Genshin Impact | "The Last Night in Aaru Village" | Alhaitham x Lumine

The Funeral, Part 1

Author's note: TW due to substance use. There's a nod to 3.3 Archon Quest (Inversion of Genesis) somewhere in this chap.

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Alhaitham watched Lumine lay down a blanket on a meadow in the Apam Woods. They chose a spot high up on one of the tree trunks overlooking the cliffs and the riverbed below. The sound of chirping birds and crickets, wind currents, and the rapids relaxed them as they sat next to each other enjoying the view.

He turned to her and took in her clear amber eyes, inquisitive and curious as always. Touching her face, he felt a seed of happiness grow in his heart. "You look so real," he mumbled.

She chuckled. "What are you saying? I am real."

He hesitated but didn't say more, wanting to preserve and prolong this moment as much as he could.

"We should come here more often. This is a nice dating spot, don't you think? Except, we have to fight our way through fungi and hilichurls just to get here." she said. "Look." She motioned to a group of fungi jumping up and down and dancing around a campfire from another cliff.

"We should leave them alone since they're not harming anyone." He took her hand and continued, "besides, I'd rather you focus on me. We can explore the forest later."

The pink on her cheeks flared. He liked how he could make her blush even with the simplest words. Drawing close to her, he cupped her face and went in for a kiss but before their lips could touch, she disintegrated into fine sand. The strong winds dispersed her everywhere until there was nothing left, leaving an empty space next to him and himself nursing a broken heart once more.

He stood up and surveyed the woods, searching for any sign of her, and spotted the blonde-haired Traveler standing at one of the cliffs facing him. It was not possible to see the desert from the Apam Woods yet to her right was the Wall of Samiel and the vast expanse of yellow sand. Her face had no expression as she lifted her arm and pointed to the direction of the desert.

Alhaitham jumped towards the cliff with his wind glider open, the wind currents carrying him to Lumine who was still pointing to the west. Landing next to her swiftly, he locked her in an embrace, not wanting to let go. "Is that where you want me to go?" He broke the embrace just to see her response, but she only looked at him with an unreadable face. "Will I find you there? Lumine, you promised you will come back to me. You gave me your word..."

She remained silent with her arm still outstretched.

"Lumine, if you do not tell me anything..." he shook his head. "Didn't I tell you that I will move mountains for you?..."

She finally opened her mouth and spoke in a flat voice. "You cannot move mountains, Alhaitham, because you're not a god."

He bolted upright in his bed. Sweat rolled down his forehead and dripped on his blanket. He rubbed his face with his palms and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to calm himself. His night shirt was drenched in sweat, so he pulled it out and dropped it to the floor without a care as he swung his legs off the bed. Waking up in the middle of the night had become a force of habit at this point as if his body constantly signaled him he did not deserve to get a good night's sleep.

He buried his face in his hands, regretting that he didn't tell her everything before she left for the desert.

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Alhaitham sat on his couch as he rolled the herbs on a piece of paper and lit the tip on the candle before him. The embers burned it and the smoke issuing from it rose to the ceiling of his house. He directed the unburnt side to his mouth, puffing and letting the smoke fill his lungs. Bliss, he thought. And then came what he truly wanted - numbness. He closed his eyes, letting go of the pain if only for a few hours.