A Soul's Rebirth (6,000 Words—Please Recommend, Vote, and Follow)

After Ying left, Wang Lei shook his head and honestly began cleaning up the scene.

For now, he did not send Everwinter Shadewalker back. He let it stand at the entrance of Favonius Cathedral. That way, if someone suddenly came out of the cathedral while he was cleaning up, he could pin the blame on it. He could say those two Fatui had been killed by the monster, while he had merely happened to pass by and witness it. Of course, that was indeed what had happened.

Wang Lei dealt with the two unconscious Electro Cicin Mages first. He exchanged for a length of high-polymer rope from the system, one of the Interstellar Peace Corporation's bestsellers in the Star Rail World. The advertisement claimed that it was more than strong enough to tow a small low-orbit spacecraft.

He tied the two Electro Cicin Mages back-to-back, then, out of sheer mischief, used aerospace-grade metal to wrap a lock around the rope's final knot. The password was a scrambled eighth-order Rubik's Cube.

The system's pricing logic had always been baffling. Rubik's Cubes, classified as toys, cost basically one Energy Point apiece—probably only because one Energy Point was the system's minimum exchange value. Even though the materials used to make one would have been enough to trigger a materials revolution on Earth.

As for rope, as long as it was not the kind used to bind stellar beasts, it was generally categorized as an everyday necessity. One Energy Point could easily buy dozens of meters, and it even thoughtfully came with custom cutting services.

So the rope, cube, and lock cost him three Energy Points in total, with rope left over.

But for whichever Fatui later discovered these two Electro Cicin Mages, it would be a nightmare. Given Teyvat's current level of human technology, trying to cut that rope with a blade would probably result in the two mages dying from being unable to use the restroom.

Once he was done, Wang Lei tossed the two Electro Cicin Mages into the dense shrubbery surrounding Favonius Cathedral. Both were rather petite, and the not-so-tall plants completely concealed them. Besides, even if they were terribly unlucky, the priests in charge of maintaining the greenery around Mondstadt Cathedral would discover them within half a day at most.

After dealing with the Electro Cicins, Wang Lei returned to the entrance and found Everwinter Shadewalker still standing there just fine. Judging from its reactions, no one had come anywhere near the area during that brief span of time.

Wang Lei was beginning to suspect that Venti had also been helping block people from passing by the cathedral while causing trouble for those inside. Otherwise, how could no one have passed by for so long?

In truth, it was more or less as Wang Lei had guessed. After leaving, Venti had gone straight to the very front of Wind God Statue Plaza and held a concert. His wonderful performance had drawn practically all the tourists over to him.

Wind God Statue Plaza itself was ridiculously huge in reality, and Wang Lei was at the opposite end. With the enormous Wind God Statue blocking the view, no one would notice any disturbance here at all.

As for the people inside Favonius Cathedral, Venti had merely made the statue of the Wind God glow a little and stirred up a faint breeze.

Then everyone in the cathedral had begun praying devoutly. No one would be coming out of Favonius Cathedral right now.

Even though Jean was certain this had to be one of Venti's pranks, she did not dare say so. As the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, if she saw the Wind God manifesting and did not pray, people might immediately question whether Jean had already abandoned her faith in the Wind God.

So Wang Lei ultimately tossed the two Debt Collectors' corpses through a rift into Inazuma's sea to feed the fish. After sending Everwinter Shadewalker back, still no one had passed by the entrance of Favonius Cathedral.

Seeing that everything had gone smoothly, Wang Lei stopped dwelling on the reason and headed straight for Ying using the address she had given him.

But Ying had overlooked one thing: Wang Lei was not familiar with Mondstadt City at all. Even with an address, it was difficult for him to find her.

And this was not a good time for Wang Lei to ask passersby for directions. Ying would definitely avoid people while carrying La Signora, so it would take her longer than usual to get back. If Wang Lei asked someone for the shortest route, the two sides might run right into each other. That would be awkward.

In the end, Wang Lei could only helplessly spend another 2,000 Energy Points to exchange for a Di Ting. His Energy Points had officially dropped to three digits.

This Di Ting was naturally not the mythical Di Ting. It looked like a Chinese lion dance costume the size of a Shiba Inu, but the encyclopedia labeled it an artificial mechanical dog. It even supported solar charging and possessed a degree of intelligence.

