The world outside Jean's office had devolved into a maelstrom of wind and terror. The dragon's roar was a constant, gut-wrenching sound, punctuated by the shriek of the tornadoes and the crash of splintering wood and stone.
There was no time for deliberation. "All knights to your posts!" Jean commanded, her voice ringing with an authority that cut through the chaos. "Prioritize civilian evacuation! Get everyone to the cathedral and the barracks basements! Go!"
The headquarters exploded into organized action. Knights, their faces grim but resolute, poured out into the storm.
"Ganyu, Ren, stay here where it's safe!" Jean ordered, already strapping on her gauntlets.
"We're not staying," Keqing's voice cut in, sharp and decisive, as she and Yelan entered the office. "Our people are in this city. We will assist in the defense."
"I'm helping too," Ren declared, his fear eclipsed by a fierce, protective resolve. He looked at Ganyu, his eyes pleading for her to understand. "I can't just hide while people are in trouble."
Ganyu looked at the storm, then at the unwavering determination on her brother's face. Her heart was a knot of terror, but she nodded, her expression hardening. "I will not leave his side," she stated, her brilliant Cryo Vision glowing at her hip.
The group spilled out into the storm-ravaged plaza. It was a scene of pure chaos. A massive tornado was tearing through the market district, tossing debris like confetti. The wind was a physical force, a battering ram that made it almost impossible to stand.
"Spread out!" Keqing shouted over the howl of the wind. "Protect the civilians! Drive them towards the cathedral!"
The heroes of two nations threw themselves into the fray. Keqing was a blur of purple lightning, her sword flashing as she cut down a collapsing pillar before it could crush a fleeing family. Yelan moved like a phantom, her hydro-infused arrows firing with impossible speed, creating watery barriers that deflected flying debris. Ganyu, a silent, graceful force of nature, fired off charged shots that bloomed into massive, chilling ice lotuses, their expanding frost fields slowing the advance of the smaller wind vortexes.
And Ren… Ren became a guardian. He was not a fighter, but his power was perfectly suited for this crisis. He ran through the streets, his small form surprisingly stable against the gale-force winds. He saw a mother and her child huddled behind a flimsy cart as a hail of roof tiles rained down on them.
"Get behind me!" he yelled. He threw up his hands, and a massive, thick, concave shield of shimmering ice erupted from the ground, covering them completely. The tiles shattered harmlessly against its crystalline surface. He then pointed, "The cathedral! Go now!"
He moved from one crisis to the next, a mobile, instantaneous source of shelter. He saw an old man knocked off his feet by a sudden gust. Ren was there in an instant, a low, angled wall of ice appearing to shield him from the battering wind, giving him a precious moment of calm to get back up.
The party from the previous night had become an impromptu, all-star disaster relief team. From a high vantage point, Albedo used his alchemical skills to create solid, crystalline platforms, reinforcing crumbling walls and providing temporary shelter. Eula, her claymore a dance of elegant, icy fury, shattered a massive piece of a windmill that was about to fall into a crowded street. The Knights of Favonius, emboldened by the presence of these powerful allies, fought with renewed vigor, their lines holding firm against the chaos.
It was as he was shielding another group of fleeing citizens that Ren looked up at the sky, his gaze drawn to the heart of the storm. Stormterror was circling the great statue of Barbatos, his roars full of a deep, ancient pain.
And then, Ren saw her.
At first, she was just a flicker of movement, a flash of gold and white against the dark, swirling clouds. She was a small figure, but she moved with an impossible speed and grace, soaring through the air with her glider, leaving a trail of stellar light in her wake.
She was fighting the dragon.
Ren stared, his heart pounding in his chest, a jolt of profound, world-altering recognition washing over him. He knew that golden hair, that unique, otherworldly outfit.
The girl—the Traveler—was a whirlwind of power. She would dart in and out of the dragon's range, her sword flashing with a brilliant Anemo energy. She wasn't just dodging; she was dueling. She would meet the dragon's furious charges head-on, her small blade deflecting its massive claws with a shower of sparks. She summoned miniature vortexes of her own, using the dragon's own element against it, disrupting its flight and throwing it off balance.
This was no ordinary warrior. This was a being of immense, incredible power.
Ren watched, mesmerized, as the Traveler landed a powerful blow. The dragon recoiled, its roar turning from one of rage to one of pained surprise. It seemed distracted, its furious, all-out assault on the city faltering as it focused on this new, unexpectedly powerful gnat that was buzzing around its head.
The relentless pressure of the wind on the city below lessened slightly. The tornadoes began to lose their cohesion. The Traveler was not just fighting the dragon; she was drawing its attention, giving the people on the ground a precious, desperately needed respite.
A name, a title, whispered through Ren's mind, a piece of knowledge from a life he had left behind.
Lumine.
The Traveler had arrived. The main character had finally stepped onto the stage. And Ren knew, with an absolute, chilling certainty, that the story of Teyvat was about to be irrevocably changed.