Ten days later.
"Eula, don't worry, calm down," Jean comforted Eula, who was sitting in front of her.
Eula sat on the sofa, her expression calm, but her eyes were filled with anxiety.
In the letter, Yuxie had clearly stated that he would return in a few days, but now it had already been ten days and there was still no sign of him, no news at all.
Although Eula tried hard to convince herself that he would be fine, a strange feeling kept rising in her heart. Her intuition told her that she could no longer wait like this.
Jean's face also showed concern.
"Captain Jean, I have to find Yuxie," Eula stood up suddenly.
"But we have no idea where Yuxie went," Jean said gravely. "Searching blindly is like looking for a needle in a haystack."
Of course, Jean also wanted to find Yuxie, but as she said, no one knew where he had gone.
Mondstadt was so large that it would be nearly impossible to find someone without any leads.
"Calm down, Eula," Jean continued, "I will have people keep an eye on news both inside and outside of Mondstadt, and I will send people to search for any trace of Yuxie. If there's any news, I'll let you know immediately."
"…Thank you, Captain Jean," Eula said quietly.
After leaving the Knights of Favonius, Eula walked alone on the streets.
The calls of the vendors along the street today sounded particularly grating to her. The sunlight seemed unbearably bright, and even the usually gentle breeze now felt sharp and irritable.
Where exactly did Yuxie go?
The question kept repeating itself in Eula's mind.
She arrived at Yuxie's residence, hoping that perhaps he had already returned and was resting at home.
Gathering her courage, she reached out and knocked on the door.
She waited for a long time, but the door remained tightly shut.
Eula lowered her gaze and, unwilling to give up, knocked again.
But the result didn't change.
Eula took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
Where could Yuxie have gone?
A list of places flashed through her mind. She closed her eyes, trying to find some clue in the words Yuxie had said before he left.
Finally, for some reason, the scene in her mind froze.
Dragonspine.
"Dragonspine…" she murmured softly, turning to look in the direction of the snowy mountain.
She couldn't explain why she thought of Dragonspine, but her body had already begun to react.
Before her mind could provide a reasonable answer, her feet had already begun to move.
.......
On Dragonspine, snow was falling.
Yuxie walked out of a cave and looked at the white landscape outside.
The cold wind hit him sharply, and he tightened his clothes.
Snow from the pine trees fell, blending with the white on the ground.
It was the tenth day, and the unusual power within his body still hadn't been cleared.
Yuxie had thought it would only take a few days, but he hadn't expected it to take this long.
What was Eula doing now? She must be worried.
Her personality is just like this: kind and innocent.
Yuxie didn't want to make Eula worry, or anyone else for that matter, but he couldn't go back just yet.
Although the power inside him was still being suppressed by the system, and hadn't gone out of control, the sense of foreboding in his heart was growing stronger — if he didn't resolve it soon, that unusual power would soon be impossible to contain.
Every night for the past few days, Yuxie had dreamed of Durin.
It was still the same tranquil lake, and Durin's crying, sometimes faint, sometimes louder.
From the sound of that crying, Yuxie could feel that Durin wanted to atone for his sins with his own death, but Durin was also worried about him.
At this moment, some noises around him pulled Yuxie back to reality. He turned to look in the direction of the sound.
Many monsters were walking by, seemingly summoned by something, moving forward in an orderly manner, like a well-disciplined squad.
This situation was certainly suspicious.
Normally, monsters had low intelligence, and it was rare for them to behave like this.
Yuxie glanced at the direction the monsters were heading toward.
Wyrmrest Valley.
A bad feeling stirred in his heart. Yuxie followed behind the monsters, heading toward the Wyrmrest Valley.
In the Grand Commander's Office.
Varka stood by the window, looking outside with a slightly serious expression.
Yuxie was a junior he deeply admired, and now that Yuxie had disappeared for ten days without any news, Varka couldn't help but be worried.
He had already sent people to search for any trace of Yuxie, but there was only one insignificant piece of information — Yuxie had left Mondstadt at noon ten days ago.
Knock knock knock.
"Come in," Varka said.
"Report, Commander, the latest update: many monsters are gathering toward Dragonspine!"
"What?" Varka frowned.
"The informant said that some of the monsters from Liyue are also heading toward Dragonspine!"
Varka's expression immediately grew grave.
This was unheard of.
All the monsters were gathering toward Dragonspine? Was there something on the mountain that was attracting them?
This was not good news.
"Gather the troops immediately and head to the Snow Mountain!"
"Yes!"
.....
Yuxie followed the monsters all the way to Wyrmrest Valley.
Previously, due to the incident with Eroch, the cave in Wyrmrest Valley had collapsed. Now, many monsters had gathered here, and they were starting to clear away the rubble left by the collapsed cave.
Such behavior from monsters was absolutely abnormal.
As Yuxie pondered what his next step should be, Durin's voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"I'm sorry... I..."
It was still the same apology, but there seemed to be something more.
Yuxie focused slightly, and Durin's voice became clearer. At the same time, the scenery around him suddenly changed.
In a fully awake state, Yuxie found himself standing by the lake from his dreams.
This time, there was no Durin in the center of the lake, but a small boy standing there.
The boy's back was lonely and desolate, as though he had borne centuries of solitude.
Yuxie walked closer, and the water beneath his feet rippled.
"Are you Durin?"
"It's me." The boy's voice was soft, filled with despair. "I'm sorry, I caused this to happen to you."
The boy lowered his head, and Yuxie couldn't see his expression.
"What's going on with those monsters?"
"The alchemist named Eroch triggered a strong chain reaction. My power seeped into the ley lines, and those monsters were attracted by my power. If my power continues to influence them, in time, they'll become a powerful disaster. Then Mondstadt will..."
"So, if I completely remove your power, that should solve the problem?"
"Yes, but if you do that now, you will..."
"There's no other way..."
"What if I first eliminate the power within me, and then go on to eliminate the remnants of your power? Would that work?"
"Theoretically, yes, but... there's no time left."
"..." Yuxie fell silent, gazing into the distance. "Yeah, there's no time left."
He hadn't ignored the possibility of the worst outcome. Racing against time wasn't something that could always be won.
End of chapter
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