She'd run. Fled again...
Though Nahida had assured her she had a way to escape, and Lumine knew an Archon didn't need her to worry about their safety—even if Dottore was stronger than Nahida, he wouldn't dare harm her openly, lest he become a pariah across all of Teyvat.
But none of that changed the reality: she had chosen to flee in the face of battle. This was the second time.
Lumine's "Invincible Heart" felt like it was shattering into dust. Right now, she only felt weak, utterly powerless to protect anyone.
After escaping the Akademiya, Lumine sprinted wildly, taking a long, circuitous route to ensure no one was following before finally heading toward the Homayani residence.
Yet, as she drew closer, a powerful sense of unease began to churn within her.
When Lumine saw the Homayani residence's main gate flung open and the courtyard utterly deserted, a violent tremor ran through her.
After a thorough search, she found only a ransacked house with no one in sight. Lumine's mental defenses shattered. She slid powerlessly against the wall, her eyes vacant and unfocused.
Within a single day, everyone around her had met with disaster. The blow was too heavy for Lumine to bear, making her wonder if this was all just a nightmare.
Yes, this must be a dream...
Without realizing it, she had already pressed the Dull Blade to her neck. Back when the dream had grown bizarre and absurd, she had used this method to break free from that loop.
But this time was different. This was the first time, while everything seemed horrifyingly real, that she had felt the urge to end it all.
The next second, a green-clad figure shot toward her, low to the ground. Before Lumine could react, he seized the Dull Blade in her hand.
"When things go wrong, you think of dying instead of how to save them?"
The sharp question snapped Lumine back to her senses. She looked up at the man before her.
Seeing the man in Akademiya robes, Lumine immediately tensed. A powerful surge of Dendro Elemental Power erupted from her.
The man was forced back two steps by the aura. He frowned slightly before quickly regaining his composure.
The stronger she is, the better, he thought. It makes my intervention worthwhile.
Lumine tightened her grip on the Dull Blade, simultaneously relieved she hadn't followed through with her earlier impulse and confused by the man before her.
He had short gray hair and wore the uniform of the Akademiya. The exposed skin on his arms revealed tightly packed, defined muscles. There was no doubt—he had to be a Matra!
A Matra ambushed me? They must think I'm a pushover!
Wait... this person might know where they took Dunyarzad and the others. I'll just have to interrogate him!
With that thought, Lumine's figure blurred. In the blink of an eye, she appeared before the man, pressing the Dull Blade against his neck.
The man glanced down at the blade on his throat, then looked up at Lumine with a completely bewildered expression. If I remember correctly, he thought, wasn't I the one who just saved her?
Her strength was beyond terrifying; he hadn't even been able to track Lumine's movements as she closed in.
Of course, Lumine wasn't feeling great either. He'd already shown a glimpse of his power, and she knew he was a tough opponent.
Makes sense, she thought. He wouldn't have dared to ambush me alone if he wasn't strong.
To gain the upper hand, she'd forcibly unleashed a burst of power, and now she was panting from the exertion.
But no matter what, she'd caught him!
With that thought, Lumine glared at him fiercely.
"Who are you? Where did you take the Homayani Family?!"
What, not talking? Don't blame me for what happens next!
After being inexplicably slapped twice with the flat of the Dull Blade, the man finally dropped his aloof act and spoke quickly.
"Stop hitting me! My name is Alhaitham. I'm here to help you."
"I was the Akademiya's Scribe, but now I'm a wanted man. If you still have your Akasha Terminal, you can look up my bounty—and while you're at it, you can check how much yours is worth."
Alhaitham introduced himself at lightning speed, and Lumine finally paused.
Then, her gaze fell upon his toned, muscular physique, and a surge of anger washed over her—the feeling of being utterly played.
Scribe? Who are you kidding?!
Looks like you're just asking for a beating. Maybe that'll make you talk!
After being slapped twice more with the flat of the Dull Blade, Alhaitham finally lost his patience. He instantly channeled Dendro Elemental Power to pull himself away, successfully escaping Lumine's clutches.
