The Travels of the Starborne [Genshin Impact Reacts] - Chapter 3 - cheesybaby, cheesylobrr (cheesybaby)

Chapter Text

Prologue: Act II; For a Tomorrow Without Tears

Venti's gaze became distant. A tomorrow without tears...

Was something like that really possible?

In these days, he could only hope.

Hope that the Tsaritsa wouldn't ruin them all.

It was a bright morning as Paimon and Lumine walked through the streets of Mondstadt the next day, heading towards the Favonius HQ to report to Jean. As they talked about the merchandise they saw in Marjorie's shop, they caught sight of Jean talking to a strange figure in black uniform.

Jean bit back a groan. After the events of Stormterror had settled down, the number of Fatui in Mondstadt had diminished greatly, with only a handful left behind watching over areas in the city that didn't seem to have much importance to any hidden machinations of the organization. Kaeya had set out to investigate, but came back with virtually nothing. Though they were still looking into the sudden and suspicious clearance, the Ordo Favonius had put less stock in the matter over time, when it became clear that Fatui higher-ups wouldn't be making a return in the city and that nobody had been affected by any shady Snezhnayan schemes.

She had mostly forgotten about it, but seeing this scene let it spring back into her mind, and wonder once more if there was a deeper reason for their timely disappearance.

Well. It was likely they would find out if it was such a case, having Miss Somehow-Gets-Caught-Up-In-Every-Situation-Ever in the room.

"Isn't that Jean?" Paimon inquired, peering at the knight's figure in the distance. "Seems she's talking to someone..."

"Let's let her finish, then go say hi?" She suggested, and Lumine nodded as they walked slower towards the pair, overhearing their conversation.

"..Something tells me that's not how it went," Thoma said, politely ignoring the pinch of stress between Jean's brows.

"...which has what has brought us to this point in the first place." The woman in black, Anastasia, drawled, crossing her arms. "If you are unable to properly deal with the Stormterror threat, then leave the defense of Mondstadt to the Fatui."

Diluc growled, and Childe internally sighed.

"We can put an end to Mondstadt's dragon issues. All we need to do is bring that monster to the–"

"'Monster'?" Jean repeated incredulously, her brows furrowed. Judging by her tense figure, she was holding back from showing her anger. Suddenly understanding the conversation, Lumine frowned darkly.

Paimon 'hmph'ed. She had forgotten about that comment, but now that she remembered it, she was sure to pull a revenge on that weirdo Fatui lady! Dvalin was awkward and could sometimes get too close with his teeth, but he was no monster!

She thought of what prank she should pull if she ever saw that Fatui agent again. Maybe chicken feathers in her shoes... Or an army of birds descending to ruin her hair! Paimon had so many good ideas! That lady has no idea what's coming for her!

(If she was even still in Mondstadt. But that was besides the point.)

"Yes. What's your point?" Anastasia said impatiently.

"Ah..." Jean visibly collected herself, giving a strained smile devoid of any emotion. "I'd expect a more professional attitude from your diplomats." She stated.

"Yet here you are saying you want to put an 'end' to one of The Four Winds of Mondstadt?" The knight clenched her fists behind her back, coldness in her eyes and voice. "I won't have any of this nonsense in front of the Knights of Favonius."

Monster,Yaoyao mouthed. Monster. Referring to a being clearly so sacred and holy to the lands of Green right to the face of one of its protectors, it was nothing less than preposterous. Had a Fatuus dared to badmouth an Adeptus within the earshot of a Liyuen citizen...

Xiao's eyes turned ever the more colder. Ganyu tried to hide her frown, hands twitching in her lap, which she clenched together.

"Oh dear," Yelan had both eyebrows raised.

Suddenly, the woman in black began to giggle, a crazy tinge to the sound that made everyone tense. "Heh... Hehehe... It's not as crazy as you make it sound." A wicked grin crept onto her masked face. "Fine. That's enough negotiation for today."

"At this stage it's simply... an amicable exchange of constructive opinions, no?" She said as she straightened up. "I'll be sure to make... thorough notes..." With that, Anastasia swept away, a cloak of darkness following her dramatically.

"Wow, that crazy lady givesmajorsupervillain vibes," Itto declared, causing the tension to break slightly as a few people gave him bewildered looks. "I mean, that mask? That wicked shadow cloak? Those choppy bangs? Gives major goth who got turned to the bad side because she was turned away all her life-"

"Shh!" Shinobu whisper-hissed. "Don't speak so loud!"

"No, no," Xingqiu interrupted, his eyes shining. "Tell me more!"

"Oh, Lumine, you're back." Jean had been rubbing her temples before she noticed Lumine and Paimon, to whom she gave a tired smile to. "Thanks for your help. The elemental flow is finally stable."

"The aftermath of Stormterror's last attack is finally settled for the moment." She explained to the two, whose easy expressions had slid off after catching the end of Jean's earlier conversation. "However, the pressure from the delegation has become too big to be ignored..."

"Delegation?" Paimon questioned. "From Liyue Harbor or Inazuma City?"

Once again, Paimon's easy knowledge of the world around her made Alhaitham's eyes narrow. Paimon didn't seem to be the subtle information-gathering type. Following the theory that she is an artificially made creature, was she built with the basic knowledge of Teyvat and its workings? Or had she had some sort of previous travel partner or master beforehand?

What did Paimon exactlydobefore Lumine fished her out of that lake?

So many questions, mysteries, problems, and not enough answers. Alhaitham was beginning to get a little excited.

At this, Jean's smile flickered. "Snezhnaya. They choose to follow the God of Cryo." Her shoulders slumped ever-so-slightly. It should have been a movement only noticed by those who knew her well enough, but her exhaustion was so palpable that it was harder not to notice.

"Their envoys go by a particular name: The Fatui. Heard of them?"

"Oh, them. They are super famous." Paimon said plainly, while Lumine tilted her head. "Wait, infamous is more the word..."

"I don't think killing Stormterror is the right course of action." Jean started to say. "The Cryo God's Fatui have always coveted the Anemo God's power."

"More like every God's power," Lumine muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Lisa turned her head.

"Nothing," Lumine said. "Just some thought I had."

Lisa hummed, and didn't press any further.

"I don't believe they have Mondstadt's best interests at heart."

"When do they ever?" Someone muttered. It sounded like a teenager from the very back.

Eula gave Mika a side-eye. The boy shrunk into himself.

Childe laughed, seemingly taking no offense to the comment. "Now, come on, comrade," he spoke with an easy grin, causing Mika to flinch despite not having Childe's eyes on him. "You've got to admit that the extra clean-ups around your city helped the animal population in the long run, no?"

Kaeya smiled. "Was that not because your grunts made too much of a mess doing their little errands?"

"Hehe... I wasn't their superior then, though."

"Still doesn't change the fact that you were one of the causes of said messes in the first place."

Lumine and Paimon exchanged bewildered glances.

"You two know each other?!"

Childe grinned. "Why, of course!" He swung an arm around the Captain's shoulder, who made no move to push him off. "Alberich and I used to be quite close back when I was still a mere Agent and he was still just a wide-eyed Knight so young and determined to give his naive little heart to his nation of Mondstadt!"

"I can't see Alberich as wide-eyed," said Eula, who turned her side-eye to the young Harbinger.

"Haha! You'd be surprised!"

"Speaking of power..." Lumine changed the subject after seeing how merely talking about the Fatui seemed to stress Jean out even further.

"What is it, Lumine?" Jean caught on, eager to talk about something else.

"There's something I need to show the Knights of Favonius." Lumine said simply.

A curious light appeared in the taller knight's eyes. "Oh? Let us head back to headquarters then." Jean nodded, before casting a wary glance behind her. "We shouldn't discuss important matters... out in the open."

They head to the Knights of Favonius Headquarters.

"Mondstadt and Snezhnaya are considered the same in status." Jean said as she poured them both cups of tea. Lumine sits in a chair across from Jean's desk, with Paimon sitting in her lap, enthusiastically eating the cookies that a maid, Noelle, had set out for them.

"Oh! We haven't had Noelle's cookies since that day," Paimon realized. "Noelle!! Your cookies are so tasty. Could you make some more for us, please~?"

The young maid stifled a laugh, smiling at Paimon. "I'm happy to know that you enjoyed them so much! As soon as we get back, I'll make a batch of cookies for everyone!"

Ei twitched ever so slightly. Yae caught on and give her a knowing look, a slight smirk lifting her lips. Ei ignored her, looking steadfastly ahead.

"Hm, I wonder what Mondstadtian cookies taste like~?" Yae pretended to wonder, before calling for Noelle's attention. "Young lady! Would you be so kind as to make me some as well?" Her smile was sweet, crinkling the corners of her eyes. With the addition of the sunlight from the windows streaming across her face, her beauty was glowing in ethereality.

Noelle blushed, surprised to find such an important person's gaze on her. "O-of course! I shall take a break from work to deliver them myse-" The aspiring knight faltered upon realizing.

Yae's smile became slightly strained, but the expression melted into another sweet smile. "Don't worry about delivering it yourself. I have my own ways..~"

Slowly, Yoimiya released a breath. The atmosphere fell.

"Mondstadt is independent, and does not belong to any other nation."

"In fact, despite being referred to as a city, Mondstadt is a nation."

"Right," Ayaka recalled. "That reminds me. Sir Kaeya, the main city is the only city in the nation?" She turned to her fellow Cryo swordsman.

"You're correct. Mond is rather small compared to the other nations, and so our main population is scattered in small towns and villages across the lands," Kaeya smiled amicably. "A decade or so ago, there were attempts to set up civilization in Dragonspine, but that mountain isn't quite ready for anything beyond a temporary camp quite yet."

He glanced at Albedo, the quick shift hardly noticeable with his covered eye. "For us fragile humans, at least."

"Though, Snezhnaya's Fatui are known to be the most aggressive diplomats in Teyvat..."

"Makes sense, given the tone of that woman just now– so rude!" Paimon huffed.

Lumine waits for Lisa to enter the office before she digs out from her bag the crystal that she and Paimon had retrieved in the forest.

"It's a crystal embedded with some sort of power... Lisa, are you able to analyze it?" Jean mused, facing her friend.

"Let me take a look..." Lisa said, and Lumine stretched her hand out so that the witch could inspect it. "Hmm... I can see impurities in the crystal, but upon further inspection..."

Her eyes tightened, and she shook her head. "No, I'm sorry, I can't make a proper analysis at the moment. Give me some time. I'll take a look through the library's restricted section."

"Right. I'll leave the research to you then, Lisa." Jean nodded her head.

