"Ahem, ahem." Although he was somewhat surprised, Venti quickly regained his composure. "As the finest poet in all of Teyvat, I know every poem."
"So, lucky adventurer, would you like to hear a poem about yourself? In the style of Liyue storytelling and Sumeru fairy tales!"
"...So, Mr. Venti, are you really not going to do something about Stormterror?" Albedo asked in return.
"Alas, I only recently woke up. I can't completely rid Dvalin of the Abyss within him." Venti shook his head regretfully. "Besides, the strongest defenses are often breached from within."
"The main reason Dvalin is suffering now is that he was harmed by the very people he protected."
"You mean the Lawrence Clan?" Tang Wang also looked somewhat helpless. "Heaven knows what those idiots were thinking, joining the Abyss Order to attack Mondstadt? Don't they understand that once the rabbit is dead, the hunting dog is next?"
"Ahem, ahem, those matters will be resolved later." Venti cleared his throat again. "So, noble one of destiny, aren't you curious what the poem about you will say?"
"All right, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious." Tang Wang nodded. "After all, you should know that, like Alice, I don't belong to Teyvat."
"Then..." Venti stroked the lyre in his hands. "Do you believe it? Long ago, or perhaps long from now, a saint descended from the heavens above."
"In his hand, he held a white sword capable of cutting through all darkness. Yet the saint did not intend to use it. He believed he lacked the right to wield the white sword."
"Later, darkness swallowed the world where the saint lived. To save the people he loved, the saint used his own nobility to bear the darkness of the entire world."
"So that the darkness might one day be destroyed, the saint willingly sealed his white sword in a chasm among layers of rock."
"The saint hoped that someone truly worthy of wielding it would pull it free and, in the end... use it to kill him and dispel the darkness."
"Later, a warrior appeared out of nowhere on the lands of Liyue. He possessed the same will as the saint, and so he wielded the edge of gold and white."
"He would set out on a journey, reclaim the white sword, and ultimately save a nation destined to sink into darkness."
"At his side, a white-haired being fallen from the heavens, a golden-haired being fashioned by reason, and a pink-haired being bound by fate... would all lend him their strength."
"He was not watched over by the gods, for he would watch over them all. He would come to understand the four corners that formed a room and use them to build a house of his own."
"And you, Tang Wang, are that warrior." Venti's tone grew more emphatic. "As long as you do not lose your nobility, the whole world will open itself to you."
Once again, he had repeated the words the Abyss had spoken to Tang Wang, giving him the feeling that something was wrong.
"Unfortunately, the white sword that belongs to you has now been taken ahead of time by an ambitious schemer driven solely by selfish desires."
"You mean Epitome Invocation?" Tang Wang raised an eyebrow. "But I don't have the slightest clue about that right now."
"No, you do." Venti shook his head. "Remember the caravan you saved when you first came to Mondstadt?"
"Their leader is named Dulaj. Since arriving in Mondstadt City, he's been going to the Cat's Tail Tavern for a drink every noon."
"All right, I understand." He nodded reluctantly. "I'm going to pick that dew-covered flower now. Goodbye, Lord Anemo Archon."
"Ah, wait, wait!" Venti hurriedly grabbed him. "Tang Wang, have you really thought this through?"
"A Cecilia? Are you sure you want to give her a Cecilia?"
"I quite like that flower. It should be the best flower you can find in Mondstadt, right?" Tang Wang asked in confusion.
"Oh my, it seems this warrior who inherited the saint's will doesn't understand... a wanderer's true feelings aren't something to be spoken of lightly."
"I wasn't planning to say anything," he said with a shrug. "It's just a flower. Surely there aren't that many rules about it?"
"Please try to understand, Mr. Venti," Albedo said with a somewhat helpless sigh. "When it comes to handling relationships, he and I both have traits that make people consider us monsters."
"To him, getting on good terms with certain people is simply because they'll be useful later."
"But that isn't his true nature." Venti shook his head. "If you don't face your feelings, Tang Wang, they may cause you a great deal of trouble."
"Whatever, I don't care," he said with a smile. "Besides, what trouble could there be?"
"...Perhaps you think of yourself as a creditor right now?" Venti began playing his lyre helplessly. "As you see it, all the benefits you give now will be repaid someday."
Venti was clearly referring to Tang Wang's attitude toward Columbina: pure goodwill, selfless devotion, and the matching thoughtfulness born of his "understanding" of her.
As Tang Wang saw it, as long as Columbina became one of the Three Moon Sisters later, everything he had invested would be worth it. It was like the resources he spent building a character in a game.
"But ask yourself honestly: when that day really comes, will you coldly measure her value and make her repay you, like the iron-hearted Ninth of the Fatui?"
"If you don't intend to do that... how will you handle your relationship with her?"
"...That's not something I need to think about now." With that, Tang Wang ran toward Starsnatch Cliff as if fleeing.
"Alas." Seeing that, Venti really was out of ideas. "I've said all I can. How much he understands is entirely up to him."
"Speaking of which, Mr. Venti, why did you spend so much time trying to persuade him about this?" Albedo asked curiously.
"Because it's the only problem he needs to deal with." Venti changed the subject. "But speaking of which, there's something I want to ask you too."
"Albedo, have you considered how best to follow in her footsteps?"
"Her? Who... are you referring to?" Although Albedo had answered with a question, he already understood whom Venti meant.
"Your mother, of course, R of the Hexenzirkel." Venti smiled. "Her mastery of alchemy is so great that she can create countless living beings, and isn't following in her footsteps your goal?"
"That's right." Albedo nodded. "So what are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying that a brand-new opportunity lies right before you." As he spoke, he gestured toward the distance beyond Starsnatch Cliff. "Start in Mondstadt and travel all across Teyvat."
"Now is the perfect time-on your journey, you'll have many companions. Some will be going the same way, some will share your aspirations, and others will simply be there to follow someone..."
"But whatever the case, it will be a very rewarding journey."
"I understand." Albedo nodded. "Because someone can destroy me in time if I lose control, traveling through the Seven Nations will be safer than staying in Mondstadt."
"Hey, hey, wait a moment, that's not what I meant..." Venti waved his hands repeatedly.
"It doesn't matter, because I accept your suggestion."
"But that will have to wait until the dragon disaster is over."
With that, fate changed course. The chaos of events thrown off track came to an end, and everything began moving along a new path. The journey across the world finally came to pass after all.