At Wangshu Inn in Liyue, Li Mo sat steadily on stage, recounting the story of Tsurumi Island from a thousand years ago. Below, the audience listened seriously to this unfamiliar tale. But after listening for a while, they still hadn't heard any familiar names—Aru, the High Priest, Mount Kanna. To the people of Liyue, these names were too foreign to grasp.
The audience began to murmur.
"This island is too cruel, using living human sacrifices—"
"That poor little girl chosen to be sacrificed—"
"Storyteller, is this life about the Thunderbird and that little girl? What does the High Priest's son Aru have to do with it?"
"That High Priest is awful; why sacrifice someone else's daughter instead of his own son?"
"Thank goodness we don't have such barbaric customs here."
"The little girl is going to be sacrificed. What happens to Aru? This story can't be that simple."
Seeing someone about to be sacrificed, the audience already suspected this was a tragedy. But what did the little girl's sacrifice have to do with Aru?
Meanwhile, in another corner of the inn, when Shenhe heard that the little girl would be sacrificed to the Thunderbird in three days, her expression grew tense.
When she was a child, her own father had been deceived by a monster and had offered her as a sacrifice. So hearing the little girl cry, Shenhe felt deep sorrow. She even wanted to leap into the story and save her. But she knew it was impossible. The storyteller was recounting events that had happened a thousand years ago—nothing could change them now. All she could do was silently pray that the little girl would escape her fate.
Beside her, Hu Tao, Keqing, Xiangling, and the others noticed Shenhe's distress. They knew she must be remembering her own sacrifice.
Xiangling tried to comfort her. "Miss Shenhe, don't dwell on the past."
Keqing added, "That's right. The storyteller hasn't finished yet. Maybe the little girl won't be sacrificed after all."
At that moment, Arataki Itto, always full of confidence, erupted in anger at the cruelty of the sacrifice. "That High Priest! He only bullies kids. If he had any guts, he'd sacrifice adults! If I ever meet that High Priest, I'll smash his head in!"
Kazuha: "…"
Hu Tao: "That High Priest is probably dead by now."
Meanwhile, in another corner, Ei, who already knew the ending, listened intently to the story, watching the projections above the stage. She wanted to understand why the Thunderbird had suddenly gone mad and destroyed the entire island of Tsurumi.
Barbatos looked puzzled. "Something doesn't add up. This Thunderbird doesn't seem evil. Why sacrifice children to her?"
Zhongli said flatly, "In ancient times, gods were everywhere. Human sacrifice was a common practice in most regions."
Because Mondstadt's environment had been harsh and its gods relatively few, human sacrifice had never taken root there. Barbatos was unaware of such customs.
Makoto added seriously, "That's right. The first thing I did after becoming the Electro Archon was to abolish all human sacrifice in Inazuma. I never imagined it was still practiced on remote Tsurumi Island."
It had taken her many years to stamp out those barbaric customs.
Zhongli said impatiently, "Just listen to the story."
The next moment, everyone turned their attention back to the stage, waiting for Li Mo to continue.
…
Meanwhile, on stage, seeing the audience quiet down, Li Mo set down his teacup and continued.
As he spoke, the Electro energy above the inn coalesced once more, forming vivid images that shifted with his narration.
In the images, Aru, who had been carried into the sky by the great Thunderbird, had safely returned to the ground. Looking at the massive Thunderbird before him, all his earlier fear had vanished.
Happily, he spoke, "Guardian Deity, did you come to me because you like hearing my songs?"
The Thunderbird lowered her voice. "Yes. I like your singing very much. Your voice brings to mind things I've never seen before."
Whenever she heard his song, strange images appeared in her mind—people she didn't recognize. She was certain those memories were not her own.
Hearing that the guardian deity loved his voice, Aru grew even more excited. "If you like my singing, may I sing for you every day?"
For Aru, to sing for the guardian deity was the greatest honor of his life.
The Thunderbird paused. "I would like to hear your voice every day, but I cannot hunt every day."
Though she possessed great power, she had to rest on Mount Kanna long enough to absorb sufficient Electro energy to sustain her massive body. She couldn't come to listen to Aru every day.
Aru thought for a moment. "Then when will you hunt next? Please let me sing for you then."
The Thunderbird considered this. "Three days from now. I will pass by here again then."
Hearing this, Aru's expression flickered. Three days from now was an important day for his entire tribe. They would be holding their ritual sacrifice to the guardian deity. The ceremony might interfere with his promise to sing.
Still, he decided to agree. "Then it's settled! Three days from now, if you arrive first, please wait for me."
The Thunderbird mimicked a human tone. "I will."
With their promise made, the Thunderbird slowly spread her wings, ready to leave the human settlement and return to Mount Kanna on the other side of the island.
But just as she was about to leave, young Aru summoned his courage and called out again. "Guardian Deity—my name is Aru. If you arrive before me, call my name. I'll come as soon as I hear you."
The Thunderbird echoed his words. "I understand."
Aru called out once more. "Guardian Deity, the elders of our tribe call you Guardian Deity. Do you have another name?"