A few weeks passed after that.
I finally ended everything I had to do with the JRK and was ready to give my goodbyes.
First, the asshole.
I still didn't forget about the dumbass that punched me. With a not-so-mighty God on my side, I was ready to have the second round.
"Where are we going?" a happy Jean said.
Our relationship deepened during these weeks. Of course nothing further than being friends, but I considered her to be a close one, just like Sara. Everybody in Mondstadt saw us together and was angry at me. Angry, can you believe that?
Looks like they felt I was 'stealing' their Jean. Until they found out that I owned the JRK, then they gave us their blessing, whatever that meant.
The JRK worked quite simply. You find a gem, you take the to the JRK. The JRK gives you a ton of money and sells it outside Mondstadt for millions. Then the guy who sold the gem would receive a percentage, and the rest was for Kenshin and the Knights. 10-90, as discussed before.
Every adventurer saw how much money they would receive for the 'useless' but pretty rocks and started looking for them like crazy.
I had to tell the people that their percentage would need to wait until the gem was sold, we couldn't sell everything at once. The people of Mondstadt, being the eccentric but good-natured people they were, understood it and calmed down.
Varkas and Jean were astonished by the amount of Mora they got, they didn't think having that much Mora was even possible. Now they had enough money for years.
The merchants in Liyue saw that someone started a business in Mondstadt with these gems and tried to imitate me, but they were robbed by the Treasure Hoarders who were happy to see that a lot of people were so willing to be robbed.
That made the Knights win even more money by detaining these criminals.
In the end; people were happy by selling gems, the Treasure Hoarders were happy by robbing the increasing amount of merchants, and the Knights were happy catching these criminals. And finally, those merchants were sad, but who cares about them?
Mondstadt was growing rich getting all money from Liyue, and it didn't look like it was going to stop.
Of course, I was happy too. I know I am making a shit ton of money, but I didn't care about the exact amount.
Anyway, I got along pretty well with Jean.
I tried to sing with Barbara until she begged me to stop, a thing I didn't do of course. I can't wait to sing in the Narukami Shrine.
I had adventures with the Captain, and they were amazing. We didn't find that many gems again, but we had a lot of fun. Of course, Guizhong came with me to make sure nothing happened to me, but honestly, I thought Bennet was stronger than her. She felt ashamed when I told her that a human kid was more powerful than a 2000-year-old god.
I didn't see that kid Eula around. I heard she was training to be a Knight, and I was happy for her. Knowing how famous I am, I will always be her superior.
And that was it. I didn't bother with that non-human in the guild, Signora didn't appear again and the rest were on my list to say goodbye to.
And the first was the red-haired teenager. I learned that he was 2-3 years older than me, it made him around 14-15 years old.
And Varka, knowing that it was my last day here, allowed Jean to come with me.
So now we 3, Guizhong, Jean, and I were going to start visiting the ones on the list.
"To meet the red-headed freak" I answered with a dark face.
"Red-headed-. Are you talking about Diluc-senpai?" she said with a surprised face.
"So I'm his superior now huh" I am sure I was having a very evil smile right now. "OUCH!" I stumbled into a rock
"Guizhong, what the hell!" I obviously complained.
"Stop thinking some weird things. Why are you looking for him anyway? It was your fault last time" Guizhong scolded me.
"Did something happen?" asked a confused Jean.
"I tried to cheer him up when I saw him moping and he punched me in the face" I grumbled.
"I don't think Diluc-senpai would do that" Jean looked at me suspiciously. After these weeks she got to know me better and realized that I was not the kind-hearted person she thought I was.
So she started scolding me every time I tried to prank someone, while I tried to convince her that I was trying to help. I wasn't able to.
The people around us got used to our bickering and started to ignore us like they did with all the weird things people here did.
"He tried to help him" admitted Guizhong, who acted as a mediator. Sometimes.
"Why was he punched?" asked Jean. She respected and listened to Guizhong, and I still don't know why she trusted Guizhong more than me.
"Because of how he tried to do it" Guizhong exhaled in exasperation.
"I tried to do the exact same I did with Hu Tao, and let me remind you that she was even happy afterwards" I defended myself, but Guizhong ignored me.