Wang Lei very much wanted to complain that Di Ting clearly had the appearance of a feline, yet was somehow classified as a mechanical dog. But it really was useful. Through Aether Encoding, Wang Lei found several strands of hair that La Signora had shed during the earlier battle. After letting Di Ting smell them, it barked and chased after Ying in the direction she had gone.

Ying was practically playing a real-life version of Assassin's Creed. Along the way, she had to carefully avoid everyone's line of sight. It would have been fine if it were only her and Paimon. Ying was not an especially tall girl. But La Signora was different—she was a standard adult European woman, and her legs alone were nearly half of Ying's height. One of La Signora's shoes had even fallen off along the way, and Paimon was carrying it now.

So they had to move cautiously the entire way, taking all sorts of deserted side paths.

Wang Lei was getting dizzy from all the detours. Ying had not been in Mondstadt for long, had she? How did she know so many back alleys?

If Ying had known what Wang Lei was wondering, she would have told him that she had a Mondstadt friend named Amber. As for Mondstadt's hidden paths, unless they were underground, there was none Amber did not know.

In any case, Di Ting finally caught up with Ying before Wang Lei completely began to suspect that he had no sense of direction.

The rest was easy. Wang Lei carried La Signora, activated Aether Encoding's visual invisibility, and they simply moved forward.

When they arrived at Ying's residence in Mondstadt and settled La Signora onto the bed, Wang Lei took a little of her blood, a small lock of hair, and some nail clippings. He then began analyzing them with Aether Encoding.

Meanwhile, Paimon and Di Ting happily chased each other around and played on the floor.

Ying, however, frowned as she watched Wang Lei unfold an energy field she could not understand at all, suspending La Signora's blood, hair, and nail clippings in the air for analysis.

Once the analysis was nearly complete, Wang Lei took out a small bottle filled with a strange blue liquid. He injected everything analyzed from La Signora's blood, hair, and nails into the bottle to be recombined.

This little blue bottle was naturally the Angel basic Gene Engine Angel Yan had given Wang Lei back then. Wang Lei had used one bottle while making his Aether Engine, and this was the remaining one.

In fact, Wang Lei had long since figured out the process for creating Gene Engine fluid by using Aether Encoding to simultaneously infiltrate Deno No. 3 and compare it against the technology Deno No. 3's database had provided to the Hua Xia government.

But knowing the process was one thing; making it himself was another. Although corresponding materials could be found in the Star Rail World, Wang Lei had never made a Gene Engine before. He did not dare concoct one for La Signora on the spot. What if he actually killed her?

So, to be safe, Wang Lei still used the Angel basic Gene Engine. And considering Rosalyne's identity as a woman, he only removed the program for controlling wings while leaving the beauty-enhancing functions intact.

The reason he had first fused La Signora's genetic data with the Gene Engine fluid was mainly because Wang Lei feared that Teyvat's people might possess some special constitution he did not know about, one that could reject the Gene Engine. So he first let the Gene Engine carry Rosalyne's imprint. That way, there would at least be no serious rejection response later. At most, she would have a stomachache for a while, like Ge Xiaolun when he fused with Xiongxin.

Seeing Wang Lei stop what he was doing, Ying pulled him aside and asked seriously, "Wang Lei, are you planning to conduct human experimentation on La Signora?"

Of course Wang Lei would not say that it was human experimentation. Generally speaking, such experiments needed to be approached with the utmost caution. Under the current circumstances, there was no way to convince anyone that he had already been extremely careful. So he used treatment as a cover instead. "No. This is an experimental treatment for erosion. You heard what Venti and I said earlier. Let me add a few details. La Signora's real name is Rosalyne. She was active during the Khaenri'ah war five hundred years ago. As for what the Khaenri'ah war was, it was a major turning point in the history of this continent. You can investigate it yourself later."

Ying nodded. She felt strangely familiar with the Khaenri'ah war, yet she could not remember it. Many of her memories from that period were fragmented; she simply could not connect them into a complete picture.

