"Phew, I'm so full!"
Paimon lay flat on the sandy beach, rubbing her little belly with a blissful smile on her face.
Lumine leaned against a boulder just like Paimon, rubbing her stomach as well. From time to time, a troubled expression crossed her face—she had clearly overeaten.
Guixu looked at the two of them, half-amused and half-exasperated.
"Is that really necessary? It's not like this is your last meal ever."
"You don't understand! This is the only decent, delicious meal I've had in two whole months!"
Lumine recalled her lifestyle over the past two months and pulled a pitiful, tearful face.
Those were bitter days of eating bran and wild herbs!
She had been this close to stripping leaves off trees to eat!
Fortunately, she had run into Guixu today and wouldn't have to live like that anymore.
Just thinking about it made her happy.
Guixu sat beside Lumine, shaking his head and laughing at her antics.
As expected of that guy's younger sister; her adaptability was truly something else.
Just a moment ago she had been terrified of him, and now she was completely fine.
Lumine looked at Guixu sitting next to her, feeling no fear in her heart anymore.
Sharing a meal really was a great way to close the distance between people; as they ate, she had chatted with Guixu the entire time.
She had realized that Guixu wasn't the kind of god who was hard to get along with.
Instead, he felt more like an ordinary person.
Guixu didn't put on airs either. After this meal, the two of them could be considered friends, which was why Lumine was no longer afraid of him.
"Oh right, speaking of which, where on earth is there a city around here? I've been wandering around the wilderness for ages, and all I see are forests and grasslands."
Lumine asked with a troubled expression.
"A city? The City of Mondstadt?"
"That's still quite a distance from here."
Guixu said.
"Really? That's great! I can finally find a place where people live!"
"I haven't taken a bath in two months, missy here is going crazy!"
Lumine said happily.
Then, her voice suddenly froze. She looked at Guixu's clothes, and then down at her own 'tattered' outfit.
Her face flushed crimson in an instant.
With darting eyes, she hurriedly scooted her bottom away from Guixu.
"Ahem, I... I'm a bit dirty, I'd better stay a little further away from you."
Seeing Lumine suddenly turn all shy, Guixu chuckled and didn't say much.
Instead, he shifted closer and reached out to tap Lumine on the shoulder.
*Whoosh!*
A beam of white light shot from Guixu's fingertip, scanning across Lumine's entire body like a scanner.
Lumine curiously raised her arm, watching the white light sweep over her, and looked at Guixu in puzzlement.
"Don't rush, wait a second."
Following Guixu's words, Lumine waited until the white light dissipated, then lowered her head to look again.
"Whoa!"
"So clean!"
Lumine stared in pleasant surprise at her clothes and skin, which were now spotless. She examined herself curiously for a long time; if Guixu hadn't been sitting right beside her, she might have even lifted the hem of her dress to take a look inside.
I wonder if my little undergarments got cleaned too?
"Amazing! Is this also a god's ability?"
"So convenient!"
Paimon buzzed around Lumine a few times, kicking her little feet in the air, and said excitedly.
Guixu said modestly, "It's just a tiny application of ability, nothing big."
That's right, this was actually just a minor application of Guixu's power of Terminal.
It was simply a matter of obliterating dust and other filth, letting them march toward their final end.
Not worth mentioning.
Lumine: .....
Paimon: .....
...
Lumine and Paimon stayed put for a while to let their food digest, chatting about the City of Mondstadt along the way, before finally setting off for Mondstadt.
Guixu didn't teleport the two of them; instead, they walked so they could enjoy the scenery along the way.
Thus, Paimon led Guixu and Lumine to the Statue of the Seven at Starfell Lake.
The three of them walked over to the water's edge.
Paimon rubbed her head in confusion.
"Huh? Why has the water level of Starfell Lake dropped so much?"
"And why are there scorch marks all around?"
Guixu cast a guilty glance at the surrounding masterpiece left behind by his own "daughter." Nearly all the trees in the immediate circle had been turned to charcoal, and the ground was pitted and scarred, with some craters still holding puddles of water.
As for Starfell Lake, its water level had noticeably dropped by a large margin.
Not a single fish could be seen in the lake.
Lumine paid no attention to these things, keeping her eyes glued to the Statue of the Seven on the small island in the center of the lake.
"That's the Anemo Archon's statue."
"It represents the winds of freedom blowing from Mondstadt across the entire continent."
Guixu looked at the statue modeled after his own goofy Anemo Archon, a hint of nostalgia in his voice.
"Let's go. Since you awoke in Mondstadt, freedom must surely be your starting point."
"Mm."
Lumine nodded, her mind filled with a torrent of thoughts.
Guixu led Lumine onto the islet in the middle of the lake.
Lumine reached out to touch the statue, and a turquoise elemental energy rose from it.
Flowing along Lumine's palm, it gradually surged into her body.
"My strength... has recovered a bit."
Lumine sensed the Anemo energy within her. Having lost all her power, she finally possessed a shred of self-preservation capability.
Paimon also looked in pleasant surprise at the swirling vortex of wind in Lumine's hand.
"Whoa! It's actually Anemo energy!"
"You can awaken elemental energy just by touching the statue?"
"People in this world can't do it as easily as you can."
"I'm not sure either, but as long as I can use it, that's fine."
Lumine dispersed the wind in her hand and said happily.
Although the Anemo power she had just awakened wasn't strong, it at least gave her a way to recover her strength.
As long as she gradually developed it, she would eventually regain her former might.
