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The next morning, Lynette doesn't feel like she's in her body. She can't move any part of it, not matter how hard she tries. It hurts. So much. Less than the pain she felt when she first woke up under the tree, which is good, she supposes... but still...

It was worth it, seeing the stars last night.

A knock sounds at the door and in pops Furina, who looks a little down. Lynette sits up immediately, ready to put a smile on her newfound friend's face. "What's gotten into you this morning?" Lynette asks cheerfully, forcing a grin on her tired cheeks.

"I think I found a way for you to bring your memories back," Furina's eyes aren't sparkling, and Lynette begins to wonder why. Maybe she's also tired? "Let's eat breakfast and head over to an acquaintance's place. I'm sure she'd be more than happy to help us."

Unlike the day before, breakfast is quiet. Furina picks at her food with her fork, and Lynette can't put a finger on why Furina could be anxious. Furina could be anxious because they're doing something dangerous to get memories back- but why would she do that? Then again, forgetting everything about who you are is a terrifying thing. Did Lynette really just hit her head on something? Or was she poisoned?

Do I really want to know who I was in my past life?

She's happy in Mondstadt, happy with the company she's made, beautiful views of the city and the wilderness, overall satisfied with the new life she's been given. She could get a job, get an apartment, and maybe she could start a new way. It doesn't seem like a bad idea. She doesn't have to hold onto any of the troubles she once had. And she has some sense. She knows what to invest in, she knows how much money she should spend on certain things. Lynette isn't completely against letting herself off the hook.

Their walk to the house seems awfully slow. Lynette's feet seemed attached to the ground, as if she's in a dream and the is was clenching around her boots. Instead of worrying, she comes up with ways to distract herself from the fact that everything is unusually supernatural.

The two take a stroll down to Mondstadt's neighborhood where inns and apartment buildings tower overhead, baskets of flowers hang over the sides of half-cracked windows, looking a little more wilted than the days before, a little sadder than they should be. "Here we are." Furina announces, hand extending to a stairway and small porch that leads to a door, it's mailbox overflowing with papers.

The house is one of the apartments somewhere in the city's lower housing district. "Here we are," Furina mutters, and rattles door with a rhythm. Lynette can hear someone trotting down the stairs. They pause before unlocking the door handle, laughing at themself before thrusting open the door.

"Well, this encounter lines up with my predictions! You must be Furina and Lynette?" A girl with sea-blue eyes looks the two of them up and down, studying the dress, which looks incredibly bland compared to her elegant cone-shaped hat, bedazzled with stars. "I am Astrologist Mona Megistus, meaning the 'Great Astrologist Mona.' If it is divination you seek from me, then I ask you to respect my name by learning it wholly, here and now." Mona Megistus has the resting face of a know-it-all, the voice of an enchantress, and the presence of any important figure. She gives off an aura that isn't necessarily holy, but in more of a sense an enchanting and mysterious one. "Are you Lynette?"

Lynette nods, and Mona Megistus continues to cast strange glances at her. "Come on in then. This is a case I'm especially excited for." She winks and opens the door for her and Furina, who looks excited to be there.

Furina's eyes widen. "You knew we were coming?"

The astrologist shrugs. "Of course. You told me. Last night. I bought you some cake this morning because of it. I can tell you want some." She presents a small slice of strawberry shorkcake on the table, and Furina's eyes light up.

"So, you really are what people make you out to be," the white-haired girl murmurs, and Lynette dusts her shoes off on the welcome mat, which is flattened and scarred with traces of mud and dead leaves.

"Oh, you learned about me via The Steambird?"

Furina hesitates. "What's... The Steambird?"

Mona Megistus' eyes widen. "I write an astrology column for them. Most people who come over at random and usually people who read the articles- here. Take a seat at the table over there, I'll cut up some fruits for all of us to share."

Mona Megistus' entire house is lit by a giant window, sunlight flowing past the wine-red curtain drapes. It scatters in squares on the floor, covering a woven mat with some kind of star pattern in the middle. There are two couches, colored the same rich red, books spread out over them. In fact, there are bookshelves everywhere, waterfalls of novellas pouring from the shelves. "Please excuse the mess," says the astrologist, who trips over a small stack near the kitchen counter. "I haven't had the time to clean up here in a while, considering how busy I've been with The Steambird."

Furina scouts through the many papers printed in black and white that are scattered all over the carpet. "Oh, that Fontaine magazine company? How's that been going for you?"

"Quite well. I've been gifted a few awards from a few nations and have been written to several times by students at the Akadeymia at Sumeru. There was so much coming to the company that they decided to give me a raise last month." Mona Megistus opens a few cabinets, and each is empty and filled with dust. As Furina busies herself with the endless articles, meanwhile Lynette watches the astrologist search through them all, coming empty handed. At last, she opens the ice box at the end of the kitchen and discovers a single small bowl of fruit and some vegetables, which she leaves aside. Her heart sinks a little.

"Don't worry about me at all," Mona Megistus speaks softly, looking at Lynette. How obvious is the look in her eyes? She sets the bowl down and sits across from the two, hands fold in her lap. "Now, I suppose there is something you have to tell me?"

Lynette's chosen to explain. Well, it's not really a choice, she's the only one who could have known what could have happened to her. Waking up under a tree, knowing nothing about her past but still left with common knowledge. She explains how her mind feels numb sometimes, and that she did things without thinking as if they were habits. The hurt in her chest that lingers in the darkness. The hurt in her heart that returns every night. Mona Megistus listens; gaze unmoving, blue eyes focused on Lynette alone. When she finishes, Lynette doesn't meet anyone's gaze, and instead looks down into her lap, the feeling of numbness returning.