Seeing this, Wang Lei continued, "Rosalyne was probably only around twenty years old at the time, though the exact details can no longer be verified. All that is known is that, while singing, she met a knight named Rostam. He was the Vice Captain of the Knights of Favonius at the time, as well as the founder of the Favonius Bladework you see today. The two eventually fell in love. Rosalyne herself was also a genius, so before long, she traveled to Sumeru to study abroad. Then the Khaenri'ah war broke out. Monsters swept across the entire continent. Demon Dragon Durin attacked Mondstadt. Dvalin, summoned by Venti, fought alongside him and had no time to spare for anything else. During that battle, Rostam died protecting Mondstadt from the monster horde that had arrived with Durin."

It was a tragedy. Ying already knew about Dvalin and Demon Dragon Durin, but she had not expected that beneath that battle, so many mortal tragedies had unfolded as well. Wang Lei's words made Ying lower her head in sorrow. Yet the story was not over.

"When Rosalyne learned that her homeland was under attack, she hurried back from Sumeru. But when she arrived, all she could see in Mondstadt was land ravaged by war. The monsters in the wilderness had not yet been completely eliminated. And Rostam, having been contaminated by too much monster blood, had been cremated along with his body, leaving behind only a tombstone. Rosalyne never got to see her lover one last time. Her grief and rage became flames, and Rosalyne used her life to ignite that fire of vengeance. Thus, the Crimson Witch of Flames was born, swearing to reduce every monster to ash."

Even Paimon stopped playing. She ran over to listen to Rosalyne's story, tears welling in her eyes as she sniffled, "Sob... So Fatui Harbinger La Signora was actually so pitiful. I won't blame her for blowing icy wind at me anymore... Eh, wait, that's not right. Isn't she the Crimson Witch of Flames? Why does she use ice?"

Wang Lei patted Paimon's little head, signaling for her not to interrupt the story. Seeing her apologetic expression, he continued.

"At first, the Crimson Witch of Flames steadfastly carried out her vow. Wherever monsters were, as long as she learned of them or found them, she would rush over and burn them to ashes. But as time passed, the Crimson Witch of Flames lost control. She had forgotten her original purpose and only knew how to burn monsters. Even if a monster fled into human settlements, she would not hesitate to burn down everyone and every house in her way just to kill a monster she could have casually slapped to death. In the end, she may have burned countless monsters to death, but there were also no small number of humans who died directly at her hands. That did not even include the damage caused by all the fires she started. By then, the Crimson Witch of Flames had become a natural disaster. But in the very end, when the witch's life was about to burn out, the Cryo Archon saved her. Ice sealed away the flames of vengeance and preserved the Crimson Witch of Flames's life. She changed from Rosalyne into La Signora. Isn't that right, Miss Rosalyne?"

Wang Lei had noticed long ago that La Signora was only pretending to be unconscious. She had probably been awakened by the noise Paimon made when she could not resist coming over to listen to the story. Her act was quite convincing, but Wang Lei had kept Ether Scan active the entire time. The faint tremor when she woke up could not be hidden from him.

Seeing that she could not keep it up, Rosalyne opened her eyes, sat up from the bed, and checked her clothes. She relaxed slightly before fixing Wang Lei with a sharp stare. "What you said is basically correct. But the one responsible for all of this was the Wind God, Barbatos. Because he never governed Mondstadt, there was not enough strength to protect it when disaster struck. So can you say Barbatos bore no responsibility for that catastrophe being so devastating?"

Wang Lei helplessly rubbed his forehead and explained with a headache, "Rosalyne, your line of reasoning is that the Seven Archons must fulfill their divine duties to obtain divine power, right? Unfortunately, that theory is basically a lie."

The moment Wang Lei said this, three cries of "Huh?!" rang out at once.

Paimon was the first to speak. "That's not right! Venti said that himself!"

Wang Lei spread his hands and tilted his head at Paimon. "You said it yourself—it was Venti who said it. How many reliable things has he ever said?"

Paimon was instantly left speechless, and Wang Lei continued.

"More accurately, there's nothing wrong with saying that fulfilling divine duties grants divine power. But before becoming gods, the Seven Archons were first and foremost native gods of Teyvat. Every one of them was born with innate authority. In fact, few of the current Seven Archons use the divine power accumulated through their duties to wield their authority. Their combat strength depends entirely on their own accumulation as gods. So-called divine power is, at most, an extra bonus—and not a particularly important one. Put it this way: if Venti went all out, he would be guaranteed third place among the Seven Archons and could contend for second. Rosalyne, he was merely taking pity on you. If he truly wanted to resist, even if the Cryo Archon came herself, she probably wouldn't be able to take him down."

