EN | An encounter she will never forget | ᴄʜɪʟᴜᴍɪ

4 - The stranger with water blades

In the early morning, even though the sun had not yet risen, Lumine and Paimon set off again. They walked like this for the whole day, stopping frequently to satiate the little fairy's belly and regain their strength. According to the map, they had passed through the Stone Gate and were now in the Dihua Marsh. The landscape had suddenly changed: the mountains had given way to great expanses of water cut by a strip of dry land, and numerous islands were also visible on either side, although the water didn't appear to be deep and it was possible to reach them by swimming.

After traveling some distance on this road that now passed through the middle of an island, Paimon and Lumine came upon a Statue of the Seven.

The Statues of the Seven were large pillars that seemed to come from another world because of the weak blue light they emit. According to legend, these Statues were created to protect the peace of the countries and were the image of their patron gods, the Archons. As the name suggests, there were seven Archons in all, one from each element, and the Statues of the Seven of Mondstadt thus represent the Anemo Archon, Barbatos.

However, the statue that was right before Paimon and Lumine was significantly different from the ones they had already seen in Mondstadt, which represented an angel. At the top of this statue of Liyue was the carving of a man sitting in a stone seat, holding a boulder in his right hand. This was most likely the Geo Archon, Morax, the patron god of Liyue.

"Lumine, aren't you going to pray?" Paimon said to Lumine, bringing her out of her reverie. "Maybe the same thing will happen as in Mondstadt."

"I'll try," she replied.

She approached the statue, clasped her hands together in the prayer position Barbara had taught her, and began to pray before approaching her hand to touch the statue. After a short time, Lumine began to feel a gentle warmth surrounding her, and energy flowing through her, from her feet to her arms, before returning to the earth.

"So?" asked Paimon once Lumine had moved.

"I felt warmth, like last time, but I don't feel like anything has changed," the young woman replied, not sure about what had happened.

The same thing had happened with the Statue of Mondstadt. She had felt a force around her, which had subsequently allowed her to manipulate the wind as she wished. Paimon liked to tell her that she had been blessed by the Archon, who had given her some of his power, but Lumine had another explanation in mind, which included more likely the recovery of her ancient powers...

"I guess we'll know if you got a power when the time comes!" continued the pixie with enthusiasm, which Lumine replied with a nod.

"Let's keep going, we're far from there."

On that note, they set off again in the direction of the Harbor.

◆ ◆ ◆

It was getting dark when they saw a gigantic wooden structure surrounding the trunk of a huge tree with leaves as yellow as the sunlight. The sight was breathtaking. Immediately, Paimon glanced at the map to see what it was.

"Wangshu Inn... Wow, this luxurious building is an inn?! Paimon can't even imagine the price of a room... Oh, they say there's a restaurant!" exclaimed the little fairy as she finished reading the description of the Inn in the Adventurer's Guide.

Lumine sighed. She knew her savings would take a hit, that's why she tried not to look at Paimon —even though it didn't matter because she knew exactly how she looked now... After a moment of silence, Lumine looked up to observe her friend's expression. The latter was staring at her intensely, imploring her with her eyes to take her to eat in that restaurant. Seeing that Paimon didn't let go of the matter, Lumine started to laugh discreetly.