Ailina had once been a child of the House of the Hearth, and she harbored a deep-seated fear of the Doctor.
The Doctor had conducted human experiments at Dar al-Shifa, but his experiments weren't confined to that institution. The man was utterly deranged, willing to do anything in pursuit of what he believed to be the truth.
"Little Sister, are you still planning to confront the Doctor?"
"I've said before, I won't go looking for trouble with him. But if he comes looking for trouble with me, I won't let him off easy."
Tartaglia nodded. No matter what happened, he would always stand firmly by his Little Sister's side.
If they did end up facing the Doctor, he would make sure the man saw the true strength of a warrior he had always looked down upon.
Tartaglia was highly talented, though not quite on par with his sister...
He had been constantly growing, especially after the incident with the Kaiyang in Liyue.
At this moment, Ailina's gaze toward Angie was filled not only with respect but also with deep admiration. She had lamented her own fate more than once, realizing how incredibly fortunate she was compared to others to have a commander like Angie.
Whether in her personal life or at work, she had received immense care from Lady Angie.
Angie noticed Ailina's stare and glanced over in confusion. The latter quickly lowered her head. Angie sighed helplessly, wondering what on earth was going through the girl's mind.
"Let's go, Brother. It's time for us to leave."
Angie walked ahead, with Tartaglia and Ailina following behind.
-
Within the samsara of the Sabzeruz Festival.
Because Silaya was a fragment of Jiang Mumu, she and Chu Xi were currently the only ones trapped within the festival's time loop. As a result, she could perceive the difference in the flow of time between inside and outside the samsara.
And it was precisely because she could perceive this that Silaya discovered another ability of the Akasha.
In Silaya's perception, no matter how many times the Sabzeruz Festival repeated in the samsara, time in the outside world remained fixed. Whether Lumine escaped the loop on the first day or the one hundred and sixty-eighth, only a single night would have passed in the real world.
For Silaya, Lumine, and the others, the time they gained within this space was essentially bought with their consciousness.
It was similar to how in reality, a person might feel they've spent a long time in a dream, only to wake up and find that just a few minutes have passed.
The Akasha had achieved this by seizing the Dendro Archon's Authority over dreams.
The longer the Sabzeruz Festival's samsara continued, the weaker the consciousness and bodies of those trapped inside would become. If it lasted long enough, many would even die within the loop.
This was precisely Dunyarzad's situation. If Nahida hadn't been constantly helping to sustain her consciousness, she might have quietly passed away before Lumine even realized she was trapped in a samsara.
-
The perspective shifts back to the Traveler and Paimon.
After wandering through the city for a long time without finding any clues, Lumine decided to head outside the city walls to investigate.
To leave someone behind as a witness, Paimon wasn't allowed to accompany Lumine. The little one was utterly dejected; she desperately wanted to go with Lumine, but at Lumine's insistence, she remained where she was, waiting for her return.
It was already dusk when Silaya arrived, several hours after Lumine had left the city. Paimon was still rooted to the spot, waiting, her cute little face streaked with tears.
Silaya slowly approached, but the usually sharp Paimon kept her eyes fixed on the road outside the city, seemingly oblivious to Silaya's presence.
Only when Silaya spoke and called her name did Paimon slowly turn her head.
"Silaya... Lumine... she... sob... waaah..."
Paimon cried heartbrokenly. She was so scared, so terrified that Lumine had simply vanished.
If Lumine disappeared, what would she do?
"Paimon, don't worry. Lumine is fine, I promise. Go back, get some sleep, and she'll be back tomorrow."
Paimon wiped the tears from her small face. "R-Really?"
"Have you forgotten, Paimon? I know the truth about the samsara. Trust me, Lumine is okay. I'll take you back, get you something to eat, and then you can get a good night's sleep. When you wake up tomorrow, Lumine will be back."
Silaya took Paimon by the hand and led her back to her own home.
As they walked, Paimon kept looking back every few steps. Even when Silaya placed delicious food before her, she had no appetite at all.
Knowing how worried Paimon was, Silaya sent the little one back to rest early.
The next day, after receiving her memories from Nahida, Paimon saw Lumine—the same Lumine she had worried about for so long—and immediately flew into her arms.
"Lumine! Sob... sob... waaaah!!!"
Lumine wore a look of utter confusion. She had completely lost her memories of leaving the city, so her mind was still stuck in the moments before she departed.
"What's wrong, Paimon?"
"I thought I'd never see you again! You just suddenly disappeared!"
"I waited for you at the city wall for so, so long, and you never came back! Didn't you promise you'd just take a quick look and return right away?! Waaah..."
Lumine asked, bewildered, "I... promised... what?"
Nahida tried to soothe Paimon from the side. "Paimon, calm down. She's right here now, isn't she? And she looks like she has no idea what you're talking about."
Paimon was utterly dejected, her voice trembling with tears.
"Sob... I don't care! Yesterday, I wanted to go out and find you the whole time, but you told me not to leave the city... I was so torn, anxious, and scared all the way until evening! It wasn't until Silaya found me later that I finally went back with her."
Lumine pulled the adorable little Paimon into her arms, gently stroking the back of her head.
"I don't know what I did, but... I'm sorry, Paimon. Don't worry, I would never truly abandon you."
Paimon sniffled. "...Sniff... Okay, I'll forgive you for now. The most important thing is that you didn't really disappear... I was so scared you'd suddenly vanished into another world."
After comforting Paimon, the group began discussing their plan to leave the city again.
Given that Lumine's memories of leaving the city had been completely erased last time, Nahida created a modified Akasha Terminal for Lumine to take with her.
So, Lumine and Paimon returned to the city's edge. Just like before, Paimon stayed behind while Lumine ventured out alone.
Paimon's large eyes were fixed on Lumine. She watched as, just like yesterday, Lumine vanished the moment she stepped outside the city walls.
With yesterday's experience, Paimon was still worried, but she wasn't as distraught as before.
After waiting for over an hour without seeing Lumine return, Paimon headed back.
With their memories restored, Lumine and Paimon retrieved the message that yesterday's Lumine had left for her present self from the Akasha Terminal.
[...Can't turn back... There are countless of them... The one we're in is just one among many...]
[...Entered another space... Flowing sandstone, howling fish, impossible landscapes...]
[...None of these spaces contain any people, or only silent puppets... I can't sense any human presence...]