"Understood. I'll notify you all if I make any progress." Lisa went to take the crystal from Lumine's outstretched hand. "Though I wouldn't go getting your hopes up. They are incredibly ancient texts, not to mentio– Ouch!" Lisa flinched back.

"Gosh, that hurt!" The witch hissed, flicking her hand and shifting her body away from the crystal as everyone else had startled.

"The impurities in the crystal... It hurts when I get close..." Lisa noted, frowning. "I see... It appears to react to Visions."

"The impurities and the elemental energy we embody repel each other." She figured out, tilting her head at Lumine. "It's strange, though. Lumine has elemental abilities as well, but doesn't seem to be affected in the same way."

"God-granted items," Layla murmured, causing Faruzan and a few others to turn to her in interest. Consequently, the young scholar jumped upon noticing their attention, not realizing she had spoken loud enough for them to hear. "I-i mean- um, since Lord Dvalin is- seems to be- going against the gods- or his own god, at least- it- well- it should make sense that impu-impurities caused by himself would react badly to something technically holy like a Vision...!" She stumbled over own words, unused to sharing her views so openly with others.

Lisa hummed thoughtfully, putting her chin in her hand. "I've never thought about it that way," she muttered.

Mona nodded approvingly, while Albedo noted it down at her side. Considering the fact that much of his corruption was caused by abyssal power, it made even more sense.

Pausing in his writing, Albedo took at a look at their mysterious bard. Could it be that...

"..." Lumine didn't say anything to do that. And no one needed to- she'd only been around for a few days, but it was easy to figure out that she was far more different compared to everyone else, moreso than they all initially thought.

"Anyway, the crystal would be better left in the hands of my cutie. It will just be a pain if left with us– both literally and metaphorically." Lisa smiled at Lumine.

(Cutie?)Lumine furrowed her brow a little, but ultimately shook it off.

Lisa chuckled at that. "I'm delighted to know I could make even the great Traveler feel a little flustered," she teased.

"I wasn't flustered," Lumine said immediately.

"Of course not, cutie."

"You-"

"Okay. I will keep it." Lumine acquiesced easily, putting the crystal away.

Jean's eyes followed the motions before her gaze flickered away. "...Fascinating." She mumbled, then turned to Lumine with a look in her eyes that the smaller blonde couldn't decipher. "Do you know anything about what makes you special?" She ventured.

Lumine simply shrugged. In all honesty, she had many, many answers, but if she could get away with being an extremely suspicious individual for this amount of time with barely any hard questioning, then it was likely she could get away with not answering. If it came down to it, she could just say that their questions were too broad- that she didn't know where to start, that there were so many factors at play that she wasn't quite sure if she'd be able to trust them with it.

"...Well, when you put itthatway-"

Lisa's smile froze. She hadn't even thought of that- whatever wariness or doubt she had about the Traveler who had so bravely fought Stormterror in the skies had vanished the moment Lumine walked into the office and asked her a question about hilichurls. After that, she never again questioned the blonde's actions or her words- not seriously, at least...

Even if they were all that desperate for a semblance of light in their rapidly darkening worlds, shouldn't they have further investigated the two outlanders who appeared seemingly out of nowhere?

She, Jean, and Kaeya exchanged glances. Slowly, Kaeya shook his head. Lumine had thus far proven herself trustworthy and was more than just kind. Being a friend to all of them and constantly helping them with little regard for her own safety and not looking for reward would make it unfair for them to doubt her now.

Lisa caught Cyno's look, and she, too, shook her head, signaling for him to quell his suspicions, at least for now. With how things were going, she was sure that Lumine would prove her trustworthiness to the General Mahamatra once she stepped into the land of wisdom.

For now, everyone else in the room could hold their horses. If someone dared to make a move against the Traveler, Lisa would be by her side. She was more than sure that the rest of Mondstadt would as well.

And it seemed as if most of the Liyuens in the room would take her side, as well.

"Oh~!? What's this? Our dear little Traveler hiding secrets?" Hu Tao giggled in tease, her bright eyes and flower-shaped pupils making it seem as if the red irises were sparkling. "However could that be!"

Zhongli agreed with her, though his eyes shone with disapproval at her way of showing support. "Everyone has secrets. It's not strange for someone as well-traveled as you to be unable to share certain things, however important they may seem in the grand scheme of things." He inclined his head to the blonde.

Lumine almost smiled bitterly at the reminder of Zhongli's mysterious contract with the Tsaritsa. But he was right- and she was thankful that she had a friend in him, anyway.

Thatwas certainly a truth, anyway.

Some, like Noelle and Bennett, shifted uncomfortably, but the Knights sat with their backs straight, unyielding in their support.

"Yellow man right," Surprisingly, it was Razor who said this. "I, too, cannot share things... Only lupical knows all." He continued, struggling to find his next words, brows furrowed.

Lisa smiled kindly at him. "We were practically strangers to our dear Lumine at the time, after all," she hummed. "Though we're dear friends now, it doesn't change the fact that there are still some things that have to be kept in the dark."

Kaveh nodded, an empathetic frown tugging on his lips. "It can't be helped," he said. "Not everyone needs to know everything about you."

Lumine relaxed, kind of touched by the support she was receiving in the face of her traitorous (but true) thoughts. Not that she'd ever admit it, of course. Still, it looks like a lot of pies would have to be baked for a lot of people after this. Lumine wasn't a take-all-give-nothing type of person, after all.

"I do not know what to make of it either." Jean seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, before shaking her head. "Well, then, Lumine..." A smile played at her lips.

"The Knights of Favonius have another favor to ask of you." The Traveler tilted her head. "Please accept the title of Honorary Knight... and the gratitude of the Acting Grand Master."

"Honorary Knight... of Favonius!?" Paimon gasped.

"The one and only!" Paimon cheered, a proud grin on her face as if she were the one to have achieved the title herself.

Jean smiled helplessly. "We ask for your continued assistance in finding some answers."

"Stormterror's rage... and strange crystals... I know Mondstadt's peace hangs in the balance." She turned to Lumine with a serious look, and the Traveler squared her shoulders, nodding back at her, showing just how serious she was in turn. "May the wind open your eyes to the truth."

"We'll meet back here if you find anything."

With that, Lumine and Paimon say their goodbyes and leave the Knights of Favonius headquarters.

As they walk along the second level of the city, watching the going-ons of the main square below, Paimon strikes up a conversation.

"There's something you didn't tell them." The fairy ventured. "The dragon and the crystal weren't the only things we saw."

Lumine gave her a small side glance. "I'd like to investigate it on my own first." She replied simply.

Sara muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously close toReport to the authorities first, damn it.

Heizou gave her a side-eye.

"So youdoremember him, that green guy." Paimon fixed her a look, before something caught her eye. "He looked just like that guy down there!"

"Well... Looks like him..." Lumine squinted dispassionately. "That exact shade of green... What a coincidence."

"See? See?" Paimon nodded, before stopping, eyes widening in realization. "Wait... Hold on a minute... That..."

"That's the same guy!" She exclaimed, doing a somersault in the air.

"I'm hurt," Venti mocked, placing a hand on his chest and giving Paimon his biggest pout. "Green Guy? Why not something more fitting and less insulting? Like, The Fellow With A Cecilia In His Hat!"

"HOW ISTHATANY BETTER?!" Paimon screeched.

"That green guy disappeared!" Paimon turned to Lumine. "Use Elemental Sight to track him down." She instructed, and Lumine nodded, closing her eyes and snapping them back open. Now, her vision was washed out, the colors of the world fading into a pale blue-gray, waves of colorless energy occasionally pulsing through the air. Across from her, a wisp of shimmering blue elemental trail wiggled.

"You have Elemental Sight too," Alhaitham noted.

Lumine tilted her head. "Is that something exclusive only to Vision bearers?" She asked him.

"Normally, yes, but in some cases a person is born or blessed with extreme sensitivity to a certain Element, and thus are able to see traces of that specific Element the same way we do with our Elemental Sight," he paused. "They are only able to see that Element they are sensitive to, however. There are no known cases when, say, a person with extreme sensitivity to Pyro can see traces of Hydro with their bastardized form of Elemental Sight."

Lumine and Paimon retrace their target's steps, quickly finding his elemental trail and chasing after him. Running up stairs and dashing across the well-maintained cobblestone streets, while Lumine rapidly blinked in and out to continue the workings of the finicky elemental sight, they eventually end up at the plaza, where the same person in green was by the Statue of Barbatos, strumming his lyre to a small crowd of onlookers.

The two stop in their tracks, unwittingly awed by the gentle tune of his strumming and his hypnotic voice. The performance could only be described as otherworldly; not a single note was out of place, and his voice was steady and unyielding even in its softness.

Barbara closed her eyes and sighed softly as she listened to the bard's soothing voice. She would never admit - far too shy to - but she looked up to the bard. Though he may be mischievous at times, causing chaos and accidentally roping in the Cathedral and even the Knights into his shenanigans at times, he was a good person at heart- not to mention an accomplished musician whose prowess was something she could only helplessly look up to.

Yun Jin hummed with appreciation as she listened to the bard's pure, melodic voice. Perhaps when all of this was over, the two nations could organize a cultural music event? With his voice and her own, they were sure to draw in crowds the likes no one has ever seen. She resolves to ask him for his help in her next play. The idea of having his voice and effortless charm on her stage was quite tempting...

Xinyan grinned, her eyes bright. Instinct told her that talking about a lighthearted topic now wouldn't be appropriate, so she merely put her gaze on the bard sitting at the front. That voice was beautiful! And that effortless playing... Suddenly, she had the urge to learn the lyre. Not very rock 'n roll, but maybe something could be implemented? A musical crossover of sorts...

Hu Tao hummed appreciatively of the crystal-clear voice that made its way into her ears. So smooth... So sweet... So fresh! Such skill, on such a youthful face too! She locked eyes with Yun Jin, who gave a smile and a nod. Hehe... A musician's event sounded really good right now.

Like Barbara, Nilou closed her eyes, smiling dreamily. The bard's voice was so beautiful that it didn't feel out of place to appear in a wonderful dream. She wondered if she could ask him to join one of the Theater's performances these days. She was sure that the whole of the Grand Bazaar wouldadorehim!

Kazuha simply let the the music trickle into his ears as he closed his eyes and listened. With his superior hearing, he could hear every note, every tiny extra strum of the pinky finger as Venti seamlessly wove a story with nothing but a simple melody. It was exhilarating- he had never met a musician of such caliber. And an Anemo Vision user like himself... He opened his eyes and gave a short glance to the other musicians in the room, and smiled. Perhaps he'd be leaving this place with a few new friends.

