After what felt like an eternity of enforced bedrest, Ren was finally, blessedly, deemed "stabilized" enough to be ambulatory. Before Xianyun returned to her mountain sanctuary, she gave him one final, stern examination.
"Your internal energies have settled," she had concluded, her golden eyes sharp and analytical. "However, you are still in a state of recovery. This one will return to Mt. Aocang to continue the analysis of the data from the… incident. One expects you to return once you are fully healed. Do not rush the process."
With that, she had departed, leaving Ren in the tender, iron-grip care of his sisters.
His newfound freedom, however, came with a very short leash.
"You may leave the house," Ganyu had declared, her tone that of a gentle but unyielding warden, "but only if Keqing or I are with you. No one else. No exceptions."
Keqing had nodded in firm agreement. "And you are to remain within the city limits of the Harbor. No trips to the outskirts. And absolutely," she had added, her amethyst eyes fixing on him with a look that could quell a charging Lawachurl, "no training."
And so, Ren's world expanded from the confines of his house to the familiar, bustling streets of Liyue Harbor, but always under the watchful, eagle-eyed escort of one of his two powerful, adoring, and utterly uncompromising guardians.
His days took on a new, pleasant, if slightly restricted, rhythm. He would walk through the markets with Ganyu, who would still try to shield him from overly enthusiastic citizens who recognized "Liyue's Azure Savior" and wanted to thank him. He would sit in on Keqing's meetings at the Yuehai Pavilion, no longer a secret consultant, but a quiet, honored guest, his presence a comforting, familiar sight to the other Qixing members.
He was a hero in a gilded cage, loved, cherished, and protected to a point of near absurdity.
It was during one of these chaperoned strolls through the harbor that he saw a familiar, welcome face. Lumine was standing near the Adventurers' Guild, studying the commission board with a look of intense concentration.
"Lumine!" he called out, a genuine, happy smile on his face.
She turned, and her own face broke into a warm, relieved smile. "Ren! It's so good to see you up and about. I heard you were confined to your bed. I'm glad you're feeling better."
Paimon, who had been trying to discreetly get a free sample from a nearby food stall, zipped over. "Yeah! We were really worried! Ganyu looked like she was going to freeze anyone who even looked at your house too loudly!"
They spoke for a while, a comfortable, easy conversation between friends who had been through a world-altering crisis together. Ren noticed a new, focused determination in Lumine's eyes, a sense that she had found a new direction.
"You're not leaving for Inazuma yet?" Ren asked.
Lumine shook her head, gesturing to a newly posted commission on the board. The parchment was rimmed with a frosty, icy border. "Not yet. I need to get stronger, and I need more information. This seems like the best place to start. Katheryne says there are a number of strange things happening on Dragonspine. A research team from Mondstadt has set up camp there. I've taken a commission to go and investigate."
Dragonspine. The great, frozen, dragon-haunted mountain that sat on the border between Liyue and Mondstadt. Ren knew it well from his past life. It was a place of harsh, unforgiving cold, ancient secrets, and… alchemists.
"Albedo is there, isn't he?" Ren asked, his mind already connecting the dots.
Lumine's eyes widened in surprise. "He is. How did you know?"
"Just a guess," Ren said with a small, knowing smile.
The path of the main story was continuing, but it was taking a detour. The journey to the land of Electro would have to wait. The Traveler's new path was leading her into the heart of a frozen, ancient mystery.
They said their goodbyes, Lumine promising to visit again once she had returned from the icy peaks. Ren watched her go, a sense of quiet satisfaction in his heart. The hero was on her quest, growing stronger, gathering allies, and forging her own path through the world. And he, for now, was content in his own role: the quiet, well-guarded hero of Liyue, slowly healing, patiently waiting, and biding his time for the next great chapter of his own incredible story.