Chapter Text
After the dust had settled in Sumeru, the traveler had taken some time to accept a few commissions here and there, and explore as much as he could, before he had to move on to Fontaine.
He would need the mora in order to travel there from Qiaoyin village. Now that he's gathered more than enough, he's ready to move on—but not before saying a temporary goodbye to the friends he's made in Sumeru.
He and Paimon had visited just about everyone they could think of, and the last one remaining is Nahida, Sumeru’s archon.
They know exactly where to find her most of the time. They make their way to the Sanctuary of Surasthana, where she rests whenever she is in need of peace and quiet. The guards, already knowing who the traveler and Paimon are, easily let them through.
As the two enter the sanctuary, they notice the small silhouette of the Dendro Archon standing in front of the heart of the sanctuary, seemingly deep in thought. However, once she notices their presence, she turns around with a happy smile on her face.
“Traveler! Paimon!” She exclaims as she waves her tiny hand, and the traveler returns the gesture as Paimon floats excitedly towards her. “It’s been a while.”
“Yeah! We were wondering how you were holding up!” Paimon says, then, she and the traveler look around with curiosity. “You and the… wanderer. He doesn’t seem to be here, though…”
Truth be told, the traveler still has a difficult time knowing how to talk to that guy, even after everything that happened. He still wants to say goodbye out of politeness, but he already knows how it might go.
“Oh, right, I actually sent him away to the Akademiya this morning,” Nahida explains as she rests her hands on her hips. “There was a lecture going on that I thought he would be interested in.”
Paimon gasps. “Oh, right! He’s a Vahumana student now, isn’t he?” She asks, “Paimon still has a hard time believing that.”
“You’re pretty incredible for managing that,” the traveler says with a chuckle. “Although… I thought he was mostly supposed to work for you?”
Nahida giggles at their reactions. “He is!” She nods vigorously. “But well… There isn’t much to do at the moment. While there are still some things I want to investigate about the Irminsul, I have some… reservations about sending him back there. I’m sure you can guess why.”
“Yeah…” Paimon whines, and after a few seconds pass, her expression shifts completely while she changes the subject. “Oh, we actually came here to say goodbye! We have to go to Fontaine now, and since we always get roped up in everything that could possibly go wrong, we probably won’t be back for a while.”
“Fontaine! I wish you the best, then, and I do hope you'll find more information about your sister,” Nahida affirms, to which the Traveler gives a determined nod. “Do you have time for a meal together before you leave?”
Practically drooling, Paimon spins in circles. “Paimon always has time for a meal! Let’s go!”
The three make their way out of the sanctuary, temporarily blinded by the strong sunlight outside. It’s another sweltering day in Sumeru, and while the traveler enjoys the country greatly, he can say he’ll be relieved to leave the heat behind.
“I think the lecture is about to finish,” Nahida muses as she looks at the position of the sun. “What do you say we meet up with the wanderer outside of the Akademiya and bring him with us?”
Then, the traveler and Paimon look at each other, taking her suggestion into consideration. Paimon slowly turns to the Dendro Archon.
“Is he wearing the uniform?” She asks.
“Well… he had to, if he wanted to get in,” Nahida answers with a shrug. “Why do you ask?”
“Awesome! Paimon wants to go and make fun of him!” She exclaims as she starts floating away in the direction of the Akademiya. After a startled pause, Nahida follows closely behind.
“Be nice to him! I’m trying to make him lead a somewhat normal life now!” She yells, and her voice becomes quieter and quieter as she follows Paimon down the path.
Meanwhile, the traveler shakes his head and laughs lightly as he moves forward as well.
*
As the researcher announces the end of this lecture, the wanderer gets up from his seat in a corner of the large room, and packs up his belongings.
The subject was… interesting enough to warrant him taking that many notes, he thinks to himself as he looks at how full his notebook is. If Lesser Lord Kusanali had wanted for him to immerse himself in the atmosphere of the Akademiya, then she can be proud at how much he's managed to do despite how weak his desire was to even step foot in the building.
He’d refused many times before, when she had suggested it—but she clearly wouldn't stop as long as he didn’t give it a go.
The wanderer had never gone to school before. And now that he’s experienced it once, while it was an interesting few hours, he can’t imagine going there everyday . How do the students manage to accept living such boring lives?
The idea of writing a few more essays doesn’t sound too terrible; but going into the building itself… he’ll have to decline next time.
