53 Your smile [2]

"How heartless of you."

"It can't be helped."

In an endless plain of white roses that blanketed the ground for all the eye could see, Isaac stood silently as he watched two figures converse.

The first figure resembled a tall woman, while the other was a man. The most noticeable thing about the former was her witch hat.

"You know... As the Witches' Knight, you're always welcome for another tea party, you know?" The woman spoke gently at the man as if a mother comforting her child.

However, the man shook his head. "I can't go back now, miss. Irminsul is in a critical state— I must be the sacrifice who would mend it."

"You little... There you go lying through your teeth again," Hearing the man's words, the woman sighed helplessly. She then looked at him with worry, "You and the Queen Arayani would go together, won't you?"

The woman then smiled bitterly. "The others would be sad. Some might notice the change, but they won't be able to trace the change."

"All they would know is that Irminsul has been altered and Teyvat's fate changed." She added.

"...you mean 'N'?" The man noticed her subtle hint of someone. However, he only shook his head, "She would without a doubt be the first to notice— however, I already made up my mind."

"I won't lose much. Just myself."

Looking at the man's eyes full of resolution, the lady got silent for a while before breaking into a soft chuckle. "Fine..."

Her eyes then looked at him once more. "You have always been a Guardian."

"If we one day meet again, I hope you've already lived the Serene life you always wanted." She then approached the man and hugged him. "War wasn't meant for you— it never was."

"Now that you've found your goal, pursue it, my sweet child."

Crack—*

Watching the scene play in front of him, the world in front of Isaac shattered like a mirror hitting the ground— breaking off into countless pieces.

* * *

"...mgh..." Isaac, who had been peacefully sleeping, suddenly showed signs of waking up.

His eyes slowly opened, adjusting themselves to the light in the room. Soon, his familiar deep-amber eyes fully opened.

"..." He stared at the unknown ceiling in front of him, still a bit dazed. Outside, he could barely hear the chirping of birds. "Where... Am I?"

"You're awake?" Suddenly, a deep voice came from beside Isaac's side. "You could rest a bit longer if you wished."

Isaac, who had just woken up from what felt like a long sleep, wanted to jump up in surprise. However, he didn't have much energy to do that.

As such, he only moved his eyes and looked at the side of his bed to look at who was with him.

Seeing who it was, Isaac was momentarily surprised before composing himself. "Monsieur Neuvillette?"

Sitting beside him, the impartial Chief Justice of Fontaine was quietly holding a glass of water. On his other hand was his cane which he always carries.

"You've been asleep for two whole days now." Seeing Isaac look at him, Neuvillette struck a conversation. "Are you alright?"

"I feel refreshed— good as new even," Isaac found an opportunity to lightly joke. He then mustered all his strength to sit up.

"Careful now." Seeing him sitting up, Neuvillette quickly gave a reminder. "The health professionals examined you and found that you were extremely fatigued and your body pushed to its limits."

"If Lady Furina hadn't dragged you and regrouped with Clorinde in time, you might have fallen into a much more critical state." He added with his eyes closed.

"Furina..." Hearing her name, Isaac's vague memory of what happened flashed through his mind.

'I only remember activating a new skill... And then...' Isaac had trouble remembering certain aspects of what happened, and every time he tried to remember, it was as if a portion of his memories were concealed.

After a while, he decided to give up on remembering. He then focused on other matters. "Lady Furina... Is she alright?"

"Apart from a concussion, she's perfectly fine." Neuvillette nodded calmly. "Though, she does need to stop making public appearances for a while and recover."

"That's good..." Hearing that she was safe, Isaac exhaled softly as he comfortably leaned back.

Looking at Isaac's gladdened face, Neuvillette observed him for a moment before opening his mouth.

"She wept."

"Hm?" Hearing Neuvillette's words, Isaac lifted his head and looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"She wept for you." Neuvillette's gentle and dignified voice once more fell on Isaac. "During the time you were asleep, she stayed by your side and wept."

"..." As Neuvillette's words reached his ears, Isaac couldn't help but fall silent for a moment or two. He then decided to ask, "Where is she?"

"She's recovering not too far from here," Neuvillette responded calmly. His eyes then opened revealing his dark-blue draconic eyes. "However, before you meet her, I have some questions for you."

"Of course, go on ahead, Monsieur Neuvillette." Isaac nodded. In front of this Dragon Sovereign, all he could do was follow what he said. "What do you want to ask?"

"I want you to tell me everything that happened in that cave." Neuvillette cradled his glass of water as he spoke. "Down to the minute detail."

"Of course," Isaac wasn't surprised by this question. He already knew that he'd be interrogated— he just didn't know that Fontaine's highest judge would be the one asking questions.

Isaac then began recalling what happened. "First, when I fell down the trap, I fell unconscious. By the time I woke up, I was already captured by someone."

"You were captured?" Neuvillette inquired deeply.

"Yes," Isaac nodded. "I didn't recognize his face because he wore a mask. I only know he was a man based on his voice."

"...Continue," Neuvillette said.

Isaac nodded and continued talking. "The man then walked up to me and started talking about his plans. He was like a madman."

"He said something about the Primordial Sea and how it ties to the prophecy." Isaac continued to fabricate his lie. "He then proceeded to explain how he wanted to experiment with the Seawater on a God."

"The Primordial Sea..." Hearing this term, Neuvillette fell into deep contemplation.

However, this didn't stop Isaac as he continued telling his fake story. "Maybe because he thought it would be fun, but he injected me with a dose of Sinthe— directly in my bloodstream— and watch him experiment on Furina."