Unlike all the others, Xiao was not quite as simply appreciative of the music. His mouth ran dry as a river destroyed by natural calamity, and his whole body stilled.

Thatvoice...

For a moment, Xiao could only sit in shock. Then, ever so slightly, he tilted his head upwards, allowing his nose to better smell everything in the room-

(Cecilia, with a hint of apples. A voice so soothing that it removed all thoughts of his pain, made him forget his suffering-

Crawling into the bushes, leaves tickling his chin, dark hair with the ends glowing teal and one with the skies,cecilia with a hint of applesdrifting to his nose-)

"You're..."

His mouth could just barely mouth the words. A name barely uttered, not even a whisper or a flicker of wind.

"Barbatos..."

As he began to sing lyrics, the image of him playing his lyre with his eyes closed became replaced by a cinematic sequence.

Nilou gasped. "What is this?"

Zhongli hummed with a critical eye even as curiosity glittered in them. "It seems like we are being told a tale in the form of... what is it they call it nowadays? Ah, yes. Cinematic art. Artistic background is displayed to show a scene while storytellers hide and power their voices using machines for all to hear, narrating the tale as it goes. Periodically, the background will be replaced in order to show a different scene. It is quite an ingenious creation."

What is to be sung transpired in days of yore

A flower fell over the dark screen as a sky blue dragon was painted along its movements.

When the divine archons still walked the earth

Nahida's eyes widened, and she unconsciously leaned forward, curiosity brimming like fire in her soul. If she wasn't careful, it would burn her alive- but it was far from anything more than a flicker against her divinity.

Within the transparent body of the blue dragon, a clear image of a winged deity in white was shown, strumming his holy lyre.

A dragon cast his curious gaze on the world below

The camera moved gradually closer to the image within the glass-painted dragon, and it could be seen that the deity was playing his song to the same blue dragon, this time depicted in a more detailed manner befitting his true appearance.

Jean simply closed her eyes and listened to the song that she had heard in that tavern in what felt like so long ago, but was only just a year.

As he parted from the heavens that gave his birth

The dragon sought truth amongst the common folk

But mortal trifles clogged his mind

Dehya felt a flicker of sympathy. She knew firsthand just how bad "mortal trifles" could get. And the way the song was going, it was as if the dragon was but a child then...

She sighed and shook her head free of the thoughts. Clearly, this was unspoken history. There was no way a mortal bard could get his hands on that knowledge.

Right?

The picturesque image was parted by a dark forest, where a blue window encased the previous image, glowing blue amidst the glum green.

The windborne bard strummed his strings dolce

And the Holy Lyre answered his questions kind

Barbara's gasp was strangled in her throat as she met with the stained glass picture of Barbatos- a flurry of strokes in blue, white, and gold coming together to create an image that has never been seen before.

Music seemed to flow in the air, weaving through the beautiful picture and flying gently in the wind, a melody of innocence and joy yet to be tainted.

Xiao couldn't help but relax, despite himself. His song- no matter what song it was, a story or a simple melody- it calmed every knotted muscle in his body, felt like it could fix broken bones even without the injury itself existing.

Even so, the pure innocence of the tune caused an ache in his heart. Those sweet dreams felt so far away.

The dragon was but a child full of wonder

And soared the heavens free from care

Finally, the camera kept closer to give a clear view of the picturesque scene. The windborne and the dragon danced in the air, radiating innocence, a picture of joyful laughter forever encased in their memories.

Qiqi looked on with large eyes, unusually attentive. In her hand, her pen mindlessly wrote on her notebook which never left her person, no matter how many times she forgets. If one looked closely enough, they might see a hint of strange longing in her eyes- something she herself could not explain.

The bard's songs invited him to sing along

For he yearned to let all perceive him fair

Noelle's lip quivered. Even now, she still felt guilt for doubting one of their Four Winds. Dvalin only wanted to be accepted amongst them...

A child full of wonder.

How long did it take for that innocent wonder to shatter in the face of jaded humanity?

Suddenly, the pale blue skies in the background rapidly darkened, miasma beginning to mar the once-beautiful image.

Enchanting legends the bard and dragon were

But the tides of despair soon engulfed the land

Rain fell from beyond the picture trapped in the window, darkening the scene, bringing the camera upwards to the mysterious darkening skies, to the clouds high above.

The notepad in Albedo's hand began to crumple in his grip.

The lion fang perished and the falcon flag slept

As a vile dragon approached Mondstadt in lone stand

A massive, skeletal dragon stood amidst a backdrop of fire, the land surrounding it aflame as its eyes glowed ominously- the stains of a history long gone.

Over the Cathedral loomed death and his friends

Of the people's agony the bard soon sang

The pen snapped. Halves fell onto the floor with a clatter.

"My apologies," Albedo said stiffly, swiftly sweeping them up. A new pen appeared on his table.

Paimon could only cast him a Look, while Lumine kept her head turned away.

Accompanying the terrible scene was harsh music, so violently contrasting the earlier beautiful melody that danced amidst the stormless clouds and blue skies with the bard and the dragon. The blue dragon of Mondstadt came into the picture in an arched stance, ready to fight the foreign dragon invading his home.

All traces of calmness left Xiao's body, and he nearly winced from the sudden change in tune. Of course Lord Barbatos was just as good at causing strife in the heart with his song as he was at healing it.

Zhongli gave him a look, silently asking if he was alright. Xiao caught the look and returned one of suspicion.

Ah, right. He was not Rex Lapis in this body, nor was he Morax.

Zhongli silently shook his head in apology.

The soaring dragon heeded his grave calls

And amidst the windstorms a brutal war sprang

Darkness washed over the screen, and for a few moments, there was naught but silence.

Nahida swallowed.

Blood of venom sent the sky dragon into slumber

The dragon of Mondstadt was shrouded in darkness, with the only points of light coming from the delicate membranes in his wings, resembling that of fairy wings, until the purple points of the venomous blood were brightly glowing on the dragon's back and tail, lighting up his whole body. It seems like the entirety of his scales became darker, ocean blue instead of the blue of the skies.

Only to awake to be expelled in abhor

Kaeya winced.

"Why do people in this age loathe me so?"

Jean suck in a shaky breath, looking away in guilt.

A window depicting Mondstadt's distant city appeared in front of the poisoned dragon, raining and thundering as if feeling his grief and confusion.

But the Holy Lyre replied no more

Venti couldn't help but smile bitterly. His children were always so kindhearted, taking the blame onto themselves despite having no fault in that situation whatsoever.

The Four Winds were Barbatos' responsibility.

The children of Mondstadt should not have had to take care of them for him.

