The Second Archon War: Carmen Dei 23 (Patreon)

Carmen Dei 23: The Vision of Europe

Dark blue waters sparkled under clear skies, and a stiff breeze blew across the canal, forcing Lumine to pull her knitted cap down on her head more tightly. Despite her wool hoodie, she still shivered a little in the late afternoon sun. Actually, checking her phone, it was well after 7pm, but the sun was still well above the horizon. The colorful buildings along the waterfront were still busy and lively, with crowds still going in and out of shops.

“Hey, any luck?” Aether asked, coming up to her and handing her a steaming cup of coffee.

Shaking her head, Lumine sighed heavily. “Are you really surprised? I mean, what are the odds of us just running into one of the most elusive people in the entire world on the street?”

“Don’t give up! Paimon just knows that if anyone can help you, the Anemo Archon can!” The little fairy took a noisy slurp of her own drink, hot chocolate by the smell, and smiled at Lumine with a little bit of whipped cream on her lips. Many of the passersby stared at Paimon, as floating toddlers were not exactly common on Earth Bet, but no one made a fuss.

“Do you really think he’s from our world? I’ve never heard of Barbatos before, except as a summon in fantasy games or something,” Lumine asked as she sipped at her own drink, a latte with just a hint of cloves and spice in it.

“Paimon never said that! But Barbatos isn’t from this world. So, maybe he knows a way to other worlds! Besides, the Seven are very powerful, and if anyone knows how to travel between worlds, it’s the gods,” Paimon explained.

Lumine shared a look with her brother, but Aether just shrugged. “It’s something to look for, anyway. It was a long enough boat ride across the ocean as it was.”

“Ugh, don’t remind Paimon, she was seasick the entire time. We shoulda gotten plane tickets, flying is much better!” Painmon declared, then let out a little belch and smacked her lips.

“Well, come on. Maybe he’s not even here,” Lumine said, clutching her drink for warmth and heading off down the street. “But we may as well look around. Eurovision is tomorrow, and all the rumors say the Tone Deaf Bards will make an appearance.”

They continued to walk down the boulevard, or in Paimon’s case float, searching for the person who had to be the most elusive in the entire world. Lumine was frustrated, but then again, the last 10 months had been full of nothing but frustration in their quest. She listened to what people were saying, but once more came up with nothing. She could sort of understand English now, and even speak a little, but Danish might as well have been the chattering of birds.

“We could split up and make the searching faster?” she suggested after an hour's fruitless walk. “Meet back at the hostel at 11:00?”

Aether pulled out his phone and frowned at it. “I don’t know, we don’t have the right SIM cards to make calls right now, if we get lost or separated…”

“Oh relax, we can take care of ourselves. If a supervillain or something pops up, I’ll just teleport them into the water or whatever,” Lumine said dismissively. “What do you think, Paimon?”

“All this floating is making Paimon tired and hungry,” the fairy whined. “Paimon wants to take a break…”

“We could try hitting up bars? I mean, supposedly that’s the best place to find Venti,” Aether suggested.

Lumine rolled her eyes. “No one is going to believe we’re 18. They won’t let you drink and we haven’t had time to find someone to make us a fake ID here.”

“I said look, not get drunk. It’s at least a plan,” Aether said, gritting his teeth in frustration and shoving his hands into his hoodie’s pouch.

“Yeah, fine. Come on, Paimon. You and I can stop at a cafe and people-watch. Not like we won’t see just as many people. My brother can go bar hopping. Good luck with picking up any chicks,” Lumine said with a wink.

That made her brother blush and mutter something choice, but he nodded and waved once before disappearing into the crowd.

The sun was just setting, but plenty of cafes were still open despite it being nearly 9pm. Lumine picked one at random and took a seat, Paimon settling down in her lap and eyeing the menu excitedly. “Ooo, Paimon wants to try some yummy Danish food. What do they have? Hmm, what’s Stjerneskud?”