He walks out of the room after most of the students are gone, so as to not bump into any of the chatty ones and have the misfortune of causing them to try and start a conversation with him. The lecture had given him his dose of ramblings for the day.
As he walks out of the classroom to find himself in the grand hall of the Akademiya, he finds a familiar silhouette waiting by the fountain.
No. Three silhouettes.
His eyes widen as he recognizes the traveler and Paimon. He had somewhat expected that Lesser Lord Kusanali would find him here, but why do they have to be here too?
Paimon waves obnoxiously from where she is, laughing about something the wanderer has no interest in figuring out. But unfortunately, he knows he will soon enough.
“It’s you,” he mutters as the group approaches him. “Well, good morning. What brings you here?”
He can feel one of his eyebrows twitching as he asks the question. He'd be in a much better mood if he didn’t have to be seen in this stupid uniform by these two, of all people.
Before the traveler can speak, Paimon asks a question. “Do you accept constructive criticism on-”
“No.” The wanderer answers bluntly, putting on his fakest smile, so obviously fake that he hopes Paimon realizes how much he's fuming inside. “Goodbye.”
“Wait!” Nahida interrupts him by grabbing his sleeve to keep him here. “We were going to have lunch together at Lambad’s Tavern. Come with us, alright? I know you like their tea.”
The wanderer knows that, when Lesser Lord Kusanali decides to make him do something, she's capable of dragging him kicking and screaming until he accepts—figuratively speaking, at least. He has to wonder if the traveler even enjoys the idea of eating a meal with him. But so be it.
“ Fine.” The wanderer sighs. “Go ahead without me. I’ll go change and find you there in a few minutes.”
Nahida seems to accept his terms, if a little suspicious of them. The wanderer watches them leave the Akademiya from the corner of his eye as he makes his way out through one of the side exits, and he knows now would be his chance to run away into the wilderness and escape the entire situation, but…
He does want some tea.
*
As decided, the wanderer heads to Lambad’s Tavern once he’s changed back into his regular clothes.
The atmosphere here is the same as always; sunlight washing in through the stained glass windows, bathing the room into a calming golden glow. The fragrance of spices lingers in the air, from the kitchen, the vertical skewers and the various dishes on the tables, to the point of it being nearly overwhelming.
People chat loudly as they eat, and just as he's about to consider turning back and heading out, the tavern owner appears from behind him and places a hand on his shoulder.
“Hey, buddy!” Lambad greets him in a booming voice, and the wanderer shifts back from a few steps to put some distance between them. “Your friends and Lesser Lord Kusanali are waiting for you on the second floor!”
Oh, good. The second floor is usually much quieter, and the wanderer is thankful that they were considerate enough to get a table up there, even if he’s not sure that it was for his sake. With a tip of his hat to the tavern owner, he climbs up the staircase, to meet up with the three waiting for him.
“You’re late!” Paimon scolds him as Nahida simply pats the seat next to her, which he accepts with a nod. And once he's settled, he glares daggers at Paimon.
“Be grateful that I even showed up,” he says as he crosses his arms. Then, he turns his attention to the traveler. “So… you’re still in Sumeru, I see. Have you given up on looking for your sister?”
The traveler shakes his head. “We’re heading to Fontaine in a few days. We’re here to say goodbye to everyone.”
“Oh, and that included me ?” The wanderer puts his hand to his chest. “How thoughtful.”
Paimon whines in frustration. “You don’t sound sincere at all!”
“But I am,” he answers with a sigh. “You’ve made many friends in Sumeru. I didn't think you considered me one of them.”
Their chat is soon interrupted by the waiter coming to their table to take their order. To no one’s surprise, the traveler and Paimon order an extravagant amount of spicy food, and Lesser Lord Kusanali joins in. As for the wanderer, he doesn't need to eat—so he came here with the idea of just having some tea. But, upon closer inspection of the menu, he decides that he’ll have some charcoal-baked Ajilenakh cake as well. He finds that it’s the only bakery he somewhat enjoys.
As the food comes to the table, they heartily dig in, while the wanderer bites into the cake and leaves the jam to the side.
“So how’s life in Sumeru, anyway?” The traveler asks him in an attempt to start a conversation. The wanderer knows that it’s still difficult for most people to know what to talk about when he's around, so he appreciates the gesture, although he keeps it to himself.
