However, Rostam, left behind in Mondstadt, never expected...
He never got to hear the news of his friend's triumphant return, nor did he live to see the day the girl studying far away came home.
Before any of that could happen, the stench of calamity from the ancient nation reached this land.
The dark dragon, influenced and corrupted, rose from the sea, its shadow looming over Mondstadt.
The poisonous dragon's roar tore apart the people's joy. The footsteps of monsters shook the earth, bringing flames and disaster.
---
Inside the Knights of Favonius meeting hall, chaos reigned.
"Lord Rostam, monsters are invading the nearby villages! Civilian casualties are severe!"
"Deputy Grand Master Rostam, the poisonous dragon is drawing close to Mondstadt! Wherever it passes, the land rots into foul black water! What are we supposed to do?!"
"What else can we do?! The main forces are away on the expedition! We who were left behind, how are we supposed to deal with monsters like these?! Mondstadt is finished! We need to flee, flee to the neighboring nation of Liyue!"
Bang.
His face cold, Rostam brought his palm down on the table. The sound rang out through the hall.
The clamoring Knights of Favonius went silent.
The authority this shadow commander had built over years still held these frightened people in check, even now.
Once silence fell, he said nothing.
Facing this desperate situation, his own heart was locked in fierce inner turmoil.
Against the dark monsters, he could still lead the knights, drive his sword into their bodies with his own hand, and spend his life protecting the people of Mondstadt.
But that approaching poisonous dragon... how were they supposed to deal with something like that?
He had no answer. This was beyond his reach.
He had never thought the promise he made silently to himself would shatter so soon.
He had promised his friend on the expedition, and promised the girl studying abroad, that he would protect their homeland.
Was there truly no way?
Perhaps he had always been unequal to the great responsibility Arundolyn had entrusted to him.
He knew well that commanding in a crisis was not where his strengths lay.
That was why he had chosen to become Mondstadt's shadow, to do the unseen work for the Lion who stood in the light.
If it were Arundolyn, what would he do?
He tried to think from his friend's perspective.
Unlike me, who has always been this way, Arundolyn has lived amidst sunshine and the warmth of others since he was a child.
Compared to someone like me, who has been disappointed by the world too many times, he is more willing to believe in hope, more willing to believe in miracles.
He thought he had his answer.
"Issue the order. Assemble all the people of Mondstadt in the square."
---
When pushed to the brink, if anything could still save Mondstadt...
The only thing he could think of was that wind-singer, the one who had once freed the people of old Mondstadt from the tyrant, who had strummed his strings, called upon the divine wind to blow away ice and snow, and split the mountains themselves.
Whenever darkness covered Mondstadt, that god had appeared to guide them through it.
He prayed this time would be no different.
---
The people of Mondstadt prayed devoutly in the square.
And their god, in the end, did not abandon them. Riding the divine wind, he arrived as expected.
The Anemo Archon played the Skyward Lyre once more, and the wind dragon was summoned again.
The people rejoiced.
Rostam drew his sword and rushed with the knights to the front lines, fighting alongside them for their homeland.
---
It had been a long time since Signora had dreamed.
Because dreams belonged to the living.
The dead had no need of them.
To be precise, the one who had died was not Signora, but a girl named Rosalyne.
On that day, five hundred years ago, she had already died.
But for some reason, today, after finishing her duties for the Tsaritsa and lying down to sleep, Signora's brow furrowed as she dreamed once more.
A dream she had dreamed countless times before.
In her sleep, she was back at the Sumeru Akademiya, where she had once studied.
---
"R-Rosalyne! Classmate Rosalyne!"
As class ended, a voice from behind startled Rosalyne, who had been gathering her books to leave.
She turned around and saw a girl with braided hair and round-framed glasses standing nervously behind her.
Compared to the golden-haired, gracefully poised Rosalyne, she was plain and unremarkable in every way.
Rosalyne was not particularly kind to her because of it:
"Martha, must you always sneak up and frighten people like that?"
"Hmph!"
Rosalyne crossed her arms and lifted her chin: "What an idiot. No wonder the professor doesn't like you."
Yet, faced with her ridicule, Martha wasn't upset at all. If anything, she looked pleasantly surprised:
"Rosalyne, you remember my name?"
