"So... what happened after that?"
Even though Kaito had already used the word "mourn," Lumine still wanted to know what had actually transpired.
"She encountered an enemy. By the time Zhongli arrived, it was already too late."
Since he didn't know the specifics of what had happened back then, that was about the best answer Kaito could give.
As for who the enemy was, or where Zhongli had been at the time — those details were beyond him.
It couldn't be helped. miHoYo had never disclosed any of that, and honestly, miHoYo themselves might not even know.
"I see... that's so sad."
Listening to Kaito recount the story, Lumine couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow on Zhongli's behalf.
No matter how you looked at it, something like that was simply too heartbreaking.
Gods and mortals were different beings, she knew — but she felt certain Zhongli must have suffered deeply.
"It really is a shame." Noticing that Lumine was clearly grieving for Zhongli, Kaito gave a small nod before continuing: "But back in those days, neither humans nor gods were guaranteed to see tomorrow. Only those with enough power survived."
Kaito understood well that what had befallen Zhongli was likely far from unique. Other gods had probably suffered similar losses.
It was just that in the end, only a handful of victors remained standing. The rest — defeated and slain, or sealed away — their stories had simply never made it down through the ages.
"But Mr. Zhongli is so incredibly powerful, and something like that still happened to him... I wonder what he was thinking at the time. He must have blamed himself terribly."
To Lumine, the tragedy felt even heavier precisely because of how strong Zhongli was. If he had been weaker, it might have been easier to accept. But he wasn't.
"Well, nothing could be done about it. The two of them couldn't have been at each other's side every single moment of every day."
Knowing what Lumine was thinking, Kaito said as much.
He felt the same way. Having the power to protect someone you loved, yet failing to do so because of circumstances beyond your control — that was a uniquely agonizing kind of grief.
Of course, Kaito had no idea who the Dust Archon's enemy had actually been, or how powerful they were. He could only assume their strength had been somewhere in Zhongli's league.
"But if I..."
"I'd obviously protect you — I'm very confident in my own strength." Lumine hadn't even finished speaking before Kaito guessed exactly what she was going to say and cut her off.
In the world of Genshin Impact, he felt his cheat-level powers had already been maxed out beyond any reasonable limit.
His main body might not yet command the kind of power to shatter heaven and earth, but several of his other selves were well within that tier.
"But maybe we won't always be together..."
"It's fine — no matter how far apart we are, I'll get to you instantly. My speed is nothing to worry about."
Once again cutting off what Lumine was about to say, Kaito asserted that distance would never be a problem.
He had to admit, though — he was already starting to regret having brought up the story of Zhongli and Guizhong in the first place.
He hadn't expected what was supposed to be someone else's story to somehow come circling back around to him.
"Do you have to be like that? You keep interrupting me."
Lumine was actually quite satisfied with his answers, but she still had to say something about his habit of cutting her off mid-sentence.
The least he could do was let her finish.
And she'd been trying to ask hypothetical questions too — if such-and-such happened — but Kaito hadn't given her the chance to get a single one out.
"Don't say unlucky things. It's bad luck."
Kaito let out a small laugh and said there was no point in voicing unlucky thoughts.
Unlucky things?
That wasn't the response Lumine had expected at all — but after a moment, she found herself oddly convinced by it. And so she let the hypothetical questions go.
Right...
A sudden thought struck her, and Lumine spoke up: "By the way, Kaito — is this the Guili Plains?"
As she asked, she swept her gaze across the surroundings.
Scattered across the open plain were ruins of indeterminate age, standing here and there like silent, forgotten sentinels.
"Yeah, we're in the Guili Plains now." Kaito gave a nod and continued: "From what I know, this place was where Guizhong's people lived long ago. After her death, they followed Zhongli to Liyue Harbor — or something along those lines."
He added the qualifier at the end, since the details had grown a little hazy in his memory.
"So is the name of this place taken from the two of their names?"
As she spoke, Lumine turned to look at Kaito walking beside her.
It seemed obvious to her — the name Guili Plains contained one character from Guizhong's name and one from Zhongli's. That couldn't possibly be a coincidence.
"That... I'm actually not entirely sure myself. But I think so too." Kaito wasn't confident about this one either.
He had the same feeling, but the specifics were beyond him — that was something you'd have to ask Zhongli directly.
Though knowing Zhongli, he almost certainly wouldn't answer.
"It must be."
Hearing that Kaito wasn't sure, Lumine declared it had to be the case anyway. There was just no such thing as a coincidence that tidy.
"Yeah, otherwise it's way too much of a coincidence." Kaito nodded in agreement.
Then, as if something had just occurred to him, he added: "Oh — and don't go telling Zhongli any of what I just told you. A lot of it is speculation on my part, and technically the two of us have been gossiping about someone behind their back. Better if they don't find out."
When it came to uncertain things, Kaito felt it was perfectly fine for just the two of them to speculate in private — but going straight to the subject of the gossip would only risk causing misunderstandings.
"Gossip?" Lumine blinked. That wasn't quite the word she'd have chosen — story felt far more fitting. "Isn't this just Mr. Zhongli's story? But I wouldn't tell him anyway. I'm not even that close to him — why would I bring something like this up? Besides, it all happened so long ago. It wouldn't feel right to bring it up now."
"It is a story, you're right — but so much of it is uncertain precisely because of how long ago it happened. That's all I meant."
Kaito offered a brief explanation in response to her puzzlement.
"Okay. I understand." After listening to his explanation, Lumine gave a nod.
Wait...
How did Kaito know all this in the first place?
The thought struck her out of nowhere, and she found herself intensely, genuinely curious.
Because based on everything he'd just said, it was obvious Zhongli hadn't been the one to tell him.
So... how did he know?
Had he heard it from someone else?
But if so...
Who would that person even be?
Someone who knew about things that happened that far back in history...
[Lumine stares into the distance, visibly stumped, gears turning.]
____
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