[ The conversation was a fresh wound, in a sense. Their losses, while centuries old, still toes into unfamiliar territories. They had loved and lost. They have sacrificed lives filled with companionship with duty and freedom.

When Zhongli speaks, Venti gulps. ]

How can it be casual if it's new? This... ha, whatever we are right now... It wasn't what we started with when I arrived.

[ What changed? He's a fool for thinking something had – beyond their own courage to seek for more. ]

It's a little exciting, isn't it?