*After arriving on the ship*
"Oh, it's you guys." Juza smiled. "Here, wait a second….Hey! Capt'n Beidou! You got visitors!"
Beidou, who was standing on the prow of the ship, turned.
"Hmm? Who've we got here... Oh, Lumine! How are you feeling, livin' it up in Liyue? After fighting the Fatui and Osial of course."
"Nice to meet you again, Captain Beidou. Although, my reputation precedes me…"
"Haha, Ningguang told me all the details about your grand battle during the Lantern Rite. Ahem. "A traveler of great insight and remarkable skill that has saved Liyue," she said. She's a hard one to please... so praise from her is high praise indeed. While I haven't seen you in action, I'm sure you're everything rumors say you are! Judging by the clothes on your back and this floating thing, I guess that time has come."
"Hey! The name's not "floating thing," it's PAIMON!"
"Paimon... hmm... What a fascinating being. You two give off not only the essence of wind and earth but also of... yes... the stars…"
Lumine whipped her head around, instantly pinpointing a strangely dressed man sitting on the very tip of the ship. Although…she had no clue how he even balanced on that thin area in a sitting position like that.
"Eh? The fragrance of what now? That's the weirdest compliment Paimon's ever heard…"
The mysterious figure turned, revealing a young face set with soft red eyes and wavy white-ish hair.
"Pay it no heed... I mean only to say I am certain... that it is by fate, not chance alone, that we should meet... and that gives our encounter meaning."
"Is this guy a bard, by any chance?", Lumine asked, the strange sing-song tone reminding her of Venti's songs.
"You're not far off, but they go by a different name in Inazuma."
"And this must be your bard-for-hire?"
"Uh, I prefer... other means of entertainment."
"Like booze and partying! Plus rock music, Xinyan's speciality! And Xiangling's cookin'! ", Juza yelled out from his position carrying cartons of supplies.
"Aye!" cried out the rest of the crew in unison.
"Urgh".
Beidou put a hand on her face although Lumine could clearly see the upturned corners of her lips.
"Anyway, this young man is Kaedehara Kazuha, a temporary addition to my crew for reasons I won't bore you with. Occasionally, he opens his mouth and flowers come out instead of words."
As she introduced him, Kazuha stood up before performing a simple flip that landed him right next to Beidou. He bowed slightly although Lumine could see that his stance was slightly guarded.
"With this fine ship and the soft breeze... would it not be romantically irresponsible of me not to acknowledge it with a line or two of poetry?"
"....Can't argue with the flowers part, Beidou."
"Okay then, once The Clash is underway, I'll give you a chance to perform."
"Only if the mood takes me, of course. Poetry for poetry's sake tends to lack meaning."
"Hey, you don't wanna pass this opportunity up, especially seeing as our great hero might be in attendance.
"Wait a minute, what's The Clash? Also, just to clarify, by "great hero"... do you mean…..Lumine?"
Now it was Beidou's turn to be surprised.
"Huh? I thought you might be here to sign up... You're telling me you've never even heard of it? The Crux Clash is a martial arts tournament that I hold. There'll be a whole bunch of folks taking part to showcase their talents. There are two important rules. One — competitors must be renowned fighters. We want those with real martial arts ability, not just people taking part for the fun of it. So, you've got nothing to worry about there. I don't think there's anyone out there who hasn't heard of you. Two — you can't take part if you've got a Vision. Otherwise, things get a little... one-sided."
"I don't have a Vision, but—"
"Haha, you must be feeling confident, but you might wanna watch out — there are a few crouching tigers and hidden dragons lurking around in Liyue. And with Liyue's savior taking part in the tournament... Now that's gonna turn a few heads. I think we can expect a healthy turnout this time…"
"But... we didn't come here to take part in a martial arts tournament…."
"Well, before you dismiss the idea completely, you might be interested to hear that the prize this time 'round is particularly sought after...Get this — it's a Masterless Vision!"
Kazuha nodded,
"Supplied by myself, as a matter of fact. If the tournament champion can reawaken the Vision... it belongs to them."
"Is there really such a thing as a masterless Vision!?"
"Yes. When a Vision bearer dies, the light in their Vision will fade away. But the shell that housed that light remains. As for whether this shell has any practical application, well, this remains to be seen. But my intuition tells me that while it remains in the world, it may just be possible for someone else to inherit it."
"Yep, and the way I see it, a Vision is a badge of recognition from the gods — so if anyone's able to rekindle it, it's got to be an individual of exceptional strength and talent. Organizing The Clash is my way of uncovering hidden talents... and hopefully, this time, of getting a Vision to glow again. So, if you don't have a Vision, this is the perfect opportunity to get your hands on one of your very own."
"But, Beidou. A Vision is of no use to me."
"Yeah, we're interested in getting to Inazuma, not fighting in some tournament!"
"Inazuma? You... want to go there?" Kazuha looked unnerved, but unlike Atsuko who expressed worry, Lumine felt that underneath that disbelief was a feeling of regret and sadness. She wondered why….
Beidou's chuckle broke up her thoughts.
"Well, why didn't you say so! Inazuma? No sweat. In that case, if you win the tournament, I'll give you a choice: Masterless Vision, or a ticket to Inazuma aboard The Alcor. Up to you.
"That simple?"
"Yep."
"You just want her to take part in your tournament, Capt'n Beidou!"
"Hahaha, what's wrong with that? The more talent we have, the better the tournament will be. I can't let a competitor like you fall through the net." Beidou winked before gesturing in a 'shoo, go away' motion.
"See you guys there then! Registrations' just beyond that rock over there."
As Lumine and Paimon got off the bought, Paimon sighed.
"What're we gonna do? Looks like we pretty much have to do this tournament if we want to get to Inazuma, huh?"
Lumine laughed before lightly bopping Paimon's nose.
"Let's give this a shot! I'm not worried that much anyway."