Rosalyne was clearly unconvinced by Wang Lei's words and immediately snapped, "You're talking nonsense. You know nothing of Her Majesty's greatness. Barbatos is nothing—Her Majesty could grant him eternal peace with a wave of her hand!!"

Wang Lei looked at the agitated Rosalyne, then checked the system and saw that her attitude toward him was hostile. He knew that nothing he said would make her believe him. So, too lazy to argue any further, he went straight to the point.

"Fine. There's no point discussing a divine realm you completely fail to understand. Let's talk business."

With that, Wang Lei took out Mondstadt's Gnosis.

"This was your mission in Mondstadt, wasn't it?"

Rosalyne's eyes lit up at first. She hadn't expected Wang Lei not to return the Gnosis to Barbatos. But then she frowned. Wang Lei wanted to negotiate terms with her. So she tried to make her attitude a little more agreeable and said, "Wang Lei, state your conditions. So long as it can be done, Snezhnaya will satisfy them."

Wang Lei nodded in satisfaction and pointed directly at Rosalyne.

"Good. I only need you to cooperate with what I do next. Mm, physical cooperation will be enough. I don't care what you yourself think."

The air suddenly fell silent. Ying knew that Wang Lei wanted Rosalyne to drink the potion he had made to repair wear and tear. He simply didn't want her to struggle out of resistance while taking the medicine.

But Paimon, who had been playing around, and Rosalyne, who had only woken up halfway through, didn't know that. Wang Lei's words practically sounded like he was openly saying he wanted to do something only adults could do with Rosalyne.

Paimon's face turned red. Declaring that she was still just a baby and didn't understand, she immediately flew behind Ying and moved as far away from Wang Lei as possible.

As for Rosalyne, she too felt rare embarrassment and roared, "What are you talking about?! You know my past, don't you? Beneath my skin are the ashes of countless monsters and humans. And even like this, you're interested??"

Wang Lei now realized that Rosalyne had misunderstood him, but his mischievous streak had surfaced. He deliberately answered, "Of course I'm interested. Mondstadt's Gnosis is in my hands now. If you Fatui want to carry out the Cryo Archon's orders, you can't avoid dealing with me. And I can do this whenever I want."

As he spoke, Wang Lei opened a gap beside him and placed Mondstadt's Gnosis at its entrance. Then he continued, "Beyond this door is a special space outside the time and space of reality. Once the Gnosis is thrown inside, even I won't be able to retrieve it. So think it over carefully."

At that moment, Rosalyne truly wanted nothing more than to once again invoke the power of the Crimson Witch of Flames and fight Wang Lei to the death. But she didn't dare gamble. Just as Il Dottore didn't dare gamble on whether the Little Grass God would crush the Gnosis, she too didn't dare gamble on whether Wang Lei could truly exile this Gnosis to an alternate space where no one could find it.

After struggling with herself again and again, Rosalyne decided that completing the Cryo Archon's mission took priority over everything else. She could abandon anything else. She had already been willing to discard her own life—what else was there that she couldn't give up?

So she lay down and said directly, "Do whatever you want. Hurry up!"

Wang Lei saw that Rosalyne's attitude toward him had turned into hatred in the system, yet his urge to tease her still hadn't faded. He walked over, sat at the bedside, removed half of her mask to reveal her whole delicate face, and said, "Open your mouth."

Rosalyne now treated herself like a machine. Wang Lei told her to open her mouth, so she did. The next second, however, she choked on the liquid that flooded in.

Just as Rosalyne was about to angrily demand what Wang Lei had made her drink, a familiar yet unfamiliar flood of memories rushed into her mind.

They were familiar because they were all her own memories. The bowl of thick soup made by her mother, who had died early in her childhood; the neighbors who constantly nagged that the children of their household never came home; the songs she loved; the happy times spent with her companions at the Sumeru Akademiya; and, after she first became the Crimson Witch of Flames, the gratitude of the people after she destroyed monsters, as well as the admiration of children.

These were memories she had forgotten for centuries. Now, all of them came back at once. Along with them returned her naïve thoughts from the past, her moral values, and all the beautiful memories she had shared with her friends.