The other two at the table are quiet, and Lynette figures they are both trying to understand her. They say a person knows themself best- Lynette's a little worried. She doesn't even know who she is. She squeezes her eyes shut, trying not to think. Energy saving mode on. How about counting? She concludes that this little witch has 232 books on the lone shelf next to the entryway, nine vases and decorative plates on a single shelf, eight big cabinets, twelve tiny ones, thirteen plant jars around the room and three different kinds of wood making up furniture and the floor. She counts every single thing she can. And they are still quiet.

What did Furina even have to think about, besides the mess she's gotten herself into? She seems pretty clueless, as far as Lynette can observe from her emotionless, steady gaze. Mona Megistus is the one who seems half asleep, her eyes half glazed, but she readjusts her position often, a few drops of water moving in the air. Lynette wonders if they're even thinking about her, or if their minds had trailed elsewhere. Has she become a ghost? Has she simply faded into nothing?

"I've got it!" Mona Megistus snaps her fingers and looks at Lynette. "Tell me. What do you know about Fontaine?"

Lynette blinks blankly.

Mona Megistus stares back. "Okay, what do you know about... The Hydro Archon?"

Nothing.

"You remember nothing about Fontaine?" Furina clicks her tongue, and looks at Lynette decisively. "Alright. Tell me about Liyue."

"Liyue..." Lynette murmurs under her breath. "That's the nation of contracts and trade and whatever, isn't it? With the Geo Archon?"

Furina's eyes widen, and Mona Megistus nods, her eyes lighting up in an instant. "It all makes sense," the astrologist murmurs. "Here, Lynette, tell me something about Sumeru."

"The Nation of Wisdom, for sure. With the Dendro Archon. Sort of." Lynette gasps out loud, brushing her ash-colored hair with her fingers. "So you're saying... I can recall almost anything if I put my mind to it, but I can't recall this place called Fontaine? Or anything about it?"

"That would be correct!" Mona Megistus exclaims, popping a ripe-red strawberry in her mouth. "The people of Fontaine face a problem known to them as the prophecy- all the people will dissolve into the waters, leaving the Hydro Archon, weeping on her lonely throne. All of Fontaine's history is meant to be erased under the sea. People have been found floating in the middle of the ocean, and washing up dead on the seashores. They're supposedly from Fontaine, based on their clothing and how they look- none of them have ever come out alive."

"The main takeaway," Furina interrupts, touching the standing Mona Megistus on the shoulder and gently pushing her back onto the chair. "The history of Fontaine is being wiped from our world because of the prophecy. No one has ever come back alive, because the sea drowns them. You ended up just off a riverbank somehow..." She taps her chin. "The only known survivor. We could save Fontaine with this. What if there was a way to bring back you memories?"

Mona Megistus scrambles out of the room, up the stairs, and Lynette waits in silence. What is happening? Prophecy? Solution? Aren't prophecies meant to be played out? Can't you not stop them from happening?"

"I think it's best just to stay lost," Lynette is about ready to push in her chair and leave the building, run into the wilderness and let the rest of her life play out. But it's one of those moments where you're locked in a trance, and you cant move, cant breathe. You aren't the one in control of your body, its some other invisible force, something controlling you that you cant sense.

Furina puts a hand on her shoulder. Lynette jerks at the touch, pulling herself away from both of them. But she stays. She doesn't want to listen. Lynette wants to be anywhere else but here. She wants the cold. The numb. The dark. The sweet relief of death and its everlasting silence, something she knows she can trust and abide in. Where is this feeling coming from?

Its too dizzy. Too hot. The world turns dark.

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊ 

She wakes up on a bed, but it's not at the Goth Grand Hotel. There are books and papers scattered across the floor, like a tornado has swept through the place. She is still at Mona Megistus', trapped in a space she cannot escape. The door is just outside the room, she thinks, but can't budge. Footsteps quietly approach the bed, and she hides under the covers, hoping she will not be seen.

It's impossble to hide in a place that's not your own.

Furina and Mona Megistus both approach, kneeling at the foot of the bed. "Lynette. Are you alright?" The astrologist asks, "I have some water with a little bit of ice. Perhaps it will make you feel better."

"Are you sure it's not some kind of treatment?" Lynette turns away in the bed facing towards the wall. "Not something that'll magically bring back my memories? Is it something that's going to hurt me?"

Mona Megistus tucks her black hair behind her ears in a moment of hesitation. "Lynette, we don't want to hurt you, I promise," the astrologist extends her hand, and Lynette takes the cool glass, sniffs it and takes a small sip, feeling a little bit better. "I'm sorry. That must have been an incredibly overwhelming experience. I shouldn't have gone off on a tangent like that."

It was.

Furina pipes up, her voice barely over a whisper, "You don't have to do this, but that person that you think you're looking for? He or she is out there, and I think they're looking for you too," Furina offers a smile, "I want to continue is mission and be here for you, the person you look for, the everyone else. Yes, I want to join you. But only if you want."

"I want to find them." Lynette says, moving the blanket from her head, "I want to know who I am."

Mona Megistus pulls another thing from her pocket, a little notepad. "Take this. It's yours to protect, be careful who you share it with."

"What is it?" Furina marvels, watching the piece of crumpled yellow paper get passed to Lynette.

Mona Megistus closes her eyes and channels her inner strength to mutter the words that follow. "The recipe to the Elixir of Lost Memories."  

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