“I don’t know, you’re the one who speaks Danish,” Lumine said in exasperation. The picture on the menu looked like fish on bread with some lemon, fish eggs, and mayo garnish. “It’s not too expensive is it?”

“Hmm, we did get a few thousand kroner for taking care of those slimes in that warehouse, so Paimon thinks we should treat ourselves!”

“You think that all the time,” Lumine giggled, but decided she agreed. Walking around all day had her hungry and tired, and she was nearly as much of a foodie as Paimon was.

The waiter came over and took their order for two Stjerneskud and some more hot coffee, and Lumine sat with her head resting on one hand, staring sightlessly at the passing crowd. This place was nothing like home still. She remembered the sky cities hovering over the pristine wilderness below, flying from building to building on grav wings, participating in the FD-VR leagues with her brother. It had felt like each day was a new world and wonder to experience, until That Day.

“Will we ever return home?” Lumine asked mournfully, her eyes not seeing most of the passersby. One group, however, stood out to her: a woman with bright green hair, accompanied by a giant hulk of a man and a woman with what Lumine had learned to recognize as Japanese features. The two women were both carrying Visions, and with the size of their male companion Lumine’s mind immediately went to capes.

“Think they know Barbatos?” Lumine asked, nudging Paimon.

“Hmm?” Paimon floated up over the table, frowning at the capes. “Maybe? We could ask them…”

On seeing Paimon float, quite a few people shied away, but the woman with green hair stopped dead in her tracks so that she was bowled over by her giant companion, who tripped and fell himself. That started a slight ruckus, which forced Lumine to hide a smile in her drink. She nearly spit it out when she heard the green haired woman shout, “Paimon!?”

“Oh?” Paimon zipped forward to hover over the two collapsed strangers. “Does Paimon know you!? Paimon has mostly forgotten, but if you were Paimon’s friends-”

The woman jabbered something in a strange language, and Lumine lost track of the conversation, but she did hear the “Paimon” repeated several times. The greenhaired woman pointed to Lumine and the table, so she smiled and waved. A moment later, Paimon and the strangers came over and seated themselves.

“Lumine! Lumine you won’t believe it, but this is Cookie Schmidt!” Paimon said excitedly. “You know, the head of the Knights of Favonius?!”

“Really?” Lumine sat up and grinned. “Does she know where we can find Barbatos?”

“In a bar, probably,” Cookie said by way of Paimon, but she shook her head and added, “Who exactly are you, and how do you know Paimon?”

“Uh, I don’t think we should tell her that, just say we’re traveling companions. Ask her how she knows you though,” Lumine instructed.

In response, Cookie pulled out a strange looking carved wooden box and began to rummage through it. As she did, the giant stuck out his hand, and Paimon translated for him.

“Heya! The name’s Itul ‘Red Oni’ Armburst! This is my actually real girlfriend, Sara Tengan. I’m sure you’ve heard all about us and my many heroic deeds! I’m sort of a big deal, kind of a badass.”

“Uh, I’ve never heard of him, have you, Paimon?” Lumine said, blushing slightly. Paimon didn’t even need to translate her look of confusion, which caused Itul to blush red.

“Ah, I feel you, I feel you, must be new here and stuff! Well, don’t worry, I’m like, the Strongest Knight in all of Germany! Just here to provide some protection for my Bro and his band.”

“Uh, that’s nice,” Lumine said, frowning at Sara, who hadn’t said anything but was regarding Paimon curiously. “I guess they’re all capes?”

“Well, he says he’s a member of the Knights, and Cookie is the Grandmaster, so Paimon supposes so,” the fairy said with a shrug.

Before they could go further down that rabbit trail, Cookie pulled out several cards, slapping them down on the table. Lumine tilted her head to one side to study them, then gasped: All showed Paimon in her original outfit, smiling happily as she floated.

“Ooo, what are these, are they other Paimons!?” Paimon picked one up in her chubby little hands, studying it as she turned it side to side. “Where did you get them, Cookie?”

