The question hung in the impossibly clean air of the mountain abode. It was not a simple question. It was a spear, aimed directly at the heart of all my secrets. The woman—the Adeptus, Xianyun—stared at me, her ancient eyes seeing far more than the battered, fourteen-year-old boy in front of her.
My mind raced. A thousand lies, a thousand half-truths, rose up, but I knew they would be useless. This being was not a mortal I could fool with a clever story. Lying to her would be like trying to lie to the sky itself.
A blue screen flickered in my vision, a welcome friend in this moment of crisis.
[SYSTEM WARNING: Host is under intense spiritual scrutiny by a powerful Adeptus-class entity.]
[Probability of deception success: 0.03%.]
[RECOMMENDATION: Disclose partial, metaphorical truth. Revealing the concept of 'Reincarnation' or 'System' is NOT ADVISED. High risk of being classified as an otherworldly threat.]
The System was right. I couldn't tell her the whole truth, but a simple lie wouldn't work. I had to give her a piece of the real story, dressed in the language of this world.
I took a shaky breath. "I… am not sure what I am, honored Adeptus," I began, my voice honest. "I was born in Mondstadt. My name is Arthur. But I have always felt… split. Like there are two people inside me."
Xianyun raised a single, elegant eyebrow. The other woman, Shenhe, watched me from the corner, her cold expression unchanging, but I could feel her attention sharpen.
"There is the boy who was born in Mondstadt," I continued, "the one who learned to use a sword and was granted a Vision by the winds. But there is another part. A deeper, older part that feels like… an inheritance. A sleeping power that I was born with. It feels like a king's, a golden light. It is not a Vision. It is something else entirely. They are both me, but they are at war with each other. Using one power hurts the other."
It was the simplest, truest lie I could tell.
Xianyun was silent for a long moment, studying me. My heart hammered in my chest.
[SYSTEM ANALYSIS: Adeptus is processing the information. Deception not detected. Curiosity level is high.]
"A dual-souled being," she finally mused, more to herself than to me. "A mortal vessel containing both a nascent elemental spirit and a powerful, foreign ancestral echo. Highly improbable, yet not impossible in an age of such turmoil. This would explain the chaotic state of your energy."
She seemed to accept it. She hadn't seen the whole picture, but the piece I had shown her was strange enough to fit the puzzle of my condition.
"Very well, Arthur of Mondstadt," she said, her tone shifting from inquisitor to doctor. "Let us diagnose your ailments. One shall be clear, so listen well."
The System came alive, ready to record the information.
"First, the Abyssal Taint," she said, her expression becoming grim. "You have a splinter of the Void's power embedded in your soul. It is a spiritual poison. It will feed on your fear, your anger, your despair. It will whisper to you in your moments of weakness. If left unchecked, it will grow, corrupting your own energy until you become a monster of the Abyss yourself."
[SYSTEM ALERT: Status Effect [Abyssal Taint] has been updated.]
► New Details: A spiritual poison that feeds on negative emotions. Actively attempts to corrupt host's energy. Long-term exposure risks loss of self.
► New Quest Issued: [The Inner Wall]
► Objective: Suppress the Abyssal Taint and prevent its growth.
"To fight this," Xianyun continued, "one will teach you a basic Adeptal art. A breathing and meditation technique. It will help you build a 'wall' of spiritual energy around the taint, containing it. It is not a cure, but a cage. You must practice it daily, without fail."
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: New Skill available for acquisition: Adeptal Meditation (Level 1).]
"Second," she said, her gaze turning to my left arm, "your 'king's fire', as you call it. One can sense its immense power. It is like trying to hold the sun in a simple clay pot. Your body is not yet strong enough to be a proper home for such a power. Every time you use it, you crack the pot. You tear your own pathways. You must not use it again until your physical body is much stronger and your control is absolute."
[SYSTEM WARNING: Host's physical vessel is inadequate for [Mana Burst] output. Continued use at current level will lead to permanent physical damage.]
► Objective Added to [The Inner Wall]: Strengthen the Physical Vessel.
"Finally, your Anemo Vision," she finished, gesturing to the dull glass orb on my belt. "Its connection to you was damaged by your passage through the Abyss. It is also deafened by the deep, heavy song of Geo in these mountains. It is not broken, merely lost. It needs to be retuned. To do this, you must spend time in places of pure elemental energy. Let it remember the song of the world. It will awaken on its own when it is ready."
► Objective Added to [The Inner Wall]: Recalibrate the Anemo Vision.
The diagnosis was complete. It was a grim picture, but for the first time since the portal took me, I had a clear path forward. I had a quest.
Xianyun, seeing that I had absorbed her words, gave a slight nod. "One must now prepare some binding herbs for your taint. Shenhe, see that our guest has some sustenance. He is frail." With a graceful movement, the Adeptus turned and walked towards another part of her abode, leaving me alone with the silent, white-haired woman.
Shenhe moved with a quiet, deliberate grace. She returned a few moments later with a simple ceramic bowl filled with a clear, steaming soup. It smelled of mountain herbs and sweet flowers. She placed it beside me without a word.
The silence between us was not awkward. It was… calm. I drank the soup. It was warm and revitalizing, chasing away the last of the deep chill in my bones.
"My master says my soul is also a battleground," she said suddenly, her voice a soft, low monotone. She looked down at the red ropes tied around her own arms. "These ropes… they are my anchor. They help me hold back the part of me that wants to… destroy."
I looked at her, and then thought of the cold, whispering Abyssal Taint inside me. I thought of the burning, painful fire of my Mana Burst. I was a walking war, too.
"I think I'm starting to understand," I replied quietly.
A flicker of something—not quite a smile, but a softening of her cold expression—passed over her face.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Bond with entity 'Shenhe' has been established.]
► Current Level: Acquaintance (High degree of mutual understanding detected.)
Xianyun returned later, carrying a small, silk-wrapped package. "One has decided. You may remain here for three days. No more. This is an abode of study, not a permanent infirmary. Use these three days to recover your strength and learn the meditation one has taught you. After that, you must make your own way."
She placed the package in my lap. "Your clothes were rags. One has provided a replacement. They are more suited to travel in Liyue."
I opened it. Inside was a set of simple but incredibly durable traveler's clothes—dark trousers and a white tunic, similar in style to Shenhe's but without the intricate patterns. There was also a small pouch filled with fragrant, potent-smelling herbs.
"For your journey," Xianyun said. "They will help with the pain."
My new life, my new quest, was beginning. I was no longer a knight, no longer an agent. I was a survivor, a patient, and a student.
That evening, as a sea of clouds turned brilliant orange and pink in the setting sun, I sat on the edge of the floating isle. Following the instructions Xianyun had given me, I began the Adeptal Meditation for the first time. I controlled my breathing, focusing my mind, feeling for the cold, dark splinter of the Abyss within me. Then, I began to build the wall, a barrier of my own calm, clear energy. It was difficult, like trying to build a dam in a rushing river. The whispers fought back, the coldness resisted. But I persisted.
A new screen appeared in my vision.
[Skill: Adeptal Meditation (Level 1) is now active.]
[Progress to Level 2: 0.1%]
[Effect: [Abyssal Taint] corruption rate temporarily reduced by 5%.]
It was a small step, a tiny fraction of a percentage. But it was progress. It was the first brick in my new wall, the first step on the long road back to myself. I was no longer just falling. For the first time since the world had shattered, I was beginning to climb.