"So... this is what death feels like."
In the sky, a white-haired girl with blood at the corner of her mouth spoke weakly to a pillar. She was Ronava, the Ruler of Death from Genshin Impact.
A yellow orb of light appeared in her hand out of thin air. Just as she was about to make her next move, a voice rang out behind her.
"Wait! I finally found you!"
Ronava hadn't expected anyone else to be there. She turned and saw a young man.
Seeing that he was only two paces away, Ronava instantly grew wary.
"Who are you?"
"How did you get hurt so badly? Don't move."
As the young man reached toward her, Ronava raised a hand to block him, but she had just been gravely injured and had no strength to resist. Instead, he caught her hand.
"What are you doing?"
A flicker of unease crossed Ronava's face.
"I said, don't move."
With his other hand, the young man took out a pill and slipped it into her mouth.
"Mm!"
A warm current flowed through her body, and she couldn't help letting out a soft moan.
"My injuries... they've actually healed a little?"
Seeing the wounds inside her body, which had been beyond all cure, slowly healing, Ronava was astonished. She had no choice but to take the young man before her seriously.
"I didn't answer you just now. My name's Lin En, Lin as in forest, En as in affection."
"Lin En? Why did you save me? What good does saving someone who's about to die do you?"
"Good? I don't need anything. I just want you to be happy."
"That's it?"
"Yes."
Ronava stared at him in confusion. He saved me just so I could be happy? How could someone like that possibly exist?
Another trace of blood appeared at the corner of her mouth. The Jester's attack had left her gravely wounded.
Although she had taken medicine that could heal her injuries, the power in her body was only enough to keep her flying for a little while. Before long, she began to fall.
Lin En immediately reached out and caught her, holding her in his arms.
"Ronava!"
That was the last thing she heard before losing consciousness completely.
He knows me? Why did he save me?
she thought.
Seven days earlier, at the top of the Skyfrost Nail
"Where am I? Why is it so high up? Put me down!"
Lin En shouted, but no one answered. Looking at the clouds around him, he was bewildered. Had he transmigrated?
Looking at the cylindrical object, he quickly realized where he was. He was on the Skyfrost Nail! This was Teyvat!
"Lord Phanes isn't going to launch me along with the Skyfrost Nail, is he?"
As he pondered, a blue screen appeared before him, startling him so badly that he nearly fell off the nail.
After taking a moment to recover, he examined the screen closely. There was a mission on it:
"Save Ronava, the Ruler of Death."
"That's it? What about the reward?"
Lin En grumbled.
"Reward: 10 million Mora."
Lin En's eyes lit up at the mention of 10 million Mora. It would be enough to last him a long time. But then he remembered that he was completely powerless. How was he supposed to save Ronava? He'd be lucky if he didn't need her to save him.
He rested a hand on his chin and thought for a while before speaking.
"I feel sorry for her, and I really want to save her from her predicament, but I don't have any power right now. How am I supposed to save her? I'd be lucky not to get slapped to death."
The image on the system screen changed, displaying a gift box icon with a line of small text underneath.
"Newbie gift package awarded: One-Hour Ruler Trial Card, Soul-Returning Pill x1."
"That's more like it. One hour should be enough. Leave it to me. Wait, where are we in the story right now? Don't tell me the Traveler just arrived in Teyvat!"
If the story had only reached that point, Lin En would have to wait six years. By the time the Shade of Death arrived, he would probably have long since been reduced to a skeleton.
"Snezhnaya, Act Four."
Hearing that, he patted his chest in relief. If it was Act Four, then the Shade of Death should arrive here gravely injured before long.
"Saving the Shade of Death-no, she probably isn't the Shade of Death anymore... Saving Ronava is our duty!"
Who could have known that Act Four had only just begun? And so he waited there for a whole week, with nothing to eat when he was hungry and only rainwater to drink when he was thirsty.
An unknown amount of time passed after Ronava lost consciousness.
When she woke up in unfamiliar surroundings, she found herself lying on a crude wooden bed.
