"The Story of How I Saved a Little Girl by the Roadside... and Ended Up Watching Her Receive a Dendro Vision?"
Hearing Luo Chen's summary, the people of Teyvat wore rather strange expressions.
So...
The Traveler had spent over a month running around...
Just for that?
But...
The more they thought about it...
The more it actually made sense.
Think about it.
At the beginning—
The Traveler rescued Rana by chance.
At the end—
Rana was cured...
And obtained a Dendro Vision.
So...
There really wasn't anything wrong with that title.
Across Teyvat, there were countless Vision holders.
Yet very few had the honor of receiving their Vision while being personally witnessed by the world-famous Traveler.
That girl named Rana...
She was quite something.
Villa
"That little title was just a joke."
Luo Chen smiled and waved his hand before his expression gradually turned solemn.
"Although The Aranyaka tells the story of how the Traveler resolved the Withering..."
"The true meaning of the story lies far deeper."
He slowly recited,
"Grow up well."
"Do not lose to the wind."
"Do not lose to the rain."
"Do not lose to winter's snow."
"Do not lose to summer's blazing heat."
"When you are young, rejoice."
"Let your heart be glad."
"Walk where you wish to walk."
"See what you long to see."
"Yet..."
"Never forget the days of darkness."
"May every new dream remain forever untouched by Marana."
"May every old story disappear together with Marana."
"May green fields and hills never wither."
"May streams forever run clear."
"May flowers bloom for all eternity."
"One day..."
"Old friends shall once again walk together through the flourishing forest."
"Everything beautiful shall return."
"Every painful memory shall drift away."
"Just as rivers cleanse themselves..."
"Just as dead trees sprout fresh buds."
"In the end... the forest will remember everything."
"We shall meet again within the eternal sands."
Luo Chen paused.
"These words..."
"Contain verses from the House of the Hearth."
"They also contain the inscriptions left behind by Aramaha, Aralaji, and Arayama."
"And..."
"They contain Arama's final farewell to the Traveler before becoming a Sarva Tree."
"I summarized the story rather briefly earlier."
"So perhaps many of you still don't fully understand."
"If that's the case..."
"Then..."
"Let's simply watch it."
He clicked his mouse.
The prepared video began playing.
Naturally...
It was the story of The Aranyaka.
Not the complete version.
The full questline exceeded ten hours.
Far too long for a live commentary.
So Luo Chen had carefully edited away the repetitive sections.
Keeping only the emotional core.
Then played it at increased speed.
Even so...
It still lasted over an hour.
Enough for everyone in Teyvat to understand what the story truly wished to convey.
As for the complete Aranyaka...
He had no intention of leaving it out.
He simply wouldn't show it during the livestream.
Instead...
He would upload it together with today's broadcast afterward.
Those interested could watch it at their own pace.
Time quietly passed.
More than an hour later...
The video finally ended.
Everyone wore expressions of quiet sorrow.
Scene after scene remained vividly engraved in their hearts.
The Utsava Festival
The Traveler wore a flower crown.
Softly played music.
While countless Aranara danced and sang around her.
Warm.
Peaceful.
Beautiful.
The Battle Against Marana
When the Traveler was struck flying...
Just as Marana's devastating attack was about to land—
Arama stepped forward.
Shielding her with his own body.
Arama's Farewell
To seal Marana forever...
Arama chose to sacrifice himself.
His dream...
Had always been incredibly simple.
He only wanted...
To become a magnificent Sarva Tree.
When he bid farewell to the Traveler—
Not only did Lumine and Paimon cry.
Everyone watching cried with them.
The Birth of the Yaja Fruit
With the Traveler's music...
And Arama's Sarva Tree...
Aranara memories condensed into a Yaja Fruit.
Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After such a long journey...
Rana could finally be saved.
Then—
Aranara looked toward the Traveler.
"...Who are you?"
Everyone froze.
Instantly...
They remembered Luo Chen's explanation.
An Aranara that exhausted its memories...
Would forget.
Only now...
Did they truly understand what that meant.
Watching Aranara forget everything—
Forget the Traveler.
Forget their adventures.
Forget their friendship.
Everyone's hearts ached.
Thankfully...
Rana ultimately recovered those memories through the Yaja Fruit.
After so many years...
The two friends finally reunited.
As for the Dendro Vision...
Perhaps...
It was simply the physical manifestation of the wish born from their friendship.
