"I need you to show me the way," Lora said to Aranakin.
"Huh?" Aranakin froze for a moment, then asked, "Is there a secret treasure spot even the Queen of Waters doesn't know about?"
"No." Lora shook her head. After a moment of silence, she said, "I just don't know the way, so I need you to guide me."
Hearing that, Aranakin fell silent. It tilted its head, then asked in confusion, "Why does the Queen of Waters not know the way?"
"Why would the Queen of Waters need to know directions?" Lora retorted.
"So the Queen of Waters is... what Nara call directionally challenged?" Aranakin asked innocently.
Lora looked at Aranakin, then slowly set it back on the ground. "Here's some advice, little one: don't say every thought out loud."
Aranakin trembled slightly and nodded. "Okay! Where does the Queen of Waters want to go?"
"Do you know Apep, the Dendro Dragon?" Lora asked.
After thinking for a moment, Aranakin nodded. "Mm! Aranakin has heard of her. After the Dendro Archon healed her, the forest could sense her presence again!"
"Then what do you think that dragon would like?" Lora asked next.
"Huh?" Aranakin looked at her blankly, not understanding what she meant.
"Does she like grass? Or fruit? She can't possibly like sand..." Lora muttered to herself. "No, wait, maybe she does. She did spend a very long time in the desert. What if her tastes changed?"
If she was going to invite someone to Lantern Rite, she definitely could not go empty-handed.
She had to be polite!
Seeing Lora muttering endlessly to herself, Aranakin said directly, "Um... Queen of Waters, Aranakin thinks the Dendro Dragon would like purity. As long as it is pure, that should be enough."
"Pure..." After hearing that, Lora sank into thought.
Wasn't she the purest thing in Teyvat?
Should she give herself to Apep?
No, no.
Trafficking a deity definitely violated Fontaine law.
Forget it. She would think about it on the way.
Lora said to Aranakin, "Let's go. We're going to meet the Dendro Dragon."
Aranakin led her toward the desert. After they left Caravan Ribat, wind and sand swept toward them, but thanks to the efforts of the reformed Akademiya, the sandstorms were now much milder than before.
Alhaitham and Faruzan really were dependable workers!
On the way, Aranakin chatted with Lora. It asked, "Aranakin remembers that the Queen of Waters and the Dendro Archon once went to see the Dendro Dragon. Why does the Queen of Waters still not know the way?"
Lora: "..."
Thank you.
Back then, she had simply followed along on autopilot.
Aranakin asked the surrounding plants for directions along the way, and finally brought Lora to the place where Apep resided.
Aranakin turned back to look at her. "Queen of Waters, can you remember the way this time?"
After a moment of silence, Lora said, "Probably, maybe, perhaps... I remember it?"
Aranakin tilted its head and looked at her in confusion. "Why does the Queen of Waters not remember the way? The forest remembers everything. The Queen of Waters should remember everything too!"
"Because water always flows forward. It cannot stay in place." Lora looked at Aranakin. When she heard it say that the forest remembered everything, she still could not help sighing helplessly.
Did the forest really remember everything?
Perhaps not entirely.
"Aranakin does not understand. But Aranakin knows that whether it is the Queen of Waters or the Dendro Archon, both possess lasting memories. Queen of Waters, the Dendro Dragon's territory is ahead. Aranakin is a child of the Dendro Archon, so Aranakin cannot go in with you."
Aranakin looked at Lora and said this very seriously.
The power of the Aranara came from memories. When it came to memory, perhaps their understanding was deeper than that of any other life in Teyvat.
After bidding farewell to Aranakin, Lora watched it leave, then suddenly thought of something.
She had already surpassed her past self.
Did that mean she now had the power to bring back those who had passed away?
The moment that thought appeared, it quickly took root in her heart and would not leave.
Lora shook her head and set the thought aside for now. Then she entered Apep's territory alone.
The moment she stepped into the cave, a sudden sense of weightlessness spread through her entire body. She dropped straight down, spun five and a half times in midair, then struck a completely unnecessary dramatic landing pose.
Perfect landing.
"Ow..."
Lora rubbed her backside as she climbed up from the ground.
What entered her sight was a world of emerald green. The elemental lifeforms she had seen before had already returned to normal and were now living peacefully in this space.
Apep's voice came from all directions.
"Hydro Usurper, what are you doing here?"
Apep's questioning voice was still full of authority, but although she called Lora Hydro Usurper, there was not much hostility in her tone.
"Didn't we already talk things out? You even sent me elemental power last time! Can you stop calling me Hydro Usurper?" Lora said helplessly after hearing how Apep addressed her.
Apep fell silent for a while before saying, "What elemental power?"
Lora blinked and tilted her head. "Huh?"
After another while, Apep suddenly seemed to remember.
"Oh. I remember now. You mean what happened after you returned from the Vourukasha Oasis last time? I merely pitied you. There was no other meaning."
"Yes, yes, I know there was no other meaning." Lora nodded, not planning to expose the old dragon's flimsy lie.
"Hydro Usur— Ahem. Egeria, what have you come to me for?" Apep instinctively almost called Lora Hydro Usurper again, but realized it halfway through and quickly changed her wording.
"I came to play with you!" Lora said.
What was this, a neighbor's child dropping by to hang out?
Apep fell silent. Only after a long while did she say, "You are that bold? I am an Elemental Dragon Sovereign, a sworn enemy of the Heavenly Principles who once followed the Great Dragon King's command, and you actually want to play with me? Are you not afraid of the Heavenly Principles above The Seven?"
"No. The one up there is practically dead, so what is there to be afraid of?" Lora shook her head and said it without the slightest burden.
Apep: "...They stand above The Seven! Even if they are asleep and dying, the rules they established are still operating."
"Oh, you mean that!" Lora smiled awkwardly and said, "Actually, I'm basically running on admin privileges now."
"Huh?" Apep did not understand what she meant.