Jean began explaining the mission.
"Think of this as a reconnaissance mission rather than a rescue operation. We don't know why the tower was taken. Even if you locate it, remain on your guard. If the red-crowned creatures are responsible, then this is extremely dangerous. Do not attack every creature you encounter without thinking. Your priorities are to survive and gather information."
Eula looked incredibly calm, as though she were used to missions like this.
She really was amazing.
"In short, we follow the trail and recover the tower if possible. Understood."
She rose to her feet and looked at Lumine and me.
"You will follow my orders for the duration of the mission. I would prefer to take my own reconnaissance unit, but they are needed for the city's repairs."
"Sure," I answered without a second thought.
I'm the one going with you. No one else. You can forget about your unit. Just me.
Lumine didn't feel the need to respond. Paimon had barely made a sound since we arrived. Apparently, she wasn't fond of how serious the situation had become. She had spent the entire meeting sitting on Lumine's head.
I slowly stood. "Then let's go."
Eula gave me an appraising look. She probably didn't think I would be much use on a reconnaissance mission. Then she turned away, and we all left Jean's office and headed out of the headquarters.
Amber stayed behind to discuss the details with Jean.
"I have a few things to take care of before we leave," Eula said, looking between us. "Meet me at the city's outer gate in twenty minutes."
I could use the extra time too. I had no intention of rushing into this unprepared.
Eula went her own way.
"Let's visit the blacksmith, Lumine."
"All right."
Before reaching the forge, we bought three more dimensional rings. I put two of them on my free fingers. Each one only held a single cubic meter, which made them the economical choice. I gave the remaining ring to Lumine.
At Wagner's forge, I bought throwing knives and several small arm shields in case I needed them. For some reason, the only elemental bombs he had left were Anemo, Dendro, Geo, and Pyro.
I probably had nothing to do with the shortage.
Probably.
The most sensible choice was to combine Dendro and Pyro bombs, so that was what I bought. I made sure to take a decent number of Geo bombs as well. Something told me I might need them.
Finally, I collected the metal gauntlets and renewed armor I had ordered a few days earlier. We also considered our food supply and stored enough filling provisions and water in Lumine's dimensional ring to last us a while.
Once I was certain we were ready, we headed for the city's outer gate.
Eula was already waiting for us. She was checking the pocket watch in her hand.
"You're two minutes late."
She pushed herself away from the wall and stood straight.
"I didn't know you were so punctual," I said.
She snapped the lid of her watch shut and looked at me.
Your eyes are far too beautiful.
"In the Reconnaissance Company, a two-minute delay can be the difference between following the correct trail and losing the target."
"It was only two minutes. Aren't we wasting even more time while you lecture me?"
"That doesn't change the fact that you were late."
Lumine stepped between us.
"Next time, I'll drag him here earlier." She lightly linked her arm with mine as she spoke.
You're very close, Lumine.
I saw the corner of Eula's mouth curl upward.
"It seems there is at least one responsible person between you."
Damn it. Are you two double-teaming me now?
We left the city and began walking. Eula, who was slightly ahead of us, turned to look at me again.
"Are you going on a reconnaissance mission or preparing to start a small war?"
Her eyes moved over my new armor, the pouches on my belt, and the rings on my fingers.
"I can't relax unless I'm prepared."
"And you don't think you've gone too far? How are you even using that many rings? Doesn't your head hurt?"
I didn't understand.
"What do you mean?"
She sighed while looking me in the eye. Her expression said she shouldn't have to explain something this obvious.
"There is a reason people don't wear multiple dimensional rings. The moment you equip a second one, you should develop a headache. More importantly, those elemental bombs are supposed to have the same effect. From what I've heard, you used them continuously for several minutes."
So that was why people didn't trust elemental bombs.
But I hadn't felt any pain.
"I don't know. This is the first I've heard about the headaches. I've never felt anything while using them."
"You are a strange man."
"Will that make me more memorable?"
"Shut up and focus on the mission."
Lumine giggled as she listened to us. Even Paimon, still sitting on top of her head, seemed amused.
"Why are you so quiet today, Paimon?"
"Because Paimon is afraid of Eula."
Eula frowned.
"I can understand Kane. But I haven't done anything to you."
Lumine looked between us with an odd expression. Eula had just indirectly admitted that she had done something to me.
"Paimon is still afraid of Eula."
"You can trust her, Paimon," I said, looking at her.
"If Kane says so, then Paimon is okay."
Eula didn't bother answering this time. She continued walking ahead of us, constantly consulting the map in her hands. Her eyes moved between footprints, broken branches, and the direction in which the grass had been flattened.
I had always known her as a powerful fighter in the game. Defeat enemies with her sword, then move on to the next group.
Watching her now, I finally understood that she truly was the captain of the Reconnaissance Company.
She was incredibly skilled.
"Stop staring at me," she said without turning around.
Damn it. Had I been that obvious?
Then again, how was I supposed to keep my eyes off her backside assets in that outfit?
"I was examining our surroundings."
"Our surroundings are in front of me. You are behind me."
"Maybe I'm examining the surroundings back here."
"You're a terrible liar," she said.
Under her breath, she added something about taking vengeance for this too.
Lumine looked at me but said nothing. She had clearly seen me checking Eula out. Since I had never done anything like that to her, I probably occupied a strange place in her mind right now. I could see in her eyes that she was trying to understand me.