After translating the question, Cookie replied, “I got them from Lord Barbados. They’re Genius Invocation TCG Cards: I’m actually here to promote them. We’re launching our first product line, and Venti is supposed to help promote it. Tracking down the squirrely bastard is almost impossible though.”

“We’re looking for Barbatos too!” Lumine said excitedly. She pointed to herself and Paimon. “We’re from another world! We’re trying to get home, and we think maybe the Anemo Archon could help us!”

“I know Paimon is from another world. These cards are from another world entirely. They’re from Teyvat, the same world as Venti is. Raiden too,” Cookie explained.

Lumine’s eyes went wide at that, and she gingerly took another card, studying it. Frowning, she peered closer, and then gasped with a start, pointing to it. “Paimon, I think the two other people here are me and Aether!”

She flipped it over, then nearly had a heart attack. She could read the card.

The Bestest Travel Companion!

Convert two Elemental Dice into Omni Dice.

"You might be only one of countless stars, but you're Paimon's whole world!"

“Paimon… this… this card is written in Teyvan,” Lumine said, her voice shaking slightly as she held it up so her companion… no, her bestest travel companion, could read it.

“Hey! They’re quoting Paimon! Hmph. This game better be paying Paimon royalties!” Paimon turned back to Cookie and jabbered away again, but Lumine felt faint, slumping back in her chair. Was this her way home?

“Cookie says she’s really surprised, but wants us to meet Venti! Oooo, this is our chance to meet the Anemo Archon, the first of the Seven!” Paimon said excitedly, wiggling in delight as she grinned at Lumine.

“Yeah, that’s amazing, ask them if we can meet him right away!” Lumine said eagerly, butterflies flitting in her chest.

However, when Paimon posed the question, Cookie just shook her head. “I don’t know where Venti is. Good luck finding him before Eurovision starts. Heck, I’m still not certain he’ll actually show up for it. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

Lumine felt slightly morose at that, but they did enjoy a nice meal with Grandmaster Cookie, Knight Itul, and the woman who turned out to be the famous ninja Sara Tengan. Lumine reflected that ‘famous ninja’ was something of a contradiction, but she wasn’t going to argue with a woman who had fought both Nazis and the Yangban.

As they were finishing, Lumine’s phone buzzed, and she glanced at it to see a text from Aether.

I met someone at the bar tonight.

Wow, is my pure and innocent brother actually having some fun?

I don’t think I was clear.

There was an image attachment that took several seconds to load, and was rather pixilated when it did. Lumine had to hold the screen close to her face and squint, but when she did, she let out a gasp. “Venti!”

The image showed a somewhat flustered Aether holding up the camera, while a slender figure with dark braids dyed green hugged him and kissed his cheek.

The others at the table all looked expectantly at Lumine, and she hastily showed them the picture of Aether and Venti.

“I should have known,” Cookie said by way of Paimon. “That bastard would be in a bar.”

Unfortunately, by the time they ran the several blocks to where Aether was, Venti had already vanished, leaving a flustered Aether to meet them outside alone.

“She just came in and started singing karaoke! No one recognized her at first, but then she caught sight of me and had me come up and sing with her! She even knew my name somehow, and asked about Paimon!” Aether blathered. “But then all of a sudden, I recognized her! It was like I was blind or something before! No one else seemed to get it, and then she gave me these and just left!”

Aether held up three tickets, which Paimon eagerly took. “Hey! These are tickets to Eurovision! That means we can go watch the show, and talk to the Anemo Archon!”

“Yeah, kinda worked out. Uh, who are your friends, Lumine?” Aether asked, frowning at their companions.

“Oh, no one important. Just the Grandmaster of the Knights of Favonius, the head of the Shuumatsuban, and the Red Oni. No one special,” Lumine said nonchalantly, buffing her knuckles on her sweater and then admiring her nails.

“Oh. Huh.” Aether scratched his chest contemplatively for a moment, then grinned. “I still win.”

Lumine shot him a dirty look, then sighed. “Yeah, fine. But… there’s something else you should see.”