"He started saying that this boy, Diluc, should be happy when his father died"
"Why did you say that!?" shouted an indignant Jean.
"Jean, calm down" said Guizhong. "He was trying to make him appreciate the fact that he was able to know someone as brave as that man as his father, or something like that".
"Oh, I see now" nodded Jean.
"I don't" was all I could say. I enjoyed making people uncomfortable with my blindness.
"I'm sure of that" Jean mocked me. It only worked the first days, after that she was the one teasing me like this.
Chatting like this we finally arrived at the Dawn Winery, and I saw this Diluc guy's soul
"Hello, edgy boy" I cheekily greeted him.
"Not you again" he sighed in exasperation. "Wasn't my previous punch enough?. Do you want another one?".
"I don't think you can hit me now. I have a Go- hey!" he tried to hit me again, but now the result was going to be different.
I could see the soul more clearly now, so I knew what he was going to do before he moved, so much for his astonishment, I dodged him and retreated a few steps.
"What's wron-"
I stumbled into the wall and was going to fall, so I grabbed the first thing I could, the guy's arm.
"Sto-" of course, he didn't expect it.
As a result, we both fell, but in my back there was no ground, only the river.
SPLASH!
We both fell into the river, and it started dragging us to places unknown.
"What the hell are you doing!" he shouted, but I was the one angry now.
"Why did you punch me then?!"
"You were going to start with your bullshit again!"
"How can you know that!"
"Everything that comes out of your mouth is bullshit!"
"You have a point"
"And how did you not see the wall!"
"I'm blind now, how do you expect me to see something?!"
"Don't lie, you clearly saw me trying to hit you! Hey, look out!"
I hit a rock in the middle of the river face first.
"Ouch!. Tell me earlier, you dumbass!"
"Are you really blind?" he sounded calmer now.
"Yes, I can see people and animals, and maybe big plants, I'm still wondering about that, but not inanimate things. So if you don't help me, I'm going to drown"
After that, he complied and told me the direction I should swim to. We finally reached the shore, but I had no idea where we were.
"Do you know where are we?" I asked him. He is the 'Young Master' of Mondstadt, he may have an idea.
"No" he replied curtly. I could see that he was still angry, but I was not that calm myself.
"Doesn't matter, we can ask Barbatos if we can't find our way back" I calmly said while sensing my now wet clothes. I don't want to catch a cold just before leaving.
"What are you talking about? Don't ask me why I think you were going to spout bullshit, it's all you do" he scoffed, clearly not believing me. His loss.
I was about to answer, but I saw something grey in the air. Almost like Barbatos, but it was a lot less intense and darker.
I knew that this was a soul, after all, that was all I could see. Now my vision was entirely dark except for souls, so I couldn't miss them, if I ever saw something, it was a soul.
"Hey, red-boy"
"What do you want now?" he asked clearly in a bad mood.
"There is something wrong here. I have no time to explain it to you, but it's dangerous" I warned him. I didn't want to leave him here, and I would need some help to get out of this place.
"What do you mean?" he sensed my seriousness and looked around cautiously.
"There is something in the air, and I think we should leave or check it out. It's something from there" I pointed at the direction this 'miasma' in the air was coming from.
"If it's dangerous, we should check it out" he said, taking a great-sword from his vision.
"I'm an Honorary Knight after all" I sighed.
"You are?" he asked surprised. "How did you do it?".
"I threw a dangerous bomb at an overgrown plant, turning it into hot ice" I explained as simply as possible.
He didn't answer to that, maybe he was used to these kind of things.
I orientated him, and he guided me putting his hand on my shoulder. I felt disgusted touching this asshole, but this was serious.
"I can hear something, it looks like a battle" I suddenly said. Losing my vision allowed me to focus on my other senses.
"Stay here, I will check it out" he said, ready to go forward.
"No, take me. Whatever this thing is, you may need my help" I rejected his plan. "I may even be able to participate. If this thing is alive, I can sense him to a degree".
"Okay then, tell me what you see" he said, guiding me again.
"It is difficult to see something with all this black 'smoke', but there are 3, no, 4 people ahead of us" I said, uselessly squinting my eyes. I still had some habits I had when I was able to see. "Red-boy, let's hurry up".
