At the Statue of The Seven plaza, Amber was still in full instructor mode.
"Listen carefully and follow my instructions, okay?"
Then she pointed sternly at the ledge.
"Every year in Mondstadt, people break bones because they misuse Wind Gliders."
Paimon went stiff. "That's horrifying…! Good thing Paimon can fly."
"If you use it properly, you'll be fine," Amber said, patting her chest with confidence. "And with Mondstadt's flying champion here, you can relax!"
"Flying champion?" Paimon gasped.
"Wait—Amber is that amazing?" she added, laying the awe on thick.
Amber's face twitched like she'd just remembered something painfully embarrassing.
"…A-anyway!" she said quickly, refusing to take that bait. "Let's start."
She pointed down at the drop.
"Lumine—jump from here and open your glider mid-fall."
To demonstrate, Amber sprang from the circular stone platform.
Whoosh—
Her glider snapped open, catching the wind. She swept down toward the fountain near the Goth Grand Hotel, landed cleanly, then waved up at Lumine.
Lumine nodded once.
Then she jumped.
For a heartbeat she fell—
Then snap—the wings opened.
The air caught her like an invisible hand, steadying her descent as if the wind itself had decided to hold her.
She tested her balance, adjusted her posture—
—and glided toward Amber.
"See?" Amber beamed. "You're a natural. Keep it up and you'll be competing with me in the Mondstadt gliding championship."
"There's a gliding competition?" Paimon asked.
"If there's a champion, there's a competition!" Amber said proudly.
Paimon's eyes lit up instantly. "Then what's the prize for first place?! Can Paimon join too?!"
Amber froze.
For once, she genuinely didn't know how to answer.
Then Lumine spoke, low and alert.
"Amber… the city feels off."
From above, she'd seen it—Knights moving in groups, not like normal patrols.
Amber blinked. "Really? We'll ask someone in a bit."
Paimon pointed toward the hotel entrance. "Uh… what about that guy?"
Near the Goth Grand Hotel stood a man with short brown hair, dressed in black with red trim, goggles perched like he owned the street.
Noticing them, he snapped irritably:
"What are you staring at? If you've got nothing to do, stay away! This area belongs to the Fatui!"
Amber clicked her tongue and pulled Lumine and Paimon back. "Ignore them. Let's keep moving."
Then she muttered, pure disgust in her voice, "They rent one hotel and suddenly act like Mondstadt belongs to them. If they try anything shady, the Knights will make them regret it."
Lumine glanced back. "Who are they?"
"The Fatui," Amber said with a wave. "A diplomatic delegation from Snezhnaya. We try not to deal with them unless we have to."
She lifted her chin. "Come on. Next part—fly to the fountain plaza in front of Good Hunter. If you can do that, your first test officially counts as a pass."
Amber led them behind the hotel, then jumped again.
Lumine followed.
From the air, she saw something that made her slow mid-glide.
Good Hunter was closed.
Doors shut. Windows barred.
Even the nearby storefronts looked sealed up.
And the fountain plaza—normally full of chatter—
was silent.
Too silent.
Then—
a gust tore in from beyond Cider Lake, carrying a chill that went straight through bone.
Mondstadt's windmills, usually turning at an easy pace, whipped into a frantic spin. Posters, flyers, scraps of paper, and leaves all spiraled upward at once.
The sky dimmed in seconds.
Clouds gathered with unnatural speed.
"A storm…?" Amber pulled her goggles down, disbelief creeping into her voice. "Mondstadt is under Barbatos's protection. A storm like this shouldn't happen—not this violently."
Lumine's fingers curled into a fist.
Watch the wind…
"The wind direction…" she whispered.
Then—
ROAR!
A dragon's bellow thundered across the city from Brightcrown Canyon, shaking the air over Mondstadt like a warning from the heavens.
Six wings cut through the clouds.
Stormterror—Dvalin—descended, dragging hurricanes and sea-cold gales behind him.
His massive body swept low.
Roofs splintered.
Stone cracked.
Screams erupted across the city—then vanished under the howl of the wind.
Paimon's voice came out as a strangled squeak.
"H-He actually came!"
Knights of Favonius Headquarters
Kaito, Kaeya, Jean, and Lisa burst into the open.
Above them, Stormterror tore through the air at low altitude, circling like a predator savoring fear.
Kaeya exhaled hard. "Thank the Archon we evacuated early."
Jean's expression tightened, urgency flaring in her eyes. "Why would he attack Mondstadt so suddenly?"
Even with the Knights already moving people out, if they couldn't drive him off—or calm him—damage would keep escalating.
Lisa brushed her fingers lightly over her arm, eyes narrowing.
"This chaotic elemental flow…" she murmured. "It's the kind that can make anyone irritable. Even a dragon."
Another deafening roar ripped through the sky.
Stormterror climbed higher—higher—until he hovered above the city.
Then he straightened and faced the Statue of The Seven.
And screamed.
He was drawing in Anemo.
Or—
he was defiling the wind god.
Wild elemental power condensed into a black tornado, spiraling down from the storm clouds—aimed directly at the statue.
But an unseen force twisted its path.
The vortex veered—
and slammed toward the city itself.
Jean's face changed instantly.
"Not good—!"
Kaito's gaze snapped upward.
In the chaos, he spotted a figure caught by the cyclone—lifted off the ground and dragged into the sky like a scrap of paper.
His chest tightened.
"I'm going."
Before anyone could stop him, Kaito unfolded his Wind Glider and launched himself into the storm.
This wasn't a game.
If something went wrong here—
there was no reset.
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