The air was filled with the scent of herbs and grilled fish. Lin En had his back to her and was busy by the fire.
"You're awake?"
He turned around and smiled.
"How are you feeling? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"
Ronava didn't answer. She simply stared fixedly at his face. Her instincts told her that the young man before her was no ordinary person. Even the Heavenly Principles might not have been able to heal the injuries she had suffered.
She stared at him for so long that Lin En blushed. He turned his head away, no longer looking at her, and thought:
This feels so strange. A character from a game is standing right in front of me, alive and real. It's like a dream. But my Ruler Trial Card has expired, so I'd better keep a low profile for now.
He had looked into the system, and it seemed to appear only when it issued a mission or when he completed one.
Completing the first mission really had earned him 10 million Mora. At least he wouldn't have to worry about money for a while.
Even if the system hadn't given him the 10 million Mora, he would have saved Ronava if he had the ability, simply to fulfill his own wish. Ronava's exit from the story had been far too abrupt, and he just couldn't accept it.
Lin En had also wondered whether Ronava might kill him after waking up. He had even considered fleeing while she was unconscious. But if he left her alone in this wilderness, gravely injured, could she really survive?
His conscience wouldn't allow it. Having saved her, how could he just stand by and do nothing?
Besides, he had been following Ronava ever since The Limits of a God promotional video. He had saved up a hundred thousand Primogems, but then Ronava had suddenly exited the story in version 7.1. Now that heaven had given him a chance to save her, he had to cherish it.
Ronava studied Lin En carefully. She was certain she had never met him before.
"Who are you, really?"
Her voice was still weak, but it retained the arrogance characteristic of a ruler.
"Why do you know my name? And why... did you save me?"
Ronava leaned halfway against the wall, her long silver-white hair falling over her shoulders, its ends still stained with dried blood.
She stared at the young man who called himself Lin En. He was prodding the fire with a stick, the firelight flickering across his profile.
"Who are you, really?"
She had lost count of how many times she had asked him that.
Lin En was in no hurry to answer. He took the grilled fish off the fire, placed it on a clean, broad leaf, and handed it to her.
"Eat something first."
"Answer me."
"After you eat."
Ronava fell silent for a moment. Although rulers didn't need to eat, her Authority of Death had been taken back. Eating something now might help her recover sooner.
She reached out and took it. The leaf was warm against her fingertips, neither hot nor cold, and the fish was just right to eat.
She took a bite. The fish was tender and had only been seasoned with a little salt, yet it left her momentarily dazed.
How many years has it been since I last had the leisure to eat like this? Ever since becoming a ruler, she seemed never to have had a moment's rest. Every day, lost souls in Teyvat needed to return to the Ley Lines; there was no time to stop.
"You said you wanted me to be happy."
She suddenly spoke, a trace of mockery in her voice.
"Don't you think it's ridiculous to say that to a stranger?"
Lin En took a bite of fish, then turned and told her seriously,
"You're not a stranger."
Ronava was puzzled. They had never met, so why would he say she wasn't a stranger? She asked,
"What do you mean? I've never seen you before."
"But I've seen you."
Lin En put down the stick from which he had finished eating his grilled fish, then chuckled and said to Ronava,
"In a place very far away, and... a very long time ago."
Ronava turned back and frowned at him.
"Why are you speaking in riddles?"
"Just take it as nonsense."
"You!"
Ronava was about to lose her temper, but when she remembered that she might not be able to beat Lin En in her current state, she suppressed her anger. The most important thing now was to recover from her injuries.
"So you knew from the beginning that I would appear there?"
"Yes."
The answer surprised her. The man before her had actually known that her authority would be taken back and that she would use herself to destroy the Skyfrost Nail.
"All right, you're very weak right now. Get some rest."
Lin En reached out to help her, but Ronava slapped his hand away. Her tone was somewhat impatient.
"I'm not so weak that I need your help getting back to bed!"
Lin En shrugged and said helplessly,
"All right, walk by yourself."