k̸̛͎͂̊̈́̔͊̉́͆̾͋͗̂͑͝ḩ̸̦̫̻̮͔͗͘ȃ̴̞̘͕͂̒̆̊̔̽̅̈́̐̐̇̕͘͝ė̷̡̡̳͚̹͓̝̗̞̮̆̽̽̒̽͂͊̍͋̎͘ͅͅṉ̷̡̨̳̜̙̲̥͎̤͓̠́̈̕r̴͖̩͔̱̟̳̩͓̺̤̦̟͈̓ͅḯ̷̡̢̞͇̘͔̑̆̊́̆̈̍̿̔͜͝'̵̧̭̜̫͎͓̱̦̪̥̳̘̭̌̀̾̋̑͐̈́̾́ä̴̡͚͓̣͇͇̮́̚͜h̷̢̳̲̟͕̬̤̖̰̮̯̿͜ ̴̨̳̠̺̔̈́́̎̊̃̓̈́̑̓͊͊̃̅w̷͎̫̙̩̿͜͠i̴̻̫̗̻͎͐̑͊͗̍̊̓̽͋̏̋̅͘̚͝l̴̻͉̺͖̯͈̘͈̟͐̾̽̿̈́́̆́͘͠l̶̨̯̥̯̯͎̠̱͙̱̈͜ ̸͚̫̫͍̙̭̳̼͉̺̟̪͔̽̓͛̓̊̉͌̎̿̕͠͝s̷̢̡̡̢̹̣̙͍͕̥͈͉͆͐͝ͅͅe̶̦͘e̸̺̗̭̣̯͈̥̼̮̲̹̓̀̈ͅ ̴̗̫͎̃̍͗̾̉͆͆̓͛̑̆̕͘͝͠Ỹ̷̙͊͊̓̅̌̇͆̃̎̀͛͋̋͝ǫ̸̮̮̦͍̦͚̗̰̰͓͉͇̬̱͐̈͋̾̆͒̈́̐̋̓̚͝u̵̧̙͕̥̯̹͖̖̫͈̤̠̪̲̾̾̎̇̊̊̄̅́̋͝͠ͅṟ̸̫͎̞͠ ̵̢͇̲̞̣͙͍̫͈̣̟̳̳̈́̔̈́͝͝ḓ̴̭͈̺̤͍͈͚̖͖̗̫̚ȩ̵̩͆͒̀͑͑m̶̢͔̫̩̜̳̼̥̲̰̻̖̀̓̀̿̓̈́̈̔̈́̄̀̿̈́̚͠į̶̢̭̞̦͚̖̗͙̣̠͉͋̈́̂̀͑̓́̽̈́̍̚͘ͅͅs̷̱͂̅̀̓͂̀́̕͝è̴͕͓̥̙͙̜̜͉̅̐̎̈̉̅̉ ̷̦̞͙͙̝͈̏̓̓̈͊́̒͊̈́̏̑͋̄̒̚Ć̶͓̫͙̮̤͑̈́̓͌͛͑̍́̊̕ͅe̶͙͚̅̓͛̍̋̈̈̀l̷̼̫̣̣̯̥̜͔̺͎̂̌̀̄̿̔͊̌͛̀̀͘͜͜͝͝ě̴̢̨̼͓͎̤̩̫̝̦̃͆̂̋̎͐̿̍̉s̷̨̡͕͔̥̰͎̞̜̘̈͗͋͘͜ṱ̵̯̞̼̺́͋ḯ̴̡̪͎̯̜̪̪͕̘͚͍̳́̓͘͘͜͝a̴̫̮̣̫͖͎̳̮͍͙̘̪͕̯̽̊͛̈́̒̈́̐̓̉̈́̏̈́̕̚ ̸̧̢̡͓̠̜̼̟̻͓̲̰̞͒͑̅͑̈̔̐͠ẅ̶̨̛̦̮̪́̎̊̎̚i̴͔̅̎̂́͆̕l̶̛̲̔̊̐̋͑́̆͆̄̏̚͝l̵̠̞̔̅̏̓̈́͐͂̕ ̷̲̖̼͈̟͕̯̝̺̠̞̏̾̈́f̷̛̙̟̥̪͙͉̰̹̿̈́̍̓̀͠ǎ̸̡̦͉̪̬̥̃̿ḻ̶̨̨̦̹̜͙̲̱̜̽̿̽͌͛̓͊̓̈́̾͝ͅl̸̡̛̖̠̙̠͙͔̬̄̅̆̈́́̐͛͊͛͑͋̕͘̕͜ ̶̨̝̪̜͚̻̟̖̲̙̗̬͋̏̕ạ̵̢̟͎͗̊n̶̰̤͙̊d̶̨̻͓͖̓̎͆̈́ ̴̢̧̛̲̠̫͔̙̘̗̦͍̹̱̮̌̀̐́̍̀͋̈̓̈̔̐͝ę̵̜̹̠͇͕̘̺̥̺̜̝̦͂̈́̍̑͂̀̈́̿̆̀͝v̷͈̠͉̞̫̫͖̫̼͍̈͛͌́̾̕ę̸̧̗̣̙̻̥̦̲̭́̽̈́̇̂̇̈́͐͠͝͝r̸̼̰̤̜̣̱̗̥̽́́̔͂͘y̵̭̼̩̳̼̼̺̺̎̾͠t̷̪̪̝̝̺͌̊͑̈́̒̇ḥ̷̛͓̼̩̭̱̝̳̝͖̳̬́́̎͑͝į̸̛̯̰͔̬͖̪̩̅͌͠͝ͅǹ̴̡̲̯̻̳̠͖͖̫̣̎̈́̈́̉̈́͗̇́͘g̶̢͔̣͉̼̥̦̝͖̺͖̾̔̃̔̕̕ ̴̖̭͕̻̠̥̣͗͂̿̆͌̉͜͝Ÿ̶̡̨͓̟̱̼͇͉̣̼͔͔̫̞̇̿̾̆̐̿͛͂̕ö̷͎ų̶̰̝̤͚͖̇̐͆̊̀̀͝ͅ ̸̛͓̑̃̂̿́̄̑̔͝K̴͚̖͍̤͎̺̲̲͚̭̏̉̽͐̎͜͝Ń̵̛̼̯̰̩̥͚̇͊̊͜Ǫ̷̧̪͍̬̥̆͝ ̸̟͕̝̍W̷̧̢̥͚̜̦̭͚͋̊͛̋̄̓̆̑̈́̌̉̎̎͘͘ ̷̛̟̟͛̀̀͑̉̃͒̿͒̃w̴̛̠̪̳͎͇̝̒͐̈́̓ͅi̴̙̮̯̫̦̤̥͙̙͔̯͚̇́̾̕l̸̙͓̒̌̋͗͌̄͗͊̈́́͘͜͠͝l̸̡̩̳͔̭͙͉̟̲͎̀̊̐ ̸̧̧̧̧̲̠̹͎̱̤̤̗̹̙̎͋͗̒͌͌̿̿̾b̴̖͓͚̻̜̩̤̬͉̪̼̖̋͐́̅̈́̑̀ͅȩ̵̜͔͕͚̣͔̺̻͋̓̽͘͜ͅ ̸̡̩̼̠̩̻̮̱̲͖̰̻́̊͑̾̔͋͆̄̃̓͊͆̕ḏ̸̤͈͚̈̆͋̀̇̾̈́͐ȇ̸̛͖͇̰̝̱͔̙̥̣̱̂̇̓̃͜ͅs̵̨̟͇̺̠̈́͌̑̆̈́̌̆ť̷̨̘̰̞͎͙̼̺̟̤̓̔̋̾̍̍̑̈́͘͠ͅŗ̷̢͉̞̼͚̜̺̖̱̖́̒͂̍̿͂͑̀̓̇͜͝͝ͅͅö̴̡̘͉̮̹̜̺̯̣̥͔͍́̆ỳ̴̧̡̖̰̦̹͚̪͇̰̹̯̖̅͗͘e̸̖̯͈̯̳̖̦͙͋͒̋̃̅͆̋d̶̢̛̰̩̯̬̝̜̈̑̋͋͗̆ ̴͓̭͚͍̯̣̩͔͔̤̜̜̻̻͛͐̒͊̂͗̊͐̊̀̽̕d̶̨̻̭͓̗̈́̇͐̈̆̍͝ê̷͕̗̿̈̍̈́̎̈́͛̒̚͠ş̵̠̲̬̘̤̩̺̩̹̪͓͑́̈́̉̌͊̋͋͋ͅt̵̡͈̝̫̟͙̓̉̊̐̃̄̈̇̕̕r̴̲̬͎̜͖̦̭͖͎̀͛o̸̧̬̼̞͍̯̦̜̬̺̊̈́́͘͜͜y̶̦̥̱̾ȩ̶̢̯̠͔̣͕̰̲̪̎̽̿̓̍̔̏ḑ̶̨̱̇̔͒̈̇̔͒̀̈́̃͌͐͘͘ͅ ̷̯̻̯͕̅̕l̵̡̧̩̣̥͖̲̭͈̖̳͙͓͛̾̈́̀̈́ͅį̸̢͔̟̝͉͚̝͕̪͐͒͋̈́ķ̴̰̣̠̻͔͚̩̮̰̭̙̬̺̒̈́̀͒̄̿̀̿̀̽̇͊̐ë̷͙̝̼̯́̅̔̀͝͝ ̷͎̩͍́́͑K̴͍̺̜̝̜̞͈͖̜͇͗̄͐̎͊̿̇̅̏̇̒͝h̴̜̦̥̟̗͉̾̉a̵̢̼̺͉͚̘͖͕͉̰̤̓͂͘͜ḛ̵̡̤̱͚͈̠͎͎̦͍̠͙͉̉̋̿́̍̑̀͜n̶͖̦̔̑͋̋̂͋͜͜r̵̤̻̹̞̥͔̗̲̜̰̩̲̀́̉̐͑͌̽̔͑̈̔͠į̶̧̢̹͚̞̙͎̮̖̥̹̣̠̌́̋͒̃̅͛͐̊'̵̛̪̺͓͇̲̣͉͙̲̘̞̱͔̝̅̄̐̑̋͒̔̎̄̎̔̔͜͠a̶̢̨̝̭̖͉͙͓̹̦̯̠̫͛̈́̓̍͒͗̈́̅̕̚͝h̵̢̛̯͖̼̲͖̠̞͎͆͊́̒͋̉̚͠

The scene was covered by dark clouds before arising once more into a sky of diluted flame- and the dragon who was once bright like the skies turned ugly purple and black, like the colors you see in nightmares.

Wrath and woe, vigor and venom

Poured from the dragon's bitter eyes

Clutched in the dragon's claws was a Cecilia flower.

Venti's hand drifted to the one on his beret.

The dragon's curse sprawled in silence

The camera crept closer to the dragon's face. From his bright red eye, dripped an equally bright red tear.

But the Lyre could no longer soothe his cries

The camera followed the falling, blood red tear, until the screen went dark.

Caught up in the trance, it took a little while for the both of them to notice the end of his performance, and the dazed faces of the onlookers as they cleared out and left only the three of them.

The Green Fellow opened his closed eyes, lashes fluttering. A sorrowful look could be found lingering in his eyes which resembled the skies, so terribly out of place that anyone who saw it would too be filled with sorrow.

Luminefelt that so f*ckingkeenly.

It took a moment for him to realize the pair standing before him, and when he did, he startled, a brighter look widening his eyes and chasing away the previous melancholy. "Wait, you guys are..."

"Oh, that's right! You're the ones that scared Dvalin away." He exclaimed.

Paimon frowned. "Dvalin? Who's that?"

"Lisa told us already, weren't you listening?" Lumine chided.

Paimon blinked, before she came to a realization. "Huh? ...Oh, right. Most people seem to call him 'Stormterror'."She tilted her head at the Green Fellow. "Why do you call him that... Are you two meant to be close or something?"

The Green Fellow gave a mysterious smile with a hint of dryness behind it. "Oh, so close..."

This dumb bitch,echoed in the minds of everyone who knew, in different wording, of course. But the general sentiment was the same.

Thoma remembered Venti's earlier words of Dvalin being his friend, "Ah, right! You mentioned it too when the Traveler and Paimon spotted you in the clearing."

Venti felt sweat bead at his forehead. Why was he so nervous when they were literally going to find out in a matter of hours!?

He could feel Zhongli's judging stare bore into the side of his head.

Lumine suddenly groaned out of nowhere, gaining the attention of everyone else and causing Thoma to briefly look in her direction. Venti took the chance to crawl under his small table.

"Lumine? Is everything alright?" Jean questioned. Lumine waved her off.

"It's nothing. Just remembered something embarrassing," the shorter blonde sighed.

The f*cking Cathedral Incident™. Was going to be seen byeveryone,on a screen so big that you might as well be blind if you missed a single detail.

f*cking Venti.She makes another reminder to herself not to let herself get roped into his shenanigans again.

Paimon's eyes narrowed. "Hey, Lumine. Paimon thinks this guy has a screw loose..." She whispered in Lumine's ear.

Venti didn't miss a beat. "And you don't?"

"UGH! Shut it, Tone-Deaf Bard!"

"I'm sorry, you are...?" Lumine ignored her companion, turning to the bard.

The bard in question bowed his head dramatically, an equally dramatic smile on his lips. "Good day, outlander. Seems we meet again." He tilted his head back up and flicked the petals of a cecilia on his hat playfully.

"I'm Venti the bard." He introduced cheerfully. "Three-time winner of the 'Most Popular Bard of Mondstadt', to be precise."

Yun Jin's brows rose. "There's such a competition?" She turned again to her fellow Geo user, Noelle.

The young maid nodded with a smile. "Yes, it's held every year. Since there are so many bards in Mondstadt, it only makes sense to hold a popularity contest. Bards from all across the nation are called to join, and the winner is decided by a performance by each of them. Since there are so many bards, it takes at least a week for it to conclude, wherein work days are cut in half or people are given a vacation period during that time altogether. The winner gets a Mora reward, a commissioned instrument of choice from our best music shop, and a Dandelion Wine casket from the Dawn Winery- which is relinquished to the guardians if the winner is not of age."

Lisa chimed in, "It's said that the popularity contest predates even the Ordo Favonius. Our ancestors would huddle around a campfire and play their songs well into the night, and whoever was the winner earned a bottle of wine from their best winemaker and bragging rights."

