fan-fic in one go. Just grab the PDF and binge the entire story from start to finish!
Here are a few titles of recently uploaded fanfics on my patreon shop:
" Genshin Dual-World Travel: Starting by Inviting Furina "
" Genshin Diary: Collapse Begins From Raiden Ei's Defeat "
" Genshin Impact: At Eight Years Old, I Created Immortal Arts, Shocking Skirk "
" Genshin Impact: Ningguang Was Still a Poor Girl… Until I Invested in Her " many more are available for you, Your support means a lot—thanks in advance, legends!
Patreon.com/UIShahbaz
(End of Chapter)