In Liyue, wealth runs deep like the rivers that carve its mountains. The merchants dine on mountain delicacies and sea-fresh catches, their estates towering over the city's layered rooftops.
But even in prosperity, some hearts remain burdened—always chasing the next deal, the next pile of Mora.
Yet beyond the glowing façades and stone-carved manors, there are those who struggle in the crevices of the city. Families crammed into sloped, creaky houses. Their meals, simple flour buns and leftover broth. Still, these people laugh. They find joy in the ordinary.
And Lin Tian was one of the people pulling Liyue's average standard of living ever so slightly downward.
It wasn't laziness. Nor a lack of ambition.
It was just that Lin Tian was fourteen. Too young for serious work. Too old to be coddled.
He studied at the Feiyun Hall Scholarly Institute, one of the largest academies in all of Liyue. Officially, he was a promising young scholar.
Unofficially? An orphan. His parents were adventurers, lost to the wilds of Teyvat and never seen again.
He'd grown up in a modest orphanage on Yujing Terrace, supported by the savings his parents had left with the Adventurers' Guild. The money was slowly dispensed according to the will they left behind. Enough to pay for school, enough to feed and clothe him. Nothing extravagant.
Lately, though, Lin Tian had been troubled. The source? A strange accident a few days ago.
He had been working a small stall near Liyue Harbor, selling fake glass lilies made from ordinary flowers. In a city where nearly everyone had a side hustle, it was nothing out of the ordinary.
But then she came: a woman who saw through his ruse in an instant.
Panicking, Lin Tian had tried to flee before the Millelith could get involved. He tripped, fell straight into the harbor, and emerged drenched and feverish.
But it wasn't the cold or the embarrassment that haunted him. It was the aftereffects.
Since that day, strange bubbles had begun drifting through his vision, like soap spheres refracting light, but filled with words. Foreign words. Yet he could somehow understand every one of them.
At first, they appeared randomly. But after a day of testing, Lin Tian discovered something disturbing: the bubbles weren't just noise. They were thoughts. Messages. And he could interact with them.
He learned their name: barrages.
And from what he could gather, they were sent by observers from another world. A place they called "Earth." Through his eyes, they watched the land of Teyvat like spectators peering into a fishbowl.
Lin Tian didn't understand what an "Earth" was, but he definitely knew where he lived. This was Teyvat. No doubt about it.
Still, some of the messages left him confused.
[What a run-down little shack. If this was a Mondstadt inn, even slimes wouldn't check in.]
[No joke, the last time I stayed in Inazuma, the place looked just like this.]
[Tell me more about that Inazuma girl though.]
[Thirsty folks, calm down. This kid's trying to survive.]
[Not everyone lives in a palace, you know. Places like this are normal.]
The chatter was chaotic, sometimes crude, but Lin Tian started piecing things together.
These people—or beings—were clearly well off. They had no trouble with food or shelter. And they weren't just a handful. When he looked at someone pretty, the barrage exploded in volume, suggesting that most of the viewers stayed silent unless prompted by something especially eye-catching.
Even stranger, they seemed to know Teyvat. Intimately.
[Lin Tian, hurry up and grow stronger! Go challenge the Raiden Shogun after that!]
[Nah, aim for Yae Miko. Fox girls all the way.]
[Hu Tao is the real waifu. Best girl, no question.]
[May the legends of the Archons echo through the ages!]
Lin Tian blinked. He didn't recognize the Raiden Shogun or Yae Miko. But Hu Tao? That rang a bell.
She had once been a student at the institute. The quirky girl from the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Always smiling, always skipping classes. He hadn't seen her in months.
And yet the barrage called her "Master Hu." But wasn't the director of Wangsheng Hall Hu Tao's grandfather?
There were too many inconsistencies.
Still, one thing became clear: some of these comments hinted at the future.
[Start with glassblowing! All the ancient tech starts with burning glass.]
[Liyue looks traditional, but c'mon, that's clearly processed glass behind him.]
[Make gunpowder. Rob the Northland Bank.]
[Seriously? Like they'd let him live five seconds.]
[Better idea: go full Ningguang. Start from a stall, build an empire.]
Ningguang?
Lin Tian scratched his head. That name had floated around the city recently. Something about a new Tianquan joining the Liyue Qixing.
Could these messages be glimpses of events yet to come?
If so…
He turned to the floating text and whispered, "Do you really want to help me earn Mora?"
His voice was soft, innocent. But the barrage responded in full force.
[That voice... Holy shit, thats addictive asf!]
[Too cute. I wanna adopt him.]
[Ya'll are weirdos. Back off from him, you pedos.]
[Yeah, Lin Tian, we'll help. Got any plans?]
A spark lit in Lin Tian's eyes.
"If you really want to help, tell me—has Ningguang already become one of the Qixing?"
[Absolutely! Ningguang is the Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing.]
[She's the boss. Queen energy.]
[Though the Seven Stars aren't ordered by height, okay?]
Lin Tian ignored the sillier responses and focused on the confirmation.
If the barrage was right about Ningguang, then maybe it was a window into the future.
And maybe, just maybe, he could use it to change his life.
Sunlight spilled across the cracked wood of the floorboards. Lin Tian glanced at the sky, then jumped to his feet.
"No good! I was only given three days off. If I skip again, I'll get lectured for sure."
He threw on his jacket and grabbed his satchel. He had learned early on that education was his best path forward. He wasn't strong like the dockworkers or connected like the merchants. But he was smart.
The scholars liked him, so long as he didn't skip class to hawk counterfeit lilies.