Collei couldn't quite stifle a longing sigh at this. She hadn't been able to catch the popularity contest during her initial stay at Mondstadt, and since then had never been able to. She had managed another Ludi Harpastum, which was even greater than the first now that she had significantly less worries in her life, but it still grated at her that she couldn't attend one of the most anticipated cultural events in Mondstadt.

Tighnari, seeing this, leaned down to murmur in her ear. "What do you say after your next major check-up, we stay in Mondstadt for a while?"

She lit up. "Really?"

The fox-eared man nodded with a small smile. "The other Forest Rangers can handle the Withering for now. It seems to have calmed down fairly enough that a Vision user or two leaving to take care of other matters for a little while wouldn't hurt."

"So, what do you need from me?"

"Given you recognize us, Paimon doesn't believe we need to explain any further." Paimon replied. "Of course it's about Stormterror."

"Storm...?" Venti was visibly confused.

"Hey! Cut it with the amnesia act!" Paimon growled. "Lumine, show it to him."

"What amnesia were you even referring to?" Lumine sighed.

"Hey! He acts brainless sometimes, okay!"

Lumine obediently digs the crystal out from her bag, only to pause in bewilderment at the sight before her.

Venti's eyes lit up. "Oh! Isn't this–"

"What!? The crystal has been purified!? When?" Paimon exclaimed, her eyes going comically wide.

Albedo hummed silently as he wrote down the transpiring events on his now-crumpled notepad. He hadn't quite calmed down yet from earlier, but after the lighthearted atmosphere was mostly restored, he felt a bit better.

Indeed, the stone that was once a murky blood red and oozing malicious energy was suddenly a stone that lived up to its name of a 'crystal', sparkling clear and reflecting light from every angle, the purest of gems that would be tragically beautiful if tainted once more.

"The last time I checked, it was full of impurities." Lumine muttered, her eyes glued to the brightness before her.

By Albedo's side, Sucrose was comparatively rabid, eyes so wide that her pupils were pinpricks as she urged the screen to continue the discovery, pen clutched tightly in her gloved hand.

Venti's lips pursed, and the sorrowful look from before returned, with a heavier tinge of guilt and horror. "Dvalin, he..."

"The anguish he feels... has brought him to tears..."

"Tears...?" Paimon repeated.

Kaeya couldn't hold back another wince. The heavy look and warbling voice of the normally carefree and always-smiling bard caused a pang in his heart.

Unbeknownst to him, all of the other Mondstadtians felt the same. Even Klee couldn't help but clutch at her chest, a deep frown on her adorable face.

Jean chanced a glance at their disguised Archon. Venti seemed to be lost in thought, normally clear eyes glazed over with memories, a subconscious frown at his lips.

Without another moment's hesitation, Venti unearths another Teardrop Crystal from his pocket. Identical to the former state of the now purified one in Lumine's hand, he reverently placed it right next to its sibling on her palm, and the three of them watched with awe as a bright glow submerged the malicious gem and transformed it into a pure, untainted tear right before their very eyes.

"Ehhhh!?" Paimon exclaimed again in amazement, eyes shining from seeing Lumine's purification ability in person.

Faruzan's eyesshone.She turned to Lumine's general direction and called, "Traveler, please help me with a project of mine!"

Lumine turned to her warily, thinking of Albedo's experiments. "What kind of project?" She asked slowly.

"Just a machine-testing one! It's not particularly dangerous, and there will be insurance if injury occurs, and I shall pay you handsomely, of course-"

"We'll take it!" Paimon said immediately.

"'Mon,the f*ck."

"We need more Mora for food, okay!"

"We wouldn't need Mora for food if you didn't keep buyingfrom every damn food stall-"

Venti took a shaky breath. "You... really do have some wonderful abilities..." He smiled up at her, something new shining in his eyes.

Alhaitham's scribbling started to become concerningly quick. Even Kaveh couldn't help but glance warily at his secret roommate's passion, completely immersed in the very much real story being shown to them.

"Someone like you is going to end up written into a bard's poem." He mused. "Oh, a hero so bright, should she stand in the light. Though stand in the shade, and you'll be met by a blade..."

Childe twitched. A comment on his tongue, but as if sensing with her bullsh*t meter, Lumine turned and glared at him so hard that his mouth closed with an audible clack.

He shook his head. "Alas... I've really not the time to compose a melody for you at this moment."

"Anyway, even if Dvalin is not taken down, his life will still wither away in the breeze..." He said sadly. "He'll burn himself out in the flames of anger..."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Lumine said determinedly, her eyes bright with the flames of determination.

Amber smiled brightly. One of her favorite things about her friend- no matter how many times she makes herself out to be aloof or cold, she was probably the most determined person Amber had met in her life. And she was surrounded by Vision users daily- people who worked harder than anyone to reach their goals or protect what they loved dearly.

Venti smiled at the look in her eye. "I really must thank you for purifying the Teardop Crystal, it has helped me greatly."

"But I've already come to devise my own plan."

Lumine let out a strangled whimper. Many looked over at her, curious for the reason of her distress.

Paimon patted her shoulder in solidarity.

Diluc turned unimpressed eyes to Venti, who was still refusing to look at anyone at all, whistling beneath his breath.

"Oh? And what plan would that be?" Paimon asked.

The bard simply smiled, eyes twinkling. "Seeing this tear has brought to mind a friend so dear."

"Friend?" Paimon echoed.

The bard suddenly took off. "Heh-heh, one must be going."

"Hey! Where're you running off to!?" Paimon yelled after him.

"To the 'Symbol of Mondstadt's Hero.' Bye-bye~" Venti disappeared into the distance, a breeze brushing past Lumine's golden hair as he did.

Paimon stared after where he disappeared. "Huh... Lumine, what do you make of that?"

"This 'weirdo' as you put it– we need to keep an eye on him..." Lumine responded.

Paimon turned to her friend. "As far as he's concerned, you're a weirdo too ya know..." She said dryly.

"Paimon still holds to that!"

"You know..." Lumine hummed.

"Know what?" Paimon responded.

"His voice seems familiar..." Lumine looked to the skies, trying to remember when she had heard that gentle voice that was more musical than a song.

Venti near-jolted at the reminder of his guidance to her in the skies.

Once again, Thoma turned to him with a smile. "Oh, right. You were that person guiding her in the sky in her impromptu fight against Lord Dvalin, yeah?" His voice was incredibly cheerful and casual.

Why was he cornering Venti like this.

"Familiar? I don't know... You're alone on that one..." Paimon shrugged.

"But did he just say 'Symbol of Mondstadt's Heroes'? What could that be?" Lumine asked.

"Oh, Paimon knows! It's that huge tree." She said. "You know, the gigantic one! You can't miss it, surely you still remember!"

For a few moments, Lumine had a blank stare fixed on Paimon, before her eyes lit up with recognition. Without saying a word, she nodded at Paimon and dashed off into the streets, rushing in her usual manner to get to the needed direction. "Ah- Hold on! Wait for Paimon!" The fairy screeched, darting after her companion hurriedly.

Jean held back a sigh. Always so quick to rush into things with little regard for the people around her. Unbelievably like every Pyro user she knows.

Soon, they ended up at Windrise, the refreshing bright green and tickling breezes of the wide nature untouched by man a balm to the soul, causing Lumine to naturally relax her shoulders and slow her pace into a short run until she was walking normally once more.

Nahida's eyes were wide with childish joy as she took in the sun-dappled beauty of Mondstadt's most iconic landmark. The tree wasglorious,large and curling up towards the sky as if reaching for the clouds, and yet it didn't give a sense of arrogance or desperation, like if a mortal was so desperately trying to reach for the heavens, to be remembered as more than a mark on time, only to fail and be stuck frozen in the same position for all of eternity.No- rather, it was as if the tree was reaching out in gentle prayer, unperturbed by mortal trifles, simply taking in the wind.

It was beautiful.

N̶o̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ l̶i̶k̶e̶ d̶y̶i̶n̶g̶ I̶r̶m̶i̶n̶s̶u̶l̶.

There, at the base of the giant tree that marked the icon of Windrise, standing a ways away from the Statue of the Seven that was underneath it, was their sneaky bard.

"Oh? What are you doing here?" Venti hummed, daring to look surprised as if he wasn't the one who invited them over. "Though I was just wondering if you would happen to follow me..."

"I want to know more about the Anemo God." Lumine cut in, in a stone-like manner.

"Straight to the point as always," Yanfei sighed under her breath.

"You speak of the God of Anemo, Barbatos? He already disappeared from Mondstadt a long time ago." Venti remarked casually without looking at them, brushing his slender fingers across the strings of his lyre, a gentle yet incomplete tune filling the air and accompanying the sweet, distant chorus of birds that echoed across the field.

Ganyu frowned. She didn't know how Mondstadt could deal with such absence for so long. Even when Rex Lapis was not present, His existence still permeated the very air of Liyue, His godly essence being made up of the mountains and the earth themselves. He was Everywhere. Even after His passing, it felt like the wilderness of Liyue had barely changed...

As if He never left in the first place. As if His body, His soul, though never to be seen again, was stillthere,simply because Liyue still stood.

She looks at Venti, the bard whose eyes haven't left the screen for a long while.

She wonders why Mondstadt's breeze feels so similar to his presence.

"Liyue and Inazuma's respective gods of Geo and Electro are still present, but Mondstadt has seen many a moon before they last saw their own god."

Kokomi's ever-present smile strained. If only their god was as caring and good as the gods of Mondstadt and Liyue.

"Why do you wish to know about the God of Anemo? Does it have something to do with Dvalin?"

"Oh... ahhh... it's because gods..." Paimon scratched her head.

"Yes, someone told me about Dvalin's past." Lumine smoothly cut in, gaze firmly fixed on Venti. Something in her unyielding gaze caused Venti to look away, a small, mysterious smile barely visible on his lips.

"Just how is it that everyone sees Stormterror? I'm quite curious." Venti changed the subject. "That said, there's no rush..."

A bemused smile crept onto his face, and he turned his back on Lumine and Paimon, looking above to see a creature descending from the treetops, bringing with it the sound of a tornado. "I have not been back in a while, it seems there are a few who are unhappy with my arrival."

In a while,Eula mouthed with a frown. As a citizen of Mondstadt who had never once left the nation since her birth, she was highly certain she had never seen him around before. As a Knight of Favonius who worked meticulously to keep track of each and every registered citizen of Mondstadt, she knew without a doubt that Venti was not a Mondstadtian who had stepped foot in the nation within the past two decades.

