Genshin Impact: Awakening in the Darkness

Chapter 158 The Tenderness of Hometown

They continued deeper into the tower and flew to the top of the upside-down tower.

The age of the pillars around the room is clearly visible; they are covered with cracks of all sizes, and the original color is no longer discernible.

Some of the walls have clearly collapsed, and some even have large holes in them.

It can only be described as ruins.

"Kong, look up! There's a pool of water over there!" Paimon's exclamation made everyone look in the direction she was pointing.

It was indeed an upside-down pool, and there was even water flowing inside, flowing backwards!

Kong: "Even the pool water is upside down, what a strange sight."

"Do you know what's going on with this pool, Dain?" Paimon was completely baffled. As the saying goes, it's a virtue to ask when you don't understand.

Dain: "The pool seems to be an integral part of the city, and it must be a remnant of an ancient civilization."

"The key is... I believe that the effect of weakening the curse comes from it."

"Being here, one experiences an unprecedented tranquility. The feeling is stronger than before, mostly because the pool of water has a 'purifying' effect."

Paimon: "Purification? Could it be... that the water in that pool can completely purify the curse?"

"Impossible." Dain gave a direct negative answer without any hesitation.

Paimon: "Are you so sure?"

Dain: "I have been living with the curse for five hundred years. No one knows more about the curse than me."

"It is a causal imprint on this world, and the curse of the gods is even higher than that of humans themselves in terms of status."

"As for why it can't be... it's because this curse was cast by a god who possesses the power of 'purification.'"

Paimon: "!!!"

Dain looked at her hands, savoring the momentary relief, and continued, "I can feel the curse seeping into everything about me, becoming a part of me, and even gradually 'replacing' me."

"Suppressing the curse's influence to a limited extent might be possible, but as for purification..."

Dain considered the best words to describe it: "Just imagine it as burning a part of your body. Before that, you can't even save your life."

Paimon: "Huh?! Does that mean I'm going to die?! How could this happen...? Then maybe finding the god who cast the curse will break it?"

"Yes, the one who tied the knot must untie it. If needed, we can..."

"No, no need. I don't believe the god who placed this curse will change his mind because of a few words, but thank you for your kindness anyway." Dain interrupted Kong and continued the previous topic.

"The purifying power of the pool water here is far from sufficient. It can only barely suppress the curse to some extent."

"And what is this device down there? It seems a bit out of place with the surroundings..." Paimon asked, pointing to a device in front of them.

Was this machine-like thing originally there or added later?

If it was already there, this pattern combination is really ugly.

Kong: "Could it be something from the Abyss Cult?"

Dain also fell into deep thought, analyzing the situation: "To be honest, I've never seen a device with this kind of structure before. Your belief that it was placed by the Abyss Order isn't unreasonable. Could it be that they're preparing something..."

Click, click, click——

"Hmm!" Dain immediately looked behind him alertly in the direction from which the voice came.

The clanging of metal grew louder as it approached, finally reaching them.

Paimon: “!!!”

Dyne: "..."

null:"???"

The previously closed door beside them opened, revealing familiar blue armor. It was none other than the Black Serpent Knight—Hafdan—that Dain had mentioned before.

"Whoa! You scared me! All those gates around here are open?" Paimon's question was clearly directed at Halfdan, but unfortunately, he was met with silence.

"Do you have something to say to me, Hafdan?"

Dain looked into his eyes, and although he knew it was unlikely, he had to admit that he actually had a little bit of hope in his heart.

Hafdan remained silent, only giving him a deep look before turning and leaving.

Dain remained silent. He didn't know if Hafdan had recognized him, but the meaning behind that look was ambiguous, and besides, he hadn't disappeared immediately like the previous two times…

Paimon: "He's gone... but this time he didn't just disappear suddenly!"

Dain: "He's gesturing for us to follow him. So, do you want to come?"

Empty: "This could be a new clue."

"That makes sense... Well then... Shall we go?"

Paimon mentally cheered himself up, but still stayed close behind Kong, afraid of being left behind if he wasn't careful.

Sure enough, after passing through the door, Hafdan was waiting in the distance. He only started walking forward when he saw them following.

Dain: "There might be something he wants us to see ahead. Let's follow him."

"Yes, Paimon is keeping a close eye on things."

Kong and Daine ran at the same time to catch up with the figure in front, and Paimon was instantly left far behind.

"W-Why did you suddenly start running! Hey, wait for me!"

-----

Hafdan led them to the end of the road before stopping.

Before Kong could finish speaking, he heard a resentful voice behind him.

"Huff—huff—, you two, you ran too fast... at least consider my... my stamina..." Paimon was a little out of breath, but that didn't stop her from complaining about the two of them.

"Uh, sorry Paimon. I was just... afraid of getting lost." Sora scratched his head sheepishly and apologized to Paimon.

He was so engrossed in running that he accidentally left Paimon behind.

Paimon s(?｀ヘ′;)ゞ"Hmph!"

“You two take a look first,” Dain interrupted their conversation. “This is a Hilichurl camp, and some of the Hilichurls have already lost vital signs.”

Kong and Paimon then stopped talking and briefly surveyed the cave. Not far away, many Hilichurls lay motionless on simple beds made of straw, some of them already lifeless, just as Dain had said.

"Let's do some research first, Paimon. Same as always, I'll go left, you go right."

“No, this time we’ll do it backwards, I’ll go left and you go right. Let’s go.” Paimon finished speaking and started her investigation first. Sora just smiled helplessly and let her go.

Actually, the cave isn't very big, and there's not much to investigate. So we can only look at the details, and the only detail we can talk about here is the white flower they're surrounding.

Paimon: "We've checked the area around here, and like ordinary Hilichurls, they have campfires here too. But Dain clearly said that Hilichurls become photophobic in the final stages of their lives..."

Paimon: "These boxes, usually where Hilichurls store food, right? They seem... mostly empty. It seems that Hilichurls don't need to eat at the end of their lives."

"So, the only difference should be this, but this flower..." Sora looked at the flower in front of her and felt that it looked very familiar.

Judging from the color, there doesn't seem to be a matching flower for Inazuma. And judging from the shape of the petals, it's neither the Pure Heart of Liyue nor the Cecilia Flower of Mondstadt, but rather resembles...

“This is the national flower of Kanria—the Intiwat. It once bloomed in every corner of Kanria.” Dain stated the flower’s origin directly: “This flower originally only bloomed for two weeks. But if someone plucked it and took it away from Kanria’s land, the petals would stop growing and become extremely hard.”

"Only when they return to their homeland will the petals soften again, eventually returning to the dust..."

Therefore, Intiwat also symbolizes "the wanderer" and signifies "the tenderness of one's homeland."

"This is also the flower in my sister's hair."