The sea is unusually calm as the Waverider glides across its surface, mist curling low over the water. Ahead, an island emerges from the fog—jagged stone rising from the ocean like the remnants of something long forgotten. No birds circle overhead. No waves break along its shore.

Albedo stands at the bow, sketchbook tucked beneath one arm, eyes fixed on the landmass as though committing it to memory before ever setting foot upon it.

"This island isn't depicted on any version of Mondstadt's map," he says at last, breaking the silence. "Yet it can be spotted from the peak of Starsnatch Cliff, making it hard to miss."

He turns to you, pale hair stirred gently by the breeze. His expression is calm, but there is a quiet intensity behind it—one you’ve come to recognize.

It's the same look that swirled in his eyes when he first arrived at your side, requesting your presence for an upcoming expedition. An act not made out of necessity, he claimed, but rather because your perception is trusted, as if he isn't a keen man himself.

The Waverider slows as it nears the shore. Eerily enough, the waves almost seem hesitant to lap at the island's edge, as if nature itself is warning visitors that they should not be here.

Albedo closes his sketchbook.