"Alright, alright, part of the plan. Anyway, Tsaritsa only sent me here to assist you. As for your plans, I'm not interested." The brown-haired man shrugged.
"But I didn't expect the girl to dare to challenge the Raiden Shogun openly in Tenshukaku. You two are about the same age, so why are your personalities so different?"
"Just mind your own business. If you're too keen on fighting, you might lose your life!"
"Childe!"
Balladeer disliked it when others probed into his origins, because he was a discarded object.
Even if he had been modified to gain power stronger than his original, even if he manipulated countless people in the palm of his hand, it couldn't change this fact.
He was a failed product abandoned by Beelzebul.
Balladeer's goal was the Gnosis, but he had never intended to hand it over to the Tsaritsa in Snezhnaya.
And the latter apparently knew he couldn't be trusted, so after he tricked the girl to her death, she directly sent Childe from Liyue over.
She said it was to assist, but it was actually to monitor. He had lived for five hundred years after all, what was there that he still didn't understand?
Balladeer had only one goal in plotting for the Raiden Shogun's Gnosis: to prove to his creator that her choice was wrong!
The current Shogun puppet was the failed product, and he, after merging with Shiki, would truly enter eternity with the Raiden Shogun's Gnosis! He was the most perfect creation!
"Hehehe, it is precisely because I am attached to battle that I cherish my life even more. I will not be like that girl, Burning herself out desperately, leaving not even ashes behind in the end."
Childe was smiling without warmth. Whether for his family or for higher-level battles in the future, he would not easily die.
The more he enjoyed battle, the more he cherished his life, because after death, he wouldn't be able to enjoy fighting anymore!
It was like a hobby. No matter what hobby it was, you couldn't do it after death, just like Mora that couldn't be taken with you after death.
"Don't worry, you'll have your fill of battles soon, but not now."
Balladeer said, straightening his straw hat, while calculating the time for his next plan to be implemented...
He hadn't told anyone about Shiki. Only he knew about the girl's situation.
This was the key to his transformation. No one could stop him. If Childe didn't know any better, he wouldn't mind if there was one less Fatui Harbinger.
...
The scene returns to Tatarasuna.
At this moment, Xavier once again entered that dream, but this time, the scenery he saw was much clearer than the previous two times.
He saw a purple-haired young boy wearing a straw hat. The boy's face was very handsome, perfectly aligning with Inazuman aesthetics. Just looking at his face would easily make people feel good about him.
However, he was knocked out by a single hand chop from the other party.
When Xavier saw the scene again, he was already being dragged into a cave. Instinctively looking towards the bright direction, he saw... a beach?
And not far from the beach, there was a protruding boulder.
Xavier found himself being led into a factory with complex terrain. The whispers in his ears were no longer indistinct.
Most of them were about the war between Watatsumi Island and the Shogunate, and the title of 'Harbinger-sama.'
From this, he also learned that his location in the dream was Yashiori Island, but he didn't know which direction. To be precise, the whispers didn't mention that point.
As the factory delved deeper, Xavier found himself being carried into an operating room once again.
And the handsome purple-haired young boy extended an arm from behind, transforming it into a blade and reaching towards his body.
The other party's eerie smile merged with the dim, pale light overhead, accompanied by a heart-wrenching pain, Xavier suddenly woke up from his dream.
"Ah ah ah ah!!!"
Xavier gasped for air, his body, as usual, covered in a large amount of cold sweat. However, this time, when he woke up, two people immediately burst into the room.
"Another dream?" Shiki asked.
"Mm..."
"And it was much clearer. From the whispers around my ears, I learned that the dream took place on Yashiori Island."
"Yashiori Island? Is there a more specific location?"
At the mention of Yashiori Island, Shiki remembered the Evil Eye Factory in the game, but she had long forgotten the location of this factory.
"I was dragged into a cave. Outside was a beach, and on the beach was a protruding boulder."
"The person who took me away in the dream was a handsome purple-haired young boy wearing a straw hat, and I also heard the words 'Harbinger-sama,' but I don't know if it was referring to him."
Xavier recounted everything he had dreamed this time, and Shiki could also confirm that the mastermind was Balladeer.
After all, among the Fatui, only Balladeer dressed like a Ronin and had the same purple hair as the Raiden sisters.
It seemed that Xavier was abducted by Balladeer that day, something was done to him, and then he was released. And the excruciating pain experienced in the dream was probably the so-called process...
Shiki clenched her hands. Xavier's body showed no soul, which must be related to this.
Now, besides their differing stances, she and Balladeer also had a personal grudge.
"This outfit and this title? Isn't that Balladeer!" Paimon exclaimed loudly.
"Balladeer? Are you referring to the person in my dream? You know him?" Xavier asked in surprise.
"Of course we know him. The Traveler and I met him in Mondstadt before. He tricked us badly! I just don't know which seat he holds among the Fatui Harbingers."
"So, the reason I have nightmares every time I sleep is because of this guy?"
"Probably. Those hateful Fatui can do anything!"
Paimon looked furious. Clearly, she, like the Traveler, had no good feelings for the Fatui, except for that Childe Tartaglia.
"It seems the arrangements for Watatsumi Island will have to wait. I plan to go to Yashiori Island and thoroughly search for that cave. Traveler, Paimon, do you want to come?" Shiki suddenly spoke.
"If you don't want to come, it's fine. I'll have someone deliver those one hundred Primogems to you."
"Why wouldn't we go? We have a score to settle with that Balladeer!" Paimon said, stamping her foot. She had been quite angry at the time.
The Traveler also nodded. It was no longer about Primogems now; she wanted to come herself.
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