The sun had already set by the time Lumine, Aether, Paimon, and Sara Tengan made it into Parken Stadium. Venti had given Aether three tickets, while Sara had her own as a part of her visit. The entire place was absolutely packed, with the high roof reverberating with the excited buzz of the crowd. Lumine and her companions were out on the stadium’s pitch in some of the best seats in the house near the stage.

Despite the fact that this was really about getting information from an Archon about how to get back to their home dimension, Lumine was still slightly giddy that she was at such a massive concert. She’d gone with Aether and their friends back home to see Kiana and the Valkyries and a few other big names, but this was definitely the biggest crowd that Lumine had been a part of.

“Wow, do you really think Venti and the Tone Deaf Bards can really win?” Paimon squeaked, her voice barely discernible over the crowds.

“Eh, I think you’re taking this too seriously,” Lumine told Paimon. “We’re really just here for information, whoever wins and loses doesn’t matter to us.”

“Really?” Aether asked. He frowned and rubbed his nose. “You’ve got something on your faces then.”

That made Lumine very grateful that the black, red, and yellow face paint she had caked on was way too thick to show her blush. “Hush. I just want to get on Venti’s good side.”

“You should take this seriously. An audience with an Archon is no small matter,” Sara stated flatly. She held out her bag. “Now, did you study the wotagei I sent you?”

“Oh, I think we can handle it,” Lumine said, and revealed the glowsticks she’d smuggled in herself.

“Paimon will make sure to cheer extra loud when the Tone Deaf Bards come on!” the little fairy said excitedly, her own face painted in Germany’s colors as well. “But they’re not on until the nineteenth song, so Paimon thinks it’ll be a long wait…”

“Dang, then we’ll just have to sit through the entire concert,” Aether said, shaking his head. “What a tragedy.”

“Shut up, you were as excited as I was!” Lumine needled, and her twin grinned and winked at her.

“Shhh! It’s starting!” Paimon said excitedly, even as the crowd roared and cheered as the opening act, the previous year’s winner of Aqua, came out and performed their new hit song, ‘Anime Heroes’ for the cheering crowd.

Caught up in the excitement, Lumine cheered and waved a small German flag along with everyone else. Most of the songs were performed in English, which she sort of understood at this point. Even when she didn’t know the lyrics, the poppy tunes were enough to get her amped up just to be there and alive.

To Lumine’s amusement, Sara Tengan had completely shed the mask of the stoic assassin and was squealing like a schoolgirl while jumping up and down on her tiptoes, especially if there were attractive dancers. Lumine was right there with her though, jumping along and laughing in delight. It was, perhaps, the first time since coming to this world that she truly felt joy and peace.

At long last, Germany’s place in the contest came up, and Lumine found she was holding her breath as the screen lit up with Germany’s intro. Each of the various nations had played a short clip while their performers took the stage, something that was supposed to share a little of their culture and what was to come in the performance.

In this case, it started off with a dark room, a single lit candle providing the only illumination, the sound that of roaring winds outside. The candle flickered, and for a moment, it seemed like it would go out.

Then, clear as a bell, two children’s voices began to sing.

Freude, schöner Götterfunken

Tochter aus Elysium

Wir betreten feuertrunken

Himmlische, dein Heiligtum

The crowd went from deathly silent to wild cheers, as on the screen, two of the most famous faces in Europe appeared: Mina and Heinz Schafer, Visions glowing in their hands as they stepped forward into the candle’s light. The darkness around them was pushed back as the candle’s flame grew with the light of Anemo, revealing the hopeful faces of dozens of people in the room with the two children. The people were varied: young and old, pale and swarthy, dark and fair, men and women, dressed in clothes of a dozen nations.

Just as Lumine felt tears shimmer in her eyes, a golden man appeared, stern and foreboding, and the candle was snuffed out. The crowd gasped in shock, flinching as one. Lumine reacted with horror herself, blinking in confusion. What was this? Wasn’t Scion the world’s greatest hero?

Before she could think further on it, the lights on the stage came on, revealing a dozen knights in armor, standing at attention, gleaming silver swords held before them. The knights suddenly turned, forming a tunnel with their blades.

