The Infinite Journey of a Certain Flame

"You are truly brave, to stare directly at the Divine Child for so long..."

"Hmm? What do you mean? Is she a fierce person?"

"Hehe, if you get to know this lady better, you'll find that she's actually a very gentle person."

Kiana, somewhat puzzled, asked in return:

"So you understand her very well? Then what did it mean when you stared at me for so long just now?"

"Hmm... Lady Divine Child seems to have something she wants to say to you."

Inashiro Hotaru smiled somewhat awkwardly, then bowed and took her leave, beginning to pray for Hotaru with her colleagues.

Seeing how busy they were, Kiana felt embarrassed to bother them.

"You want to tell me something? What is it...?"

Just as she took a step forward, puzzled and ready to get to the bottom of things, the system's task notification inexplicably sounded again...

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have successfully triggered the encounter quest in the world of Teyvat: The Promise Cherished by Thor.]

[Task completion method: Learn about the promise of 'eternity'.]

[Mission Completion Reward: Initial unlocking of the limitations on using Herrscher Gems; Herrscher Points can be used to unleash Herrscher power in different worlds.]

"An eternal promise? It's about Thor's mission."

Kiana was caught off guard by the task prompted by the system.

I thought I would have to travel around the world of Teyvat for a long time before I had the chance to unlock the power of the gems, but I didn't expect to be able to unlock them so quickly.

"Since it's related to her, why not go and ask her?"

With that in mind, Kiana instructed Yoru and Paimon to keep a close eye on Luminous and to notify her immediately if anything happened.

After both parties nodded repeatedly to indicate that they understood, she slowly turned around and took steps in the direction the divine child had left...

...

"My Lady, you're back? Are you going to rest for a while?"

In front of a house at Naruto Shrine, a young shrine maiden dressed in a shrine maiden's outfit opened the door and bowed respectfully to inquire.

"Ah."

Yae no Miko bent down to take off her shoes and slowly stepped inside.

The sound of the wooden door closing shut out the noise from outside.

Looking at the room, decorated in a conventional yet strangely familiar way, the divine child let out a sigh of relief...

"If this tranquility could continue..."

"Who are you? You can't go in, the Divine Child is resting!"

"Huh? So she was inside all along? I've been looking for her for ages. Hey? Yae, are you in there?"

Sometimes, some people just don't know when to come...

Yae no Miko sighed, slowly pushed open the door, and looked at the stranger who had suddenly appeared...

Song of Flames and Lightning (Genshin Impact Inazuma Main Story): Chapter 24 Is this considered letting a wolf into the house?

“My lady, she…” The little priestess who was in charge of guarding the door and cleaning the room looked at Kiana with some grievance, “she insisted on seeing you, and I couldn’t stop her.”

Upon hearing this, Yae nods slightly, then calmly stares at Kiana.

The other person seemed to realize that their sudden intrusion was somewhat abrupt, so they gave an apologetic smile, which conveyed a kind and honest feeling.

Judging from her attitude alone, it seems she didn't come to argue with me; that much is certain.

Although Yae no Miko wasn't very good at dealing with her, since she was already there, it would be too impolite to just send her away like that.

Moreover, learning more about travelers from other worlds might bring about a different kind of turning point for this land.

"There are more fallen leaves in the yard over there, go and clean it up."

"Huh? But I just cleaned it a few days ago, why... um, I see."

The little witch intended to tell the truth, but feeling uneasy under the shrine maiden's gaze, she had no choice but to flee with a broom.

The bystanders finally left, and now only Yae no Miko and Kiana remained.

"Let's talk inside. I'd like to get to know you better..."

"Hmm? Great, haha. I didn't realize you were so easy to talk to."

The goddess remained noncommittal in response to Kiana's praise, simply opening the door slowly and inviting the impetuous girl into her room.

Once the other person sat casually on the tatami mat, she quietly closed the door and knelt down opposite them.

“I apologize for not having had a formal introduction until now,” Yae no Miko nodded slightly, her smile warm yet carrying an air of unapproachable authority. “My name is Yae no Miko, and I am…”

"Hehehe, no need for such a formal introduction. Actually, I've known you for a long time. My name is Kiana, as you already know, right?"

Kiana's interruption was both surprising and baffling.

