EN | An encounter she will never forget | ᴄʜɪʟᴜᴍɪ

41 - I love you

Previously: The Abyss Order doesn't exist anymore, the title of Harbinger has been given back to Childe after the Tsaritsa has forgiven him, then he resigned. He traveled around Teyvat in a last desperate quest to find Lumine, to finally end up at the top of Mt. Tianheng on the last day of the Lantern Rite Festival. With the last bits of hope in his heart, he releases a lantern to give it to the heavens with the words "Let Lumine return" written on it. 

𝗧𝗪: 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲, 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝘀

How long had it been since he had last eaten or slept? Reality seemed to escape him as time passed by. He had set himself the goal of wielding his water blades and his bow to oppose any enemy he encountered on his way. Since he had miraculously returned from the Abyss, the different enemies he was used to facing everywhere he went had disappeared with a few exceptions. And it was precisely these exceptions he was looking for.

After revisiting each corner that reminded him of his relationship with her, he had wandered all over the lands of Liyue in search of fights to soothe his broken soul. Unfortunately for him, even the treasure hoarders seemed to have redeemed themselves. Everything he could come across was rare slimes, some Whopperflowers, but mostly some Hilichurl chieftain. He had gone to Lingju Pass, up to Jueyun Karst, then Qingce Village and Dihua Marsh. Then, he set out to climb the icy Dragonspine mountain in search of a challenge, braving the cold without even thinking about it.

He had left without a coat, without provisions and without a first aid kit. He had come with himself and his weapons, that's all he needed to slaughter his enemies. His feet guided him without his mind focusing on anything. He walked up and down the mountain, wandering like a lost soul, looking for something to do, but no enemy was in sight. So he climbed and climbed and climbed further and further up the mountain. The moon followed the sun, and the sun followed the moon. The various pauses he made were caused as much by exhaustion as by self-neglect. He fell unconscious more than he fell asleep, and only sat down to take breaks because he couldn't feel his feet due to the cold. His completely blue fingers could hardly hold anything.

When he finally reached the top, Childe felt relief approaching when he noticed what he was looking for: a Frostarm Lawachurl.

He was cold and shivering, his hands having trouble holding his water blades that the surrounding cold made frozen between his fingers, his legs struggling to support his weight and allow him to move.

He was in no condition to fight, and he knew it, but he was still going to rush headlong at the enemy in front of him, even if it meant losing his life. Inwardly, all he wanted was to be delivered. He didn't care about fighting to keep his title of "peacemaker of the continent" that the people of Liyue had given him when they noticed that he was the one taking on the few remaining enemies. He was only fighting to find a small light at the end of this tunnel of suffering in which he was stuck, whether this light was in Teyvat or in the other world.

So he went into action with all the frustration in his head, running and stumbling to the enemy who had spotted him and put on an armor of frost. He was going to fight, again and again, to get out of his mind everything that his loved ones kept telling him and that he couldn't bear to hear anymore.

"You will find love again."

He pulled out his bow to shoot an arrow at the monster, but his fingers, which he could no longer feel, couldn't bend enough to pull the string taut.

"Unhook yourself from her, she's gone."

This wasted moment caused him to take a blow from the enemy in his right flank, breaking a few ribs in the process.