paradoxical | genshin impact

22 : direction.

"Ehh, the wind sure is stuffy up here."

Atop one of the snow-capped peaks of Dragonspine stood a lone bard whose cloak fluttered in the breeze. To any onlooker, his state of severe undress in the face of an oncoming blizzard would have seemed foolish. Only a few who'd gotten caught in the snowstorms of the mountain lived long enough to tell the tale. But to this bard in particular, manipulating the temperature of the air around him was mere child's play. Not that he had any real need to regulate something so mundane.

This was nothing compared to the blizzards that raged in this land thousands of years ago.

In the bard's momentary musing, a tiny wisp of anemograma found him on his perch. It flitted around his childlike form, curious about what its Archon was doing all the way up here. The bard laughed, telling it not to address him like that.

"I've long let go of such flashy titles, little one," the bard explained, fingers absentmindedly plucking the instrument in his hands. "I'm merely an overseer now. Someone who nudges people in the right direction... Eh? Danger? You think I led that woman into a dangerous path? Hey, I can be a little mischievous, but I'd never put anyone's life on the line."

The anemograma buzzed angrily.

"Ah, come on, come on! No need to be so hostile." He pouted before flicking his eyes towards one of the sharp, winding paths carved on the side of the mountain. There, two lone figures—a woman and a thief—stood near the edge.

The woman was holding her ground, even in the face of being murdered by the stranger that deceived her. Admirable, but that kind of resistance was what usually got the rebels of Old Mondstadt killed so quickly.

Have the humans of his land become so greedy that they'd betray their own kind like this? The fact of the matter brought a frown on the bard's lips, and he completely understood why the little anemograma was so enraged.

What the wind sprite didn't know, however, was that another man had already been tailing this particular woman for a while now. A man with conviction forged from years of keeping the land's evils at bay. Like he said, he'd never put anyone's life on the line.

All he did...was nudge people in the right direction.

...

You heavily underestimated how easy it was to fall back into your usual routine.

The soothing ointments the maids in the Winery put together had been potent enough to get you back on your feet in no less than three days. Though the stitches on your legs still felt the slightest bit tender, you could manage.

Once you'd returned for the day's shift at the tavern, you half-expected Mags to billow towards the entrance and tackle you to the ground. Whether it would be out of relief that you were fine or frustration because you've stood her up for several nights in a row, it was still up for debate. But as the bells at the door chimed at your arrival, it's as if nothing had changed at all.

"Oi, you're finally back," Mags commented as she slid a tray of orders onto one of the patrons' tables. "There are a bunch of tourists from Liyue that want to hear you play. Care to take up the job?"

You stared at her blankly. "Hear me play?"

"Yeah. Someone personally vouched for you."

"Who?"

"You know, that green bard.The one with the twin braids?"

Ah. Sighing, you let your gaze rove around the vicinity for any sign of Venti but all you saw were a bunch of gaudy patrons each one a drink away from blacking out. Even Charles has joined the fray this time around, hollering with a group of people in foreign-looking garbs. Those must be the tourists Mags had talked about.