Star-Crossed [ G. Impact ]

four: part two | IV

previous chapter;

surely this would yield results useful to her.

continued.

ミ☆

collecting the next two keys was a lot more difficult than getting the first one. the second key she had gone to get was in the middle of a hilichurl camp; she made quick work with the smaller ones, but the mitachurl took a lot longer to take down due to its stone shield.

summoning her blade, she could hardly place a scratch on the surface of the shield. the sword wasn't meant for smashing up rocks like she was trying to use it to do, so she quickly made it disappear back into her inventory. this way, she could focus on her agility as she decided on her next move.

as she scoured her mind for options, she dodged its charges the best she could. it felt like she was a matador dodging an angry bull, but this bull was three times the normal size and carried its own in battle as if had been training for years on end. of course, she could always run away, but where was the fun in that? instead, she decided to try a more elemental approach and took a risk that had a slight chance of working.

clearing her mind, she directed electricity to her hands and tried to shape it into something more useful. she had seen a boy in liyue summon a sword about the same size as his own body, and she was amazed at the sight. he had been showing off some moves to his friend, who seemed uninterested as he was nose-deep in a book. she thought of his weapon as she shaped the electricity in her palms, holding a static hilt as the rest of the elemental sword began crackling with energy.

it worked. in her hand was a claymore made of pure elemental energy, and she got her stance ready as the mitachurl tried once more to take her down. her plan succeeded wonderfully. using this new ability, she took down the beast in a matter of minutes, effectively fetching the second key from the hut it had been guarding.

the next one was just as bad, if not worse, due to the two giant ruin guards shooting projectiles at her every few seconds. (y/n) used that same newfound ability to shape a bow, much like the one ganyu used, and shot electrical arrows at what she assumed were their faces. this had rendered them immobile and she was able to take them down with a flurry of attacks, using one's body as a stepping stool to reach the chamber where the third key was located.

exhausted and minorly injured from the missiles, she limped her way towards the actuator and inserted the last key into place. the stone glowed brightly, and in the distance, she heard the sound of the metal gate creaking as it receded into the archway it had been dropped out of in the first place.

proud of figuring it out all by herself, she did a little happy dance before quickening her pace towards the unlocked building.

however, something stopped her in her tracks. she turned her head as she listened for another strange noise, but nothing happened. the girl slowly opened her palm to summon her weapon just in case the noise was a hilichurl she missed. the only thing she heard at that moment was a blackbird in the distance and the grass swaying in the breeze. a few glowing teal particles flew by but disappeared almost as quickly as they had shown up.

weird... she thought, inspecting her surroundings one last time before hurrying inside.

the room she entered was lit by a few torches hanging on the wall, and a large chest was situated on the floor before her. kneeling down, (y/n) opened it and peeked at its contents. the first thing she noticed was the folded clothes drenched in dried blood.