"I'm sorry, it's all because of me. If it weren't for me, Mondstadt wouldn't have ended up like that, and you wouldn't have ended up in such danger..." Durin slowly raised his head.
Yuxie finally saw Durin's face—a young boy's face, still full of innocence.
But in his eyes, which should have been clear, there was only despair.
"From your perspective, you probably think you just came to Mondstadt and joined in the singing and dancing with the people here, right?" Yuxie said.
"Yes... I never expected it would turn out like this..." Tears fell from Durin's eyes, glistening with deep regret.
"I won't let the disaster happen again."
"You mean... but if you do that, you'll..."
"I really like Mondstadt, the land of wind and freedom." Yuxie interrupted Durin. "It's a place full of people I care about, and things I cherish. If the disaster starts again, it would trouble me greatly."
"But... you'll die..."
"Maybe. But I guess I have to take the gamble." Yuxie shrugged.
For some reason, perhaps because of all the life-and-death experiences he had been through—though he couldn't remember most of them—he surprisingly found it somewhat acceptable in this moment.
"So, I accept your apology." Yuxie smiled.
Durin stared at Yuxie, his expression frozen in shock. It seemed as if he couldn't believe that the person in front of him could face all this with such a smile.
The scene around them began to collapse.
Yuxie opened his eyes.
The coldness of the snow-covered mountains surrounded him. The white snow spread endlessly, and countless monsters had gathered.
Yuxie looked towards Mondstadt in the distance.
The city glimmered in the sunlight, and the nearby Cider Lake reflected the light.
It was a city where he had once lived, and there were countless dreams taking root within it.
If the disaster started again, many people in Mondstadt would undoubtedly fight to the end against it.
The disaster wouldn't destroy Mondstadt, but undoubtedly, many dreams and lives would be shattered in the battle with it, and some might even lose their lives.
Yuxie didn't think of himself as someone who acted out of great ideals. He simply wanted to protect the things and people he valued.
Like a certain girl who always held grudges, or the friends who had brought him the warmth of family.
He was a traveler from beyond the world, someone who was meant to be alone.
But everyone had made him feel like he had a place to call home, and the loneliness had slowly faded away.
Yuxie drew out his sword, "Cloud Cutter", the blade gleaming with a sharp, blinding light.
He slowly moved forward, his steps firm in the snow, leaving a trail of determined footprints behind him.
The monsters on the pile of rubble, which had been rummaging around as if searching for something, stopped moving at that moment, all of them turning to face Yuxie.
They sensed his approach, their crimson eyes filled with murderous intent, and they let out furious roars of warning.
The blade flashed as Yuxie moved among the monsters like a dancer.
The roars of the monsters echoed through the valley.
It wasn't long before the snow on the ground became a chaotic mess. Yuxie struggled to steady himself, his breathing heavy and erratic.
Behind him, clusters of monsters had fallen.
But further ahead, more and more monsters appeared, an endless stream.
These creatures seemed to be drawn by some kind of fatal attraction, heedlessly rushing here to uncover something hidden beneath the pile of rubble.
One person, after all, was too weak to hold his ground. His strength was running low, and continuing to clear out the monsters like this wouldn't change the situation.
The source had to be eliminated quickly.
Yuxie took a deep breath. The cold mountain air filled his lungs as he turned his gaze toward the pile of rubble occupied by countless monsters. He closed his eyes and focused, feeling the surroundings.
"Boom boom—"
"Boom boom—"
The sound of a heartbeat reached his ears, carried by the wind. Durin's heart was still beating under the rubble. That was the source, the origin.
As long as that heart is destroyed, everything will end, and the disaster will not come.
But if he did that, he might never be able to return.
The abnormal power inside him still needed more time to be completely cleared, but there was no time left.
The monsters had already cleared away much of the rubble, and within minutes, Durin's heart would reemerge.
The power contained within it would drive the monsters into madness. At that point, the trouble would be more than they could handle.
The only person who could solve everything before that happened was him—right here, right now.
Suddenly, the image of Eula appeared in his mind.
He thought back to the first day he met Eula, sitting by Cider Lake, talking about all kinds of things.
Yuxie glanced back down at the scene below the mountain. The view was beautiful.
If he could, he would like to go on another outing with everyone, to spend time with Eula and Amber again in that secret base, doing nothing.
But now, he had to make a decision.
The disaster would not happen again. This was his choice.
A flash of white light cut through Dragonspine, the air splitting apart, and with it, Durin's heart buried beneath the rubble was cleaved in two.
.....
Eula ran through the snow-covered mountain.
Her intuition told her not to stop, that she couldn't afford to stop for even a moment.
The cold air seemed to freeze her airways, but she kept running, her footprints in the snow somewhat disordered behind her.
She had entered the snow-covered mountain without much preparation, and such actions were undoubtedly reckless, but Eula didn't care.
She was simply following the deepest guidance of her heart.
She couldn't stop... she couldn't stop!
It felt as though if she stopped, everything would be irreversible.
Suddenly, without warning, some past scenes flashed through her mind.
"Eula, when you become a Knights of Favonius member, there will probably be many voices of doubt, but don't worry, I will always stand by your side." Yuxie said under the sunlight.
"Why do you support me so unconditionally?" Eula asked in a small voice.
"Guess?" Yuxie raised an eyebrow.
"How could I guess what you're thinking? I don't know mind-reading."
"Alright, actually the reason is simple. If you invite me to dinner at the Good Hunter's Restaurant tonight, I'll tell you."
"Just tell me! Why make me treat you to dinner?"
"Because..."
Strange, what did Yuxie say at the end of that conversation?
She couldn't quite remember, but it felt like something important.
At this moment, Eula suddenly stumbled under her feet.
She fell into the snow, but without hesitation, she climbed back up and continued running.
The cold wind and snowflakes continued to lash against her face, like tiny blades cutting across her cheeks.
"I'm sorry, those important words... I shouldn't have forgotten them," Eula said in her heart. "Can you say them again? This time, I'll treat you to as many meals at Good Hunter's Restaurant as you want."
A white flash of light appeared from the direction of Dragonspine, like a line cutting through the sky. Eula's eyes trembled uncontrollably.
"Yuxie..."
A certain feeling swept through Eula's heart.
Am I... too late?
End of chapter
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