There was a burst of cheery laughter, and a green blur blew through the tunnel, the swords flying from the knight’s hands. Venti appeared, posing in green jacket and tight white pants, an accordion of all things in his hands.

“Why the long faces?” Venti chuckled, peering out at the crowd. “I thought this was a concert! Aren’t you all supposed to be having fun?”

That brought confused and nervous chuckles.

“Didn’t you hear?” Venti chuckled and played a note on his accordion. Or at least, Lumine was pretty sure Venti was a man at the moment. “The Winds are changing!”

There was a groan from overhead, and everyone started and looked up as the roof suddenly began to retract, a gust of warm summer wind blowing in despite the late hour. Lumine let out a sigh of relief, but when she looked back, the knights had gathered around Venti menacingly, their fists raised as if to strike him.

“Now, now,” Venti tutted. “Why don’t we all… loosen up a little?”

“ARE YOU READY TO ROCK!?” a new voice boomed, and lightning rumbled as a purple bolt struck next to Venti. It resolved into the form of Capri Lakatos, posing with her pick raised to the heavens, dressed in tight purple leather, her violet eyes sparkling with mischief.

Even as she spoke, a wind gusted in from the now open roof, a green streak shooting down to land next to Capri and Venti as Naomi Cohen coalesced from the air itself. She was holding a pair of drumsticks, and one of the knights produced a drum set, setting it before her. “Stand up! Let’s dance together!”

“JOY!” Venti cried, and he began to play on the accordion as his bandmates joined in. They began a rendition of Ode to Joy, but with a distinctly rock and roll feel to it.

As if caught up in the music, the knights began to dance, their armor falling away and revealing some of the more famous members of the Knights of Favonius, including Itul and Cookie. Instead of the full armor, they were now dressed in skin-tight spandex, or in Itul’s case, were bare chested.

“OOOOOO! SIX PACK! SEXY!” Sara squealed, a bit of blood leaking out of her right nostril and spraying as she jumped up and down.

“Right, Travelers, you know what to do!” Paimon declared, even as Lumine handed her a set of glow sticks.

“Rock on!” Lumine declared, and she and Aether struck a pose themselves, two glow sticks helped in each hand, poking out between their fingers. Then they began an intricate dance in time to the rapid music, nearly matching the frantic pace of the dancing knights.

Even as the song played on, wings sprouted from Venti’s back, and he flew around the stadium, still playing his accordion and singing, even as people screamed and jumped up, trying to touch the Anemo Archon.

Be embraced, all ye nations!

Brothers, within our midst

Surely dwells a voice of Freedom!

Do you kneel before Him, oh millions?

Nay! Rise up, all humanity!

Kneel not before these gods!

Do not bow before the golden one

Who comes beyond the stars

Then, it was over in all too short a time. The crowd went absolutely berserk as Venti touched down and bowed, Lumine right there with them.

“I LOVE YOU ITUL!” Sara screamed desperately, but even her power-enhanced voice couldn’t be heard in the cacophony. The Germans shuffled off stage, Venti turning to blow one last kiss to the crowd, which made them erupt all over again.

There were still four more performances after that, but it was all perfunctory. While the rest of the music had been a mixture of pop, ballads, and some progressive rock, no one had done anything as flamboyant and over the top as what Germany had put on, nor had anyone mixed an accordion with heavy rock. When the votes were finally tallied, to no one’s surprise, Germany blew everyone out of the water. Nearly every single country gave Germany either 11 or 12 points, save for the Germans themselves, who naturally couldn’t vote for themselves.

When the Tone Deaf Bards were summoned back to the stage, the crowd went wild as Naomi and Capri stepped onto the stage, smiling and standing hand in hand, waving little German flags. They were followed by the Knights of Favonius, including Cookie herself, still dressed in her skimpy skin-tight cape costume, though her mask was hanging down around her neck. Not that it would have done her any good, Lumine reflected, as Cookie was easily one of the most famous capes in the world.

