Varesa knelt amidst the chaos, holding Bai You tightly in her arms.
" Bai You?" she called again, her voice hoarse and almost incoherent, " Bai You, look at me, okay?"
No one answered her.
The little body in her arms was limp and powerless, its head hanging limply in her arms.
That face, which always had a slightly greedy look, was now as white as paper, and her mouth was full of blood. Varesa trembled as she brought her hand to her nose.
There was no breath.
When she touched the side of her neck again, there was no pulse anymore, and no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find it.
"No... no..."
Varesa repeated incoherently, frantically trying to cover the wound on Bai You's back, but the wound was too big and too deep.
Warm blood kept seeping from between her fingers, no matter how hard she tried to stop it.
She pulled Bai You, who was getting colder, closer to her, trying to warm her with her own body heat, but Bai You's body still cooled down little by little.
Just a few minutes ago, Bai You was perfectly fine.
On the train, she nestled in his arms and slept, her eyelashes fluttering gently.
At the market, she stood on tiptoe and pointed at the kitten blanket, her eyes shining adorably.
Holding the pot of lilies, she said earnestly, "Beautiful." She was still in the snow, tucking her icy hands into her palms.
But then, in a flash, he shielded her from the attack, leaving only the words "I love you" before closing his eyes.
"How could you be so foolish..." Varesa buried her face in Bai You's blood-stained hair, tears streaming down her face.
"Who asked you to protect me... I should be the one protecting you..."
"Didn't you say you'd help me set up the cave later?"
"The string lights aren't up yet, the blankets aren't made, and that pot of lilies is still waiting for us to care for them... Aren't you going back on your word?"
"Wake up, wake up, Bai You--!"
The piercing cries crashed against the cold stone wall, shattering into pieces that fell back into the empty forest.
She wished Bai You would wrinkle her nose as if annoyed by her nagging, and mutter a quiet retort, just like she always did.
Bai You's consciousness hadn't completely sunk in.
She felt as if she were submerged in a deep, warm, black water, and through the thick layer of water, she could vaguely hear someone crying on the shore, calling her name.
She recognized the voice all too well; it was Varesa.
She wanted to respond, wanted to raise her hand to wipe away her tears, but her body and consciousness seemed to have completely lost contact.
"Don't bother." The system's voice echoed in the darkness.
[You're just an empty shell now, all your strength has been burned away, and you even took a final blow.]
[If it weren't for me, you would actually be dead.]
"She's crying..." Bai You thought with difficulty in her mind.
[I know, stop with the nonsense.] The system paused.
[Listen carefully, I'm here, you won't die. Just consider this time as catching up on sleep.]
Bai You wanted to say something more, but the black water surged up irresistibly, completely drowning her last bit of clarity.
Meanwhile, Snezhnaya Palace.
Odette practically ran all the way into the palace gates.
She was still wearing the dance outfit she had worn for the morning rehearsal; she hadn't even had time to change her coat, and her hair was disheveled.
The Fatui soldiers guarding the palace initially blocked her way with their spears, but she then announced her name as Columbina.
Then he took out a keepsake that Columbina had given her before she left. The soldier's expression changed, and he dared not delay any longer, leading her inside.
The person she was looking for was " The Captain " Capitano.
After passing through several deep corridors, in a solemn side hall, the door was open, and she met the first seat of the Fatui' Harbinger.
Even just from his back view, that person exuded a sense of steadiness and reliability, like a mountain.
Hearing footsteps, he slowly turned around, his voice deep and calm coming from under his helmet.
"A person from Columbina? Tell me, what happened?"
" The Captain!" Odette disregarded etiquette, speaking rapidly and urgently.
"Something's happened to Columbina! Lady Columbina sent me to inform you—she's afraid she can't handle it alone, please come and help her!"
Capitano listened quietly to what was said, but did not speak immediately; he fell into deep thought.
The Columbina bombing, and not long ago --
He was handling military affairs in the hall when, without warning, the distant Snezhnaya sky trembled slightly.
He walked to the window and, looking through the clouds, saw with his own eyes that the mysterious "False Sky " had been torn open by some unimaginable force.
A pale red light poured down from behind the crack.
He had a bad feeling at the time, but he wasn't sure of the source. Now, what Odette said matched perfectly.
