Yumemiru Hitomi was worth exactly four boxes of Jueyun Chili and a small bribe of 5,000 mora. That was the grand cost of her 20 years of life. As she stepped off the gangplank of the merchant boat, hand raised as if to block out the sun, Hitomi felt a sharp prod along her shoulder blade.
"Oi, that's enough. We was only paid to get you this far." A gruff older man hobbled around her side, holding a silken box below his arms. He held it towards Hitomi, gesturing with his eyes to grab it and never return. "Now yer on yer own. Good riddance." The wizened sailor began the slow stumble back up the gangway, waving away the hands of his crewmates.
"Ay got it- Ay said Ay got it."
Hitomi glanced down at the box in her hands, feeling its odd weight. Her delicate fingers found the latch, straining slightly to unstick the locking mechanism so solidified with sea salt, pressing harder and harder until-
*click*
The box opened. She stared at a small fortune of Mora, around where she estimated ten or so thousand. Her onyx eyes began to well up, a small tremor in her lips. She looked up, seeing the captain and his crew begin preparations to set back off to Monstadt. "Thank you for everything, Bo!" The older man stilled for a second before harumphing and setting the ship off. The younger members of the crew, her family for the last 20 days, waved from the back of the ship. Thin arm raised, Hitomi began to wave back, almost frantic in nature. The Seiryu-Ko faded slowly into a speck on the horizon, bringing along with it the last people who knew her as 'Yumemiru Hitomi, the Merchant's daughter'. Hitomi turned back towards the setting sun, looking towards the towering buildings of Liyue. It hit her now, all at once, that she was truly alone, and just how big the world was. She stumbled through the streets, head down, pacing around the city proper, until she stumbled upon a building in the northern sector. The Baiju Guesthouse. With all the social bravado she could muster, and with some minor stumbles, Hitomi was able to secure a temporary lodging. Handed her key, Hitomi took no extra time getting to her room, locking the door behind herself, and hurling herself onto the bed. She looked at the pitiful amount of Mora she had left. A single week's stay costs around 7000 Mora. She had 3000 Mora left to play around with, and a week's deadline to either find somewhere to stay, or to earn another several thousand mora.
'Enough lying in pity,' Hitomi forced herself up. 'I have not been able to take a warm bath for two weeks. I need a recharge.' Straining, her arms betraying her by sinking into the cottony softness of the bed below, Hitomi flipped herself off her bed, grabbed the small change of clothes she had brought with her, and headed to the baths.
---
Hitomi wrung her hair out, letting the water slowly drip along the polished grooves in the stone floor. Skin still slightly flushed from the bath, she found herself in front of a mirror. Hitomi took a second to look over herself, sighing slightly. At 5'8, she was definitely not ugly, but neither was she overly attractive. Her silken black hair shone in the light of the candles, lending itself to her touch as she tied it back up into a simple ponytail. Her eyes traced down her face, the few strands of hair framing her delicate face, moving her thin hands to tuck a few of the stray follicles behind her ears. Hitomi clicked her tongue as she noticed the shadows under her obsidian eyes, most likely from the lack of sleep the ship had allowed her to get. Her eyes traced downwards further, taking in her thin, but present, curves. Her body had never yielded gains on the muscle standpoint, nor was she blessed genetically like her mother (Hitomi had always felt a sense of jealousy when her mother exercised). Other than that, she was almost a spitting image of her late mother. Her stick-like arms were indicative of weakness, and she knew it.
Before she could check herself out further, the door clicked and began to open with a soft creak. Hitomi jumped, quickly throwing on her travel-stained kimono and running back to her room, leaving the blue-haired woman to stare after her in surprise.
---
Hitomi found herself in her room once more, curled up under the sheets as she looked at the box the captain had given her. She had noticed earlier, when paying for the room, that an envelope was buried underneath the pile of Mora, with her name written in flowery script. She brushed aside the golden coins and removed the envelope itself, feeling its weight. Hitomi noted that the envelope bulged slightly towards the bottom, likely some sort of indicator of an item. This was put on the back burner, however, when she recognized the handwriting. It was her father's. With shaking hands, Hitomi opened up the letter, eyes tracing over the last physical connection to her home.
