Under Klee's guidance, the construction crew quickly mixed up the proper explosives, blasting apart the larger chunks of the Anemo Archon statue and hauling them away, before beginning restoration work on the plaza.
The statue of the Anemo Archon, once one of Mondstadt's landmark monuments, had now completely vanished.
Many Mondstadt citizens felt as though both the plaza, and their hearts, had suddenly become empty…
"Lord Barbatos, we know you long for freedom, but… are you still in Mondstadt?" someone in the crowd sighed.
"Why is it that even when your statue is destroyed, you still show no sign of appearing?"
After settling these matters, Su Yuan, Aether, and the Knights of Favonius began to deliberate on their next course of action.
"The threats before us," Jean said thoughtfully, "are Albetwo, Dottore, and Aji, who are still lurking in the shadows…"
"But the conditions for everyone else's Eerie state also cannot be ignored…"
"If we cannot determine what each person's Eerie state condition is, they all remain unstable factors…"
"Not only that," Aether interjected, "there's also a mysterious man in black. He seems to have the ability to disguise himself as others, perfectly displaying their moves and techniques…"
"What? Such a person exists?" Jean exclaimed in surprise.
"To be able to perfectly take on another's form, and even wield their powers?"
"Yes. Not only that," Aether said gravely, "but from my deductions, this mysterious man can disguise himself as many different people, and each time it's nearly flawless! And what's more—he can truly wield multiple elements!"
"How is that possible?" Su Yuan also spoke in disbelief.
"It's true that since arriving in Mondstadt, we've run into many who imitate or disguise themselves…"
"For example, Albedo and Albetwo. But the two of them share the same origin, both created by Rhinedottir. So their resemblance when mimicking one another is understandable…"
"And then there's the Wanderer, who once disguised himself as Venti. Though the two have little direct connection, the Wanderer had previously drawn from Irminsul, obtaining information on nearly everything in this world. So his knowledge of Venti is also within reason…"
"And the most crucial point is—he also holds a Vision of Anemo. Normally, without a Vision, one can't wield Anemo at all. No matter how convincing the imitation, it would still be hard to make people believe otherwise…"
"But according to what you've said, Aether, this mysterious man not only perfectly imitates others, copying their moves and abilities, but can also wield multiple elements?"
"If his impersonation is really that flawless, then how did you notice something was off?" Su Yuan asked.
"My earlier explanation wasn't very precise…" Aether admitted.
"What I meant was, this is a mysterious man in black. Naturally, he wears black clothing to conceal his appearance…"
"While he can mimic others' techniques and abilities almost perfectly, his looks and build are probably things he cannot copy. That's why he needs the black clothes to cover himself…"
"Alright, I understand. A being capable of perfectly imitating the powers of others is indeed an extremely grave threat." Jean nodded.
"Even though the Knights of Favonius are short on manpower right now, I'll still arrange for a search to track down this mysterious figure…"
"Mm, then I'll trouble you with that, Master Jean," Su Yuan said.
"But you must also take care of yourself. Don't let the threat of Eerie fall on you as well…"
After that, everyone dispersed, each going about their tasks and searching for leads.
But Aether stayed close by Su Yuan's side, with no intention of leaving.
This puzzled Su Yuan, who asked:
"Aether, what's with you? Why are you sticking to me like this?"
"Wouldn't it be more convenient and efficient for us to split up and search separately?"
Though Aether wanted badly to tell Su Yuan the full truth, he knew he simply couldn't speak it aloud…
The real reason Aether followed him was so that, if an irreversible accident were to occur, he could die before Su Yuan—thus ensuring that when Su Yuan's death-triggered rewind activated, Aether's memories would remain intact.
As Su Yuan and Aether strolled through the streets of Mondstadt, they came across a strange-looking uncle in sunglasses, hawking all sorts of odd trinkets from a street stall.
"Yo! Isn't that Uncle Liben? Long time no see!" Paimon immediately zipped forward to greet him.
"Oh! So it's the Traveler and Paimon. It really has been a while!" Liben smiled back.
"And this young man with you—hello there!"
"Hello, I'm Su Yuan. Su as in Tiramisu, Yuan as in crumbling ruins."
Su Yuan also greeted him with a smile, turning his gaze on this old acquaintance.
In his previous world, in the original game, Liben was someone many players affectionately called "godfather."
Just by trading a bit of junk material, you could get generous Primogem rewards—how could such a wonderful thing exist in this world?
"But Traveler, I really didn't expect to run into you here." Liben asked curiously, "With your journey, shouldn't you be moving quickly across nations to search for your kin?"
"The Watcher War in Natlan is about to break out—I thought you'd already be there!"
Aether laughed awkwardly.
If he hadn't slipped away midway, perhaps by now Dainsleif really would have dragged him straight to Natlan…
But judging from Liben's demeanor, he didn't seem to know anything about the Eerie force presence.
He was just a quirky merchant after all—an ordinary person.
Better not bring up anything about the Eerie to him…
"So then, Uncle Liben, got anything good this time?" Aether asked.
"Of course! I've always got top-quality goods!" Liben gave a thumbs-up with a sly grin.
"Same as always—once per day only. Three Sweet Flowers, three Sunsettias, and three Mint, and I'll hand you a Box o' Marvels!"
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