Now a safe thirty-nine meters away, Alhaitham breathed a sigh of relief. Surely I'm safe now, he thought.
But in the next instant, the Dull Blade suddenly crackled with immense Electro Elemental Power. It elongated rapidly, stretching to a full forty meters before swinging straight for him...
Five minutes later, Lumine shot Alhaitham an apologetic look. His face, visibly swollen on both sides, was drawn long and grim. Anyone who'd kindly saved someone only to be slapped dozens of times would be in a foul mood.
What infuriated Alhaitham even more was learning that Lumine had attacked him because she'd mistaken him for a Matra and was trying to interrogate him about the others' whereabouts.
Dammit, if you wanted to know something, why didn't you just ask?!
Alhaitham suspected Lumine was doing it on purpose, but he couldn't hold out against her relentless bowing. Each bow was a perfect ninety degrees, creating a strange, compelling urge to forgive her.
Alhaitham shook his head and finally spoke.
"I'll let this slide."
The injuries aren't serious, he thought, but the story is just too damn embarrassing to tell.
"The Homayani Family has indeed been arrested by the Akademiya," he continued. "The charge is harboring wanted criminals."
"You've all been far too conspicuous, showing your faces all over Sumeru City."
"Sumeru City isn't that large. Even if you were careful about being followed on your way back, the news that you were still in the city had already spread."
"There aren't many people who could provide you with shelter. It would have taken the Akademiya only a little effort to trace you to the Homayanis."
Hearing Alhaitham's explanation, Lumine finally understood. They had been under surveillance all along. The Akademiya had simply been waiting for the right moment to round them all up in one fell swoop.
But a new question quickly surfaced in her mind: How did Alhaitham know all this?
Alhaitham: "..."
So you didn't hear a single word I said before, did you?
Alhaitham sighed, suddenly feeling that approaching Lumine for a collaboration had been far too rash. She was undeniably powerful, but her mind... might not be the sharpest. He worried that teaming up with her would only end up dragging him into a disaster.
In comparison, he thought, my other collaborator is much smarter. It's just that his words can easily give you third-degree frostbite.
"I came to discuss a collaboration with you."
Ultimately, considering he had no other options, Alhaitham pinched the bridge of his nose and resigned himself to it.
"We share a common enemy. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Therefore, I want to discuss a plan with you to overthrow the Akademiya."
Overthrow the Akademiya again?
Please, no. How many times has it been already?
"Don't you want to save your companions?" Alhaitham quickly reminded her, noticing her distinct lack of interest.
As expected, upon hearing this, Lumine's expression immediately turned serious.
Seeing that Lumine finally showed some willingness to cooperate, Alhaitham began to explain his plan.
It involved pretending to be captured by the Akademiya, then using the Archon's Canned Knowledge to plant a virus in Great Sage Azar's Akasha Terminal, and finally...
The more Lumine listened, the brighter her eyes grew. This plan was far more reliable than anything she'd heard before.
Moreover, Alhaitham had pinpointed the most crucial issue: to overthrow the Akademiya, they first had to rescue Nahida.
Only by freeing Nahida and having her stall Dottore would they have a chance at success.
Nahida is just too modest, Lumine thought. She claimed she was no match for Dottore, yet she managed to hold him off long enough for me to escape.
If even Nahida's consciousness is that powerful, I'm sure that when she fights Dottore with her own body, she'll absolutely crush him!
At that moment, Nahida, hidden within the Akasha, suddenly shivered with a bone-chilling cold, as if she'd been targeted by something... unclean.
Dottore must be coming for her.
At that thought, Nahida quickly concealed herself even more thoroughly. After all, she truly stood no chance against Dottore...
-
Meanwhile, after reaching a preliminary agreement, Alhaitham secretly led Lumine out of Sumeru City to a temporary camp set up nearby. There, Lumine finally met their other collaborator.
He had short white hair, red eyes, and healthy, sun-kissed skin. He wore a jackal-headed headdress adorned with a genuine Eye of God symbolizing the Sun God, and a gold ornament resembling an ancient Egyptian broad collar hung on his chest.