With his youthful looks, his equally youthful personality, and smooth hands callused only by the strings of a bow and a lyre without a single wrinkle of age, there was almost no way he was older than 19.

Unless, of course, he wasn't human.

Eula thoughtfully set her gaze on the bard. Looks like Sister Rosaria's offhanded theorizing of their god's whereabouts from back then wasn't quite as ludicrous as she once thought.

Meanwhile, many others frowned. What could be so important about a simple bard that a monster would cross the region just to attack him?

Eye of the Storm lingered on high mountains and cliffsides- anywhere that generated enough wind to fuel it. Stormterror's Lair was a home for them due to the combination of high concentrations of wind and Elemental Energy.

Windrise was none of those things.

As it crept closer, strong wind blazed around it, sending dust and dirt flying into their faces. Lumine and Paimon reflexively blocked their faces with their arms, shouts of surprise being lost in the air as the Traveler was forced to dig her feet into the ground, the heels of her boots sinking into the dirt in an effort not to get blown away.

Unlike them, Venti seemed entirely unaffected, his braids whipping in the face of the glowing, round monster that descended before them, an easy smile still on his youthful face.

"What sort of monster isthat?" Chongyun breathed, excitement just barely visible in his eyes. Having never left Liyue in his whole (albeit short) life, he could only have heard of the monsters that appeared solely in other nations- much like the Geovishap which was exclusive to Liyue, there were all sorts of creatures around the world he could only dream of, good and bad.

He'd have loved to study them, but his exorcist duties took up almost all of his time that wasn't spent with his friends.

"Oh, oh!" Klee piped up, excited to share her knowledge. "It's an Eye of the Storm! Sucrose sometimes goes out to collect their winds, but they're really far away in Mondstadt so she takes days to come back! They're really strong. Once when I was fish-blasting in Windrise, one of them appeared, and I almost got blown away! It's okay though, because when I threw one of my treasures at it, it EXPLODED right away!" She giggled, looking proud to have passed on the information.

Chongyun looked confused and a also little scared, but he said, "Oh, thank you, Miss Klee.."

Towards the front, Jean could only sigh amidst Lisa, Kaeya, and Amber's fond laughter.

"The wind... I can't... open my eyes..." Paimon whimpered, rubbing the corner of her eyes, blinking rapidly to try and get the dirt out. "What is a creature like that doing out here in such a calm place?" She lifted her head, only for her eyes to widen from what she saw.

"Lumine... His relationship with the wind seems even deeper than yours..." She whispered, eyes flickering to the bard's turned back. The bard was strangely calm. Despite the imminent danger, he didn't show a single flicker of hesitation or wariness- though he was a Vision user, it should be normal for him to tense up in battle, for though he was blessed by the gods to fight without fear it should be instinctual for him- one who was not a soldier or king, but a poet who did nothing but sing.

Venti tilted his head, smiling. Though he didn't say a word, the gentle amusem*nt in his eyes showed his feelings for Lumine's apt mental description of him.

"A poet who defeats with his words," Yae muttered, one of her ears twitching. The movement nearly made Ei turn her head, which made her stiffen after realizing, which in turn made Yae hide a smirk, a phantom tail playfully batting at the puppet's back.

Even stranger was the way the winds flickered around him. While the harsh winds cut at the outlanders' faces and threw dust into their eyes, the strength itself being enough to push them back continuously, he stood perfectly still, and it almost seemed as if the winds went past him without a single care, as if he wasn't there at all.

Heizou's eyes shone with intrigue. Such a strange reaction from the bard! Was it because he had gone through something unexpected to them in the past, or was it because he was secretly so powerful that he could never look upon an enemy with anything besides mild interest?

The way the winds reacted to him was so... unfamiliar. His hands twitched. If he could perform such a trick...

Hm.

With her eyes still squeezed shut, Lumine grit her teeth and unsheathed her sword, bracing herself and running into the fray- going entirely by instinct, she managed to slash the side of the Eye of the Storm just as it lifted itself back into the air.

Beidou whistled lowly. Every trained warrior's eyes were fixated on the screen, almost hungry for the display of the legendary Traveler's skills.

Sliding past it, she rapidly blinked her eyes open, tears coming out from the dust that managed to make its way in. She snapped her head back at the whizzing sound of an arrow being shot, golden locks flying all around her face, and saw Venti going into battle after her, expertly shooting short shots at the monster that was flying all around them. The bard was unfettered even as the creature flew itself in a zig zag motion, going in unexpected circles as it forced mini tornados of Anemo at him.

"Holy-"

Bennett leaned forward, his eyes bright with eagerness. Despite the fact that he's gone on several expeditions with Lumine, the sight of her battling never got old. His friends, too, were watching Lumine's fight, but Razor's eyes seemed to stray more towards the bard...

"Traveler! Get it!" Venti suddenly snapped, narrowly dodging an attack from the monster as he reached out for Lumine. Suddenly, a circle of Anemo formed beneath Lumine's feet, and she let out a yell of surprise as a wind propelled her into the air, gently floating her body and putting her right at face-level with the creature. For a moment, Lumine could only flail in the air, surprise overtaking her mind for a split second. Despite it, she let instinct take her, stopping her needless flailing- and she pulled her arm back, throwing her sword like an arrow, right into the core of the monster's scarcely protected body.

"What the actual-"

It did the trick- the monster let out a voiceless screech that caused more gusts of wind to come at them in waves, though they only opened up a few cuts on exposed arms, and Lumine was carefully dropped to her feet as the creature's body hit the ground, blackening and fading into nothingness soon after.

For a few moments, silence engulfed them. Then, Kaeya clicked his tongue.

"Reckless as ever, even moreso when you're not in our line of sight," he said almost fondly.

"You are so cool," Xinyan laughed breathlessly.

"That was way too dangerous," Shinobu disagreed, but the look in her eyes wasn't overly concerned. Still, she sighed and said disapprovingly in Venti's direction, "Sir Bard, you should give her a proper warning next time. What if she hadn't understood your warning?"

"Ehe..." Venti replied sheepishly.

"Seems the dragon wasn't the only thing affected by this change in the wind..." Venti commented, giving no indication of being affected by the monster aside from his tousled clothes. "Now then, you were saying that someone had told you about the dragon?" He turned to them.

[A blacked out screen shows the text 'Lumine tells Venti what Lisa had explained to her...']

Venti took this information with a thoughtful furrow of his brow. "Is that so? Quite the scholar I must say, that Lisa." He hummed. "She's not wrong. The conflict has reached this point, only because both sides have resorted to the use of force."

Lisa rose a brow, bemused.He talked as if he knew me, she mused.

"His hate, however, did not arise from the people not making tribute to The Four Winds."

"Nor was it born from his own nature, but was instead came about a product of his degradation."

"..." Albedo looked silently at the screen, blank eyed.

"...Degradation?" Faruzan muttered, frowning. "How does a simple bard know of this, anyway...?"

"Degra... dation?" Paimon repeated.

"The black blood flowing through his heart has been torturing him for years." Venti added, his bright face darkening into something serious. "That's what has allowed him to be led astray by the lies of the Abyss Mage."

Her smile unwavering on her face, Hu Tao stole a glance at Xiao. The yaksha was subconsciously rubbing a gloved hand over his arm, eyes fixated on the screen.

Perhaps this crossover musician event would help with a lot more than just foreign relations...

"I think I've heard of them before in Mondstadt..." Lumine muttered, mind going to the tales that adventurers in the guild quarters shared with her of their own quests whenever she came inside the building to scout for more complicated missions, and ending up running into seasoned members who would gladly give her the information she needed.

Bennett grins at the brief mention of their involvement- and subsequently, their first meeting, when a clueless Lumine wandered into the Adventurer's Guild for the first time, stoic and regal to the point the others could only stare and stay away, yet unmistakably lost as she lingered in the corner for over an hour before Bennett steeled himself and approached her.

He smiles to himself.It's been so long since we've met, it feels so unreal...

"They are from the Abyss Order, an organization comprised of non-human beings. They despise mankind." Venti explained without preamble, seemingly uncaring of Lumine's lack of common knowledge."I don't know where they come from. All I know is that they hold deep hatred towards the human world."

"Many hilichurls out in the wild take orders from them and act as their weapons."

Again, this was far from common knowledge. It was typical for Vision users to know more about monsters than the average person, but specific things like these could only be known by those who dealt with monsters and leylines in their profession- and a bard certainly was not a job you would think knew of such things.

Lisa glanced at Jean, who subtly shook her head, and kept her mouth shut, despite the ever-familiar curiosity swelling within her. At this point, the questions were piling up to near-brimming, and there was a buzz within the otherwise silent room that spoke of anticipation for what felt like a long-awaited answer after several hours of this suspicion. Now, no one decided to speak or even glance in Venti's direction anymore, for propriety's sake.

They were quickly understanding that this simulation would not hold back on secrets, no matter how small or of importance.

(For now, at least.

Later, they would have even more questions and concerns that would not be answered for a very, very long time- whether by person or simulation.)

"Ehe..." Venti rubbed the back of his neck, deciding to shrug off the palpable tension with a grin somehow mischievous and sheepish at the same time.

"Before arriving here, I too was like Dvalin, cursed and left to waste." Venti sighed, before a proud shine appeared in his eyes as he looked up at the grand tree before them. "But now, before us stands the symbol of Mondstadt's Hero, the place from which Mondstadt rose."

People's eyebrows were disappearing into their hair at this point.

He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, letting out a satisfied sigh afterwards. "The wind amongst the branches is good, I love the way it smells..."

Indeed, the wind here was particularly sweet. Though all winds in Mondstadt had a quality to them unlike any other place that Lumine has stepped foot in, the breezes here were even lovelier, having the gentle tinge of apples accompanied by mint, and the healthy grass smelled of dew even after all drops had long since fallen away. Especially the tree of Windrise, the faint scent of rain seemed to hang from its branches even on a sunny day, slightly cool and giving relief from the heat of the sun.

Despite not having a sense to accompany the description besides sight, many relaxed as the camera panned to give a slow but brief overview of Windrise, particularly the large tree that stood as its ever-famous landmark. Even those who had never stepped a foot into Mondstadt could imagine the breeze so well that the nation's signature refreshing scent could be said to exist within the room.

Behind her fan, Ayaka sighed longingly, while Thoma eyed the screen with the same feeling. Something akin to contemplation flickered in Ayato's eyes as he looked at the two most important people in his life, humming inaudibly.

"Being here with you beneath this great tree feels like when the tear was purified earlier. Like the poison was leaving my body..."

