𝐬𝐤𝐲𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫 || 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭

𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝

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Venti walked up to the edge, lyre in hand. I was in front of the others, on edge, ready to summon my sword at a moment's notice. But I didn't reveal it, in case it would provoke something we didn't want provoked. Venti's lyre playing made my worries fade, however. Maybe all his words were only slightly exaggerated... The song was interrupted by the sound of massive wings cutting through the air, and Dvalin was perched on the cliff right in front of us.

"You have come... What has been done cannot be undone..."

"If so, then why do I see sadness in your eyes? Sadness that speaks of your yearning for this song..."

"They are... communicating... Huh?"

"Venti, look out!"

An abyss mage appeared next to Dvalin, and I was slightly too slow to get Venti out of the way of the attack. Jean stepped in front of Venti, protecting him with her arm. I clenched my fists, unsure of whether I should pull my bow out and take a shot at the abyss mage.

"Do not be fooled by him, dear dragon... He left you to rot alone... Now he attempts to deceive you once more..."

"Barbatos..."

"Let your wrath fester! Mondstadt has already turned its back on you!"

"Oh, archons... Venti!"

"You! You were planning this all along? To have me slain by them?"

"It's not like that!"

Dvalin roared and flew off. I didn't take my eyes off him as he flew, hoping to maybe run after him. And that's what I did, like the idiot I am. I didn't dare stop, or turn back, or even slow down to wait for the others. I ran for what seemed like forever, tearing my clothes on thorny bushes, struggling to breathe the longer I kept going. Sound seemed to be drowned out by my head pounding in unison with my heartbeat. Finally, I broke through the last of the bushes, landing in dewey grass.

Breathing heavily, I watched Dvalin fly over a ruined structure, and standing only fifteen feet away was someone about my height, and their appearance was strikingly familiar for some reason. I covered my mouth with one hand, to muffle any noises. I needed to see this through, until I knew what I needed to know.

"Your Highness... Your humble servant returns. When your homeland returns to this world... We shall revel in its glory..."

"..."

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The girl turned around, and sure enough, I had seen her before. Aether's twin sister... With my free hand, I gripped the grass to keep myself from summoning my weapon. How I hadn't been noticed by her and her three abyss mages, I don't know. The mages left after a minute, giving me no coverage from the line of sight of Aether's twin. She walked over, sword in hand, and used the blade to force me to look up.

"Hm..."

"You're Aether's twin..."

"Oh, you know? So you're the blue-haired knight whose been messing with things she shouldn't be a part of. You even radiate the power of Celestia. Who knew?"

"So what if I'm all that? You're hiding from the person who's been looking for you since he woke up! I'm doing all I can to help him!"

"While your efforts to help my brother are commendable, I can't have you running back to tell him. Unfortunately, that means your journey is ending right here."

I was pinned down, in an awkward position. Laying on my stomach, the sword point only a finger's width from piercing my neck, and now, it would be too difficult to pull a weapon and still win a fight. She pulled the blade away from my face, and I felt a sharp pain in my side. She'd kicked me, hard enough to prevent me from getting up. She was about to strike, when my sword appeared on its own, blocking the strike at the last second. I willed every last ounce of my power, and the stars whisked me away from there in moments, leaving me with a single gash in my left leg.

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I limped back to Dawn Winery, very much alive at the cost of my ability to run. This wasn't something that wouldn't heal in more than a few days, fortunately. I was granted accelerated healing, thank Celestia. Aether was pacing out front, with Paimon trying to calm him down. He saw me, and ran as fast as he could to hug me before checking if I was hurt. When he saw my leg, with blood still leaking out of it, he started to panic.

"Aether, I'm alright! But I do have some information that everyone needs to hear."

"You better explain everything."

Inside, Diluc helped me get bandaged up, and I got a chance to explain. I left out the part about Aether's twin, however. I then found out the holy lyre had been broken in the chaos, which caused one extra problem. We were waiting until morning, when we were all rested enough to face Dvalin once more.