Flowers apart

9

Star struggled to get up - the teleportation left him feeling weak and dizzy. He felt bile rising to his throat as he stood up too fast, his world was spinning out of control. He doubled over and out his mouth came saliva, nasty bile, and leftover petals with splatters of blood that he didn't get out last time. He hasn't ate since 18 hours ago, before the concert, and when his world finally settled, there was that unmistakable growl from his stomach.

Where am I? He thought, slowly walking away from the odd structure that he has come to know as a teleport waypoint.

Trying to navigate through the thick forest trees, he walked slowly, not knowing where to go. His mind was everywhere, trying to figure out what in the heck is going on. Just a few hours ago, he was in "Present" Teyvat, but now he was stuck in its past with no way out. Lumine and Aether had already left without him, and he now he's trapped in a forest-y area with no idea how to use a teleport waypoint. What about Xiao? He was the one that brought him here, right? Where did he go? He couldn't have left him here alone...

He vaguely remembered the fact that he accidentally let go during the teleportation...does that mean that the teleport waypoint dropped him somewhere else randomly? What is he going to do-

Suddenly, his thoughts lagged with the sight that appeared in front of him.

While he was walking blindly and lost in his thoughts, he had stumbled upon a...he couldn't tell what it was. It was like a small incomplete shrine, just an elevated stone platform and a light structure right in the middle, and it seemed to resemble somewhat like a pillar, with Teyvatian writing on it. Small dragon statues stood at the four corners of the platform, all facing the odd stone structure.

What in the...what is this? Star reached out to touch the pillar-like shaped "light". Surprisingly, his hand didn't go through at all. It just stopped where the writing was, like there was an invisible barrier.

He circled around the pillar, then went even further down the platform, until he reached the edge of it to find himself standing at the edge of a cliff.

It was one where it seemed to overlook a beautiful man-made garden of sorts, the greenery not exactly green, but in beautiful shades of light orange and yellow, like the colours of autumn. Tall, pointed mountain circled around them, majestic and towering over the space below. A small river cut through the middle, winding, and Star could see the bridges that linked the separated "garden" together. Right at the corner of his eye, he could see houses that were build up one of the many mountains around the vicinity, still perfectly preserved and not ruined at all, giving him the impression that it was a living village and not a ghost town.

I could go there for help! Star quickly turned back to the way he came from, determined to get to the village before sundown.

***

After a lot of running (and rests), he finally got there. And before sunset too.

It wasn't a easy trip, since it was a pretty mountainous region, and there were so many times that he has to backtrack having not known the terrain and place well.

When the village was finally in sight, he slowed down, and decided to approach the village slowly.

All the houses that were in sight were all built with some kind of dark brown wood, some were even painted black, making the whole village seem pretty ominous at first sight. The village was quiet as he approached, and he couldn't help but wonder if this was a wasted trip.

"Hello, young man," A shaky, rusty voice greeted him as he reached the village's entrance.  An old woman walked around the corner of one of the houses, and looked up at the boy.