As the abundance of sea beast meat was being processed, Xiangling conducted some research and proposed starting the Moonchase Festival celebrations early. Between the fresh sea beast harvest and the existing stock of monster meat, there were more than enough supplies to host a grand ten-day festival.
She sought out Su Han to share her vision. "We can start preparations today and begin the promotions tomorrow!"
"Go for it," Su Han agreed. "With this much meat, we can host a truly magnificent event and invite guests from all over. I've already sent word to Ioroi and the others... everyone should celebrate Moonchase together."
Looking at the excited little chef, Su Han felt a wave of nostalgia. In his original world, the Moonchase Festival was the Mid-Autumn Festival—a time for reunion. Now, living in a foreign land, returning home was a distant dream.
Sensing his shift in mood, Shenhe hugged him gently from behind. "I know you miss your family," she whispered, "but we are your family now, the kind that will never leave you."
"I know," Su Han replied, moved as he squeezed her hand. He had built a home here, filled with people he cherished. It was time to focus on the present.
That afternoon, Xiangling began directing the Ministry of Civil Affairs to draft the advertisements. The commercial districts were to be prepped for a massive influx of visitors. Moonchase was Liyue's grandest tradition, and it had to be spectacular.
When the news broke, merchants and commoners alike were ecstatic. Festivals meant booming business and extra income for the laborers. In Mondstadt, the news even reached the construction site of the new city near the Divine Dragon's burial site.
Klee, sitting in her small plane, immediately turned to Amber. "Big Sister, Klee is going to Liyue for the festival! Hehehe!"
"Go on then," Amber laughed. "I'll catch up once the work here is finished." Amber then began penning a letter to her long-distance friend Collei, hoping to invite her for a reunion in Liyue.
The Gathering of Friends
In Inazuma, the camps at Araumi were bustling. Kagome, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo had all arrived in Teyvat for a fifteen-day vacation granted by Su Han.
"This world is so beautiful!" Kagome's mother exclaimed as they stepped through the gate.
"Our holiday is half a month," Kagome explained. "We can visit any of the three allied nations, but stay away from the borderlands. This world is far more dangerous than it looks."
Shiori, the half-demon child of the Tsukuyomi clan, followed closely. Her barrier techniques had progressed so rapidly that neither Sango nor Miroku could break through them now. With pockets full of Mora earned from their duties at Kaede's village, the group was ready to explore.
Sango decided on Liyue, while Shippo chose Watatsumi Island to see the fabled underwater cities. Miroku, true to form, aimed for Mondstadt in hopes of "encountering a pure maiden to end his bachelorhood," earning him looks of pure disgust from his companions.
Kagome took her family through the teleportation gate at Tenshukaku directly to the Jade Chamber. Since they held official tokens and were known to Kikyo, the guards didn't interfere.
When Kagome's mother saw Kikyo, she froze, staring at the face so similar to her daughter's. Without a word, she stepped forward and embraced the miko, patting her back with a mother's warmth. Surprisingly, Kikyo did not pull away; it was a tenderness she had never known in her previous life.
The Truth of the Stars
As night fell, a lone girl stood at the highest point of the Jade Chamber, gazing at the sky. Mona held a star chart in her hands, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"The charts are getting more chaotic," she sighed. "I can't even see the trajectory of things anymore. Maybe... I should give up being an astrologer."
"What's wrong, little one?" a sultry voice asked. Lisa, the Librarian of the Knights of Favonius, walked out from the shadows.
"The horoscopes have changed for everyone who meets Su Han," Mona explained. "My mother taught me that changing the stars brings misfortune, so I've always been blunt with my readings. But now, the people around him are defying their fates for the better, while my years of study seem... useless."
Lisa nodded thoughtfully. "I knew this would happen. Our 'original' fates were quite bleak. Take Rosalyne (Signora), for instance. If she hadn't met Su Han, she likely wouldn't have survived another year."
"She was fated for a tragic death," Mona agreed quietly.
"But have you considered," Lisa countered, "that there is more to the stars than just prophecy? Astrology lets you peek at the future, but it's just one facet. When I spoke with Su Han about the 'Great Primordial' worlds, I learned that beyond the sun and moon, there is a power that permeates everything: the power of the Stars themselves."
Lisa stepped closer, her eyes glowing with wisdom. "Mona, your true element is not Water. It is the Stars. If you can grasp that, you will transcend even the Adepti."
Mona trembled. The power of the Stars?
Her Vision was a Hydro one, but she realized that Water was merely the medium the gods gave her to interact with the world. Astrology was just looking at the stars, but the stars were always there, day or night, whether the chart was clear or not.
"I need to grasp the power of destiny itself," Mona whispered. She gathered her star charts and immediately departed for Dragonspine. She wanted to be closer to the sky, to the true essence of the cosmos.
She didn't want a Hydro core. She wanted to condense a Stellar Core. Because more than the tides or the rain, she loved the infinite light of the stars.
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