How could someone be so rude as to interrupt someone's self-introduction?

She's simply...

At this moment, barely perceptible blue veins bulged on Yae no Miko's forehead; if he hadn't known that a fearless fight would only be a waste of time...

She absolutely had to teach this unreasonable person a lesson.

“Hehe, now that we know each other,” Yae no Miko gently touched the Eye of God hanging on her ear, her gentle smile becoming even more ‘friendly’, “So what do you want to say? Say it.”

Kiana, who was sitting cross-legged on the tatami mat, was completely unaware that her offensive behavior had already displeased the other party. She just blinked happily.

Why did Thor issue the Eyehunter order?

"I don't know."

"Huh? Then...why did she close the country off?"

"Well, I don't know either."

"Ah... then I'll ask one last question: why is she so obsessive?"

"..." Yae no Miko remained silent, this time showing no intention of even giving a perfunctory answer.

It felt like I'd been asked something crucial...

The perceptive Kiana naturally wouldn't miss this opening, and immediately moved closer to her to press for answers:

Is it because of something eternal?

"I have no idea."

"Hehe, why don't you dare look at me? Are you feeling guilty?"

"How could that be? By the way, could you please maintain... a distance?"

The distance between the two parties, about the size of a table, is the standard distance for a meeting, neither appearing distant nor overly intimate.

Kiana really didn't know how to hold back at all, and immediately moved to close the distance by more than half.

Her relentless pursuit made the goddess hesitate, wondering whether she should get up and distance herself from this overly intimate situation.

"Don't worry about the details. So... what exactly is eternity? Does it exist forever?"

After being 'kindly' reminded, Kiana had no choice but to give up and then continued to voice her questions.

Perhaps she was tired of being bothered by her, or perhaps her memories were stirred up, Yae no Miko no longer chose to remain silent.

She slowly closed her beautiful eyes, a hint of emotion in her voice:

"Time changes everything, and who can exist forever? Even Barbatos, the wind god, and Morax, the rock god, two of the oldest seven gods to date, could not defy the rules of nature. They both passed away, didn't they?"

What Yae no Miko said was, in fact, the truth in the eyes of the world.

After Wendy awoke from his long slumber, no one knew his true form or appearance. Zhongli devised a dignified funeral ceremony for him and voluntarily disappeared from the world.

To those unaware of the situation, they could be said to have passed away.

Even the two oldest Seven Gods in the world could not achieve eternity, which can be said to provide strong evidence for the theory of the Eighth God Child.

But Kiana knew that this pink-haired shrine maiden was not so easily fooled.

"So, do you believe they died so simply, Yae?"

"Please...don't call them so intimately...On the contrary, I think their names and identities are what truly endure. Just like the blooming and withering of the sacred cherry blossoms, though their passing is only a fleeting moment, their beauty...will live on forever in people's hearts."

Yae no Miko clutched her chest, a look of relief involuntarily appearing on her face, seemingly delighted to be able to express the beauty of the falling cherry blossoms to someone else.

However, Kiana realized that the system's indifference was the reason.

This is not the answer I wanted.

"Yae...you're definitely hiding something from me," Kiana finally couldn't contain herself after getting to the bottom of things and started pushing her luck, getting close to Yae's beautiful face. "Tell me, please?"

As she spoke, she actually reached out and hugged the other person's arm, shaking it back and forth, looking just like a spoiled little child.

Faced with her offense, Yae no Miko, who had always pretended to be calm, finally panicked.

"I don't know what you're talking about, please don't do this..."

"Hey? Why are you blushing?"

"I... I didn't, hmph! You unreasonable person," Yae no Miko pretended to stand up and back away, but because she used too much force, Kiana lost her balance.

He tackled her to the ground on the tatami mat...

"Ouch, that hurts. Hmm? Yae, what's wrong? Did I bump you?"

"Don't worry about me, please let go!"

Only now did Kiana finally realize... that she wasn't as difficult to deal with as she seemed on the surface.

Seeing that the Eighth Prince was under his control and unable to break free.

Kiana suddenly flashed a mischievous smile, lowered her head, and whispered a threat:

"Hey? Why are you being so fierce? Just answer those three questions honestly. I'll move aside if I'm satisfied, okay?"

Her breath was fragrant, and her hot breath hit me.