"After that, everything went blurry." He said with the most believable face he could ever hope to muster. "It felt as if I was lost in a fog, with occasional lights appearing and giving glimpses to what was actually happening."

"And from what I remember..." Isaac then pretended to fall into deep thinking before nodding to himself. "Yes, I vaguely remember fighting the man with another person."

"There was someone else?" Neuvillette got curious and raised an eyebrow. "Do you remember who they were?"

"That's right," Isaac nodded without meditation. "I still remember how that person looked like... He suddenly appeared out of nowhere and, together with me, fought the person who captured me."

"I believe he said his name was..." Isaac then pressed his temples and looked as if he was forcing himself to remember. "Yes! His name was..."

"Gehrman."

What? Isaac found an opportunity to raise his image— and he wasn't going to let it go.

"Gehrman?" Neuvillette repeated the name and remembered it. "Hmm, I don't believe I'm aware of anyone by that name... Do you know more about them?"

"Apart from his gold-rimmed glasses, I didn't remember his face much." Isaac shrugged. "Again, I felt very foggy."

"That's lamentable..." Neuvillette sighed deeply that he couldn't get more information. "Do continue."

Isaac nodded and did just that. "We continued to fight the man and his Mekas, but as time went on, I started to get tired— possibly from the Sinthe's side effects."

"In the end, before I could kill the person that captured me and Furina, I was suddenly blinded by a thick fog— and before I knew it, the man named Gehrman took the culprit away." He shook his head in regret.

"That was pretty much all that happened." Isaac looked back to Neuvillette with sincere eyes as he finished speaking.

In truth, Isaac wanted to tell Neuvillette that he killed Vacher— however, that was suddenly ruled out when a new notification window appeared in front of him a moment ago.

[Notice.]

[One soul is currently trapped in the darkness of your Evernight Skill.]

[You may release them, keep them, or enslave them as you wish.]

As it turns out, Isaac still had uses for Vacher. Such an opportunity is hard to come by— as such, he would exploit it to the fullest.

"I see," Having absorbed all of Isaac's story, Neuvillette stood up. "Thank you for your cooperation, Sir Isaac."

"Thank you," Isaac said as he slowly got out of bed to stand in front of Neuvillette. "As for Lady Furina..."

"I believe she was at the rooftop, looking at the drifting clouds." Neuvillette lightly nodded.

"Thank you, Monsieur Neuvillette!" Isaac thanked him sincerely before weakly rushing out of the room.

Neuvillette watched him run comically and couldn't help but contemplate deeply. As he stared at Isaac's bed, he couldn't help but mutter to himself:

"They truly are alike."

* * *

Isaac navigated the hospital and made his way up the stairs— never losing momentum.

He passed by many other patients along the hallway and the stairs and saw all manners of hope and despair in their eyes.

As Isaac continued ascending, his thoughts couldn't help but wander.

In the beginning, he was a lethargic person who barely cared for any gods.

He openly admitted his hypocrisy but never once made fun of it. He also acknowledges his wrongs and never actively encourages them— albeit barely.

But during his time with two gods, his view of them drastically changed.

He went from not giving them a single care to openly and deeply rooting for two of them.

In just a span of a few weeks, he had greatly changed as a person.

As Isaac ran up, he finally reached the rooftop of the hospital and opened it without hesitation.

Woosh—*

It was a bright sunny day.

There were barely any clouds in the sky and only the ocean-blue skies filled what the eye could see.

Sitting down on one of the benches on the rooftop, a lone female figure whose silver-white hair swayed in the wind was present.

She seems to be deeply entranced by the sky.

'She's there...' Isaac saw her and, instead of interrupting her, thought of a brilliant idea.

He didn't make a sound and quietly approached her. Then, with a soft voice, whispered next to her ear, "Good morning, Lady Furina."

Hearing that familiar voice, Furina's eyes widened as she quickly turned her head— which immediately faced his. "You..."

She had never been more glad to see this person's face. At this moment, her bottled-up joy just wanted to burst out.

"You're fine..." Furina smiled softly, with a bit of moisture in her eyes.

Seeing her reaction, Isaac smiled softly before muttering, "...Do you want some tea over at my place?"

"...Yeah!" Furina smiled brightly at his invitation as she controlled her emotions.

That's right.

Isaac might have changed as a person, but his ultimate mindset never once changed.

His sole goal since the beginning is and will always be— giving Serenity.

Be it from the windswept lands of the nation of Anemo;

The lightning-filled ravines in the land of Electro;

To the Verdure-rich forests of the land of Dendro;

Be it any nation, Isaac's cafe would welcome them anytime as long as he has invited tickets.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the land of monoliths ruled by the Geo Archon.

"Wow! So this is Liyue Harbor!" A floating white fairy gasped in amazement as she looked at the city in front of her. "Traveler! Look! They're setting up stalls for the Rite of Descent! Isn't it cool?"

"Yeah..." Beside her, a blonde-haired traveler wearing exotic clothing stood. Their hair swayed in the wind as they overlooked the entire city.

"It's beautiful." The female traveler said in awe.

* * *

A/N:

The first volume is finally done! LESZ GOOOOOOOO

Woo! I'm tired.

As you all may have picked up from the last parts of this chapter, in the second volume, the traveler will now be introduced to the story!

As for how Isaac interacts with the traveler? Who knows? Maybe in the shadows or directly?

As always, that's just a theory!

Thank you, my friends!

Alright, amimir. Time to sleep.