Lora searched almost desperately for a way back to Teyvat. She even gathered a huge amount of information online about transmigration and similar phenomena.
But this was a materialistic age. To most people, transmigration and rebirth were nothing more than webnovel concepts. Actually crossing into another world simply did not exist. Most of what Lora found was completely useless.
It was only while digging through old forum pages that she found an obscure post buried deep in the archives.
The post said that if a person's wish was strong enough at the moment of death, they might open a gate through time and space and reach the place they longed for most in their final moments.
The conditions were incredibly harsh, and no one had ever tested them. Naturally, there were barely any comments or replies. Almost no one had paid the post any attention.
But after reading it, Lora suddenly remembered the moment she first went to Teyvat.
Back then, hadn't she been hit by a truck?
Hadn't it happened when she was on the verge of death?
Maybe the post was true. Maybe no one had dared to try it. Or maybe those who had tried simply never returned to this world.
Lora closed the webpage and exited the game. After shutting down her computer, she stood and walked to the window.
Outside, the sky had already gone dark. Tall buildings rose across the city, glowing with dazzling, hazy artificial lights. Cars moved along the asphalt roads like ribbons of light, coming from nowhere and going nowhere. In the night sky, a faint red dot blinked. It was a passenger plane flying over the city.
After taking one last look at her home, Lora went up to the rooftop.
The night wind stirred her long hair as she stood there, gazing out over the vast city before her.
This city had held the first twenty years of her life.
But another world was waiting for her now.
The people there were waiting for her.
That was where the rest of her life belonged.
If she failed, then all she could do was apologize to the police officers who would have to deal with what came after.
"Life and death are a matter of fate. I have to go back."
Lora looked down from the edge of the building and slowly spoke those words.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, she stepped forward.
Her body fell.
The lights and shadows of the world streamed past her as if she had entered a tunnel through time and space.
Her hair whipped wildly in the wind.
Gradually, that black hair turned white, and blue highlights appeared at the ends.
As the ground grew larger before her eyes, she could feel her power returning bit by bit.
Everything that belonged to Egeria was coming back.
Yes.
She was no longer the original Lora.
Nor was she the original Egeria.
She was herself.
A newly born, independent existence formed from both Lora and Egeria.
Just before her body struck the ground, it dissolved into foam and scattered.
No one would notice.
In that world, no trace of her remained.
Lora continued falling, surrounded by weightlessness, yet she never reached the ground.
Looking at the chaos around her, she knew she was no longer on Earth. So she tried to steady herself.
This time, with a single thought, ripples of water condensed beneath her feet, forming a surface that caught her falling body.
In that impossibly chaotic world, Lora saw an enormous tree.
It seemed to have no definite shape, yet the moment she saw it, she knew it was a tree.
Countless rivers flowing with every kind of light converged beneath it.
On its branches hung one glowing star after another. Those stars looked tiny, but within each of them existed an entire world.
Lora walked toward the unknown tree ahead.
Water splashed beneath her feet, though it was not the color of ordinary water. It carried faint traces of pink and blue, yet remained clear and translucent.
But as she gradually approached the sea of trees, a voice stopped her.
"Stop. You are not allowed to go any farther."
Hearing that voice, Lora looked around, only to find that in this unreal world, she was the only living thing. There was no sign of any other creature.
Even on the water-like ground beneath her feet, there was no reflection of her.
The owner of the voice seemed able to see her every movement. As Lora searched her surroundings, the voice continued.
"No need to look. You won't be able to see me."
After confirming that she could not find whoever was hiding in the dark and watching her, Lora took a deep breath and asked, "Why can't I go any farther?"
"Why return to that world?" the voice asked. "It is already on the verge of destruction. What meaning is there in going back?"
The voice continued speaking.
"Wouldn't it be better to remain in your own world? Your world is stable. There are no supernatural powers there at all. With the power of the Hydro Archon, you could live very well."
"That was the home where I spent twenty years of my life, but it will not be my home forever," Lora answered almost without hesitation. "My home is in Teyvat now. They truly exist."
"Are you still Lora?" the voice asked in return.
Lora shook her head.
"No... I don't know. Maybe I'm not. But there is nothing in that world worth making me stay. You could say Egeria's memories from thousands of years erased my original personality, but I believe this self is something I created. A self that belongs to who I am now."
"A newly created self?"
After hearing Lora's words, the owner of the voice seemed clearly delighted. There was almost a smile in her tone as she continued.
"Well, well. That's not bad at all. Then are you certain you want to go back?"
"Last time, it was Egeria's divine consciousness that crossed the world's barrier and found you. This time, you used a loophole in the rules to come here yourself. There is nothing in that world anchoring you. You have no idea what era you might be sent to."
"That's fine. I'll find them."
Lora stood before the sea of trees and spoke with absolute certainty.
"I have time. Whether it's the past or the future, I will find them."
The mysterious voice fell silent for a while.
Then, finally, it spoke again.
"Ah. I found it. Your world."
"My world?" Lora froze.
"Yes. Teyvat."
The voice answered softly.
Immediately after, before Lora's eyes, a sphere of light at the boundary between the tree and the sea began to shine.