The palm holding the Festering Desire felt its genuine weight. The dark purple runes and the white light surrounding her body intertwined, like long-lost friends whispering to each other.
She looked down at the sword blade, her snow-white eyelashes trembling slightly, and her eyes welled with the relief of regaining what had been lost and the unfamiliar thrill of power.
"Lumine, thank you so much." She raised her eyes to look at Lumine, her smile pure but filled with burning sincerity, "If you hadn't been willing to let go, I might have dissipated in this forest again."
The moment her words fell, the white light all around her suddenly surged, as if activated by the power of the Festering Desire. Her originally illusory and transparent figure became solid at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The folds of her snow-white skirt became clearer, her hair ends swayed gently, and one could even see the faint pink on her fingertips.
The young girl completely shed the fragile feeling of being able to dissipate at any moment, as if her soul had truly regained a physical body.
Lydia raised an eyebrow slightly, a trace of surprise and curiosity flashing in her eyes.
She tried to move her wrist, and the Festering Desire fit steadily in her palm, without the slightest sense of awkwardness.
Immediately after, she raised her hand and swung the sword. The sharp sound of the sword blade cutting through the air echoed through the forest, carrying the afterimage of a dark purple wind blade, so fierce it made one's heart tremble.
"I haven't gotten rusty," she chuckled, her tone tinged with a hint of playful pride.
Her gaze swept over a thick ancient tree nearby. Her eyes narrowed, and her arm suddenly exerted force, concentrating the power of the Festering Desire onto the sword's edge, and she swung it straight at the trunk!
Swish—
A flash of dark purple sword light passed by. With a dull thud of breaking wood, the ancient tree, which would have taken two people to embrace, was actually severed at its waist!
The upper half crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of fallen leaves and dust.
Venti and Lumine's eyes widened simultaneously, their faces filled with astonishment.
Venti instinctively took a half-step back, his emerald green eyes filled with disbelief: "This... this power is not just a little bit stronger than before!"
He recalled Lydia's appearance when she fought monsters in the past. Though she was strong then, she was far from having this kind of effortless, tree-severing power.
Lumine also gently bit her lip. The moment Lydia swung the sword just now, she clearly felt a powerful force.
That power was both domineering and steady, completely different from the restlessness it had when the Festering Desire was in her own hands. It was clearly a perfect match for Lydia's soul.
Lydia withdrew her sword, looked at her own palm, then at the fallen ancient tree, and a flamboyant and confident smile curled at the corners of her mouth.
"Hmph, as expected, this young lady is still so strong." She lightly spun the sword hilt, and the Festering Desire traced a beautiful arc in her palm, its dark purple runes gleaming in the moonlight. "Even after sleeping for so long, I've never forgotten the feel of this sword in my hand."
Paimon hovered in the air, her little mouth open in an "O" shape. "Whoa, Lydia, you're too amazing! That sword strike was so cool! It's even stronger than when Lumine used this sword before!"
Hearing this, Lydia winked at Paimon, her tone carrying a hint of smugness. "After all, this sword is mine to begin with; it knows my strength the best."
Venti finally snapped out of his shock and wiped his face with his hand, a spark of excitement rekindling in his eyes. "Well done! With your power here, the winds of Mondstadt will be even more confident!"
He looked at Lydia, his voice filled with relief. "It seems this reunion isn't just meeting an old friend, but also gaining the strongest comrade-in-arms."
Lumine also nodded, a genuine smile appearing on her face. "With you here, we can definitely uncover 'His' conspiracy and protect Teyvat."
Lydia gripped the Festering Desire, and a warm resonance flowed from the blade, as if responding to this trust.
She looked up, a hint of resolve flashing in her eyes as she spoke with a playful tone, "Of course! But before we set off, why don't I test this sword's power again?"
With that, she swung the sword once more, dark purple sword light interweaving among the trees. Accompanied by a series of crisp swooshing sounds, several falling leaves were precisely sliced into pieces.
Lydia watched the fallen leaves cut to dust by the sword qi swirl and flutter down in the wind. Her eyes were filled with utter satisfaction, and even her brow was tinged with a vivid smile.
Her fingertips gently caressed the hilt of the Festering Desire, the dark purple runes' glow reflected in her pupils like two dancing sparks of fire, warm enough to dispel the chill in the forest.
"Holding the sword like this really is the most comfortable." She lightly shook her wrist, and the sword immediately emitted a low hum, responding with delight as if acting spoiled with her. "My soul was floating around before, and I didn't even have the strength to clench my fist. Now I can finally stretch my bones and muscles properly, without worrying about vanishing the next second."
Venti stood aside, watching the radiance rekindled in her eyes. It was the vibrancy of something lost and then found, the certainty of regaining one's strength, even more dazzling than the sunlight in Mondstadt.
His emerald green eyes brimmed with indescribable relief. He couldn't help but chuckle softly, his fingertips unconsciously moving toward his waist. "Since you can hold the sword steadily now, it's time this was returned to its original owner."
As his words fell, he untied a Vision from his waist.
It was an Anemo Vision glowing with a faint green light, its surface still dusted with a bit of travel grime, yet its edges were worn smooth, clearly having been carefully kept for a long time.
Venti took a step forward, gently holding the Vision out to Lydia, his tone laced with a hint of gentle teasing, like a joke between old friends: "We can't let our 'strongest comrade' fight with only the Festering Desire, can we? Without a Vision, wouldn't your skill in controlling the wind go to waste?"
The moment Lydia's gaze fell upon the Vision, her pupils suddenly constricted, and she took a soft, sharp breath as if she had been burned.
She hesitated for half a second before cautiously extending her hand.
The moment she touched the cool surface of the Vision, the faint green light suddenly surged. It intertwined with the white soul-light around her body and the dark purple runes of the Festering Desire, weaving a strange yet warm halo that enveloped her entire person.
The Vision vibrated gently in her palm, like an old friend reuniting after a long separation and rubbing against her fingertips. The familiar Anemo Power flowed into her body through her palm, carrying the fresh scent of the Mondstadt plains, making her unable to help but tremble slightly.
The power surged through her veins to her limbs and bones, awakening the long-dormant instinct of control, and even the hand gripping the Festering Desire grew a bit steadier.
"My Vision..." She looked down at the glowing Vision in her palm, a mist of tears quickly forming in her eyes, only to be blinked away as she forced a smile that was dazzlingly bright. "I thought it shattered along with me last time... Thank you for keeping it safe for me all this time, Venti."
With that, she raised her hand and fastened the Vision to her waist.
The faint green light and the dark purple runes complemented each other, instantly making her aura come alive. It held both the spirited cunning of a young girl's eyes and the sharp edge of a warrior wielding a sword, showing none of the fragility from her previous soul state.