Genshin Impact: Awakening in the Darkness

Wendy looked at the half-empty bottle of apple cider with a regretful expression, sat on the palm of the tall statue in the square, and looked at the starry sky in the night.

Xuan Yue transformed back into human form and said, "Do you need help blurring his memories?"

Wendy: "No need to bother, he won't say anything out of line..."

Xuan Yue: "Missing him?"

Wendy sighed, "Of course I want to. Not everyone is as lucky as you and Xuanqing."

Xuan Yue:......

Just then, they heard a sound behind them, and saw Kong and Paimon climb up the towering statue and come up behind them.

Wendy: "You've finally arrived."

Xuan Yue: "So slow."

Paimon was speechless: "That was really hard to find! Don't use such riddles next time!"

Paimon: "By the way, busker, did you get the alcohol?"

“Got it. That Jack guy, he said it was some kind of ‘rare and precious wine’... turns out it’s just half a bottle of apple wine.” Wendy shook the bottle beside her helplessly, then looked at the scenery in the distance: “It brings back memories. The first time I looked at this view, I wasn’t ‘looking like this’.”

Sora: "Not...this?"

Wendy smiled wryly and began to tell the story: "About two thousand six hundred years ago, before the mortal realm was divided among the Seven Gods, Old Mondstadt was besieged by a tyrant's hurricane, so powerful that even birds could not pass."

Paimon: "Old Mondstadt? Ah, I remember now, it's the Stormterror's Lair, right? You mentioned it before!"

Wendy: "Yes. The tyrant of wind that once ruled that tower was Deckalapian, the 'Demonic of Tornadoes.' And I was merely a wisp of wind among the thousands. I possessed neither divine nature nor human form... just a tiny elemental spirit in the wind, a wisp of wind that could bring even the smallest glimmer of hope."

"Just an elemental spirit? Not humanoid? Huh? Wendy, didn't you used to look like this?" Paimon immediately grasped the key point.

"Yes. My current appearance is actually the same as that fake Mr. Stanley's; I'm using a 'friend' as a substitute." Wendy didn't hide anything and told him everything:

My story begins in Old Mondstadt, in that tyrannical land, where I met a boy. The boy knew how to play the piano and followed his own poetry, but he was born within the Wind Wall and had never seen the blue sky.

"I want to see birds soaring in the sky." The boy's eyes were stubborn, his pupils shining. But his voice was drowned out by the howling wind, for the tornado only collected the hymns, leaving no other sound.

The real sky, the poetry and songs outside the cage… aren’t these the desires worth fighting for? A young man extended an invitation to me:

"Come with me, crush the tyrant, tear open the wind wall."

The youth raised the banner of rebellion, and I too threw myself into the war for "freedom." Those who break free of their cages triumph, causing the divine throne to crumble, a thousand winds to rage, and nations to tremble.

In the smoke of battle, we witnessed the fall of the tyrant; in the ashes, we witnessed the collapse of the tower. Thus began the "New Mondstadt," and no one ever ascended the throne again.

-

"And then? What happened to that friend you mentioned?" Paimon, oblivious to Wendy's unusual behavior, still seemed completely unaware.

(Wendy's friend, like Stanley...) Sora already knows the ending.

Wendy: "Paymon, do you want to know what happens next?"

Paimon: "Of course, of course! Don't keep me in suspense, just tell me!"

"Paimon, go pick two apples," Kong said, trying to find a way to get Paimon out of the way.

Paimon: "Why do I suddenly want to eat this now?!"

Wendy: "Haha, are you hungry?"

Kong: "Yes."

Xuan Yue: "It's perfect timing, A Qing hasn't arrived yet either. Pai Meng, thank you for your help."

Paimon: "Ugh... I just can't do anything with you guys!"

Paimon really did fly off to pick apples.

“Ah—sometimes I think you’re a little too clever.” Wendy sighed; with just the few of them around, there was no need to hold back. “But perhaps it’s best for friends to understand each other implicitly. Fine wine, a gentle breeze… moments like these always remind me… of that song I heard from him…”

Sora: "I'll listen carefully."

Wendy smiled slightly and began to play that lullaby:

Fly, fly!

Like a bird in flight.

See this world for me...

Fly to the highest heavens in my stead.

---

Xuan Yue: "Let's go down."

Kong wanted Wendy to have some peace and quiet, so he and Xuan Yue went to the benches in the pavilion below the statue. Looking at the quiet night, Xuan Yue asked, "How did you feel after hearing Wendy's story?"

Sora: "I feel...not very well."

Xuan Yue nodded and continued, "Yes, no one would feel good about it. And I almost ended up like him..."