"I can go as fast as you can" he said, and we increased the pace.
The closer we got, the better I was able to see.
"There is a badly injured guy on the ground, he has a Cryo Vision, and his soul is very weird, I will question him later. Another is being possessed by the thing causing this miasma. There is a man with an Electro Vision, and he seems to be very strong, maybe even stronger than you, and lastly a guy with a Pyr- wait, that's Amber!" I met her almost every day, even if we only greeted each other.
"I can see it now" he said, and I could feel his soul trembling with worry and hate, some conflicting emotions there. He was looking towards the injured boy.
"Go and help him, I will try to follow the steps you take. The Electro guy seems to be able to fight that thing for now, but it won't last" I instructed.
The red boy didn't answer, but with a burst of speed, he left me behind. He is even faster than Jean, but still weaker than Signora. Honestly, the only person in Mondstadt able to fight her off is Varka, not counting Barbatos of course.
I tried to follow his path, stumbling a few times, but I was able to get close. Judging by the fact that the Electro guy was moving all around, I realized that we were in a plain.
I analyzed the situation, especially the guy with the black thing inside him. His soul was being 'eaten' by the black being, making him unable to control himself. He was rampaging around, but the black thing was growing stronger with every moment that passed.
The Electro guy was starting to struggle, and I realized that I needed to get involved.
"Amber!" I shouted at the girl who was simply looking with worry.
"Kenshin, please help Collei" she pleaded to a blind guy who wasn't able to grab his dick on his first try.
"Calm down, I need you to carry a message okay?" she nodded energetically. "Tell Diluc to fight that thing for a while, and the Electro guy to come here. Wait!. Diluc won't be able to fight that thing alone, so tell him to play it safe and try to win time. Now go!".
Amber did exactly that. She told Diluc my plan, and he agreed without questioning it. Before long, I had a panting guy near me.
"What do you want?" he asked me in a grave voice.
"I know you are struggling and I have a plan. I don't know what that is, but I may know how to solve it" I quickly said, we can't afford to lose time, or 'Collei's' soul will disappear and we will need to fight this strong thing. It reminds me of a Remnant.
"Tell me your plan, I will think about it" he agreed for now.
"That thing is consuming this Collei's soul, we need to make it stop, We can kill it if you have a weapon able to kill souls, which probably doesn't exist" I said, asking him about his abilities.
"I don't" he succinctly said.
I saw Diluc starting to struggle.
"Or I can seal it. Don't start questioning me, there is no time. I need to get close to touch that guy, so go there and fight that thing alongside that boy. Coordinate an attack and tell me when can I start running" I explained my plan.
"Sure, seems easy" he said, looking ready to re-enter the fight.
"Also, I'm blind, so while I can see that thing, if there is a single pebble in the ground I will probably die" I commented off-handedly, making him look at me in shock.
"Kenshin, what can I do?" Amber returned to our side.
"You need to guide me to this Collei dude, I need to touch him. This Electro guy and Diluc will make an opening. Can you do that?" I seriously asked her.
"Yes!. But Collei is a girl" she replied.
"I don't care about the presence of a dick or not. Wait, that sounded weird, anyway let's go".
The guy near us disappeared and started fighting with the black thing again. I saw how 2 silhouettes, one red and one purple, moved in the darkness, fighting about this grey thing.
Sometimes they would get close, probably because the purple figure was explaining the plan to the red one.
Then they started coordinating better, and I knew the moment was approaching.
"Amber, be ready. Is there something in my path?" I hurriedly asked her. I had been too distracted by their elegant 'dance'.
"Yes, there is a rock in front of you, around 5 meters away" Amber replied.
"Then guide me to a place where I only need to run forward, quickly!" I said with urgency in my voice. The 2 figures were doing some pretty specific movements, probably executing the plan.
Just when Amber oriented me, the red figure's soul shone brightly, and I could feel the heat even from there. I guess this is his special move.
"NOW!" the purple one shouted, while dancing through the air, maybe dodging the flames, and attacked the reeling black figure.
I started running forward, in a straight line, just like Amber told me to. I could see the black thing approaching, but the purple guy's attack had stunned it, so it couldn't attack me.