There was one final scene.
After the Traveler had finished resolving the Withering...
She returned once more.
While fighting an Abyss Mage...
A mysterious voice suddenly echoed.
Through the dialogue...
Everyone immediately realized who it belonged to.
Arama.
Now transformed into the Sarva Tree.
And when he quietly spoke the Traveler's name—
Everyone watching burst into tears.
He hadn't forgotten.
Only now...
Did they fully understand those words.
The forest will remember everything.
Nothing truly disappears.
Many also thought of the Traveler siblings.
Setting aside whatever hidden motives Aether might have had...
The parallels were astonishing.
Five hundred years ago—
Aether celebrated the Utsava Festival.
Helped seal Marana.
Five hundred years later—
Lumine celebrated the Utsava Festival.
Helped seal Marana.
The same beginning.
The same ending.
The same Aranara.
The same forgotten memories.
The same Aranyaka.
The past...
Had become the present once again.
The siblings truly seemed destined to meet the Aranara.
Somewhere in Mondstadt — Abyss Base
Aether sat silently upon his throne.
Tears lingered in his eyes.
His heart overflowed with longing.
He missed those little Aranara more than words could express.
Now...
The light screen had granted his wish.
Over an hour of memories.
Filled not only with the Aranara—
But also...
With his sister.
When the video ended...
Aether stared silently at the screen.
For a long time.
Eventually...
He sighed.
"So..."
"Lumine experienced all of it too..."
Everything...
Had unfolded exactly as it once had for him.
Even the Aranara who forgot.
The only difference...
Was that this time...
It was Lumine standing there instead of himself.
After a long silence, he softly murmured,
"Lumine..."
"I can't return now."
"So..."
"Please..."
"Take care of the Aranara."
"For me."
"And..."
"For yourself."
Watatsumi Island
Teppei lay atop a seaside rock.
Since peace had returned between the Resistance and the Shogunate...
He had gone back home.
Apart from his daily duties...
His favorite pastime was lying by the sea while watching Luo Chen's broadcasts.
Nothing felt more relaxing.
Yet today—
He suddenly sat upright.
"What?!"
"She..."
"She got a Vision just like that?!"
He stared in disbelief at the Dendro Vision hanging from Rana's waist.
"You've got to be kidding..."
Once...
He had desperately longed for a Vision.
Longed for the gods to notice him.
Yet...
Nothing had ever happened.
For a very long time...
He believed he simply wasn't worthy.
That obtaining a Vision demanded something extraordinary.
But today...
Everything he believed shattered.
Apparently...
The requirements weren't impossibly high.
He couldn't obtain one despite chasing it endlessly.
Yet Rana...
Had received one.
The enormous contrast filled him with bitterness.
Picking up stones one after another—
He angrily threw them into the sea.
"Why?"
"Why could Rana receive a Vision..."
"But not me?"
"Why?!"
"Aren't Visions granted..."
"When someone's wish becomes strong enough..."
"...Wait."
"...A wish?"
His hand suddenly froze.
"A wish..."
"That's right."
"They say..."
"When someone's wish burns intensely enough..."
"The gods cast their gaze upon them."
"And only then..."
"Is a Vision born."
"Rana's wish..."
"Was simply..."
"To remain friends with Aranara."
"That feeling lasted over twenty years."
"It never changed."
"It was completely genuine."
"So..."
"She earned the gods' recognition."
"It wasn't something she obtained casually."
Teppei slowly fell into thought.
Then...
What about him?
Was his wish simply not strong enough?
No.
That wasn't it.
His desire had practically become an obsession.
Then...
There had to be another difference.
Comparing himself with Rana—
He finally discovered it.
Rana's wish...
Contained no selfishness.
No ambition.
She simply wished to remain friends with Aranara.
Pure.
Simple.
But him?
His desire had always been filled with personal ambition.
He wanted power.
Power that surpassed ordinary people.
So he could accomplish impossible feats.
Fight the Shogunate Navy.
Defeat elite samurai alone.
Rescue comrades surrounded by enemies.
Strictly speaking...
Those weren't wishes.
They were...
Self-interest.
Just like the Akademiya scholars.
They didn't care whether Greater Lord Rukkhadevata remained.
They only cared about possessing wisdom.
Likewise...
He hadn't truly cared about Visions.
He only wanted power.
Realizing that...