Empty: "Even you..."

“Yes, it was so close.” Xuan Yue sighed, “500 years ago, A Qing and I were two consciousnesses of one body with two souls. That’s why Liyue has two ‘Celestial Lords.’ He represents ‘Night,’ while I represent ‘Dusk’ before Night and ‘Dawn’ after Night. At first, I thought we could continue like this forever, until the ‘order’ changed…”

Sora: "What happened back then?"

"Yes, due to the special nature of 'Order,' it can only contain specific souls, and my soul is not as pure as A-Qing's. Therefore, once 'Order' begins to change, there is only one fate awaiting me: my soul will be torn in two... and then perish..."

Empty: "And then?"

"Later... ha, this guy did something even more terrifying than Morax's 'fake death'," Xuan Yue sighed. "His soul was extremely unstable at the time, constantly on the verge of entering a state of unconsciousness and transformation, and even I was affected. During the period when I was affected, he shattered his own soul, enveloping my impure half within it... In human terms, he used his 'death' to achieve my 'life'."

null:!!!

Xuan Yue: "Were you scared? Too bad, the worst is yet to come. That guy used his last bit of power to invoke the authority of 'Order,' replacing all of Teyvat's memories of him with mine. If he succeeds, he will disappear forever... and I will assume the role of 'Order,' taking his place in the cycle of reincarnation... then I will live exactly like him..."

"Heh, in the end... I guess you could say I forced him to come back," Xuan Yue said with a smile, looking at the person hiding below the steps, too ashamed to show their face. "Fortunately, I succeeded..."

Xuan Yue stood up, quietly walked to the front of the steps, and called out, "What, you dare to do it but not admit it?"

Hiding below the steps, using a fruit basket as cover, Xuan Qing thought: (...Oh no...)

Looking at Xuan Yue on the steps, Xuan Qing felt a pang of guilt. He had originally planned to wait until Xuan Yue finished discussing the matter before coming out, but… he had been caught so quickly…

“Um, A-Yue…” Xuan Qing’s palms were sweaty, but his face remained as cold as ever, and his expression was completely unreadable.

"Phew... I'm so tired. Oh?! Qingyue's here too!" Paimon flew over, carrying three apples. After giving the apples to Kong, he went to pick at the fruit in Qingyue's arms...

Xuanqing: (I'm saved...)

Xuan Yue, seemingly oblivious to Xuan Qing's nervousness, picked up some fruit from the basket and began eating, showing no sign of anger. Seeing the awkward atmosphere between the two, Kong said, "Jin Xuan, why don't you let Wendy come down and have some fruit too?"

"Hmm?" Xuan Yue looked up at Wendy, who was still heartbroken, and nodded, saying, "It's not good to be sad all the time. I'll go call him. Paimon just got back, so let him eat some more."

Paimon instantly beamed with joy: "Okay!"

After pulling Xuan Yue away, Kong pulled Xuan Qing aside.

Xuan Qing: "Haha, sorry to have made you laugh."

Sora: "So, you really did it..."

When Kong asked him so bluntly, Xuan Qing sighed, a rare occurrence for him: "Yes, as A Yue said, I did do those things. But I won't regret it, even if I had to do it all over again..."

“I’ve lived far longer than Morax. Due to the peculiar nature of ‘Order,’ I cannot destroy myself. I can only find someone to replace me, and then I can finally achieve my own self-destruction… Xuan Yue was the soul destined from the very beginning…” Xuan Qing slowly revealed the truth. They would find out about this later anyway, so it was better to tell them all at once.

“But Xuan Yue’s existence has gradually become inseparable from mine, so my belief has changed from self-destruction to keeping him alive… The change of ‘order’ is a difficult hurdle. Only one of us can stay, him or me. If I had to choose again, I would still make that decision…”

Paimon called out, "Kong! Qingyue! If you don't come soon, we're going to finish eating..."

Xuan Qing: "It seems that this story ends here. Go and eat. You've made such a trip today, you should rest first."

Although Kong still had many questions in his mind, their journey was still long, and there was no need to know everything at once.

Kong walked towards Paimon, and Xuan Yue also came over with some fruit, handing it to Xuan Qing: "Don't forget what you promised me..."

“Hmm,” Xuanqing accepted the sunset fruit given to him by Xuanyue.

I'll accompany you to see the calm seas and clear rivers, and I'll accompany you to travel the world.

I will not become a god, but hide among the lights of every household.

Not alone, but guarding a pure land by myself.

Do not seek destruction, but live only for yourself.

There is forever, so don't say goodbye...

"I remember everything..."