Besides, she had heard Paimon say earlier that there were seven archons in the seven nations of Teyvat, which meant there must be seven statues. If she could awaken elemental energy at all of them, her strength definitely wouldn't be weak.
Not to mention she had a big shot right by her side.
Lumine turned her pretty face, beaming with a smile, toward Guixu, who offered his congratulations.
"Congratulations. Your strength has recovered a bit."
"Just like your brother, you can awaken elemental energy by touching the statue. Back then, your brother also traveled through all seven nations to awaken seven kinds of elemental energy, recovering his former strength."
"Is that so? Then it looks like I'll have to make a trip through the seven nations after all."
Lumine sighed with emotion.
Originally, after hearing about Aether's situation, she hadn't wanted to run around everywhere just yet.
But now, since it was for the sake of regaining her strength, it seemed she still had to make that journey.
Seeing Lumine's reluctant expression, Guixu smiled and said, "It's fine. Just think of it as sightseeing. Since you already know your brother's plan, of course you don't need to be in such a rush anymore. You can freely tour the sights of the seven nations and forge bonds of your own."
"That's right, that's right! Leaving you all alone here in Teyvat to fend for yourself like that—a brother like that isn't worth looking for!"
Little Paimon also brandished her fists with righteous indignation, sticking up for Lumine.
Hearing their words, Lumine looked at the two of them with deep emotion.
She silently engraved their kindness in her heart.
Though they hadn't known each other long, Lumine already regarded both Guixu and Paimon as good friends.
This was the very first bond she had forged in this unfamiliar world!
...
Suddenly, an abrupt voice interrupted the warm atmosphere among the three.
[Ding! The All-Wards Chat Group invites Guixu to join the chat group.]
[Do you wish to join?]
[Ding! The All-Wards Chat Group invites Lumine to join the chat group.]
[Do you wish to join?]
Two voices suddenly rang out in the minds of Guixu and Lumine respectively.
Guixu's expression froze.
A chat group?
What on earth is that?
As for Lumine, after a brief moment of shock, her expression turned pleasantly surprised.
"A chat group? Is it the kind they write about in novels?"
"No, I mustn't get excited, I have to stay calm!"
"Huh?"
Just as Lumine wanted to forcefully suppress her joyful expression, she suddenly noticed that Guixu beside her was also in a daze.
Hesitating for a moment, Lumine probed cautiously, "Guixu, did you get an invitation to a chat group too?"
Hearing Lumine's question, Guixu snapped out of his daze and said, "Yeah, a voice suddenly popped into my head. I wonder what kind of gimmick this is?"
"Based on my experience from reading novels back in the day, this should be a chat group connecting the myriad realms! It might even be able to connect to your old world!"
Lumine was quite excited, her eyes twinkling with bright light.
What kind of luck was this?
First she woke up and met a big shot who suppressed a god with a wave of his hand, and now she encountered a chat group invitation.
This was practically the script of a destined heroine!
"A chat group connecting the myriad realms?"
Guixu pondered for a moment, understanding what Lumine meant, and nodded. "Shall we join and see, then?"
"Since you say it can connect the myriad realms, it must have a reliable method of crossing the cosmos—probably much better than me traveling through space on my own."
"Just right, I want to see what kind of powerhouses exist in these so-called myriad realms!"
Guixu felt a rare surge of interest.
Although the continent of Teyvat was a suitable place for him to recuperate from his injuries, once he healed, there was no combat power left here that could interest him.
There were very few people in all of Teyvat who caught his eye; it was utterly uninteresting.
Guixu nodded.
In that case, let's join!
Both of them agreed to the chat group's membership application.
[Ding! Congratulations to new members Guixu and Lumine for joining the chat group.]
[Please check the group announcement for chat group details!]
Following two mechanical announcements, a virtual screen appeared in the minds of both Guixu and Lumine.
A lot of information was flashing across it.
[Group Leader - Beautiful Girl Tiantian: Welcome new members to the group! I am the group leader, Zhuge Tiantian.]
[After joining, please check the group announcement first. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me.]
[Sakura: Welcome big brother and big sister new members to the group!]
[Fujimaru Ritsuka: Welcome new members to the group!]
[Daigo Madoka: Welcome new members to the group!]
[Asta: Welcome new members to the group!]
[Daigo Madoka: Finally, a guy has joined the group! I'm finally not the only guy here anymore!]
In the Tiga universe, inside the TPC base,
Daigo, who was in the middle of training, wore an expression of tearful joy, feeling an extraordinary sense of relief.
Oh god!
Who knew how he had survived this past period?!
The group was entirely made of girls; usually, when they chatted, he could hardly keep up with their rhythm.
Now a fellow guy had finally arrived!
In the Honkai: Star Rail universe,
Aboard the Astral Express, Asta lay on the bed in her room, looking at this new member named Lumine, and recalled what the group leader had said previously about a world of the same origin as her own.
It seemed to be called the continent of Teyvat, and the protagonists there were also a pair of brother and sister.
The girl was named Lumine.
There was probably no mistake.
[Asta: So this is the otherworldly counterpart Tiantian spoke of? Sure enough, our names are very similar, both just one character.]
In the Type-Moon universe,
Singularity: Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia,
An orange-haired girl wearing Chaldea combat uniform mystic code stood atop the walls of Uruk, gazing out into the distance, where she could vaguely see the silhouettes of demonic beasts endlessly swarming forth.
While suffering bitterly in her heart, she asked the group for help.
[Fujimaru Ritsuka: Are there any big shots among the new members? I'm currently on the walls of Uruk, please send backup!]