Chapter Twenty Five: Stranded

"Hey there, human! I don't get why you've got a similar aura to us, and why you haven't changed a bit."

"But since you're kinda like us, we're not gonna be enemies, I guess."

"So, you can follow this path along the cliff. It's a shortcut to the mountain top, but super dangerous. One wrong step, and you'll tumble!"

Xian Yu's expression shifted when he heard this. A place to crash? That sounded great, no cliff-climbing stress.

Compared to flying, climbing felt like a piece of cake to Xian Yu. I mean, sure, Teyvat has those "Wind Gliders," but they're not his jam. They can only glide for a short while, need wind currents to launch, and they're a pain to control.

Xian Yu didn't trust Wind Gliders much.

They're either too high to be useful or not high enough to matter. They don't cut it.

After the Abyss Mage finished yapping, he floated back to his spot.

Watching the Abyss Mage hovering up there, Xian Yu couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. Who doesn't dream of soaring in the sky?

Xian Yu had a long-time itch for flying, same as his sword-fighting skills. When he learned "One Sword to Separate the World" had sword-fighting skills, he got super pumped.

"I remember some of the Chosen Ones can fly. Maybe, apart from leveling up my sword-flying skills, I can also learn elemental flight..."

Of all the Chosen Ones who could fly, the one Xian Yu had the most contact with was Tartaglia. He often fought Tartaglia as a weekly boss in the game.

Sure, he got his butt handed to him in various ways, but Tartaglia was seriously tough. He could transform into elements and zip around in the air.

It's just that the game painted him as a bad guy most of the time.

But in reality... Xian Yu didn't want to pick a fight with him, honestly.

So, Xian Yu decided to clear his head and inspect the cliff. He wasn't gonna blindly trust the Abyss Mage's words. Even if it sounded reassuring, he knew better than to let his guard down. Safety's no joke.

As he examined the cliff, he noticed lots of uneven spots, but they were all hidden under snow, making it hard to judge their safety.

Xian Yu started to suspect that the Abyss Mage might have some hidden agenda. Can this guy actually climb this cliff?

Maybe he's been alive for too long to think straight!

After a second thought, Xian Yu figured mountain climbing wasn't a rush job. The cold feeling on his head reminded him that the Cryo Crystal Butterfly's absorption wasn't efficient enough. Maybe it was the butterfly's fault.

Without it, he felt weaker, even though it hadn't absorbed energy for long. The mountain's peak seemed unreachable, and the Cryo Crystal Butterfly was evolving way too slowly. This wasn't part of the plan.

The silver lining was he got his hands on Dragon Tooth and his weapon's main material.

"Guess I won't be leaving this snowy mountain any time soon."

Since quick success was out of the question, he decided to take his time. His strength would improve no matter where he was.

His impatient heart calmed down.

In this serene moment, Xian Yu stood in the snow for a while and did something unexpected.

He tucked away the heart core half that was floating above his head.

Naturally, the Cryo Crystal Butterfly wasn't thrilled, buzzing around searching.

But no matter how hard it searched, the heart core was nowhere to be found. Losing its favorite item, the butterfly eventually gave up. It was stubborn, but it had limits. When something's lost and can't be found, you move on.

Step by step, that's how things go. You can't leap to the sky in one jump.

Xian Yu wasn't a lucky kid, and he didn't expect everything to go his way.

As he saw the Cryo Crystal Butterfly start flying around, Xian Yu paid less attention. He felt it was actively absorbing elemental power. The rate wasn't much different from when it rested on the heart core, maybe even a bit faster. It seemed like his idea was on the right track. Perhaps when the Cryo Crystal Butterfly levels up, it'll absorb the heart core way faster.

Time waits for no one.

And so, Xian Yu started his life on the snowy mountain.

Good thing he had the sense to stock up supplies in his space. It'd keep him going for a while.

...

Days and nights passed in a never-ending cycle, and Xian Yu had limited interaction with the Hilichurls and the Abyss Mage. After all, except for the mage, the other Hilichurls couldn't talk to Xian Yu because of the language barrier.

However, the Abyss Mage seemed to view Xian Yu as one of their own. He even brought him food once in a while, which puzzled Xian Yu.

What's this guy's deal? Doesn't he get it?

But Xian Yu had no plans to explain. His power didn't belong to the Teyvat continent, much like the Abyss Mages.

As for the Abyss Mage, he had his thoughts. At first, he was skeptical, but after watching the Cryo Crystal Butterfly, he seemed to confirm his suspicion.

He can bond with elemental creatures, kinda like how they get along with slimes.

Well, Xian Yu had no clue what the Abyss Mage was thinking. If he did, he'd just say, "You're overthinking it."

Xian Yu didn't get the connection between slimes and the Hilichurls, but he knew slimes were super useful. Whether it's using Anemo slimes for travel or Pyro slimes for warmth and explosives, they're versatile.

Humans can't really match that, and trying to replace slimes might tick off those elemental critters.

The Cryo Crystal Butterfly misinterpreted the whole thing beautifully.

From that point on, the Abyss Mage and the Hilichurls got used to Xian Yu's presence.

As time passed, they developed a more friendly relationship. Sometimes, Hilichurls would come up to Xian Yu and speak in their weird language.

But Xian Yu didn't pay them any mind.

If he can't understand what they're saying, how can he respond? He's not some Mondstadt self-taught language expert.

Frustrated by his silence, the Hilichurls often scratched their heads.

In those moments, Xian Yu had no choice but to stay quiet. It's not that he doesn't want to chat, but the language barrier's a bummer.

In return for their friendly gestures, Xian Yu would sometimes fetch stuff from his space and offer it. But most of the time, his gifts went unnoticed.

Time passed swiftly in the snow and wind, and Xian Yu had no records to say how long it had been. Looking at the starry grass that vanished in a big circle around him and the bunch of "experience points" on his interface, he knew it had been a while.

And who's responsible for the disappearing star grass? You guessed it, the Cryo Crystal Butterfly!

This was a surprising turn of events for Xian Yu, and it looked like a good thing.

"It seems like it's about to transform..."