"Sure," Kairo said, lifting a brow. He tapped Lumine's and Paimon's shoulders lightly.Ripples of force unfurled—weightless, quick, precise. Both of them felt as if they'd been wrapped in a buoyant current."Hehe! This feels great!" Paimon looped once in the air. "I can totally fly faster!"Lumine flexed her fingers, testing her steps, and nodded. "Just like before. Your ability is incredible, Kairo."He only smiled.Then Paimon's eyes slid to the skewers on his table. "We'll go ahead! But save some food for us, okay? We'll be right back!"Lumine added, amused, "Paimon's right. Leave something on the plate when we get back."They turned and bolted from Good Hunter, light as wind.Kairo watched them disappear and huffed a laugh. "As expected—food takes priority." He looked at the steaming skewers and sighed in mock defeat, lifting one. "Fine. I'll save you some."With the Ripple Technique and Anemo underfoot, Lumine and Paimon became streaks of motion, a mirage swallowing city blocks in heartbeats."Whoosh!"By the time passersby processed the sound, the figures were gone."What was that?!""A gust? No, I saw someone!""No one runs that fast—unless… a Vision user?""Even with Anemo, you'd fly faster than you run!"Speculation rose and fell like eddies in the street, but no answer could catch up.Outside Mondstadt—toward Windrise.Lumine's steps found no resistance; it was like becoming wind, each stride slipping into the next. Paimon kept pace in the air, the buff pushing her far past her usual cruise speed—too far."Ahhh—! Too fast, too fast!" Paimon clung to Lumine's shoulder. "Slow down! I can't keep straight!""You did say you wanted to hurry," Lumine said, smiling—and sped up.Leaves trembled as they passed, birds burst from branches, and the great oak of Windrise rose ahead like a silhouette against the night.The ancient tree stood sentinel over the field—moonlight dappled through its canopy, the air full of grass and clean earth, the wind playfully lifting a stray leaf or two.Beneath it, a green-cloaked youth stood listening to the breeze. He tilted his head slightly, sensing two very familiar presences.By the time he turned, Lumine and Paimon were already there."Eh?" Venti's teal eyes widened. "You followed… and you got here that fast?"He studied Lumine more closely. A faint, unusual current still clung to her—not pure Anemo, but a foreign cadence. Path power. Different from Teyvat's elements.So it appeared again."You were just in the city," Venti said, casual voice hiding a keen focus."We were," Paimon panted, then beamed. "But thanks to Kairo, we made it here super fast!""Kairo," Venti repeated, thoughtful. So this was his doing—bestowing power like a blessing. Much like he could grant wind to another… yet it wasn't wind."You're covered in that power again," he murmured. "Not elemental energy—something outside Teyvat altogether."His gaze sharpened. "That would mean Kairo commands two kinds of force. One that mimics the fleetness of Anemo… and another, more destructive pulse I've felt before. Perhaps you and Kairo are both from other worlds—just not the same one."Paimon and Lumine traded looks. This speed wasn't theirs; it came from Kairo. Otherworlder? But Kairo had said he grew up in Mondstadt. On the way here they'd even asked about his past.Yet the bard's words stirred an odd warmth of kinship in Lumine's chest."Ahem!" Paimon pivoted. "Anyway! We came to ask about the Anemo Archon!"Venti's smile turned mischievous. "Barbatos? That fellow… has long since vanished from Mondstadt.""Huh?""Vanished?" Paimon and Lumine blinked in sync.He pressed on, airy as ever. "Liyue's Geo Archon, Inazuma's Electro Archon—people still speak of them. But Mondstadters? Most haven't seen their god for ages. If not for bards, the young might never hear his stories at all."His tone lightened. "But tell me—why ask after the Archon? Is it because of Dvalin?""Someone told me the truth about the dragon," Lumine said plainly.Venti's eyes smiled. "Oh? And how does Lisa of the Knights read the matter?"Lumine summarized the librarian's take. Venti pinched his chin, considering. "Mm. If it's come to this, both sides have already drawn steel."He glanced up. "And… it seems some things here are unhappy that I've returned."A laugh, and then—The wind spiked.Fallen leaves rose and wheeled into tight vortices. The oak's limbs shuddered, sighing like an old tale told again."Whoaaa! That's strong!" Paimon clung to Lumine. "My eyes are watering!"Air twisted and condensed with a thump, luminous dust spiraling around a pulsing core. Slicing drafts skittered like invisible blades, and a translucent sphere took shape—ringed by razor-thin wind.Paimon squinted. "That thing… shouldn't spawn here!""What is it?" Lumine asked, blade coming free.Venti didn't move. His smile was maddeningly calm. "An Eye of the Storm—a creature born in tempests. It's pure Anemo given shape; feel how the green glow throbs at its core, the wind blades orbiting it? Each pulse cuts. Careless steps will be carved to ribbons."Lumine didn't hesitate. She dashed in—sword strokes whistling, her Anemo lashes smacking directly into the Eye.Normally, Anemo against Anemo would barely scratch; the Eye's own gale should blunt and shrug most of it off.But tonight, its surface currents felt… hollow, like a mirage. Her strikes hammered through. In moments, the spinning sphere shattered into so many harmless wisps.Paimon gaped. "You used Anemo the whole time and it didn't resist at all. Its wind was like—decorations!""It should be highly resistant…" Lumine said, frowning. "But it felt light—unstable.""If Kairo were here," Paimon sighed, "one weapon buff and you'd have popped it in a single hit!"Venti's eyes crinkled. "Seems the wind's change is troubling more than just the dragon."He looked back to Lumine. "So. Someone told you the dragon's past. Lisa's theory is neat enough. In truth, once matters reached this pitch, both sides chose force."His fingers toyed with a lyre string, a single note floating between leaves."Answers, a dragon's pain, a missing god… If you want the rest, meet me again—and bring Kairo."He tilted his head toward the ancient trunk, listening to something only he could hear."At dawn. Beneath the great oak."The breeze carried his voice into the field, and the night seemed to lean closer in anticipation.Next: Dawn under Windrise—the bard's plan, a 'long-lost friend', and whether Kairo's unseen power can calm a dragon the wind itself no longer understands.
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