The air around the A Rank domain gate crackled with abyssal energy, a deep violet light swirling at its center.
It stood like a gaping wound in the middle of Konda Village, and though the villagers had been safely evacuated, the tension in the small Narukami village hadn't left.
Katheryne stood a few feet from the gate, her eyes locked onto the swirling portal. Her arms were crossed, but her fingers tapped nervously against her green sleeves. Ninety minutes. It had been ninety whole minutes since the team had gone inside.
She turned sharply toward one of her fellow guild members.
"It's been too long," she said. "Why hasn't anyone come out of the domain to report about the mission status?"
"They were supposed to send someone every thirty minutes…" the guild member mumbled.
Katheryne didn't wait for the rest. "And it's been three rounds with nothing. Nothing." Her voice rose as she snapped her fingers in the air, frustration crackling like lightning in her words. "That's not normal."
Another guild staff member, a young woman in a dark blue cloak, jogged toward her, eyes wide with worry.
"Katheryne!" she called out. "We just got word—the Kujou Clan has declined to send reinforcements."
"What?!" Katheryne spun toward her. "They what?"
"They said the situation doesn't meet their... criteria."
Katheryne cursed under her breath. "Criteria? People are dying in there, and they want to talk criteria?"
She ran a hand through her hair, pacing in front of the domain like a storm about to break.
"What about the other clans?" she asked sharply. "The Kaedehara? The Naganohara?"
"They're possible, but the paperwork and approvals—"
"How long?"
"At least five hours," the girl replied, voice low. "Maybe more."
Katheryne stopped pacing and stared at her. "Five hours?" she repeated, her voice hollow. "They don't have five hours! We sent in Sayu and Kuki Shinobu! Two of our best A-rank healers! If they fall, everyone else is as good as dead!"
The wind howled briefly across the empty village, as if echoing her fear.
"Damn it!" Katheryne growled. "We're not supposed to lose people in A-rank domains—not this team. Inazuma already has the lowest number of adventurers in all of Teyvat as it stands."
She looked toward the gate again, her fists clenched.
"Why is it so quiet? Why hasn't anyone come out?"
No one answered. The only reply was the low hum of the domain, still pulsing, still open—like a mouth waiting to swallow more.
The air suddenly shifted.
A cold breeze swept through the clearing, brushing past Katheryne's cheek like a whisper from the mountains. The oppressive heat and dark pressure rolling off the domain eased, if only slightly. For the first time in hours, the suffocating dread seemed to take a step back.
Then came a voice—gentle, clear, and calm, like the first notes of a song before dawn.
"Do you require any help?"
Katheryne's breath caught in her throat. She didn't even need to turn around.
A smile slowly broke across her face. "Thank the fates…"
The murmurs began immediately. Adventurers all around her straightened, eyes widening as they turned toward the voice. Whispers leapt from mouth to mouth like sparks on dry leaves.
"No way… is that—?"
"It's her. It's really her."
"S-Rank… Kamisato Ayaka!"
From the misty edge of the village, framed by the falling petals of cherry blossoms drifting unnaturally on the breeze, walked a young woman in pale blue and silver. Her hair, like moonlight, shimmered in the dull glow of the domain. Her steps were light, graceful, almost soundless against the cracked earth of the battlefield.
She wasn't just walking—she arrived. Calm, confident, and glowing with the unmistakable aura of power that came from surviving countless battles. Kamisato Ayaka, the Shirasagi Himegimi, one of Inazuma's strongest S-Rank adventurers.
Katheryne turned fully, stepping forward with a mixture of relief and awe. "Lady Ayaka… words alone cannot explain how grateful I am of your arrival here."
Ayaka gave a small, respectful bow.