Cross through Teyvat, and you'll become stronger by taking the hits!

"..."

Ying did not answer.

He just kept his head down, clutching the bead containing white ash tightly in his hand.

"A traveler...?"

Columbia called out softly again, her confusion gradually turning into bewilderment.

Why aren't you saying anything?

"Did Lu Li do something strange, so you're trying to lie to me?"

"Is he hiding?"

"Or...did he go somewhere and won't be able to come back for the time being?"

Columbia asked several questions in a row.

Each question seemed to be giving Ying an opportunity to answer it.

But Ying remained silent.

"..."

The expression on Columbia's face gradually disappeared.

No, it won't.

Then she gently shook her head, unwilling to believe it.

"Lu Li promised me."

"He said he would come to see me in Nordkale after the Nata matter was resolved."

"They also said they'd find a way to take me back to the moon."

At this point, Columbia's voice trembled slightly.

"He wouldn't lie to me."

"..."

Ying bit her lip tightly.

He was no longer able to come in person...

"He finally asked me to tell you..."

He said…

Ying finally spoke.

"What did he say?"

Columbia immediately looked up.

The movement was faster than Ying had imagined.

He said he might... have to break his promise...

"..."

The Silver Moon Court fell silent.

The Moon Spirits, who had been busy all along, suddenly stopped.

They seemed to have sensed something.

One by one, the moon spirits quietly drifted around, but instead of being as cheerful as usual, they became very quiet.

The pale blue moonflowers that filled the courtyard slowly lost their color at that moment.

Ying also noticed the changes in the Prayer Flower and sensed an overwhelming sadness emanating from Columbia. This emotion even spread into the air along with the invisible lunar force, causing those who touched it to involuntarily feel a lump in their throat.

The emotions spread through the lunar force, spontaneously reaching the entire Xixi Island.

"Can I have it?"

After a long while, Columbia pointed to what Ying was holding.

Although she was sad, she did not cry; she just looked somewhat downcast.

It wasn't that she was particularly strong inside; in fact, she didn't know how to shed tears.

"……Um."

Ying handed over the Eye of God, the Evil Eye, and the bead.

Columbia carefully held them in her hands, then lowered her head, quietly savoring the lingering scent within.

It was very faint, but it definitely belonged to Lu Li.

That was a scent she knew all too well.

She could sense that the bead enveloped by the power of the moon contained the ashes of Lu Li after he was burned...

"..."

She suddenly smiled.

But that smile looked somewhat forced.

"Really."

"Welcome home, Lu Li..."

She lowered her head, whispered something beside the beads, and then hugged them to her chest.

"Columbia..."

Seeing Columbia's reaction, Ying couldn't help but call out.

"I'm fine, traveler, thank you for your concern."

Columbia gently shook her head.

"...What do you plan to do after that?"

"Actually, I saw the Fatui's wanted poster for you..."

Ying couldn't help but feel concerned.

Although she didn't know why Columbia was wanted by the Fools, now that Lu Li was gone, she naturally needed to take care of Columbia in his place.

"I want to stay here."

"Didn't Lu Li say he was going to come to Nordkalé to find me?"

"Then I'll wait for him."

"Wait until he comes."

In response to Ying's concern, Columbia said this and closed her eyes again.

"..."

"But……"

Ying opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word.

In the end, Ying could only leave the Silver Moon Court with a heavy heart.

Columbia didn't blame her, but she still felt bad...

Inside the Silver Moon Garden, Columbia sat quietly on the crescent-shaped boulder, holding Lu Li's belongings in her arms.

"Dormi cara columbula,O columbula mea..."

Suddenly, she began to hum the song softly, and the familiar melody slowly echoed within the Silver Moon Garden.

This time, however, the ethereal singing voice sounded tinged with sorrow.

After leaving the Silver Moon Garden, Ying wandered under the moonlight with mixed feelings.

But just then, she suddenly saw her brother walk past from not far away...

……

"Well……"

"Where am I?"

In a daze, Lu Li opened his eyes under the starry sky.

He sat up in confusion and found that the place where he had woken up was surrounded by various strange objects, which seemed to form some kind of ritual around Lu Li.

Lu Li looked down at his body and found that it was in a semi-transparent, illusory state.

"Holy crap... I've become a ghost!"

Lu Li exclaimed in surprise and quickly reached out and pressed his hand against the ground.

Sure enough, the arm went straight through the ground.

"I can't touch anything!"

"...Then why am I still sitting on the ground? Won't I fall off?"

Lu Li pulled his hand back from the ground and then asked this question.

"...Because gravity doesn't work on you either."

"You should be grateful that Teyvat is located inside an eggshell. If it were an ordinary planet, your soul, which is not connected to the ley lines, would have been flung into the dark space of space by the rushing planet, and you would have become a lonely ghost drifting in the starry sky forever."

Just as Lu Li was wondering, a familiar voice suddenly rang out from the side.

Lu Li subconsciously turned around and saw the iconic openwork gold witch's hat and light gold long hair.

Yes, it is Alice of the Witches' Guild.

"Ms. Alice?!"

Lu Li exclaimed in surprise, never expecting to see her when she woke up.

"Yes, it's me, the greatest witch in history, Alice."

Alice crossed her arms, tilted her head slightly, and said smugly.

"Did you wake me up? Hmm...with some kind of ritual?"

Lu Li looked at the various unfamiliar and strange objects displayed around him and couldn't help but make such guesses.

"More or less. I went to Mr. Zhongli in Liyue and got the Nibelungen remnants that Langgan lost its vitality after being suppressed by the Sky Nail. I also got some remnants that my sisters have 'collected' over the years. It was only with great difficulty that I was able to anchor your soul."

"We used up six Nibelungen fragments in total, so now... you're a max-constellation character too~"

Alice nodded, and then deliberately cracked a joke at the end.

Lu Li's body was burned to ashes, so she could only look for other things that were connected to Lu Li, and in the end she had to focus her attention on the Nibelungen remains.

After Nibelungen was destroyed by the Abyss, there were quite a few remnants left in Teyvat. Most of them were cleaned up by the Abyss, leaving only some remnants that were not tainted by the Abyss.

"...Ms. Iris, are you joking about something that doesn't belong to Teyvat?"

"Well, thank you so much anyway, Ms. Alice."

"But now I'm just a ghost, and it seems I can't do anything to thank you in person."

Lu Li was speechless for a moment after Alice's strange words, before thanking her.

Without Alice, it seems my soul wouldn't even be able to regain consciousness.

"No need for thanks. Do you remember what I told you before? That little guy who called himself an immortal specifically asked me for a favor. I like people with good judgment, so I agreed."

"Of course, most importantly, I haven't had a chance to thank you yet for being willing to play with Klee."

"However... I have bad news for you."

"The Nibelungen remains have not only anchored you, but their primordial consciousness, which had been dormant for so long, has also awakened. Be careful not to be eaten by it..."

……