“Mundane, these days,” the wanderer answers before taking a sip of his bitter tea. “I’ve been doing a lot of nothing.”
“That’s not true,” Nahida laughs, “you went to the cooking club the other day.”
“I was dragged there, thank you very much,” the wanderer tilts his head at her. “But believe it or not, I actually enjoy some moments of stillness.”
“Yeah, well, for a wanderer, you don't seem to be doing a lot of wandering!” Paimon interjects, and as much as the wanderer hates to admit it, there’s some truth to what she says—ever since he started his new life here about two months ago, he’s only explored a few remote areas of Sumeru without venturing much further. Truth be told, he feels some ties to this place; mostly related to the debt he’s been repaying to the Dendro Archon.
He’s not meant to go anywhere else anyway. For now, at least.
Although, there’s something that’s been on his mind…
“Oh, that reminds Paimon,” the floating fairy exclaims, snapping the wanderer out of his thoughts. “We went further into the desert last week! Let Paimon tell you how it went down…”
Good. If Paimon can take the attention off of him, he’ll gladly listen to whatever stories she and the traveler may have to tell. With one attentive ear. The thought of a future conversation with Lesser Lord Kusanali is still on his mind, but it will have to wait.
*
Later in the day, after the traveler and Paimon leave Sumeru, the wanderer decides that it’s time to speak to Lesser Lord Kusanali about what he’s been thinking about for the past few days.
The Dendro Archon sits on the railing of the balcony just below the Sanctuary of Surasthana, while the wanderer leans against it, back turned away from the distant scenery. They enjoy a moment of silence, until he decides to bring up the matter with no preface; he considers those a waste of time.
“...It didn’t appear to you that the traveler went to Inazuma recently, did it?”
The sudden question has Nahida turning to face him. A short silence passes, and when she realizes that he won’t elaborate before she speaks, she shrugs.
“I don’t think so. Why do you ask?”
“On the day I… came back, I asked him to let the descendants of the Raiden Gokaden know about what I did in the past,” he explains after a sigh, “but he hasn’t said anything about that.”
Nahida nods along. “Ah, indeed. If he had, I believe he would’ve told us.” Her gaze finds itself back to the distant forests, and the evening glow on the trees.
With a click of his tongue, the wanderer hides his face from view by tipping his hat.
How troublesome. It’s not yet time for the curtains to lower over your agonizing body.
The voice in his head startles him—but he supposes it shouldn’t anymore.
Indeed, ever since he erased himself from the Irminsul, he’s been hearing those voices inside his head, belonging to his past incarnations. The Balladeer is the most violent one, usually. He’s never let go of his apathy and bitterness, as if those feelings were suspended in time, unable to be changed. He tries to ignore it—he doesn’t want Nahida to know about this.
He hadn’t planned on saying anything more after receiving her answer. But, as he should’ve expected, Nahida doesn’t let the conversation end here.
“You seem perturbed by this.” A saddened frown finds its way on her features. “You won’t find rest until they know… is that it?”
The wanderer scoffs. “Quite literally. I thought I had made that clear to him.”
Her shoulders sinking, Nahida kicks her feet, letting them dangle over the railing. “It seems to me that this is your duty, don’t you think?” She utters, and the wanderer’s head turns sharply to stare at her in confusion. “You’re the one responsible, after all.”
“Hah. I would, if I weren’t your prisoner,” the wanderer answers with a bitter scoff. Nahida instantly sighs, as if she’d already had more than enough of this line of reasoning.
“Okay. You are.” The way she squints at him betrays her—she doesn’t say these words with any sincerity. “Then you have my permission to leave Sumeru.”
The wanderer’s breath hitches in his throat, and his eyes snap wide open.
“What?”
“You heard what I said, didn’t you? How are you to find the descendants of the Raiden Gokaden if you stay here?” She asks as a playful smile draws itself across her lips. “So, if you wish to leave for some time, feel free to do so.”
The wanderer’s stare drops down to the ground. “For some time, huh…”
He knows it already; if anything has to lead to his end, it must be the descendants’ revenge.
His hands ball into fists. He knows that it’s exactly what he deserves after everything he did. And while there's some natural apprehension eating at him, he can’t simply run away. He will face whatever fate has written for him.