"Mmmmmmm... Feels much better."

Subconsciously, Xiao tilted his head up once more.Cecilia with a hint of apples- faint, yet always present as the wind.

He wondered what kind of poison exactly that Barbatos and Dvalin were infected with. Perhaps it had been something similar to his karma, milder but nonetheless sickening to the stomach?

(Had it slowly killed them every second just as it did to him?)

"So... how exactly did you get poisoned?" Paimon questioned.

Venti blinked. "Ahh... that would be because I tried to communicate with Dvalin earlier, but was... interrupted..."

Lumine didn't wince, but it was a near thing. It was simultaneously embarrassing and frustrating to remember that the whole mess could have been averted had Lumine and Paimon avoided their impulsive urge to follow the dragon.

Venti caught her eye.There was no way I could have fully purified Dvalin without you,his gaze seemed to say. The blonde hesitated, but gave an acknowledging nod before returning to her stoic form.

"As a result, not only did I not manage to help Dvalin break his curse, but instead, was also infected myself!" He gave them a wry look.

"That was ...me?" Lumine said awkwardly, resisting the urge to look away.

"Yes, it was you!" Venti huffed. "So to make up for it, Lumine, you're coming with me to the Cathedral!"

Jean gained a strained expression on her face, Diluc sighed, and Lumine took it all in unusually stiff stride.

Kaeya frowned at their reactions, then caught Venti's eye on accident. The bard was quick to look away, and it was enough for Kaeya to catch on. "Oh,"He said, all of a sudden dastardly gleeful.

"I see," Lisa caught on as well. Eula shared exasperated glances with Rosaria who rolled her eyes at a pinch-eyed Barbara, while the youngsters associated with Favonius followed these reactions like one would follow a fastball, heads rapidly turning with wide-eyed confusion and suspicion.

"The Mondstadt Cathedral? To do what exactly?" Paimon asked exasperatedly.

Venti smiled a mischievous, almost knowing smile that sent shivers down the two travelers' spines. "To claim a certain 'Holy Lyre der Himmel'".

Noelle caught on as well, suddenly straightening her back. "..Oh my!" She gasped. Venti the bard, who she slightly admired as a symbol of freedom and song, was somehow the last person she expected to have done That Deed that was still forbidden to mention within the Cathedral, but which she had awkwardly comforted a sobbing Barbara about for a few, several, too many hours. Over a few days.

"Oho, are we about to witness a crime?" Childe perked up, hitting the nail head on.

The three of them arrive at the steps of the Cathedral together.

Ganyu made a slow motion of covering her face.

"So this... 'Holy Lyre der Himmel' is..." Paimon trailed off.

"One of the most treasured items in Mondstadt. It's the lyre that Barbatos used to play." Venti replied. "With it, perhaps I can help Dvalin draw his gentle nature back out of this nightmare he's going through."

Zhongli could no longer handle it and openly sent Venti a disbelieving look.

"Will it really stop Stormterror from causing more damage?" Paimon said.

"Of course. I'm the best bard in the world." Venti declared, a confident smile on his face. "There's not a single song I do not know, no matter if it's from the past, present, or future."

Yun Jin, Kazuha, and Xinyan desperately wanted to comment on that, but were still half-caught in the dreadful anticipation of witnessing what was most certainly a theft about to happen.

"Look me in the eyes. Do you not find me trustworthy?"

"The color of your eyes is like the sky in my hometown." Lumine said seriously.

"What a beautiful place your home must be," Nilou laughed to lessen the tension. It didn't seem to work all that much.

"Hahaha, that one doesn't work on a bard." Venti's eyes sparkled with amusem*nt.

Paimon rolled her eyes at their antics. "So how can we get the Holy Lyre?"

"It's said that it's enshrined deep within the Cathedral, somewhere safe." Venti revealed.

Jean's head was already in her hands before anything even happened. Venti wished he could feel offended at her lack of trust in him, but to be honest it was fully deserved.

"I'll go take a look around. You can come if you want."

The three walk up the steps and stop around the entrance.

"Let me handle this." Venti said to the two, and the pair situate themselves a ways away as they watch Venti walk up to a sister standing by the doors.

A shiver ran up Barbara's spine.

"Hello there, Sister." Venti greeted cheerfully.

"May the Anemo God bless you, young bard. How can I help you?" Gotelinde greeted easily in return.

"Actually, I know a secret that can save Mondstadt from its current predicament." Venti claimed.

Gotelinde's eyes widened. "Oh, what a blessing from the God of Anemo!"

"But you should report that to the Knights of Favonius. Why have you come to me?"

"Hahaha, because you, dear sister, are able to help!" Venti grinned. "I'd like to borrow... the Holy Lyre. With it, I'll be able to help Stormterror–"

"Please see yourselves out." Gotelinde said immediately.

Silence. Then, a snort. Multiple chuckles followed afterwards. "Ah yes, excuse me ma'am, may I please borrow an ancient cultural artifact?" Heizou said, his tone so playful that it was almost serious in its overly dramatic manner. "What will I do with it? Oh, you know, simply to purge the current dragon problem that is plaguing our nation. I am but a simple bard of many talents, but you can trust me!"

"What?" Venti was taken aback at her sudden response.

"It's a vicious dragon indeed, but once the Acting Grand Master makes up her mind, nothing can stand in the Knights' way." Gotelinde said impiously, her eyes hard.

Barbara winced. Despite the ridiculousness of the situation, she couldn't forget the gung-ho way that Sister Gotelinde had proclaimed to them that the Knights of Favonius would surelypurgeStormterror once and for all, that Lord Barbatos himself would have approved of such a cruel manner to destroy the not-so-holy protector.

Venti gaped at her shamelessness in such a statement. "That's simply not acceptable. Wouldn't Stormterror end up getting killed that way?"

"That foolish beast betrayed the winds. Not even the God of Anemo themselves would forgive it!" Gotelinde declared, completely believing in her words as she gave the bard a passionate glare.

"...What?"

Any trace of lightheartedness that was caused by the sheer ridiculousness of Venti's plot disappeared.

Ganyu could only sit in her seat as memories of a worser time flashed in her mind.

(The slow descent to insanity of the Five Yaksha. Their violence and aggressiveness getting worse and worse, until it was no longer limited to battle. The countless fights between them and the other Adepti.

The atrocities they committed. The people and monsters alike they killed in their final rampages, the monstrosity that burst forth from their immortal coils and lashed out at everyone around them, and destroying themselves from the inside.

The people they killed.

The m̶̓͐ͅo̴̡̓͘n̴͉̐ṡ̸͕t̷͎̐͝e̴̺̓r̸̮̥̓̂s̶̛͘ͅ they became.)

Xiao-

("ThoseYakshaareM̴͎̾̑̇̚Ơ̸̭̌̋̈́̓̾̽͝Ņ̴̪̗͉͙̳̹̻̊͘͝S̶̡͕̲̖̳̮̹̍̒̈͆́͒͗͜T̶̯̙͈̳̽̅̏̐̎͝ͅE̶͇͊͂̀̏̀͘͜R̸͓̾̈́̄̉̉͝S̶̡̞̫̠̼̜̈͐͠ they should no longer be allowed in the holy lands of Liyue-"

"HELP! HELP PLEASE HELP THEY'RE COMING AFTER US-"

"L̷͇̦͖̩͙̭̓͊͗̽̍́͘͘͜͜Ȯ̸̝̈́̒͛̌̾̄͘R̷̢͇͖̺͍̂ͅD̷̡̢̦̹̹̳̗̠͌̅͆̅̌͑͗͒ ̴̛̛̬̟̳̣̜̒̂̍ͅͅẢ̴̻͓͔̮͓̩L̴̳͓̲̲͔̆͐̀͋̒̊̃̽͜Ȁ̵̮̾̿͐̄̓̽̒T̴̠͙̼̿̏̂̀Ṷ̴͂͐̄͂̆̑́̉͝S̵̺͕̫̪̦̥͎̓̎̈́́́̏ ̵̧̦̰̟̝̥̳̀́͗́̓̅̂̕P̴̦̰̂̏́L̴͇̄̈͋͗̒̈́̾̕Ā̵̗̙͙͔̊͜E̷̻̅̈́̈̚S̵̛̝͚͓͛̿̏̋̄̕͝Ẹ̵̛͌̑̈̃͊̒ ̵̡̢̹̳̦̤̬͚̗̐̃̈́̑̑̉̈́̓Ȟ̷̼͎ͅÉ̷̢̮̰̼̦̠̩L̴̺̠̯̀̇̈́̑̿͌͊͒P̶͓͓̮̥̺̪͈̓̌̑̈́̊̃̚͠ US PLEASE-"

Ä̴̛̛͎͍̱̦̻̹́̏̓͐͘l̴̦͔̃̈́͝͝a̴̩͇̠̠̠̠̞̱̩̬̼̱̿̾͌̈̆̃͘ͅt̶̛͚̬͔̻̮͐͒͂͗̒̕u̵͇͉̭̠̣̲̩̲̿̀̈́́̒̏̔̀̏̚͠ș̸̶̢̛̜͔̦͇̻̏͐̓̓̊͊̃̀́̊̚w̴̲̫̠̥͓̮̗͓̌̈́̉̂͗̎̾̐̅͌͠͠ͅͅh̴̳̣̺̆͗̌̅̽ě̸̢̡̫͇̘̠͌̋̂͒̈́̐̄͌̑͘͝ṛ̷̳̬̩͕̐e̸̡̨̬͔̺̗͖͖̟̓̚ ̵̛̛̗͕̒̂̈́̌͐á̸̫̟̯̥̮͔͓͔̝̓̀̏̃̍̏̈́̒r̷̨̠̬̣̤͋̓̍̀͜ȩ̵͚͖͔̤̰̺͕̖̮͒̈́̃̋͆̄͗̓̄͠ ̶̻̦͓̪͕͖͕̋̎̔̀̑̅̇͌̀̃͠ẙ̵̢̪̖̜̖͑̓̀̍̀o̵̞̞͕̜̖͙̺̅̌̌̌͗͐́͜ư̴͍͔̼͚̝̎͋̀̋ ̷̝̤̰͔͉̝̫͉͕͚͉̊̆̎̏͝I̵̢̛̱͉͖̬̱̣̭̐̈́́̿̽̐̑͗̒̊̚ņ̴̧̗̞̮̱̲̬̠̈́̾̍͛̀͋́̇̕͜͝d̶̥̩̹͔͇̮͋̑̑͠a̵̦̼̼̔̿̌̂͑r̸͕͔̭̹̤̈̾́͒̀͝ĭ̷̧̢̭̹̱̣̥͙̼͎̮̟̃̃̔͑̍͋͗̃͑͆͘͜a̵̮͔̝̣̩͆̒̓̐͋̌̈́̽̓̕͝ṣ̷̏͒̔̊̈́̆̕͝ ̸̢̗̳̯͕͔̮͕̰͙̹͍̈̈͊̔͌̅̌̐̅̈́h̷̩̩̭̙̟͎̼̘͑́̀̈́͒͋́̉͂͠a̵̲̥̱̬̩̓̐͑̂ͅs̶̨̟̊ ̴̦̻̞̱̾̓̉͊̀͒͘͝F̸̢͙͉͉̜̲̰̫̮̰̓̓͒̽̑͌̄̉̓̚̕À̴̞͇̾̽̉L̷͈̩͉̝͕̇́͛̔̄̓̕̚͠ͅL̴̨̰̺̲͕̮͎̩̂͋͋͊̓̽͌̈̈́̈́̇̇ͅȨ̶͎͖̝͚̖͈͕̮͓͔̗̩̀̐́ń̶͕͕̘̫͒̃̑͒̆̋ ̶̰̣̺̹̖̍́̈͊̈́̕ͅͅà̶̦̟͈̲̜̤͔̟̗̿L̴̨̛̝̤̜̞̘̳̠̬͎̉̈́̏͝Ḁ̸̰̲͚̃̓̎̓͋͊̃́͌̃͜͠ͅt̵͎̖͖̰͈̞͔͓̝̱̃̀̈̈́̈́̅̾͛̚͝U̶̡̫̥̞̣͖̺̦̱̒̈́̿̇̓̂̚͘s̴̛̩͙̹̜͖͓͈̝̏̓̅̀͠͠

