𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧

52 - a suprise visit from brother dearest (sort of)

A.N: This chapter contains some Honkai Impact lore :D

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The crimson hue of the cube caught Y/n's eyes, its radiance pulling her into a distant memory. "It's red like... Asmoday's power," she whispered.

Lumine, sensing the deeper currents of emotion beneath Y/n's words, inquired gently, "What does it mean?"

"If you and you brother ever encounter someone wielding powers that look like this in the future," Y/n's gaze never left the cube, "be careful."

Lumine observed her closely, her curiosity deepening. "You speak as if foreseeing a prophecy. Do you know something I don't?"

Y/n chose to remain silent, her attention diverted by the solitary flower on the ground, a poignant contrast to the room's chaos.

Lumine, in an attempt to lighten the mood, remarked, "Such a captivating flower, standing resilient amidst all this chaos. Do you know its name?"

A sigh escaped Y/n's lips, laden with memories of days long gone. "It's a glaze lily," she said, voice soft with reverence. "Since Guizhong's departure from this world, spotting them in the wild has become akin to glimpsing a fading dream."

Lumine's brow furrowed in curiosity as she echoed, "Guizhong? That name sounds familiar. Didn't Rhinedottir speak of her earlier?"

Y/n paused for a brief moment, her eyes a deep well of memories and experiences, but no longer overshadowed by grief. "Guizhong, or as some knew her, Haagentus, was the Goddess of Dust. Over a millennium ago, she presided over the Geo nation with Morax, the current Geo Archon," she began, each word chosen with care.

Seeing Lumine's rapt attention, Y/n continued, "She wasn't just a ruler to me. Guizhong was my friend, my mentor. When I first set foot in Teyvat, weak and without purpose, she became my guiding star. She recognized the potential in me and nurtured it. It was under her wing that I learned the intricate dance of mechanics." Y/n's eyes bore an intensity of gratitude, yet devoid of the pain they once held. "My passion for the craft, the knowledge I hold dear... all stem from the lessons she imparted."

Y/n's gaze was distant, a profound depth in her eyes that seemed to stretch beyond eons. Although she possessed hyperthymesia, a blessing or perhaps a curse that allowed her to remember every detail of her life, she had evolved over the agonizing centuries. The faces of Guizhong, Carmen, Indarias, Bonanas – both mortals and adepti – once imprinted upon her heart with such pain, now just seemed like fleeting data points in the vast continuum of her existence.

In the early days, the very whisper of those departed souls would send her spiraling into an overwhelming deluge of memories, emotions so raw they threatened to break her completely. Panic attacks, crippling anxiety; she bore the weight of every loss as if she were living those moments over and over again. But with time, an eerie acceptance had washed over her, almost like a switch being flicked off. The emotional circuitry that once tied her so tightly to grief seemed...disconnected. As if she wasn't entirely bound by the human framework of feeling.

She often felt like an observer, watching the lives around her unfold with a calculated detachment. And she knew, with a certainty that sometimes chilled her to the core, that in the future, names like Makoto and Rukkhadevata would be added to her list. Another set of data points. Another sequence in the code of her existence.

The distinct echo of footsteps grew progressively closer, breaking the solemn atmosphere of the room. Both Lumine and Y/n instinctively shifted their attention to the approaching presence. To their surprise, Alice breezed into the room with her characteristic blend of casual confidence.