“Well. I’m sure you already know what this implies, God of Wisdom,” the wanderer turns to her, and she nods solemnly. “But…you’re right. Thank you for what you've done for me. I know that the work I've done these past two months surely isn’t enough to repay my debt to you, and yet, I know I have to do this.”
There seems to be something on her mind, as she lets the silence drag on for some time. After a sigh, she speaks up again. “You always speak of debts and balance, wanderer, I've already told you that there's no such thing between us,” she says, “if you have found a purpose, then please, do what you must to achieve it. But remember to keep in touch.”
She taps her own temple with a smile. Right, telepathic communication…
It’s somewhat reassuring to know that he’ll still be able to talk to her even when he's in distant lands. And while he's not sure he can call this entire endeavor a ‘purpose’, he supposes that's the sole reason why he wants to return to Inazuma for now.
“I will,” he affirms with a determined nod. “Then, Lesser Lord Kusanali… I’ll be gone tomorrow morning.”
After a few words of goodbyes, Nahida watches the wanderer leave; his sleeves swept up by the breeze, he makes his way down into the city.
As her hands drop to her sides, she thinks to herself. She knows that the wanderer isn’t doing this just to bring closure to the descendants. But the world, the people in it and all the feelings they carry—none of those things are as black and white as he believes. If only he could realize that… the weight on his soul would be so much lighter. Maybe, then, he could start looking towards the future, rather than the past.
But she can no longer intervene now. It’s time he takes his destiny into his own hands.
*
The wanderer doesn’t need many traveling supplies; he doesn’t need to eat or sleep, and so he supposes the only mora he’ll need will be for transportation.
The fastest way to go from Sumeru to Inazuma is through Port Ormos. It’ll likely be a long journey still, but he has more than enough time, after all. It already takes him about a day to reach the port, so the moon has already risen by the time he arrives. He had heard from Nahida that this place was extremely busy during the day, something he's thankful he doesn’t have to experience now, when most are already asleep.
He eventually finds an Inazuman ship, docked until departure. On it, a sign indicates that it will leave the port at around four in the morning to arrive in Ritou in five days’ time.
It’s still a few hours before the ship’s departure, so he decides to take a walk around the port to pass the time.
Being here reminds him of his Fatui days, as sour as it is to recall such things. He’d never been sent on any mission to Sumeru before, but he would often have to go through the port of Providenija to travel to other regions back when he lived in Snezhnaya. His travels by boat were often the only times he was allowed some peace, away from the rest of the Harbingers and from the Abyss.
He would stand alone on the deck during cold nights, and he knew, then, that no one would bother him, as he was one of the few people who could handle such cold without even wearing a coat.
But the memory of the black, starless night sky leaves behind a terrible feeling, like a rope tying itself into knots in his abdomen. It was an empty void that threatened to swallow him whole. He would’ve let it, at the time, if he hadn’t been tied down by his responsibilities as the sixth Fatui Harbinger.
Here, the port and the appearance of the ships give off an aura of freedom, something he has much more of now, yet doesn’t think he deserves. Perhaps it's why he hasn't been making much use of it.
He finds that reminiscing about these days is still too painful. But at a time like this, all shops in Port Ormos are closed, and there is nothing to distract himself with.
So he settles on sitting on one of the docks, watching the other ships come and go.
*
Kazuha had visited Liyue Harbor many times before, as it’s often where he goes to catch the Alcor if he needs to. But the bustling city never ceases to impress him.
The scenery is one he'd like to comment on as well, however, his current trip here isn’t entirely meant for him to enjoy the beauty of the country or for him to write poetry about. Indeed, ever since he’d decided to revive the Isshin art, he'd been going around multiple nations to try and learn techniques from experienced blacksmiths.
He barely has any knowledge of the techniques his ancestors used to forge swords, to his chagrin, but he supposes introducing something new into the art isn’t such a terrible thing. Times are ever-changing—and since he wasn't ready to abandon his nomadic lifestyle just yet, he takes these opportunities to meet all kinds of people, and to learn as much as he can.
Master Zhang at Hanfeng’s Ironmongers had kindly accepted to give him a few lessons on the subject, which Kazuha happily takes; although he's rather embarrassed at his inability to forge a proper sword just yet. It doesn’t help that putting so much effort on his scarred hand tends to hurt him after some time.
“No, you're holding it wrong,” the blacksmith interrupts Kazuha in his endeavors. “And your grip on the hammer isn’t strong enough! Step aside for a moment.”
