23: Second Contact

Despite the lingering tension between them, the pizza was finished in no time. As Lin Yi pulled the freshly baked pie out of the oven, its rich aroma filled the kitchen. Saphir nodded in approval. "Not bad. Didn't think you had actual skills. Were you a chef or something?"

Lin Yi grabbed a knife and began slicing the pizza with practiced ease, dividing it into eight equal slices. "Something like that. I wasn't exactly a model student, so I joined the army. Got stationed in the mess hall and even went through formal training."

Saphir raised an eyebrow. "And that training turned army slop into this?" She clearly didn't buy it.

Lin Yi chuckled. "You've never seen it. The mess hall chefs trained to cook for high-ranking officers—real gourmet meals. The intensity of our training could rival parade drills." He moved swiftly, boxing the sliced pizza with fluid motion.

"I'm delivering this to Jean. Want to come along?" Lin Yi lifted the box, then grabbed a bottle of milk from a nearby thermal cabinet.

Saphir noticed the cabinet wasn't mechanical—it was chilled by a light blue Cryo Slime sealed inside, clearly repurposed as a living refrigerator.

She had no reason to refuse. Meeting Jean had been on her agenda anyway. With a nod, she agreed.

By the time they returned to the front of Good Hunter, Amber and the others were gone. Saphir didn't think much of it and followed Lin Yi toward the Knights of Favonius headquarters.

Knock, knock.

"Come in," came a calm, authoritative female voice.

Lin Yi pushed open the door, Saphir following right behind him.

Jean looked up from her paperwork and smiled when she saw Lin Yi. "Lin Yi." Her eyes lit up further at the sight of the pizza box. But when she noticed Saphir entering behind him, the smile faded—replaced with a more professional courtesy.

"You should take care of yourself, too. If you keep having me bring your meals, people might think I'm your personal maid," Lin Yi said bluntly, completely unfazed by Jean's formal demeanor. He didn't treat Saphir as an outsider at all.

"Ahem…" Jean cleared her throat, clearly embarrassed by his words. She quickly turned her attention to Saphir. "And this is…?"

"Nice to meet you, Acting Grand Master Jean. My name is Sharp, an old friend of Lin Yi's," Saphir said, stepping forward and placing a hand over her chest in polite greeting.

"Friend?" Jean raised an eyebrow. Lin Yi had never mentioned this person before. She turned to look at him for confirmation.

Lin Yi nodded, slouching comfortably into a chair. "Yep. From a long time ago. We're from the same world."

That got Jean's attention. She was already aware Lin Yi wasn't a native of Teyvat. If this woman was also from his world, and traveled across the stars to get here, then their connection must be significant. Jean found herself quietly speculating about their relationship.

Saphir, noticing the unspoken implications in Jean's gaze, narrowed her eyes at Lin Yi. "Coming from the same world as this guy isn't something to be proud of."

"Right back at you, you hot-headed brute," Lin Yi shot back.

To Jean, however, it just sounded like playful bickering between lovers.

Before the conversation could shift to more serious matters, the sky outside abruptly darkened. Two massive vortexes spiraled up in the plaza, catching Saphir's attention instantly. She vanished from her place and reappeared by the window, just in time to see a third wind funnel hurtling toward the Statue of the Seven.

It missed—and instead veered off course.

Saphir's eyes widened. "Damn it! Has that idiot Barbatos lost his mind?!"

She didn't wait to explain. Ignoring Jean's shocked glance, she bolted out the door.

Lin Yi stepped up to the window and calmly observed the yellow-haired girl caught in the air currents. "She'll be fine," he said with a lazy smile.

Jean, still watching, bit her lip. "That girl… your friend?"

"She can handle it," Lin Yi said simply. "You might even want to pay close attention. It'll give you a good read on her capabilities."

Jean nodded slowly. She trusted Lin Yi's judgment—and she trusted her instincts even more.

Saphir ran full tilt toward the plaza. Looking up, she assessed the situation. Without hesitation, she teleported straight into the air beside Lumine.

Lumine was stunned. "How… how did you—?"

"Deadly Blade" — Normally a skill to mark and teleport to enemies for a finishing blow, Saphir had modified it. Using elemental sigils instead of throwing daggers, she could now teleport to any previously marked location. One such mark was hidden on Lumine.

She had also marked key locations like the Rockridge Teahouse and Wangshu Inn. As long as she had time to set a mark, she could now move freely between Mondstadt and Liyue.

Marking Lumine turned out to be a wise decision.

From here, Saphir could clearly see what happened. Lumine's glider had malfunctioned. Even with Barbatos's assistance, she was falling—fast.

Saphir couldn't let her die. Not now. Not when she was crucial to her long-term plans in Liyue. Sure, she had a resurrection skill, Radiance of Rebirth, but that had a cooldown of nearly a year. Too long. Far too long.

Switching to her other form and using Holy Wings was an option. But that would reveal too much. Her current identity—"Sharp"—wasn't supposed to be capable of such miracles. If anyone connected her to Saphir, the fallout in Liyue would be disastrous. She could deal with Ningguang's suspicion, but she couldn't afford to endanger Fatui interests.

So, she grinned.

"Lumine, hold on tight. We're going to do something crazy."

"Chains of the Underworld: Soulbind" — A high-risk skill that conjured two chain-linked daggers. One dagger sapped the target's life force. The other could deliver a fatal strike. Together, they formed a lifeline—literally.

Her crimson Vision pulsed with power. A thick, dark chain—radiating death—materialized around them. The air turned heavy. Lumine's breath caught in her throat.

Saphir's body shuddered. Too much. Her form wasn't ready to channel this much elemental power. She needed to finish this fast.

She loaded her signature daggers—No Lament | Hollow Sky—into the chains. The weapon felt almost sentient, humming in anticipation.

"Go!"

The dagger embedded in the chain shot forward like a serpent, piercing Stormterror's hide. The dragon roared in pain as his blood was siphoned and transferred to Saphir.

Gripping the chain tightly, she yanked it downward—bringing both herself and Lumine onto Stormterror's back.

As the wind howled around them, Lumine looked around. She stood atop Stormterror, surrounded by scales and feathers, with nothing but dark clouds and sky-piercing tornadoes in sight.

And only now did she understand why people called it the Dragon Calamity.

If she hadn't known about Stormterror's past—hadn't known about the betrayal, the poisoning, the pain—she might have hated this dragon. But knowing everything, she felt only sorrow.

Sorrow… and guilt.

She thought of the green-clad bard. Barbatos.

Saphir had told her that man was the Anemo Archon himself. And she had ruined his chance to reach Stormterror. All because of her.

"…Sharp," she said, her voice shaking. "I want to fix this."

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