We encountered nothing during the first part of the journey. As we approached the marked area, however, the forest gradually grew quieter.
First, the birds stopped singing.
Then the insects fell silent.
After a while, I realized the wind had disappeared as well.
The leaves hung perfectly still. In a land like Mondstadt, where the wind almost never stopped, that kind of silence and stillness was unnatural.
Eula noticed it too. She raised a hand, signaling us to stop.
"We're approaching the tower. Stay alert from this point forward."
She didn't draw her sword, but her right hand moved closer to its hilt. Lumine began studying our surroundings as well. Paimon left her perch and took to the air.
"Paimon really doesn't like this place."
"We agree on that, Paimon," Eula said.
Once we emerged from between the trees, we saw the crater from the photograph.
The image hadn't come close to showing its true size. I didn't know how to describe it exactly, but the three of us could have comfortably stood side by side inside its width.
The entire section where the tower had once stood was gone, cut away in a perfect circle. Soil, stone, and tree roots had all been severed along the same smooth edge.
Nothing was visible at the bottom.
It was pitch-black. With the sun directly above us, that should have been impossible.
Eula carefully approached the edge and crouched. She touched the exposed earth with her gloved fingers.
"This wasn't excavated."
"The ground didn't collapse either," I said. "It looks as if the whole area was cut out and removed. Just like I suspected from the photograph."
Lumine bent down beside one of the red markings. The lines looked remarkably similar to veins and grew denser around the crater. The moment she brought her hand close, a pulse of red light traveled through them.
She quickly pulled back.
"What happened?" Eula asked.
"I don't know."
Lumine's voice sounded normal, but her face told a different story. She had been hiding something ever since she saw those marks in the photograph. I was sure of it.
I took another step toward the crater.
My heartbeat quickened.
The energy inside me seemed to want to move downward. A pulse rising from the darkness answered my own heartbeat.
I stepped closer.
The pressure inside me eased.
This was the right place.
No.
How could I possibly know that?
"Stop."
Eula grabbed my arm and pulled me back.
"What are you doing?" She gave me a questioning look.
I couldn't take my eyes off the darkness.
"We need to go down there."
Her grip tightened around my arm. She really was absurdly strong.
"What are you basing that on?"
"I don't know. It feels like something is calling me."
"Wonderful. That's extremely reassuring."
"The energy inside me..." I placed a hand over my chest. "It's reacting to something below us."
Lumine immediately came to my side.
"What kind of reaction?"
"It feels like it's pulling me. No..."
I searched for the right words. The crater wasn't dragging me into it.
Something inside me wanted to return there.
"It's calling me."
Eula frowned.
"Something inside you is calling you into a dark pit, and you're considering following it?"
"What we're looking for is down there."
"That doesn't mean we should walk into its trap."
Lumine picked up a small stone and dropped it into the crater. It vanished the instant it touched the darkness.
We waited.
There was no sound of it striking the bottom.
Lumine extended her right hand. Pale green wind gathered around her fingers and flowed down into the crater. After descending several meters, the current twisted the moment it touched the darkness and was swallowed whole.
"This isn't a physical crater."
Eula released my arm but stepped in front of me. Apparently, she thought I might jump.
"Then what is it?" she asked, looking at Lumine.
"It may be a passage between two separate spaces. The tower didn't fall down there. It was pulled somewhere else. The shape of the crater supports that."
"Do you know what's waiting on the other side?"
"No."
Eula sighed.
"This is too risky. We can't enter. We need reinforcements."
"Paimon thinks jumping down there is a terrible idea."
"Because it is a terrible idea," Eula said.
Another wave of energy rose from the crater. My heart raced again.
There was definitely something below.
It wanted me.
"We can search for another entrance," Eula continued. "That will be easier once reinforcements arrive."
I shook my head.
"I don't think we have time."
"And why is that?"
The red veins were pulsing faster now. We could see them creeping slightly farther into the forest. With every pulse, the wind around us grew weaker.
"They're preparing to use the tower."
I had no idea how I knew that.
My instincts were certain of it, though.
Eula must have seen that on my face.
"Then we're going in," she finally said. "But we stay together. No one separates from the group." Her eyes settled firmly on me. "And no one follows the voices in his head on his own."
"Why are you looking specifically at me?"
"Do I truly need to explain?"
Lumine took hold of my right wrist. Eula seized my other arm. Lumine's grip was gentle, while Eula felt ready to tear my arm off if necessary. Paimon clung to Lumine's shoulders with both tiny hands.
"I'll count to three," Eula said. "One..."
The energy from the crater surged.
The ground beneath my feet cracked.
"Two—"
The earth gave way.
We never reached three.
All four of us fell into the darkness together.
At first, every sound vanished along with my sight.
I could still feel Eula's and Lumine's hands around my arms, but I couldn't see either of them.
Then my vision returned—and I was seconds away from slamming into the ground.
I landed on one knee.
Hero landing—agh!
I fell flat on my face as something crashed down on top of me. I felt something soft against my back, and the sweet scent of perfume reached my nose.
"Are you all right?"
Lumine approached us. When she saw the position I was in, a faint smile appeared on her face. I could tell she was struggling not to laugh.
If you're standing over there, then the person on top of me is—
"I'm fine," Eula said.
The weight lifted from my back. She held out a hand to help me up.
"I apologize for landing on you."
I gently took her hand and rose to my feet.
I wish I could hold your hand forever.
"I'm not complaining."