Last but not least, Venti appeared to feverish applause and cheers from the crowd. The hosts offered their congratulations and attempted to give Venti the trophy, only for him to chuckle and pass it back. “Keep it safe for me! I wouldn’t know where to put it in Capri’s van.”

“Make a bitchin’ hood ornament,” Capri commented, which earned her an elbow from Naomi and wild cackles from the audience at the coarse language.

As the cheers continued, Venti walked up to the front of the stage, taking a microphone from one of the hosts. He sat down, grinning out at the audience who continued to cheer for several moments. Then Venti made a gesture for everyone to take a seat, and to Lumine’s surprise, the crowd did, quickly quieting themselves. She leaned forward in her seat, eager to hear what Venti had to say.

“Well, it’s nice to finally have someone who appreciates my lyrics,” Venti said, winking at the crowd. “Capri normally just tells me to knock it off.”

That brought laughter and a few catcalls, but the crowd soon grew silent again.

“It’s been a lovely evening here with you all,” Venti said, smiling around at the crowd as he held the microphone to his lips. “I hope you enjoyed our little song and dance. Ultimately, what’s important is that we all had fun, right? Let’s give it up for all the other performers, who worked so hard to entertain us!”

Hearty cheers from everyone, along with enthusiastic clapping. Venti cheered and clapped himself for several moments, then let the applause die down.

“Now, I know you all have a lot of questions for me. I think the biggest one is this: Is Europe safe?”

There was dead silence now. Lumine held her breath again, and even Paimon had floated down into her chair, her big eyes wide.

“There’s always a price for safety, and it’s a hard one to pay. Is it worth it to sacrifice your freedom to be safe from all harm?” Venti asked, and he shook his head. “That’s a question you’ll all have to decide on your own. Far be it from me to tell mortals how to live their lives.”

There was a sharp hiss of breath as the crowd seemed to exhale as one. Was Venti confirming he was a god? An angel? Something else? Was he saying he would not, or could not offer safety?

“I can’t offer you the bargain that the Raiden Shogun offered Japan, nor am I one to dictate terms of peace and demand that you set down your weapons. I’m just a bard, wandering the lands,” Venti said, and Lumine felt a cold hand grasp her heart.

“But,” Venti said, and it felt as though the entire world hung on that word. “I can promise you this: Wherever those who love freedom gather, and as long as you live under the same sky as my children… I’ll watch out for you. As the Anemo Archon, I swear to you this: I will ensure that the children of Europe, so long as they desire it, shall enjoy Freedom beneath my wings.”

With that, Venti suddenly spread his wings, standing up. His form rippled, growing less human and more angelic, his visage glowing slightly as he smiled benevolently down on the crowd.

Take heart, children of Freedom. So long as you treasure song, drink, and each other, you will have a place beneath my wings.

Then, to Lumine’s shock, Venti turned and seemed to look right at her.

“And, in the famous words of Chris Farley: Make good choices, or you’ll end up living in a van down by the river!”

Then, with a flutter of his wings, Venti lifted himself up out of the still-open roof.

“How strange,” Sara murmured to Lumine in English, watching him go. “I didn’t expect them to win, you know.”

“Why not? They were clearly the best act,” Lumine said as the volume of the crowd grew.

Sara nodded, but her expression was pensive. “Yes. But they sang in Japanese.”

“Huh? No, they sang in… in Teyvan,” Lumine muttered. Wait. How could they have sung in Teyvan? That should have been impossible…

“Oh, I almost forgot!”

Venti swooped back down, holding out his hands. “I have a very special announcement to make: Everyone in attendance gets a free commemorative version of Venti, Tone Deaf Bard, from the new game Genius Invocation TCG! See, Cookie? I did remember!”

Then, playing cards began to spill from the sky, fluttering down into people’s outstretched hands. Lumine snagged one herself, and blinked in astonishment. The image on the card depicted Venti, dressed in strange clothes, with three birds hovering around him. But the card moved! It was like she was holding a living breath of wind in her hands, with Venti smiling and winking at her as he floated in the air.

