discrepancy | genshin impact | lumine & childe

heart

*** this chapter does contain some mild gore that takes place in a dream. it's not too intense nor realistic, but the entire section is italicized if you feel you need to skip it, and I think you should be able to get the gist of what happened by what comes after it! ***

When he wakes again, the faint rising sunlight fills the room, and he rolls over to find Lumine standing above him. She withdraws her hand, previously outstretched as if to shake him awake, and blinks in surprise.

"Oh," she says quietly, "good timing."

They prepare in relative silence, and it is only when they have set foot on the path through Dihua Marsh that he remembers to ask. "Last night," he begins slowly. "Ah, are you alright?"

Her breath catches in a small gasp. "I'm... fine," she answers, though he finds himself doubting her. "Just forget about it, please."

"If you say so," he replies, but he knows that he won't.

Hours pass, and scarce words turn to deep breaths as they make their way up the rocky cliffs of Stone Gate, then to huffs of battle as they cut through hilichurl camps on their path to the mountain. The sun rises above their heads, then dips low in the sky as they come upon the first traces of snow.

"We can climb up to get there faster," Lumine explains, pointing to a steep rock face, dusted with slick snow. Then, swinging her arm to the left, she points over grassy terrain. "Or we can go around. There are usually Fatui in the snowy area at the top of the cliff though."

He raises an eyebrow. Perhaps his attention span in briefings has been less than optimal, but he doesn't recall any specific purpose for deploying troops to the Dragonspine area. Could they really find anything useful here? He prompts, "And you know this because..?"

"I beat— They... interfered with some business I had here," she replies, and he laughs at the poor attempt to cover her words.

"Good to know someone is keeping them on their toes," he says. "However... let's steer clear of them for now."

She nods in agreement. "Okay, but we'll have to cross the waterfall first."

True to her word, the slope of grass before them gives way to a steep cliff, cut through by rapid water that plunges over the edge. It isn't too far across, and he peers at the river area just before the falls.

"Doesn't seem deep," he comments. "Wading through should be easy enough."

Lumine shakes her head. "Getting wet is the last thing you want up here—you'll start freezing in minutes." Then, pointing to the outcropping of land closest to them, she states, "It'd be better to jump."

To any sane person or careful adventurer, this might have been a preposterous proposition. Though the river is not wide, the shortest path across lies not over the river but over the deep and plunging void of the waterfall itself. In other words, if one cannot jump far enough, they really ought not to jump at all. Childe, of course, is not quite either of these things, so he feels a surge of adrenaline as he studies the gap. He loves a challenge, after all.

They fling their bags across first, equipment clattering against itself as the packs land on the other side. Then, with a determined sprint and a powerful jump, he is flying through the air. His landing is a smidge miscalculated, and he rolls to avoid injury instead of touching down with cool nonchalance. He recovers in time to turn and see Lumine leap after him, airborne figure silhouetted against the setting sun. In that moment, he realizes three things.

One: she may be as fearless and reckless as himself. There are not many adventurers who would throw themselves across the void with such little forethought, especially when an alternate path exists. But she appears even to enjoy it, and he feels a kindred spirit in such eagerness to feel the rush.