"Could it be Inazuma Island?"
Lin En rested a hand on his chin and answered without thinking.
"I'm still not entirely sure."
Ronava lowered her hand.
"But there's definitely more than this one. I can sense seven transmission lines spread across all of Teyvat."
Seven transmission lines meant Tsurumi Island wasn't the only place with an array like this. Someone had set up array cores across Teyvat, using nails as sources to draw power and send it to a central hub. Who could it be, and why were they doing this?
Ronava raised her hand and poured black energy into the stone pillar. Its surface split, its patterns shattered, and the dark red crystal at the top exploded. One of the connecting beams broke, and the entire array trembled violently.
She walked to the second pillar and did the same, then the third and the fourth.
When the fourth pillar shattered, the entire stone chamber began to shake violently. Several cracks opened across the black core at the center, and dark red light poured out of them, like a heart about to explode.
Ronava didn't stop. She walked to the last pillar and raised her hand to smash it.
With all five pillars shattered, the black core at the center lost its support and fell to the ground, splitting in several places.
Ronava stepped forward and crushed it underfoot.
The array's patterns went dark in an instant.
But the moment the core shattered, a pillar of dark red light shot out of it, pierced the stone chamber's vaulted ceiling, and vanished into the sky. Ronava looked up at the beam and frowned.
"What is it?"
Lin En asked.
"The array core broke, but it sent one final signal outward."
Ronava looked away.
"Someone at the other end will probably receive it."
"You mean..."
"The person who made this array knows we're here."
Lin En braced himself against the rock wall and stood up. His legs were still a little weak, but he felt much better than before.
Ronava walked over to him and gave him a glance.
"Can you walk?"
"Yes."
The two retraced their steps along the passage and soon emerged from the cave, but the fog outside was even thicker than before.
The dense gray-white fog had not dispersed. Instead, it had grown thicker, and visibility was even worse than on their way in. They couldn't see anything more than three meters away.
Lin En looked up at the sky. It was darker than when they had arrived, which meant it was most likely already night. The thick fog had swallowed the twilight, leaving only gloom.
"It's probably getting late."
He spoke.
"The fog is too thick, and it's dark. If we leave now, I'm afraid it'll be dangerous."
Ronava stood at the cave entrance and surveyed the surroundings. She was silent for a few breaths, then nodded.
"Let's rest for the night and look for a path into the mountains tomorrow."
The two hadn't come to Tsurumi Island just to complete a task. Naturally, they also had to find the Celestial Nail.
They retreated into the cave. It was much drier than outside, offered shelter from the wind, and didn't have that sickening stench of decay.
Lin En found a flat spot against the cave wall and sat down, leaning back against it. He rummaged through his backpack. His rations were almost gone, with only a rock-hard piece of bread, a small pouch of water, and a piece of candy left. He had taken the candy from the Kamisato Clan on his way out.
He broke the bread in two and handed half to Ronava.
Ronava took it, bit into it, and chewed expressionlessly.
"It tastes awful."
"We're lucky to have anything to eat. I have some water here too. You drink it."
Lin En handed the water to Ronava and gnawed on his half. The dry, hard bread made his teeth ache, but luckily, Inazuma was near the sea, and the humid air had kept it from becoming quite so hard.
The two ate their meager meal in silence. Lin En leaned against the rock wall and closed his eyes to rest. The Elemental Energy around them had increased a little after the array's destruction, making him feel somewhat more at ease.
Ronava sat beside him, keeping watch.
Night gradually deepened, and the fog outside the cave grew thicker and thicker, until it turned purple. Beyond the cave entrance, nothing could be seen clearly.
Lin En drifted off to sleep. He didn't know how much time had passed before a hand suddenly gripped his shoulder.
His eyes snapped open. Ronava was already standing beside him, her golden eyes especially sharp in the darkness, one finger held to her lips.
Lin En immediately held his breath.
Extremely eerie cries came from outside the cave. There was more than one-many of them. They sounded like wolves, but there were no footsteps.
Lin En slowly turned his head. Through the thick fog at the cave entrance, he could just make out several blurry shadows. They flew close to the ground, their bodies long and slender, with dark red markings flickering in and out of sight through the fog. They were the Rifthounds from Genshin Impact.