“Uh, buy Genius Invocation TCG Cards!” Cookie’s voice called. “Available now from your local game store! Skip the big box retailers, support your LGS today!”

“Oh boy, a new Genius Invocation TCG card!” Paimon said excitedly, floating up in the air with several Venti cards in her chubby little hands. “Ooo, I hope we can get some cards! This is sure to be super popular!”

“Yeah, but, we didn’t get a chance to talk to Venti,” Lumine said, feeling deflated despite her earlier elation.

“Oh, I think we still have a chance if we hurry,” Aether said, standing up and grabbing Lumine’s hand. “Come on! Before the crowds start to leave!”

Running along with her twin, Lumine shook her head. “But where will we even begin to look for Venti?!”

“Didn’t you hear him?” Aether chuckled. “In a van. Down by the river.”

It took them until nearly dawn, but at last, footsore and weary, Lumine and her two companions dragged themselves towards the sound of an accordion playing over the waters, as the waves of the Baltic lapped against the stone wall not far away. There was a campfire burning, and Venti was sitting in a folding chair near an old Volkswagon van, three other empty chairs near the fire.

“Ah, Travelers! You found my humble abode at last. Come, stay a while, and listen!” Venti said cheerily.

“Sure thing, Deckard,” Lumine groaned, stumbling forward and slumping in the chair. They were about five kilometers north of Copenhagen now, and they’d taken a combination of buses and simple walking to get here. But Aether had been right after all, even if it hadn’t been a river.

“Deckard?” Venti frowned in his playing, sitting up slightly as Paimon slumped down in her chair, gasping for breath. “Is that a reference to the cards I passed out?”

“It’s Diablo,” Aether told him. “It’s like, one of the most famous games in this world. It’s at basically every internet cafe. Haven’t you played it?”

“Hmm, can’t say that I have,” Venti admitted, beginning a soft, mournful tune on his accordion.

“Do you have any food?” Paimon panted. “Paimon’s been floating all day, and she’s exhausted! Paimon needs something to eat, or Paimon will just pass out from starvation…”

“Ah, of course! What kind of host would I be without refreshments?” Venti rummaged around in a bag at his side, pulling out several thin metal skewers, along with several bags. “Hotdogs, or marshmallows?”

“Hotdogs,” Lumine said as her stomach rumbled, eagerly taking a skewer and a cold weiner.

“Marshmallows,” Aether said, until Lumine smacked his hand away.

“Aether! You need protein! You can’t just fill up on sweets!” Lumine said in exasperation.

“Oh come on, he’s got chocolate and graham crackers in there! How can you say no to s’mores around a campfire?!” Aether demanded.

“Paimon will have both! Paimon’s stomach is big enough for hotdogs and smores!” the fair declared, taking a loaded skewer for each hand.

Soon enough, their dinner (or was it breakfast? It couldn’t be long until dawn) was roasting over the fire.

Venti smiled, leaning back as he looked up at the sky above them. “You know, it’s odd, seeing a sky full of real stars. I wonder, what do they think, looking down on us? What sort of fate is written in this endless heaven?

“The stars here are all different than they were back home,” Lumine agreed. She turned to Venti, frowning. “Do you know a way back, to your own home?”

“And more importantly, to ours?” Aether asked, slowly rotating his marshmallow as it turned golden brown. Lumine had no patience for that. She always just lit hers on fire and blew them out. Much faster that way.

“Ah, how interesting. You know, that’s not the first time a Traveler from afar has asked me that question,” Venti mused, looking down into the flames. “Tell me, what was the name of the world you came from?”

“There were many names, much like on this world. But we called it… Primordial, in our language,” Lumine supplied.

“Genshin,” Aether agreed. “I think that’s how you’d pronounce it in English.”

“Hmm. And yet, you speak Teyvan,” Venti mused. “How interesting.”

“Well, the nation we were from was one of the seven nations of Teyvat, thousands of years ago. I don’t know, I never paid much attention in history class,” Aether admitted.  “We just called it Honkai, though.”

