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

The Funeral, Part 4

Alhaitham stepped inside the Sanctuary of Surasthana. He hadn't been there for a while, only dropping by in the past when he needed to deliver a message to the God of Wisdom. He walked by the path lined with flowers and attached messages of thanks and goodbye to the Traveler. It led to the center where Lumine floated inside a glass ball filled with cryo elemental energy.

He had specifically instructed not to embalm the body while Lesser Lord Kusanali suggested that she be preserved with cryo energy, citing that it was best to keep the body untouched given that nobody understood the true nature of the Traveler.

The border of the flower-patterned platform was also filled with flowers and messages from people all over Teyvat. He stopped in front of the crystal ball, his gaze trained only on Lumine. She resembled a sleeping child as she huddled her knees in a fetal position. Her dress and hair flowed around her the way one's clothes floated underwater, looking quite otherworldly. He wanted to touch her pale cheeks and brush his thumb on the fine lashes of her closed eyes, but it was impossible, so he settled with drinking in her countenance.

My love, all these people coming to visit you... yet none of them are willing to go as far as I will for you...

He heard someone clear their throat. Visiting hours was over. He knew who it was without needing to see them. The Dendo Archon padded her tiny feet to Alhaitham's view from behind the crystal ball. She clasped her hands together and gave him a reproachful look.

"I'm glad you came," Nahida said. They were the only people inside the Sanctuary now. Some words needed to be said and it was better that nobody else heard them other than the Scribe.

He inhaled deeply before giving a response. "As the Acting Grand Sage, it is my duty to see that the funeral goes smoothly without a hitch... regardless of my relationship with the Traveler." His throat felt raw, must be the effect of the herb he had been smoking.

"That's not what you truly think," she said.

"I understand why The God of Wisdom would presume that, given the nature of my relationship with Lu- the Traveler. You would think that I must be crying inside or breaking down in sorrow as these are the natural reactions of someone who lost a loved one. That's a fair assumption." He nodded. "But it's still just an assumption until I actually confirm it. It's not true," he finished with a flat voice.

All his rationality couldn't mask his true thoughts from the God of Wisdom. Ever since her release from the Sanctuary, she was getting better at reading people's hearts besides their minds. Alhaitham didn't want to show his true emotions to anyone but the Traveler simply because she was the only person he loved. "You are here because you miss her. There is nothing wrong with being true to oneself and to everybody else. We all miss her. You do not need to hide your feelings from anyone."

He turned to the Traveler and stared at her face. He'd rather glue his eyes on her than be confronted with the reality.

"I believe Cyno already told you why I requested you to be here... so you can give the Traveler a proper send off."

"Sending off, by definition, means saying goodbye whether it be to someone's loved one or even a stranger. It means letting someone go," Alhaitham said without peeling his eyes off Lumine. "Some people may find letting go synonymous to giving up. If you can really read people, Lesser Lord Kusanali, do you truly believe I am the type who gives up so easily?"

Nahida knitted her eyebrows together. She knew it would be a challenge to talk to Alhaitham. "Give up on what, Grand Sage?" she asked, wanting him to say the answer out loud so he could actually hear himself.