⪁⨥Adventurous⨥⪄

16.

You put your clothes on the basket and turned back to Kazuha and Bennett. "Do you get it now?" They slowly nodded and went who knows where. You sat down on a smooth rock and placed your feet into the warm water.

Just a few minutes later you saw them step into the water. "It's hot!" Bennett winced. "It's hot springs, it's supposed to be hot," you giggled before emerging your whole body into the water.

As you relaxed and let your body float in the naturally warm water you heard a loud sound, wings clapping the steamy air. It was familiar. Then you remembered it.

It was a hawk. More specifically, Diluc's familiar. It landed on a rock right beside you. You turned your head to pet it. The hawk closed its eyes and shivered at the same time.

You took your hand away and pushed yourself to be seated at the edge of the small lake. The hawk let out a noise and flew away, leaving a white envelope with a red circular seal.

Both boys were too busy getting used to the hotness of the water and didn't notice that anything had happened. You quickly slipped the envelope into the basket and got back into the water.

Soon enough, with just a bit more time, they got used to the hot springs and started playing around. It seemed like they also got closer. You were glad they enjoyed themselves.

Until they stopped frozen. They silently sat down while tilting their heads up. They gulped while looking above you. "What?" You let out a short giggle.

You were thinking about whether to look up or not. When you did, you saw a person. Jeez, what is it with random people around you? It started at Bennett, continued through all the Liyue people, and now this guy?

At first, you thought he was homeless, but after getting a closer look at his clothes, they seemed too fancy for a homeless person. The mask on his belt seemed familiar, but you have never seen it in your life.

There was tension. Huge awkward tension. You pushed yourself out and stood up. He let out an annoyed huff and sat down on the rocks. "So I just stood up for nothing huh?" You asked yourself as the mysterious man kept quiet.

You sat back down and looked at his face. He looked hurt. Not physically, but emotionally. "Hey, you wanna talk about it buddy?" You asked in a soft voice while reaching out to him.

All you were answered with was silence. You tried touching his arm for mental support, but he took your wrist, hardly gripped it, and then pushed it down. You could barely feel your arm after that, būt didn't give up on trying to help him.

"Hey, we're not here to judge. You can tell me, I'll help you out how I can, and we can forget we ever met. Deal?" "No" he simply answered. "Alright then, would you rather me to-" "leave this mountain. Something tragic will happen soon." He sounded serious.

"Are you sure you're not just bluffing and making things up?" He looked up at you and frowned. "Do I look like I would make up such things? I'm Yaksha Xiao, now go!" You were convinced enough after he had said 'Yaksha'.

You sprung out of the water and not bothering to change, just screamed at Kazuha and Bennett to go down the mountain. You gathered all your belongings, thanked Xiao, and left. You didn't look back. You ran to the closest den and put down the basket.

All three of you were panting like dying dogs. You took this time to read Diluc's letter. It didn't seem anything important until one line. Beware of immortals, today is the day. 'The day'? You didn't know what that meant, but you were really curious about it.

You looked at the mountain you were just at and saw a big dark green oval open up from nowhere. You focused your eyes and saw hands and chains emitting from the portal-like thing. They grabbed Xiao as his face showed struggling, pain, and fear. Is this what Diluc meant by 'the day'?