“Curiouser and curiouser,” Venti mused, pulling his hotdog from the fire. He pulled out a pack of buns, slipping his sausage onto one, then handing the bag over to Lumine, who prepared some for herself, Paimon, and Aether, who handed her a smores in exchange.

They sat in silence for a few moments, then Paimon asked, “So… do you know where the Travelers are from? What about Paimon? Have you ever met a Paimon before?”

“Where could anyone ever meet such an excellent travel companion as Paimon?” Venti chuckled. Then, he sighed and shook his head. “As to whether or not I have a way to travel between worlds… no. I can’t say I do.”

“But, you’re the Anemo Archon! One of the Seven!” Lumine protested.

“Indeed I am,” Venti agreed. “Disturbingly commonplace that knowledge is. However, while I know a great many things, I do not know how either myself, or yourselves arrived here, including the wondrous Paimon.”

Hot tears blurred Lumine’s vision, and she scrubbed at her face with her forearm, her throat too tight to eat or speak.

“So… there’s no way home?” Aether asked, his tone hollow and dull.

“Well, I didn’t say that! I’m hardly the only person from another world here, you know!” Venti chuckled and took a big bite of his hotdog, which he’d smothered in sauerkraut and mustard. Lumine could hardly wait for him to chew and swallow, but at last, around half a mouthful of food, Venti said, “Seek out the Raiden Shogun. If there was anyone who could carve a path between worlds, it would be her.”

“The Raiden Shogun? But she’s all the way in Japan!” Paimon protested, sending out a spray of crumbs from her own cheeks stuffed with food.

“That’s… a very long ways away. And they’re still rebuilding from their war with China,” Aether said slowly.

“Yeah. But… at least it’s something,” Lumine whispered. She forced herself to take a bite of her food, chewing determinedly.

“Here, I think you’re probably too young to drink still, but I did get you some cider! Try it, it’s not half bad, even if it’s basically just juice,” Venti said, passing around some bottles.

Gratefully, Lumine swallowed a mouthful of the mildly alcoholic beverage, then let out a sigh. “So. Our journey goes on.”

“Until we find a way back home,” Aether agreed, reaching out his hand. Lumine took it, giving her brother’s hand a squeeze. A moment later, a tiny third hand wrapped itself around theirs as well.

“And Paimon will come too! Don’t worry, Travelers! We’ll find your home, someday!”

“This I foresee,” Venti said, and his eyes glowed a vivid green. “One day, you shall rest your weary heads, and find the home where your hearts lie. All journeys have an end, but yours shall be a joyous one.”

“You mean it?!” Paimon gasped happily.

Venti shook his head, then laughed and shrugged. “Well, who can say? I’m just a humble traveling musician!”

“Who just won Eurovision,” Lumine pointed out.

“And got his own TCG, apparently,” Aether added. He dug out his own copy of Venti’s card. “I wonder how much a signed version is worth…”

“Ooo, Paimon has six! Sign all of Paimons! She wants to sell them for lots of mora so she can buy all the food!” Paimon said eagerly, digging out her own cards and shoving them at Venti.

“My my, do you really think Morax will be here so soon?” Venti laughed.

“He’d better be, China’s in big trouble as it is!” Paimon huffed.

Lumine and Aether both stared first at their guide, then at Paimon.

“Morax?”

“China?”

“Uhh…” Paimon blinked, then drooped and put her head in her hands. “Oooh, Paimon doesn’t feel so good… Paimon has a big headache… What… what was Paimon saying?”

“Ah, I’m sure it was nothing. But as it turns out, there is a Morax card in Genius Invocation TCG!” Venti said brightly and produced a set of decks. “Care for a game or two? It’s been a long time since I sat down to a game with friends!”

And so, as the sun rose in the east, Lumine enjoyed food, friends, and laughter. For at least one more day. But before the sun had set, she and her brother and their guide would depart once more, traveling across the land, until they found home once more.