Rosalyne's expression shifted to something slightly awkward: "It's not like I went out of my way to remember it! I just noticed that someone was always getting scolded by the professor, and I was curious how anyone could be that consistently hopeless."
"Hehe. Compared to you, Rosalyne, my head really isn't that sharp."
Martha fiddled shyly with her braid.
"Hmph, at least you're aware of that much. There's hope for you yet."
Rosalyne glanced at her and asked: "So, what do you want?"
"I just wanted to thank you, Rosalyne! I thought I was finished just now! Professor Sneh's expression was so terrifying, I felt like I was about to be devoured whole! I'm so glad you reminded me about that equation..."
Martha rarely spoke with others. She was known as a quiet, introverted girl.
But once she started talking to Rosalyne, it was as though a floodgate had opened. She chattered on and on as if she had an endless supply of things to say.
Rosalyne, developing a headache, cut her off: "Alright, alright, I understand."
"Oh... okay." Martha blinked and nodded meekly.
Seeing that expression, Rosalyne couldn't help but frown: "Why are you always so timid? Can't you relax a little? I'm not going to eat you."
"Well..."
Martha's shoulders drooped slightly: "I wish I could. But compared to you, Rosalyne, I'm just too plain. In looks and in academics, I fall so far short. Standing next to you, I lose all my confidence."
"That much is obvious."
Rosalyne put her hands on her hips.
Then she glanced sideways at her, hesitating: "Although, of course, you can't compare to me. But surely you have your own good qualities. Your notes are neater than mine, for one thing. The tasks the professor assigns, you complete every one of them without fail. And after class, you are always the one cleaning the room..."
She could see Martha's eyes gradually lighting up as she listened.
Rosalyne caught herself quickly: "Not that I'm praising you. I only thought that even the most hopeless people occasionally have something worth pointing out."
"Waaah! Rosalyne!"
"Wh-what are you doing?!"
Martha was moved beyond words.
Before Rosalyne could finish, she rushed forward and threw her arms around her, clinging on and rubbing her face against her shoulder.
Rosalyne struggled frantically and took a considerable amount of effort to free herself from the embrace.
"Honestly, are you an idiot? You've completely ruined my hair."
Rosalyne complained while putting herself back in order.
"S-sorry, Rosalyne! I was just so happy! That's the first time anyone has ever said anything like that to me!"
Martha's face was flushed, the freckles across her nose somehow looking endearing in that moment.
"Well..."
Martha said shyly: "Rosalyne, I have an inconvenient request."
"If you already know it's inconvenient, maybe don't ask."
Rosalyne said impatiently: "What is it?"
Martha looked at her with shining eyes: "Rosalyne, will you be my friend?"
Rosalyne blinked.
She hadn't expected that to be the request.
She looked at the hopeful expression on Martha's face, hesitated for a moment, and then gave a small nod.
"Yay! Rosalyne and I are friends!"
"Idiot, don't shout so loud."
"Oh... okay."
A pause.
"Rosalyne..."
"Mm?"
"I heard that when you first enrolled, you received over a dozen love letters, and someone named Driyoshi even stopped you on the road to confess. Is that true?"
"Something like that."
"That's so enviable. When will anyone ever confess to me?"
"Hmph. A bunch of fools with nothing better to think about. I wouldn't give any of them the time of day."
"Huh? Why? Does Rosalyne already have someone she likes?"
"..."
"You're blushing! You are! Who is it? Who is it? I have to know!"
"Shut up. You talk far too much."
---
"Wuwu, Rosalyne, my experiment on portable Hydro element storage has failed again!"
Martha grabbed at her hair, looking utterly pitiful.
"Is that so."
Martha puffed out her cheeks: "Rosalyne! Your dear friend is devastated and that is your response?!"
She walked over: "Eh? Are you looking at that water clock again?"
Rosalyne was resting her chin on her hand, gazing at the hourglass sitting on the table. A small, unconscious smile had settled on her lips.
Martha leaned over and stared at it with wide eyes: "The sand is more than halfway through. That means the time Rosalyne and I have together is running out too."
"No. It means I can go home soon."
"Wow! You're not even sad about us parting, and on top of that you're happy about it! You value romance over friendship!"