Noticing their arrival, he walked over.
"Hello. I'm Cyno, the General Mahamatra of the Akademiya."
Cyno approached Lumine and greeted her.
"I hear you've traveled to Mondstadt."
"You might have heard of me there. After all, they have plenty of 'Great Anemo Mechanisms' too."
Lumine: "..."
Spy-...
The temperature in the air plummeted several degrees in an instant. Lumine couldn't help but shiver.
Cold. So cold. Unbearably cold!
No wonder Alhaitham had warned her to dress warmly. This was the reason.
Alhaitham, however, was already accustomed to this scene. He stood to the side, arms crossed over his chest.
"Traveler, guess what Alhaitham's favorite small animal is?"
Hearing Cyno's question, even Alhaitham's expression darkened slightly.
Seriously? He won't even spare me when I'm just standing here?
"It's a cat! Because he's Al-haith-hiss!"
Lumine shivered violently again, feeling the air around her begin to freeze solid.
"Who's the dirtiest creature in all of Teyvat?"
"A Cryo Slime! Because it only stands on water and never falls in to take a bath!"
Lumine sneezed, pulling her clothes tighter around herself. Frost was already forming on her face!
"Traveler, what do you call—"
Stop, stop! I don't want to hear it!
Lumine finally couldn't take it anymore and bolted. She was afraid she'd turn into an ice sculpture if she listened any longer.
"Wait, Traveler! I have so many more jokes to tell you!"
Hearing Cyno's call, Lumine quickened her pace, desperate to escape.
Only after she and Alhaitham had put some distance between them did she finally convey her thoughts with a desperate look.
How long has Cyno been... like this?
"It started a long time ago," Alhaitham replied. "He's probably a lost cause by now."
Hearing Alhaitham's answer, Lumine abandoned any hope of "curing" Cyno. She then grew puzzled. Why would Alhaitham partner with such a master of bad puns?
"He was originally sent to capture me," Alhaitham explained. "He chased me across most of Sumeru."
"But later, he couldn't stand what the Akademiya was doing, so he gave up on bringing me to justice and chose to cooperate with me instead."
"Of course," Alhaitham added, "the fact that none of our battles ever produced a clear winner also played a significant role."
He then recounted the entire saga of his complicated history with Cyno. Lumine listened with rapt attention, so engrossed she might as well have been munching on sunflower seeds while he spoke.
Alhaitham sighed softly, feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over him.
"If Cyno had doubts about the Akademiya's methods before, he's now firmly on the side of overthrowing their regime."
"What the Akademiya did this time... they truly crossed the line."
Even Alhaitham's usually calm face twisted with anger. He recalled the news he'd gathered earlier: to rid themselves of the massive burden of the Restricted Zone, the Akademiya had directly eliminated over ninety percent of its population.
Tens of thousands of people! The Akademiya had abandoned them without a second thought. The sheer callousness of it sent a bone-deep chill through both Alhaitham and Cyno, fueling their intense fury.
After committing this utterly inhumane act, the Akademiya directly blamed all the deaths on a COVID outbreak, deceiving the entire population of Sumeru.
This time, Alhaitham intended not only to overthrow the Akademiya's rule but also to expose all their heinous deeds. He wanted everyone to see what kind of monsters the Sages truly were, hiding behind their scholarly robes!
Furthermore, the Akademiya's experiments in collaboration with the Fatui were deeply concerning. The fact that they had sacrificed tens of thousands of lives for these experiments revealed the terrifying scale of their ambition. Whatever they were researching must have been powerful enough to drive them completely mad.
"Let's head back," Alhaitham said gently. "Get some proper rest today. I can tell you're exhausted."
Though Lumine tried to hide it, Alhaitham had caught fleeting glimpses of fatigue on her face throughout their journey.
Lumine nodded. She really did need to rest.
A new power now resided within her, and she needed time to adapt to and master it. Even the briefest contact with this force revealed its immense strength.
If she could fully master this power, she might just stand a chance against Dottore
Everyone, wait for me!
I will save you!
I swear...