Cold.
So cold.
That was Kiyono Fugin's only feeling.
He curled up his entire body with all his might. A thin layer of frost formed on his lips. The chill came from deep within his bones, licking his marrow wave after wave. Kiyono had never experienced such a sensation before.
As if... it could freeze the whole world with its coldness.
"Drink some liquor. It'll warm you up quite a bit." The sailor across from him shook a bag of malt liquor in his hand.
Kiyono still remembered him. It was he who fished him out.
"No. It'll shorten my life."
"I think not drinking will shorten your life now." McCa took a sip. The malt liquor steamed. One gulp and that warmth flowed from his throat to his stomach. "Drink some?"
"...Alright."
Kiyono took the liquor but didn't drink. He used it as a hot water bottle, holding the bag on both sides to warm himself.
The billowing steam dissipated into the slightly chilly night sky.
"This is the first time I've seen... someone survive a blow from that lord." McCa was indeed very surprised, even stunned.
As the first mate, he had some knowledge of what happened on the second deck.
A sixteen-year-old boy broke free from the Fatui's chains and single-handedly defeated at least four officers. The most severely injured had half his skin torn by the wind... It was terrifying.
The Fatui officers were the elite of the elite, the kind that could take on a hundred men. And this boy was so young.
Uncle McCa felt like he was talking to a monster.
"You were frozen stiff before, not even breathing. Everyone thought you were dead."
"Lad." The sailor scratched his messy hair. He was quite old, white strands visible among his hair. The old sailor was burly and spoke in a gruff voice, "The lord instructed me to throw you in the water."
"But now you've woken up."
The lord... was that so-called La Signora?
This Fatui Harbinger left a poor impression on Kiyono. Or rather, he instinctively loathed this woman called La Signora.
She gave a feeling of emptiness, as if something had been burned out. Within that void was an unscrupulous madness... Kiyono detested such lunatics.
Moreover, he was not a magnanimous person to begin with. He was good at holding grudges, for what La Signora had done to him.
"If you're going to kill or flay me, please do it quickly," Kiyono said impatiently.
"Ah..." McCa scratched his head again. He took a swig of malt liquor, seeming to ponder something, then shook his head. "I can't do it."
"What?" Kiyono thought the old sailor in front of him might have lost his mind.
"If you were already dead, I wouldn't mind tossing your corpse. But you're still alive now."
McCa said seriously, "My principles don't allow me to kill a sixteen-year-old boy."
"Then what do you plan to do?"
"I'm going to send you off."
"Even though I might be a spy?" Kiyono was a bit surprised.
"I'm just a sailor, a lifelong sailor. Whether you bigwigs are spies or not has nothing to do with a little guy like me. I only know one truth: never go against your own principles."
As he spoke, he took out a sword from under his sailor's cloak and tossed it back to Kiyono.
"This is your sword. I stripped it off when you were unconscious. The officers thought it looked useless, so they gifted it to me. Now I'm returning it to you."
Kiyono took Kamigiri, feeling the slightly cold sensation of the sheath. Kamigiri emitted a faint metallic ring, as if low rumbling thunder rolled within it. This sword was like his limbs. Now he was whole again.
Kamigiri was evolved from the katana "Orochigiri" bestowed by Raiden Ei to the Pillar General. It had been bathed in the blood of two God-tier beings and touched the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles. Its internal structure was no longer ordinary, having reached the realm of gods.
Others couldn't use Kamigiri and couldn't discern how it differed from common swords. To them, this sword's power was at most a fancy fire poker.
"The officers misjudged... This is indeed a treasure," McCa sighed.
"Do you regret returning it to me?"
"No. This wasn't mine to begin with."
The sailor said leisurely, "I've been a sailor all my life. The ocean hides countless treasures. But I know to never explore seas that don't belong to me. That's my way of survival."
There was some truth to those words.
"Well then, lad, are you rested? It's time for you to set off."
--
The small boat the sailor prepared for Kiyono was a wooden raft with three days' worth of dry rations and fresh water.
There was no moon tonight. Visibility was very low. Nothing could be seen on the leaden sea. It was perfect for Kiyono to leave.
Kiyono was still very cold. The chill rampaging inside his organs had damaged his body. Just a few hours ago, all his organs had been frozen, including his blood, bones, and viscera. That's why the Fatui thought he was dead.
Logically speaking, being frozen like this should have killed him.
But Kiyono knew why he didn't die.
[God's Heart]
Although covered by solid ice, his heart still beat tenaciously and fervently, providing constant heat. As his heart slowly pulsed, the frozen blood melted and life began to revive.
The previous life left Kiyono a rich inheritance.
They tossed the wooden raft into the water. Kiyono boarded. A wooden oar was tied to the raft. He placed the oar across and dipped it into the water.
The night was frighteningly dark. The still sea made no sound. Kiyono was on his own again.
He paused, took out the bag of still-warm liquor the sailor had given him, opened it. Heat and steam wafted out.
"Thanks." Kiyono took a sip and waved at the uncle on the ship. "Goodbye."
McCa leaned on the railing, also raising the liquor in his hand. "Goodbye."
Sailing was laborious.
But knowing the direction gave motivation. The lights of Mondstadt City appeared on the horizon. Unlike Inazuma, this was a city of eternal spring. The fragrance of dandelions drifted to the sea on the breeze. Kiyono paddled the raft, slowly moving away from the Fatui's large ship and getting closer to Mondstadt.
Mondstadt was a free city-state, a city-state of poetry and flowers.
Kiyono had been drifting at sea for over a week. Now he was finally about to set foot on shore again.
Rowing, he began to hum that nameless song again.
What was this song called? He didn't remember at all. He used to only know one or two vague melodies...
But after exiting that memory last time, his mind was eroded. He forgot everything about his past life's name and experiences. Only the melody of this song became clearer.
He even vaguely recalled a few lyrics.
"These scars have longed for your tender touch."
...
"You stirred my morning dream, then quietly slipped away."
"Your scent—tart berries and sweet lilac."
...
"On a rainy night at Cider Lake, I would follow the wolf into the storm."
A storm was indeed coming.
--
"Has that boy been dealt with?"
For some reason, La Signora asked this.
"He's dead. We checked." Her subordinate knelt on one knee. He was covered in wounds, clearly injured badly by Kiyono's wind blades.
"Is that so." La Signora said softly, "You may leave."
The subordinate left. Only the lady remained in the spacious cabin.
The wind howled, beating against the window lattice, making a piercing sound. The weather was fine just now, but in an instant, the sea changed. Dark swirls churned. Layers of clouds pressed down on the horizon.
It was going to rain heavily.
Perhaps it was just an illusion, but La Signora heard a familiar song.
But when she listened carefully, that melody vanished without a trace.
Just an auditory hallucination.
She suddenly felt uneasy, as though she had missed something. Yet no matter how La Signora examined the feeling, she could not find its source.
Was killing that boy making her uneasy?
No, she was not such an indecisive person.
For the sake of revenge, and to fulfill his wish, La Signora had long ago decided to cast aside all thought of good and evil.
La Signora stared restlessly at the downpour that seemed ready to overturn heaven and earth, and at the treacherous coastline beyond it.
Perhaps the bad weather was affecting her mood.
La Signora did not know. It was the only explanation she could find.