Genshin Impact's Incense Burner Of Liyue.

Sitting by the pool, Yae Miko gently swung her legs, causing ripples to spread across the water's surface.

"Even you refuse to face me now?"

Yae Miko sighed softly before rising to her feet and walking to the base of the Sacred Sakura Tree.

"I thought you'd resolve this all at once. That power was a far better solution than any of my schemes."

She lightly stroked the branches of the Sacred Sakura. "The bearer of Musou Isshin, the one who embodies the light of the heavens… Is eternity truly the best interpretation of her dream?"

"No, eternity is merely a facade—just another, more extreme form of expression."

Yae Miko turned her head slightly, her gaze sharpening. "To endure even in the face of death… What could be more important in your heart than standing before a god?"

"Or perhaps… more dangerous?"

"The fire doesn't seem to belong to Munata's Archon either. Heh. Ancient Morax, what secrets have your descendants hidden? Could you have known about all of this?"

"What exactly are you planning, to have trained such a mad yet clear-headed young man?"

---

At the Plains of the White Fox, Gu Sanqiu's flames were completely exhausted. He plummeted to the ground with a dull thud.

"Genzawa, are you okay?"

Kaedehara Kazuha used Anemo to descend gently, carrying the weakened Musou Raimei on his back. After setting his friend down carefully, he ran over to check on Gu Sanqiu's injuries.

"I'm fine. Just completely spent. That fire had regenerative properties, so our injuries shouldn't be a big issue."

Gu Sanqiu flipped over lazily. "And by the way, my name isn't Ryukai Genzawa. It's Gu Sanqiu. I'm not from around here."

"So you really aren't from Inazuma."

Kazuha didn't hesitate, quickly moving both of them to rest against the trunk of a large tree.

"I'll find us some water."

"No need, I've got some."

Taking a deep breath, Gu Sanqiu retrieved three massive water flasks from his storage space.

"Thanks. This is a lifesaver."

Buyu Raimei tilted his head back and drank greedily, letting the water soak his clothes.

"A lifesaver? We'll only be safe once we're out of Inazuma."

Gu Sanqiu set the water flasks aside. "If I'm right, we're probably already wanted by now. I bet our portraits are being sent out as we speak."

"Then what do we do now?"

"Don't worry. I've already arranged a way to get out of here."

Gu Sanqiu took another deep breath. "No questions?"

"Back at Tenshukaku, you said you were fighting for the Raiden Shogun. Was that true?"

"Yeah. I want to marry your Shogun."

…?

The two of them sighed helplessly. "Could you be serious for once, given the situation?"

"Haha, just trying to lighten the mood. Don't mind the details. We did just escape from a life-or-death situation."

Gu Sanqiu chuckled. "When I was in Liyue, a fortune teller came up to me and said my destiny was diverging, and that I'd soon face a major choice."

"And that choice involves the two of us?"

"Exactly."

Gu Sanqiu looked at Buyu Raimei. "Without me—or if events had followed the original trajectory—you'd still have chosen to storm Tenshukaku."

"And then you'd lose in the duel and die under Raiden Shogun's Musou no Hitotachi."

Kazuha froze. "Raimei would die?"

"Yes. You'd arrive at Tenshukaku just in time to see him spread his arms and face the blade head-on."

Gu Sanqiu turned to Buyu Raimei. "By changing the course of history, I saved his life."

Kazuha couldn't help but ask, "What about me?"

"You?"

Gu Sanqiu glanced between the two of them before closing his eyes.

"In the near future, you'll block Raiden Shogun's blade."

!!

Buyu Raimei's eyes widened as he turned to Kazuha, who was equally stunned and speechless.

"I'll block that blade?"

He remembered the overwhelming power of that strike vividly. Though he considered himself strong, what made him capable of withstanding such an attack?

"Yes. Don't doubt yourself. If you were the version of yourself who had just witnessed Raimei's death, you might've stood a chance against her judgment. But now? It's uncertain."

The fire within Gu Sanqiu's internal cauldron reignited, and he opened his eyes to meet Kazuha's gaze.

"But there's no denying it—you have the potential."

"I have that kind of potential?" Kazuha laughed bitterly. "You called that fortune teller a fraud. Why would you believe what they said?"

Of course, Kazuha's future was to awaken his true self, channel wind and thunder, and block the Shogun's blade. That was when he would ascend in both story and power stats, earning the title Emperor of the Leaf. How could Gu Sanqiu not know that?

Buyu Raimei nodded vigorously.

"Yeah, seriously. If anyone's the protagonist here, it should be me! I've been with him long enough to know he's never shown any of that kind of potential."

"Potential is… complicated. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure either. Maybe I'll need to ask my elders for a clearer answer."

Gu Sanqiu shook his head. According to some strange yet now seemingly plausible logic, everyone might have potential—it's just a matter of degree.

Spirit roots, soul strength, naturally opened meridians… These were all cultural interpretations of the same concept: potential.

"And potential grows as you improve."

"Raimei's death might've been the catalyst for your growth."

Buyu Raimei instinctively glanced at Kazuha, then conspicuously scooted a bit farther away from him.

"You're alive right now. What are you even afraid of?" Kazuha sighed. "And besides, according to Sanqiu's explanation, that path belongs to a future that will no longer happen."

"Yeah, but what if someday you have a wild idea and decide stabbing me is the key to leveling up?"

Buyu Raimei's mood had lightened significantly, enough to joke with Kazuha.

"You're overthinking it. Even if I wanted to grow stronger, I'd never hurt anyone to do it—let alone a friend."

Kazuha smiled. "The path to strength is lonely, but I hope to walk it with friends by my side rather than alone on an empty road."

Take Gu Sanqiu, for example. Even if he had approached them with ulterior motives, their shared determination had forged a bond. He'd chosen to stand by them in that critical moment, rather than preach lofty ideals to make them abandon their goals.

Or, worse, to forsake their spirit.

From that point on, they had been friends.

No matter how arduous the road ahead or the choices that awaited, someone would always be there, weapon in hand, ready to move forward with you.

It was a good feeling.

"Because with friends, our path is not lonely."

"Indeed. Our path is not lonely."

Buyu Raimei laughed, then turned to Gu Sanqiu.

"Hey, Sanqiu, you said earlier we'd find a way to escape to Liyue. I assume you've got something lined up over there? Don't tell me we'll be so broke we can't afford a meal."

"A meal?"

Gu Sanqiu scoffed. "I could fatten you up like a prize pig if I wanted to."

---

T/N: RIGHT i gotta change sometihng in the past (runs into the speedforce)

"..."

- Gardevoir

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