Instead of cursing Wang Lei, Rosalyne suddenly threw her arms around him and burst into tears against his shoulder. As she cried, she muttered a string of names Wang Lei had never heard before.

According to the system, Rosalyne's attitude toward Wang Lei had just been hatred, but it instantly reset to neutral. Wang Lei couldn't help marveling at how fickle women truly were.

Still, Wang Lei didn't push Rosalyne away. Instead, he gently stroked her back and comforted her. At the same time, he used Aether Encoding to connect the Gene Engine's energy source to the unknown flame in her heart.

That flame was undergoing intense changes. It had originally been a mass of karmic fire, but it was now transforming. It seemed to be evolving in the direction of a red lotus.

Rosalyne held Wang Lei and cried for a full hour. By then, Wang Lei had gone numb. Half his clothes felt soaked through.

But there were gains as well. The system showed that during that hour, Rosalyne's attitude toward Wang Lei had risen to the first stirrings of love. Wang Lei was dumbfounded. Hadn't he merely comforted her a little? Her love for Rostam was clearly so profound—how had she suddenly transferred her affections to him?

In truth, the reason was simple. Wang Lei gave Rosalyne the same sense of security that Rostam once had. Moreover, after five hundred years of obsession, her feelings for Rostam had long been burned numb by karmic fire. Just as Wang Lei had said, by the later stages, she was no longer burning monsters for Rostam's sake. She burned simply for the sake of burning, until she was saved by the Cryo Archon and regained a trace of reason.

Fortunately, Wang Lei was still fairly rational. When Rosalyne finished crying, he slowly pushed her away. Rosalyne wasn't at the point of refusing to let go of him, but she now looked at Wang Lei with a hint of shyness on her face.

With the tear tracks still on Rosalyne's face, it was impossible to tell whether her flushed cheeks came from embarrassment or crying. Wang Lei was very straightforward. He placed the Gnosis on the table, picked up the mask he had removed earlier, and said, "Alright, our deal is complete. The Gnosis is yours. But this mask is spoils from my battle with you, so I'll be taking it. Leave Mondstadt as soon as possible afterward. I think we'll meet again soon. Ying, Paimon, let's go. Let Miss Rosalyne calm down by herself. I'll treat you to a feast!!"

With that, he left with Ying and Paimon.

Rosalyne smiled as she picked up the Gnosis. After Wang Lei's footsteps faded away, she washed her face and left Ying's temporary residence as well.

A day later, a woman in traditional Mondstadt attire and a hood carried a basket of offerings to the cemetery built behind Mondstadt Cathedral for Mondstadt's Heroes' Cemetery. She stopped before the gravestone of Wolf Pup Rostam, set down her offerings, caressed the inscription, and began singing the song they had sung when they first met. When the song ended, she murmured to herself, "Rostam, this is the final farewell. The last time I came here, I said Rosalyne was already dead—dead together with you. That from then on, she would burn her life away only to destroy every monster. But now, Rosalyne has come back to life. The Cryo Archon saved Rosalyne's remaining soul, and a new hero pieced Rosalyne's soul back together. It's a pity you were too timid back then. You were nearly thirty, yet you didn't even have the courage to kiss me. Now, I will live another life for a new purpose. Farewell, Rostam, my former beloved."

The moment she finished speaking, the woman before the gravestone turned and left. At that moment, a gentle breeze swept past, blowing down her hood and revealing Rosalyne's hopeful yet resolute face beneath it.

The wind carried countless dandelions, swirling around Rosalyne as though celebrating her rebirth. At the same time, a Cryo God's Eye descended from the sky and fell into her hand.

Rosalyne smiled at the whirlwind in the sky, tucked the God's Eye close to her body, put her hood back on, and left the cemetery.

Normally, the author should have stopped at around four thousand words and revised the remaining two thousand into another chapter.

But that would have hurt the flow of this chapter too much, so they were posted together instead. This chapter is filled with the author's overwhelming love for La Signora as a character. When La Signora completely lost any possibility of becoming playable, the author was genuinely sad for a while.

Then, after "Age of Ice" was released, the author listened to it at least hundreds of times. This chapter was written while listening to "Age of Ice."

Of course, much of this content has not been confirmed by in-game lore. The author also altered certain points according to their own needs. Hope everyone enjoys it.