"Decarabian… the God of Storms!"
Hearing this name, Coppelia felt as if she had been struck by lightning as fragments of memory flooded her consciousness.
A high tower, wind walls, a lonely king… She froze for a full few seconds just to process this information before barely managing to come to her senses.
"The king of the wolves…" Her voice was slightly hoarse. "What is His name?"
The youth straightened his back, his expression reverent as he said, "The king of the wolves is named Andrius."
It all connected!
The clues converged, revealing one truth: this was Mondstadt, the Mondstadt of at least two thousand six hundred years ago, still covered in ice and snow during the time of the Archon War!
Decarabian was still around, which meant Barbatos had not yet ascended to the status of an Archon, had not yet used his divine power to blow away the ice and snow and level the perilous mountains. That was why, as far as the eye could see, there was only a land of vast white snow and towering peaks!
She suddenly recalled the topography of the valley she had overlooked from the cliff earlier.
If the sharp peaks on the north and south sides of the valley were leveled by half, and a Statue of the Wind God were placed on the small island in the central lake…
Isn't this Starfell Valley?
That vast body of water to the west of the valley was undoubtedly Cider Lake. If the mountain on the island in the lake was also leveled and a city built upon it…
She had originally thought she was only a little earlier than the Cataclysm of Khaenri'ah, but it turned out to be two thousand years earlier!
Coppelia calmed the shock in her heart, reined in her thoughts, and pulled her attention back to the most pressing issue at hand—the "meteors" that were suspected to be related to Columbina!
She raised her head, looked at the youth who walked with wolves, and requested:
"Can you take us to see those strange stones that fell from the sky?"
…
The wolf pack split off two wolves to carry the three of them toward the vast body of water to the west of the valley. The rest were responsible for taking the boars from the battlefield back to their territory as a food reserve.
The youth was still carried by that particularly majestic wolf, leading the way.
The cold air scraped against Coppelia's cheeks. She held the sleeping Columbina tightly in her left arm and held firmly onto the wolf's back with her right, her gaze cast toward the lake's surface.
Coppelia now knew this was the future Cider Lake. The water shimmered with a dark luster under the moonlight, and an island stood silently in the heart of the lake.
As they approached the lakeside, the two wolves did not slow down.
The wolf in front let out a low whimper. The formless Anemo element in the air began to gather, forming a barrier that enveloped the three people on the wolves' backs.
The moment they stepped into the icy water, Coppelia discovered that the barrier was steadily parting the current. They seemed to be inside a transparent bubble, not touching a single drop of water, and had already arrived safely on the other shore.
After getting ashore, the two wolves carried the three of them westward again, running along the bank, and stopped at the edge of a blighted area. They went no further, a low growl rumbling in their throats.
As far as the eye could see, the land had turned to white dust and sand. Vegetation that should have been lush had withered and died in large patches. The few remaining leaves were scorched yellow and curled, devoid of life.
Coppelia activated her Elemental Sight. The elemental energy was chaotic and viscous, crashing about, annihilating itself, and dissipating outward. The two wolves had clearly sensed this chaotic elemental energy, which was why they seemed so uneasy.
"The meteor fell just ahead. It's still a bit of a walk." The youth was the first to leap off the wolf's back.
Coppelia dismounted, then lifted Columbina onto her back, preparing to step onto this ominous land.
"Be careful of the power from those strange stones. It's harmful to both people and wolves. Don't stay too long," the youth warned them sternly before retreating from the area with the two wolves.
…
The deeper they went, the more pronounced the chaotic fluctuations of elemental energy became.
Coppelia could clearly feel her energy core spontaneously absorbing the faint energy permeating the environment.
This energy was from the same source as the power Columbina used, yet it was more primitive, more violent.
Just then, the girl on her back let out a nearly inaudible whimper.
"Mm…" Columbina was a bit dazed, asking weakly, "Did you beat those boars?"
Feeling the movement behind her, Coppelia slowed her pace slightly, tilted her head, and replied, "Yes, I did. It was all thanks to you… Thank you."
"Mm." The girl rested her cheek gently on Coppelia's shoulder, sensing her surroundings, capturing the formless signals in the air. "There's… something familiar nearby."
"I feel it too." Coppelia carried her, continuing to walk steadily forward. "That's very likely the power fragment you need. Don't worry, we're almost there."
After walking for another hundred meters or so, a large impact crater appeared beneath the rock face on the southwest side of the island. At the bottom of the crater, a huge, strange stone emitting an interwoven light of azure and ginger-red was half-buried in the soil. Clearly, it was what had created the crater. Scattered around it were dozens of smaller fragments of varying sizes, shimmering with a similar light. These must be the ones the wolf pack had subsequently gathered and placed together.
The texture of that light was exactly the same as the orb of light Columbina had created when she used her power!
The slopes of the crater were not steep. Coppelia, carrying Columbina, slowly walked down into it. As she approached the strange stones, she felt her nearly depleted energy core being rapidly refilled.
She came before the largest fragment and gently set the girl from her back down, allowing her to sit beside the strange stone.
Columbina's gaze was instantly captivated by the fragment. She reached out her slender, pale fingers, driven by an almost instinctual desire, and gently touched the surface of the glowing stone.
"Voom—"
A vast and pure energy surged into Columbina's body! Her long hair floated without any wind, and the red highlights at the tips instantly lit up, emitting a brilliant radiance like rubies.
This powerful force enveloped her, warming and nourishing her body. She felt an extraordinary sense of satisfaction and comfort, unconsciously hugging the strange stone, immersed in the joy of recovering something lost.
Coppelia stood guard quietly to the side, watching as the smaller stones lost their luster at a visible rate, turning into ordinary rocks before finally disintegrating into small piles of white powder.
A moment later, the largest stone was also completely drained of its energy, leaving only a pile of residue on the ground.
After draining these stones, Columbina continued to expand her absorption range, drawing out the power that had seeped into the surrounding land as well.
Coppelia opened her Elemental Sight. The elemental energy in the land gradually ceased to be chaotic and violent. It wouldn't be long before the normal flow of elements was restored, after which new plants could take root here again.
Watching this scene, Coppelia couldn't help but mutter to herself in a low voice that only she could understand: "Constellation +1…"
After Columbina finished absorbing the power from all the fragments, the sense of weakness from her earlier overexertion was swept away. She stood up, stretched her arms and legs, then rubbed her stomach and turned to say:
"I'm hungry."
However, the Coppelia before her stood rooted to the spot, her head bowed low.
_____
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