Teppei fell completely silent.
A long time later...
A bitter smile appeared.
"So that's why..."
"I was never acknowledged."
"So that's why..."
"I never received a Vision."
"So..."
"I never had a true wish."
For the first time...
Teppei realized how little he actually understood himself.
Had he not watched Rana receive her Dendro Vision—
He might never have realized it.
Fortunately...
The war had already ended.
He had returned to Watatsumi.
Otherwise...
Still serving on the frontlines...
With the Fatui lurking in the shadows...
He might eventually have accepted their temptation.
If that happened...
The consequences...
Thinking that far...
Teppei suddenly felt fortunate.
Of course...
He had no idea...
That in the original future...
Exactly that had happened.
Desperate for strength—
He accepted the Fatui's Delusion.
And ultimately...
Burned away his own life.
In many ways...
That tragedy had been born from his own choices.
Not merely from circumstance.
Which was precisely why...
When Luo Chen previously discussed the tragedies caused by the Vision Hunt Decree and Sakoku Decree—
He had intentionally left Teppei's story out.
"...Enough."
"There's no point forcing things."
"If a Vision is truly meant for me..."
"It'll come."
"If it isn't..."
"No amount of chasing will change that."
"Being alive."
"Being healthy."
"That's already enough."
At that moment...
The obsession that had burdened Teppei for so many years quietly dissolved.
His entire body felt lighter.
He had made up his mind.
From now on...
He wouldn't chase impossible dreams.
He would simply live well.
Work hard for Watatsumi Island.
And treasure the peace they had finally obtained.
Smiling with genuine relief...
He tossed one final stone into the sea.
Plop.
The cheerful splash echoed across the water.
Teppei smiled.
Then lay back upon the rock once more.
Might as well finish today's broadcast...
Then get back to work.
Sumeru Rainforest
"So..."
"So that's what happened..."
"Aranara..."
"My friend..."
After watching the video...
Rana burst into tears.
Although she had never eaten a Yaja Fruit—
The light screen had returned every forgotten memory.
She remembered.
Long ago...
She had gotten lost in the forest.
She couldn't find her way home.
That was when she met Aranara.
They became friends.
They played together throughout the forest.
Then...
She grew up.
Lost her innocence.
Became what people called a "reliable adult."
Reliable adults...
Didn't believe in fairy tales.
She had once thought stories about the Aranara were merely childish fantasies.
That forests held no magic.
Only now...
Did she realize everything had been real.
She had forgotten.
Not because Aranara abandoned her.
But because she herself had lost the ability to remember.
Yet Aranara had never forgotten her.
In the future shown by the light screen...
They had even sacrificed precious memories to save her.
Thinking about the final scene—
Aranara forgetting everything—
Her heart twisted painfully.
It was her fault.
She had been the terrible friend.
She forgot them.
Yet they still remembered her.
They sacrificed themselves for her.
She had even complained that they never came to visit.
Thinking of that...
Rana suddenly slapped herself across the face.
Someone like her...
Deserved it.
That slap also woke her completely.
"No."
"Standing here blaming myself changes nothing."
"I have to find Aranara."
"I have to tell them..."
"I remember now."
"I have to apologize."
"And tell them..."
"I was so afraid..."
"Of forgetting them forever."
She hurriedly wiped away her tears.
Preparing to run toward Vanarana.
Then—
She noticed a nearby Withering Zone.
Her footsteps stopped.
Scenes from the future flashed through her mind.
"No."
"I can't."
"Not until the Withering is gone."
She was only an ordinary human.
If she became corrupted—
She would die.
She still wanted to see Aranara.
That alone was reason enough.
There was another possibility.
Just as shown in the future...
Aranara could save her again.
By sacrificing even more memories.
Absolutely not.
Not this time.
The future had no choice.
But the present did.
She would never allow Aranara to lose those precious memories for her sake again.
Rather than meeting as strangers...
Learning the forest anew...
She wanted both of them...
To remember everything together.
That way...
They could reminisce together.
Laugh together.
Remember together.
That was the future she wanted.
Taking a deep breath—
She forcefully suppressed her overwhelming urge to rush into Vanarana.
Then turned around.
Preparing to leave the rainforest.
Just then—
A faint warmth suddenly spread across her chest.
A tiny...
Yet brilliant light...
Began to shine.
Like the gentle rhythm of a heartbeat.
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