"Ah, right, I am actually quite sad about it."
"You sound completely indifferent."
---
"Rosalyne, congratulations on passing the assessment once again."
The gray-haired professor looked at the golden-haired girl before him, his expression full of approval.
He sighed: "Before you came, this problem troubled me for a long time. I never expected that the issue of Pyro element stabilization, which gave me such persistent difficulty, would be resolved so elegantly in your hands."
Rosalyne replied modestly: "Professor Hohenfels, you flatter me. I only did what was expected of me."
"No, no."
The professor shook his head: "I am quite certain. You are different from the other students. You possess a truly remarkable talent. The volatile Pyro element is as docile as a lamb in your hands, entirely at your command. Rosalyne, can you tell me the reason?"
Rosalyne hesitated.
But the professor spoke first: "I have heard that some women are born with the ability to perceive the elements. Even without a Vision, their power grows stronger with age."
"Could it be that you..."
Rosalyne's eyes widened before she could stop herself.
The fact that Pyro energy flowed within her was something only her parents knew. She hadn't told even Rostam.
Not for any complicated reason. Simply because his opinion mattered too much to her. She didn't yet know what he would think of it.
Her parents had sent her to study in Sumeru precisely because of the Pyro energy within her.
"I was not certain before, but after watching how naturally you command the flames, I found my answer."
The professor smiled and shook his head slowly: "My own teacher once told me that on this continent, there exists a mysterious organization called the Hexenzirkel. Its members are all women like you. Some hold Visions, some do not, but without exception, every one of them possesses power far beyond the ordinary."
"The Hexenzirkel..."
A mix of shyness and longing stirred in Rosalyne: "Will I become someone like them someday? Mysterious and powerful?"
"Yes. I believe you will."
The professor nodded, but then, mindful of his responsibility to her, offered a word of caution: "However, there is a saying we hold to in Sumeru, Rosalyne. I will give it to you today: everything has two sides. Your talent with the Pyro element is extraordinary, but you must never lose yourself in it. Never let the flames devour your heart."
Rosalyne nodded: "Professor Hohenfels, I will remember your words."
---
"Move aside. I'm leaving now."
"Rosalyne! You only have one final assessment left before you complete your studies! If you leave now, won't everything you've worked for be wasted?"
Martha stood in front of her, helpless and at a loss.
Rosalyne held her luggage and looked at her, saying each word clearly: "I'll say it again. Move."
"Rosalyne, what has happened? Can you tell me?"
Martha looked at Rosalyne's pale face and was close to tears.
Rosalyne was quiet for a moment. When she spoke, her voice was slightly unsteady: "Yesterday, some scholars who had fled Mondstadt came back through here. I heard them say that the black calamity has reached my homeland. Monsters and the poisonous dragon are causing devastation everywhere."
"How could that be..."
Martha went still, whispering: "But Rosalyne, it's so dangerous there right now..."
She tried once more to dissuade her. But when she looked at the resolve in Rosalyne's eyes, the words died in her throat.
Martha took a slow breath: "Rosalyne, I'm coming with you."
---
Even though they traveled without rest, pushing through wind and exhaustion.
They were, in the end, too late.
When they reached Mondstadt, what Rosalyne saw was a land stained with blood and ruin.
Everything in her homeland had changed.
---
"Excuse me, have you seen my father and mother?"
---
"Excuse me! Do you know where Deputy Grand Master Rostam is?!"
---
Through rubble and broken walls, across ground stained with black blood, she searched desperately.
The two girls endured one hardship after another.
In the end, what lay before Rosalyne were her parents, their eyes closed forever.
And a shattered knight's sword.
In the poisonous dragon's breath, the knight who had bled to the last drop hadn't even left a body behind.
The one who had given her the timepiece had become a casualty of the calamity.
That pitch-black disaster had taken everything the girl had ever been promised.
Her cherished people. The days she had known. The bright future that had once waited for her.
All of it stopped here.
Rosalyne knelt before her parents' bodies and that broken sword, weeping without a sound.
The wind that had always been so gentle over Mondstadt was nowhere to be felt.
But to the girl, that no longer mattered.
No wind, no matter what kind, could ever bring her his gaze again.
-------
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