Capitano replied in a deep voice, "I understand."
Capitano didn't ask another question. He reached out and took the sword from the wall, his cloak fluttered, and his aura suddenly pressed down like a mountain, yet his movements were swift and decisive.
He strode out, but stopped at the door, glanced back at Odette still standing in the hall, and said slowly:
"Don't follow me. That's not a place you can go near."
"Trust me." Capitano's voice was steady, possessing a reassuring quality.
As soon as he finished speaking, the tall figure strode away and disappeared at the end of the corridor. Once outside the palace, he immediately sped off in the direction of the crimson rift in the sky.
Odette stood there, gazing in the direction he had left, thinking of Bai You and the others, her heart filled with unease.
Near Tide Song Cavern.
Just as Varesa was about to be swallowed up by despair, she heard a hurried voice in her ear.
" Varesa! Bai You!"
A white figure pushed aside the broken branches and rushed in quickly.
It's Columbina.
She had followed the sensations of the Kuuvahki all the way here. But when she saw the scene before her— Varesa kneeling in a pool of blood, holding someone—her heart sank.
Upon hearing the sound, Varesa instinctively pulled Bai You closer to her chest, raised her face, which was red from crying, and spoke incoherently.
" Bai You, she's dead. Columbina, she's dead. It's my fault, I couldn't protect her..."
"Don't worry, let me see."
Columbina knelt down beside her in a few steps, her voice steady, and first used the Kuuvahki to calm Varesa down.
She first checked his breathing, just like Varesa had done, and then took his pulse.
There was nothing there.
There was no breathing, no pulse, and the chest was completely still, without the slightest rise and fall.
That lovely face was deathly pale, and her body was growing colder and colder, just like someone who had truly passed away.
"Don't rush, let me take another look."
Then she reached out and gently placed her hand on Bai You's slender wrist, slowly channeling strands of gentle Kuuvahki into it.
Columbina then transformed strands of Kuuvahki into soft silk, restoring the scorched veins and flesh.
She used her strength to temporarily seal the still-bleeding wound on Bai You's back.
Then she placed her palm on Bai You's cold chest and slowly channeled a wisp of Kuuvahki into it.
But that wisp of power disappeared without a trace after entering—all the way to the deepest part of Bai You's origin, there was only a bottomless, deathly silence.
Time passed second by second.
Varesa held her breath, forgetting even to cry, and just stared intently at Columbina's face, trying to read something from it.
But there was nothing there.
Columbina opened her eyes, her face pale beyond her comprehension.
"How is it...?" Varesa saw every expression on her face, her voice trembling so much she could barely speak.
"Say something... are you... are you unconscious...?"
Columbina opened her mouth, looked at Varesa in front of her, and found that the word was as heavy as a Shitou, and she couldn't utter it no matter what she did.
She turned her head away, not daring to look into Varesa's eyes. When she turned back, those usually gentle and resolute light purple eyes held a deep, almost broken sorrow.
She shook her head very slowly and with great difficulty.
"I'm sorry."
Just these three words.
But it was more cruel than any other word.
"Impossible..." Varesa seemed not to understand, or perhaps she understood but desperately refused to. She hugged Bai You tightly, her words incoherent.
"You're lying, she's just asleep, she's just tired, right?"
"She promised me, she said she'd build the cave with me, we'd share that kitten blanket... She wouldn't break her promise, she never does."
The sound abruptly stopped, turning into an uncontrollable, broken sob.
She lowered her head and buried her face in Bai You's already cold neck, her shoulders trembling violently, her sobs initially suppressed.
In the end, she couldn't hold back any longer, and each scream was filled with heart-wrenching pain.
"I'll take her home." After a long while, she finally spoke in a hoarse voice, her voice so soft it was as if she were afraid of startling someone, "... Let's take her home."
At this moment, Bai You was completely unaware of everything—she couldn't hear Varesa's cries, nor could she hear Columbina's "I'm sorry."
[well.]
The system's voice echoed faintly in the darkness, unusually listless.
[They've started reading it to you one by one.]
[Sleep soundly. It's all my fault; I should have given you something even stronger.]
[Let's find a time to wake you up early, otherwise you might really turn to ashes. Then I can still wipe away her tears.]
The darkness offered no response.