"Amber!"
Far from Mondstadt, the Spindrift Knight, Eula, came to an abrupt halt.
She stared at the light screen, her heart nearly jumping into her throat.
Amber was one of the very few people in Mondstadt who never held prejudice against Eula.
She even went out of her way to speak up for Eula in the city—telling others about her contributions, trying to change how people viewed her.
To Eula, Amber wasn't just a colleague.
She was her closest friend.
Perhaps the only one who could truly be called that.
And now—Eula could only watch as Amber fell into mortal danger.
Her fists clenched.
If she could, she would trade places with the Amber on the screen without hesitation.
Sumeru
"How could this happen…"
"She shouldn't have turned back."
Collei felt her head spinning.
Ever since childhood, after being handed over to Il Dottore because of her Eleazar, she had become nothing more than a test subject—one among many in Sumeru.
She had lost count of the pain.
The injections.
The experiments.
The endless suffering.
She only escaped after a laboratory fire—then lived as a drifting outcast.
Bullied.
Stoned.
Despised.
There was a time she had nearly lost the will to live—
Until she met Amber in Mondstadt.
That bright, warm girl had pulled her back from the abyss.
"But… with Amber's personality…"
"She would turn back…"
"What do I do… what do I do…"
Collei panicked, unable to imagine what would come next.
Beside her, Tighnari let out a slow sigh.
Amber's kindness meant she would never harm someone she thought might be innocent.
But Aerin's words were also cruelly logical.
In a crisis threatening Mondstadt, even hesitation could become a weapon that killed civilians.
"Actually," Tighnari said quietly,
"even if she hadn't turned back… the Fifth Descender already knew from the start that what she left behind was a bomb."
[BOOM—!]
[Baron Bunny detonated.]
[Crimson flames instantly swallowed both Amber and Aerin.]
"What?! She chose mutual destruction with the Fifth Descender?!"
In Natlan, the Pyro Archon Mavuika was genuinely shocked.
She hadn't expected such a young girl—upon realizing Aerin's identity—to trigger the bomb without a single word.
"Such courage," she murmured.
Others were equally stunned.
That small, slender girl hadn't hesitated at all when facing death.
"Amber—!"
Collei's legs gave out.
She collapsed to the ground.
Future Amber… really died.
Tears poured down uncontrollably as Collei buried her face in her hands.
"Tighnari!"
His sudden shout snapped her out of despair.
"The Amber in reality is still alive," he said firmly.
"This is only a projected future."
"If you're that worried, I'll go with you to Mondstadt."
He knew how important Amber was to Collei.
Even if their journey meant directly facing Aerin's plans—
He couldn't let his student bear that emotional burden alone.
"…Hm?"
Tighnari suddenly noticed something.
"Collei—look. Amber didn't die."
[At the instant Baron Bunny exploded, the girl's body shot out of the flames.]
[She rolled across the grass several times before landing heavily on her back.]
["Ngh—!"]
[Amber groaned, clutching her chest as she struggled upright, gasping for air.]
[Her eyes stayed locked on the flames ahead, filled with vigilance.]
[When she lowered her hand—]
[A clear footprint was visible on the white fabric over her chest.]
["He… kicked me out at the moment of the explosion?"]
["Why…?"]
Fontaine — Palais Mermonia
Furina's teardrop-shaped pupils widened dramatically.
This turn of events completely caught her off guard.
She had thought both of them would be blown apart—
Yet Amber had been kicked clear at the last second.
"What is wrong with that man?"
"Why would he save her?"
"Did he go insane and choose to die himself—"
"…Wait. He's completely unharmed?"
["Did no one ever tell you,"]
["that playing with fire too much makes you wet the bed at night?"]
A calm voice echoed from within the raging flames.
A figure slowly emerged.
Amber froze.
Her breathing stopped.
What she saw felt unreal.
Aerin had sensed the explosion—
Kicked her away instantly—
And remained at the very center of the blast.
Yet not even a strand of his hair was damaged.
He even had the leisure to joke.
Amber was completely dazed.
She couldn't understand what he was planning.
["Oh… my mistake."]
["I forgot."]
["Your only family—your grandfather—disappeared four years ago."]
["He left the Knights. He left Mondstadt."]
Aerin stopped in front of her.
His smile was faint, unreadable.
["You've been searching for him ever since, haven't you?"]
["Do you want to know why he left?"]
[Amber: "—?!"]
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