Hitomi,
If you are reading this, then the worst has come to pass. I knew that someday, with how unstable Inazuma was becoming, I would have to send you off. Hopefully, you arrived wherever you were travelling safely, and it is you who is reading this. My time left in this world is most likely short. Your uncle, my brother, is a spy for the Tenryou commission and has more than likely reported that I had smuggled you out. I want you to know that whatever happens now is not your fault. Your mother and I have only ever had one hope for you: to live your life freely. And so, I want to entrust you with two items. In the remainder of the envelope, you'll find your mother's ring and my vision. I doubt I'll live to see another month, so I want you to have mementos from both of us. For what it's worth, I wish there was any other way for you to be free, but I hope you'll forgive this old fool's sentimentality. I love you, always and forever.
Dad
Tears were freely streaming down Hitomi's face, slowly wetting the ink on the page, droplets beginning to smudge the writing itself. She held the note to her forehead and curled into a ball, body wracked with sobs.
"Dad…"
She set the note aside, reaching into the remainder of the envelope, pulling out the two items her father said he had left her. A gray cryo-vision, and a silver ring emblazoned with runic designs she couldn't understand.
"Free?" she choked out, body still shuddering in her wallowment, "How can I be free if I can't even go home? How can I be free if I don't have the power to protect my family?!" Her cries grew in strength as she pressed the masterless vision to her chest, almost in a prayer to the gods for strength.
The vision stayed inert. The gods did not, and would not, answer.
But something else would.
[Heart rate elevated]
[Sufficient Negative Energy]
The tonal chimes of a cold, calculating voice froze Hitomi in her tracks. Her crying stopped, and she began to unfurl, slowly reaching for the heaviest object in her room. Or, she would have, if not for the searing headache that began at that exact moment.
"AAAGH"
Hitomi screamed, spasming as her head throbbed harder and harder.
[Establishing Connection]
[Waiting]
[Connected]
[Downloading]
[...]
[Download Successful. Welcome, Host, to the Sorcery Simulation System. Would Host like to enter the tutorial? (Y/N)]
'Sorcery- who the what now?' Hitomi's eyes widened as the searing pain stopped, blue panels beginning to float in front of her eyes. 'That's it, I've gone mad with grief… Or maybe-' She reached down into her thigh, pinching as hard as she could.
"Owwwww"
'Ok, so not a dream.' Hitomis stared unblinkingly at the translucent screen directly ahead of herself. Unable to shed her curiosity, she reached a hand forward, directly landing on the large black Y.
[Entering the Tutorial…]
'Wait wha-' Hitomi's eyes were drawn to the ground as her shadow erupted, dragging her into its depths.
"WAI-"
Everything went black.
The Darkness felt as though it traveled forever, until finally a flashing blue screen emerged from the shade, alighting the room just barely enough that she could get a grasp of its size.
[Due to Worldline's lack of Cursed Energy, a Special Tutorial Quest has been generated:
Tutorial Simulation: The Blank Void
Objective: Exercise "Reflection", Grade 3 Curse
Debuff: Soul-Body Mismatch- Your body is weak and 'Atrophied' due to a misalignment of the soul. Your physical strength is capped at your current maximum. Strenuous Activities will burn life force instead of stamina
Due to time constraints, the System will automatically select your bonuses for this simulation.
Bonuses:
Cursed Energy Spark {Gray}: Allows the use, generation, and manipulation of Cursed Energy.
Flowing Red Scale {Blue}: Allows the user to manipulate their blood flow, improving accuracy and reaction time. Allows use of cursed energy to increase reaction time threefold.
Legacy of The King {RED}: Gives the user an innate grasp of Severing and Slicing. Imprints (???) unto the user.
The user will have 24 hours to complete this mission. If the user perishes, the system will rescind itself, and the user will be stuck in the tutorial domain.]
"Huh?"