Lin En made a rough count. There were at least seven or eight outside, scattered across the open ground in front of the cave, their heads lowered as they sniffed the ground. Those were only the ones he could see.
Their sense of smell was extremely keen, but the thick fog seemed to be affecting them. Several Rifthounds circled near the entrance without charging straight in.
Ronava held her spear, her gaze fixed on the entrance. With their current strength, it wasn't as though they couldn't beat them; there was simply no need to waste energy on such a thankless struggle.
Just then, a sharp cry suddenly rang out from deep within the fog.
"Help!"
The voice was childish and familiar. Lin En's pupils contracted sharply. It was Paimon again!
The Rifthounds raised their heads at once, their crimson eyes all turning toward the voice.
A few breaths later, a tiny white figure came stumbling out of the fog, with two Rifthounds in relentless pursuit.
Paimon flew unsteadily, her little face full of terror as she cried for help again and again.
She flew straight into the cave entrance and crashed headfirst into Lin En's arms, knocking him to the ground.
"Ow! That hurts!"
Lin En clutched his chest. Paimon's headbutt had hit him hard.
Ronava was already moving. She swept her spear, sending a slash of black energy from its tip that knocked the two Rifthounds pursuing Paimon into the cave flying.
The Rifthounds slammed into the rock wall outside and let out several miserable yelps, drawing even more of them.
Ronava simply stood at the entrance, her spear planted on the ground, her golden eyes sweeping coldly over the pack prowling outside.
The Rifthounds whined a few times. They seemed wary of her aura and gradually retreated.
Paimon was trembling all over. Her clothes were covered in dirt and bits of leaves, and there was a shallow scratch on her face.
"Why are you here?"
He asked. As she remembered it, Paimon should have been with Lumine all along.
Paimon looked up and saw Lin En. She first breathed a sigh of relief, then her eyes reddened.
"The Traveler and I got separated in the purple haze..."
She sniffled.
"When I was looking for the Traveler, those dogs suddenly charged out. I kept running, and I ended up here..."
"Purple haze?"
"It's a purple fog, different from this white fog. It was really, really thick and came up from underground. Lumine said there was something wrong with it and told me to hold my breath, and then we got separated."
Lin En looked at Ronava. Ronava walked over and looked down at Paimon as though she were an idiot.
"The purple haze should be residue from the array. The core broke, but the transmission channels are still there. That haze is power from the Ley Lines flowing back out."
"Then Lumine..."
"She's stronger than you. She won't die."
Ronava's tone was indifferent.
"As for you, if you keep following us, I don't mind throwing you out to feed the dogs."
Paimon shrank back, a look of terror on her face.
"Haha, don't scare her."
Lin En spoke. Paimon wouldn't necessarily die if they threw her out, but wouldn't it be better to get some benefit from this?
He told Ronava what he was thinking. She glanced at him and said no more.
She turned and walked to the entrance, then sat down with her back to them and her spear across her knees.
"You want me to help her find the Traveler?"
She asked suddenly.
Paimon hesitated.
"Will you?"
"No."
Paimon's shoulders slumped. If you won't, why did you ask?
"But if you agree to one thing, I can look for her along the way."
Paimon immediately looked up, her eyes lighting up again.
"What is it? I'll agree to anything!"
Ronava turned her head. Moonlight filtered through the fog and fell across her profile.
"From now on, don't interfere in our affairs again, or tell the God of Cryo where we are. If there's a next time..."
Ronava held her spear across Paimon's neck. It wasn't time to settle accounts yet; after all, killing the two of them would be almost the same as declaring war on all of Teyvat.
Feeling the cold spear blade, Paimon froze for a moment, then nodded desperately.
"Okay, okay! I didn't see anything!"
"And..."
Ronava's gaze shifted to Lin En.
"You owe me one."
His heart jumped when she looked at him.
"What?"
"A favor. I only let her stay for your sake."
Ronava stood up, withdrew her spear, and walked to the entrance, her silver hair glowing faintly in the fog.
"We leave at daybreak."
Paimon breathed a sigh of relief and muttered under her breath.
"So scary..."
Lin En looked down at her head, then at the silver-haired figure by the entrance, and smiled.
"She's really not that scary."