Kazuha nods and does as he's told. “Thank you kindly, sir,” he says, and watches the master at work.
He can see what kind of movements he needs to do, what kind of efforts he has to put in. Whenever it’s his turn to work on a blade, he believes he mirrors exactly what he sees; and yet, all of his blades come out dull, or crooked, full of imperfections.
And this one is no exception. After another hour of work, he unfortunately comes out with yet another barely usable sword, which he decides to give back to the blacksmith so that he may smelt it once again and re-use the iron.
If the blacksmiths knew that he had a hand in creating his own sword, Kagotsurube Isshin, they surely wouldn’t believe him—understandably so. His memory of refining it is still a blur, as he was possessed by the sword’s spirit at the time. If only he had retained some information from that moment…
He knows that such things take time, but without a proper and more regular teacher, learning this art is a true challenge. Kazuha leaves the workshop to head down to the docks once again, where Beidou is already gathering the goods the Alcor will be importing from Liyue this time.
As some members of the Crux shop for food, she looks over the cargo, accompanied by one of the warehouse staff members who crosses the items off a list.
“Looks like we’re still missing the ink,” Beidou mutters after looking through the goods. “When did you say the shipment was coming?”
Sheepish, the warehouse worker taps her temple with the tip of her pencil. “Ah, that should be tomorrow…”
“It’s already two days late!” Beidou answers, and a frown darkens her brow. “I might go grab it from Qingce myself at this point, that’ll be quicker- oh, Kazuha!”
He smiles as he approaches her, though all he gets in return is a grimace as she looks him up and down.
“Is something wrong, Captain?” He asks
“Why don’t you check out your reflection in the water or something?” Beidou barks out a laugh. “You look like you just rolled right out of the chasm.”
A quick glance at his clothes is enough to tell him that he must be absolutely unsightly after his lesson at Hanfeng Ironmongers. “You’re right, I’ll go wash off,” he says, then raises his gaze back up. “Where are we going next?”
Beidou gestures to the goods, as if they were supposed to help Kazuha in figuring out their destination. But he has to admit, he doesn’t pay much attention to those things.
“We’re going to Inazuma. Narukami Island first, and then we’ll have to make a detour to Watatsumi Island for a commission.”
Returning to his homeland for a bit doesn’t sound too bad to Kazuha, even if he doesn’t think he'll stay for very long. He’ll figure out where he'll go on his own next, but for now, going wherever the Alcor is going is rather convenient. “We should be able to visit Gorou and Lady Kokomi, then.”
“Sure!” Beidou exclaims before gesturing for him to run off. “Now go wash that face!”
Kazuha could go to the bathhouse for this, but he's not currently in the mood to take a bath with strangers around; and he much prefers washing in a river anyway. During his stays in Liyue, he usually goes to a nearby lake just behind Mount Tianheng whenever he feels the need to. As he settles on the bank, he finally bends down to look at himself in the water.
Beidou wasn’t exaggerating. It’s not just that his clothes are disheveled, with his haori tied down and the top half of his Kimono dusty and stained, his hair is a mess as well; the furnace at the workshop had caused him to sweat quite a bit, and now, his hair sticks to his forehead, and his ponytail is almost completely undone.
Well, nothing a bath can’t fix.
He takes off all his clothes, and undoes the bandage around his arm, wincing slightly as his burn scars come into contact with the air. They feel particularly sensitive today. He then dips into the cool water, breathing deeply as he relaxes completely.
Being by himself in his moment allows him to let his thoughts trail off.
He is attached to his homeland, so going back to Inazuma doesn’t displease him. However, he can’t help but find it bittersweet, every time he goes there; some of his closest friends live permanently in that country, so meeting with them always means that they’ll have to part once again, and that he’ll return to traveling alone for another long period of time.
Make no mistake, Beidou and the Crux are a delightful bunch to go out to sea with. But in moments like these, he feels that the sounds of nature would go well with the voice of another person who shares his ideals. Someone who he could speak to at any moment of his journey, and not just while on the Alcor or visiting a specific region.
It’s a subtle melancholy, a certain loneliness that follows him wherever he goes; but it would be selfish of him to wish for someone to tie themselves down to him . A wanderer’s life is such : drifting into the wind, wherever it may lead them next, with no particular destination in mind.
And for now, he will let the wind lead.