I finally reached this thing and took a jade slip I always carry with me and touched it, trying to seal it.
The black thing struggled and grabbed desperately to the soul of the girl, making her scream in pain. I realized that it would split Collei's soul before I could seal it, so I did what I did with Guizhong, I 'injected' my own 'soul energy' into her soul, revitalizing it.
Between the 2, Collei pushing while I pulled, were finally able to separate the thing, and I promptly sealed it, making it disappear. Now I could only see a lacklustre soft green soul, and not a single speck of black.
"Collei!" I faintly heard Amber shouting.
"Hah...hah...hah..." I lay down on the floor, panting. I only ran for 20 meters or so, but injecting 'soul power' was too tiring.
"Did you do it?" the purple guy asked, and I could feel his worry.
"Yes....it's....done" I replied between breaths.
"Where is it?" he asked again.
"Here..." I showed him the slip.
I always carry a few with me, they are my only way of defence after all. I can't seal strong being like an Adeptus, and I refuse to seal the soul of living things, but in this case, it saved our lives.
"I will take it" said the Electro guy with a voice that admitted no discussion.
"Sure" I replied, giving the slip to him. "Hey, red guy, how's that other dude?". I was a bit worried about a possible infection.
"I'm good" the other replied in a pained voice.
"I will judge that. There may be something wrong" I countered. I was the eminence of souls here.
I looked at his soul, but only saw a black area being isolated by a white sheet of something.
"How is he?" asked Diluc in a calm voice, but I could sense his worry.
"Don't be a tsundere, if you are worried about him you should show it. And he is good, well, this black thing didn't leave any side effects on his soul, but he is a bit peculiar" I commented based on what I saw.
"What do you mean?" asked suspiciously Diluc, and I sensed this Cryo guy's alarm.
"I won't tell you that, I won't comment on other's souls" I instantly said. "You should be relieved that he is good, I will talk with him personally about anything else, but that will have to wait, I need to check the girl again" I said before approaching the green soul.
"Thank you" I heard the Cryo guy say.
"No problem. I don't know about your circumstances, but you are safe from whatever is in there" I reassured him. I don't know how much he knows, but he should be relaxed about this.
I approached the girl and saw Amber hugging her while crying.
"Collei, are you okay?" she said while sobbing.
"It hurts" complained the other girl.
"I'm sure of that" I interrupted. "Amber, move aside, I need to check for other injuries".
"Y-yes" Amber quickly moved and left me able to see the green soul.
I hadn't seen it before, but now I could see some black spots here and there, but they were incredibly small. I was not knowledgeable enough to say what effect this could have, but she was safe for now.
"There may be some side effects" I said, and the 2 girls looked at me with horror. "But you won't die. I am too exhausted now to help you, and even if I rested, I need to be stronger to help you, so we will do this. You leave to whatever place you need to go, I don't care where, and contact me if symptoms start appearing. I am Kenshin, from Inazuma, but if you contact Amber she will be able to contact me. Okay?" I explained what I saw.
"Hmm, thank you" she quietly said, before falling asleep.
"Thank you, Kenshin!" Amber hugged me.
"Okay, now leave me. I need to speak with the last guy who is getting nervous" I said looking at the purple guy.
Amber released me and started fusing over Collei again.
"How did you know that?" asked the guy.
"I have a special power that allows me to see things. Sorry, but I don't trust you" I confessed. I know better now than to start telling everyone about my power. Even Signora warned me of that.
"Hmm, a sound decision" he nodded. "My name is Cyno, I work in the Akademiya of Sumeru" he introduced himself.
"I'm Kenshin, from Inazuma" I replied in kind.
"I will leave now, I got what I came here for" he replied, touching the jade slip. "If you come to Sumeru, come and look for me, there are a lot of people who could help you develop your ability".
"And dissect me too" I bitterly said.
"It's my job to see that something like that doesn't happen" he said, and disappeared again.
Haah, I'm so tired, but I have something to do.
"Red boy, stop moping about your loss. Focus on those alive" I said to Diluc while looking to the east, where I could see Guizhong quickly approaching.
Diluc didn't answer, but I saw his soul twitching in acceptance.
He would need to find his own path, but maybe this could be the start.
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