A̸̢̦̣͔̠̭̰̥͇̯̖͈̯͇͔̙̒̄L̴̡̧̢̛̛̝̫͎̤̳͖̜̠͚͙̜̹̬͕̎͑̃͌͛̈́̋͆͐̈̀̀̍͝Ȁ̶̛̻̹͕̮͚̱͔̘͕̼͍̝̲̝̿̈́̅̅̽̌̔̓́͒̃́͘͝Ţ̷̧̗̗̤͍͖̺͖̟̱͍͙̹̠̓́͂͑̃̃͂͌̈̌̃̉̇͜Ṵ̴̦̦͉͋͌̉̆̋̇͑̿̀͝Ś̵͉̤̮̳̙̝̜̮͝

)

"Alatus,"

It is a familiar voice at his ear that grounds him. A warm hand wrapping around his shoulder, gripping firmly, familiar although gloved-

The scent of earth and sun.

Rex Lapis.

"It is alright, Alatus," his Lord murmurs, hands gently squeezing the Yaksha's shoulders. "You are safe. No one can hurt you here."

The child(he has always been a child next to him, the one person in his life he can always rely on-)takes a deep, shuddering breath. He keeps his eyes closed, despite the stares and the fear hanging in the air caused by his near-breakdown.

("Harm will not befall you in our abode," she says, voice gentle in a way he has never heard before. Soft and sweet in a way that gods should not be, have never been. If this is how gods are, then was he the source of the problem? "This is your home, Alatus. You are safe here."

"No one can hurt you here.")

Venti was taken aback, complete shock lining his features. "W-wow..." He gasped in disbelief.

"Please, I beg of you!"

"I'm afraid not, little bard." Gotelinde shook her head.

(Strange... Somehow I feel so bad rejecting this sweet child...) Gotelinde thought with a frown, her heartstrings tugging at the crestfallen expression on Venti's face.

Albedo tapped his pen against his cheek, writing it down.

On his notepad was what essentially a list of 'symptoms' the Mondstadtians collectively feel when Venti is... Venti'ing. Aptly titled "The Venti Condition" at the top.

"Then... I guess I'm left with no other choice." Venti sighed, his shoulders slumping. "I cannot hide anymore!" Lumine and Paimon watched with a dawning horror as Venti cleared his throat and put his hands on his hips, a brave smile on his face as he shamelessly declared, "My disciples, rejoice! Behold, the God of Anemo, Barbatos, has descended!"

The silence has not let up since Sister Gotelinde's damning words and the panic attack stopped literally a few seconds ago, but somehow it feels dead in a way that is different from the fear-inducing event that just transpired.

"...I-" Jean sighed and dragged her hand down her face. Honestly, what did she expect?

"...Is this a confirmation or a scam?" Eula muttered disbelievingly, loud enough for only the two nuns beside her to hear, causing the wine-haired killer to snort and the blonde idol to let out a whimper that sounded as if a squirrel was being strangled and poisoned to death at the same time.

"Shocked, aren't you? Don't you want to just cry out and rejoice? How does it feel to finally meet the god you've been serving?"

"If there's nothing else, I'll go back to handling the Cathedral's paperwork, now." Gotelinde responded without missing a beat, turning on her heel and going into the cathedral.

Venti startled. "Wait–" The doors slammed shut in his face.

Walking over to him with embarrassed looks on their faces, Lumine and Paimon stood at Venti's side, waiting for an explanation... or something of the sort.

Each and every single member of Ordo Favonius (and those associated with them in the present and past) looked rather...

Well, there was dead silence, blankly staring into space, faces being covered by hands, people trying to decide whether to laugh or to cry. Lumine especially looked tempted to break open the windows and toss Venti out from sheer second-hand embarrassment.

"Eh? She didn't even bat an eyelid." Contrary to his startled, deer-like manner from before, Venti seemed rather calm, with only a hint of surprise in his voice. "But, I have at least learned what I wanted to know."

"Now, Lumine, since you're the hotshot of the Knights of Favonius..."

"Maybe you can give it a shot."

Leaving behind Venti, Lumine and Paimon steel themselves and walk into the Cathedral.

"Lumine," Jean started.

"Iknow," Lumine groaned. Still, Jean shot her a disapproving look, though it was ruined by the twitch of her lips, showing her amusem*nt towards Lumine's despair.

The interior was as grand as the outside. The floors made pleasant sounds when walked upon, and even with no choir in sight, somewhere in the Cathedral seemed to play an elegant tune, highlighting the flawless beauty of the gods-blessed church. The light that filtered in from the top windows gave everything an unreal vision, hazy and gentle, like something from a dream.

Kaveh's eyeslitup. It had always been in his bucket list to plan a trip around Teyvat, exploring the lands for fun but primarily to gain inspiration for his next designs, to see architecture he had never even dreamed of, but he never had the time nor the funds to do so. In his life so far he had resigned himself to exploring every inch of Sumeru until he had run out of places to see and domains to discover (because holy gods domain architecture was sof*cking cool) until he could finally scrape up the money to visit a nation or two.

Here, he had the ability to witnesseverything! Sure, it would feel a lot different than seeing it for himself, and it was unlikely the Viewing would focus on the surroundings for long, but Kaveh still had the ability to imprint every small detail to his brain to ruminate on later.

(He completely ignored the fact that it was unlikely he would be unable to focus on the small details for most of the Viewing due to the emotional rollercoasters and shock of never-heard before information, but a man could dream. Or delude himself into thinking what he wants to do is what he is going to do.)

Admiring the grand Cathedral, the two barely noticed they were in front of Gotelinde until the Sister herself spoke up.

"Barbatos bless you." Gotelinde greeted, a gentle expression on her face, so unlike her ruthlessly passionate words regarding Dvalin that were delivered not even five minutes ago.

Xiao unconsciously scowled. Ganyu, who had also moved to comfort her fellow adeptus, gave him a hesitant pat on the knee, glancing at Zhongli for a moment.

Lumine nodded her head in greeting. "I am the Honorary Knight of Favonius, Lumine." She introduced.

Gotelinde's eyes lit up, and a more genuine smile spread across her face. "I know you. You and Amber saved Mondstadt that day."

"So what brings you here? Tasks from the Acting Grand Master?"

"Yes, actually. The Knights of Favonius would like to borrow the Holy Lyre..." Lumine said.

"Is that so?" Gotelinde frowned. "Not that I don't trust you. It's just that a suspicious bard came looking to borrow the lyre as well."

"He's full of nonsense and even called himself Barbatos. He must be up to something."

"There are regulations in place for the use of the Holy Lyre. Currently, it's only used in Ludi Harpastum." The sister explained. "Signed documents from the Grand Master, Seneschal, and Community Representative are all required."

"Who evenisthe Community Representative?" Lumine muttered. "And the Seneschal is on the expedition, right? So there was no way I could have gotten that even if I tried to acquire it legally."

Kaeya smiled amusedly. "Careful there, Traveler," he teased. "It almost sounds like you're... getting defensive."

Lumine immediately scowled at him.

"So, may I see the document from the Knights of Favonius?"

In the background, Paimon winced, panic slowly mounting as she flicked her eyes between Gotelinde and the window.

Lumine began to look through her bag, pausing and letting a furrow to her brow take place as she rifled through it. After a few moments, she sighed and looked up at Gotelinde with a pinch to her lips. "Paimon ate it on our way here."

"Hey!" Paimon shrieked.

"A signed document is required. Without it, there's not much I can do." Gotelinde said apologetically. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I really am quite busy as of late."

Lumine and Paimon leave the Cathedral and return to an awaiting Venti. They didn't have to say anything– Paimon's dejected expression and Lumine shaking her head was what clued him in.

"It didn't work... I knew it." Venti muttered.

Diluc sighed, deeply enough that even Venti flinched, shoulders rising to his ears.

"You 'knew it'?" Paimon echoed, her brow raising.

"I just wanted to know how influential Lumine – the hotshot of the Knights of Favonius – is." Venti explained. "You see, the best warrior should always be presented with the best sword, and yet here we are..."

"Does the story not make for a fitting ballad?" He mourned.

"So what are you trying to say? That we're not good enough?" Paimon glared, crossing her arms.

"No, that's not it. More of a commentary regarding Mondstadt's inability to see the warrior standing right before its very eyes." Venti said pliantly. "Very well. Looks like borrowing it is not going to be possible. We're simply going to have to steal it."

"Pray tell,whyis that the second option?" Diluc sighed. Then, to Lumine and Paimon, "You were just told that you needed signed documents to borrow it. Couldn't you have brought up to the bard that youshould try to check it over with the Acting Grandmaster first?"

"I forgot-"

"In the span of a minute?" Diluc interrupted. Then, he sighed again, shaking his head. "The first step is to exhaust all possible options." He added, "I'm not mad, just disappointed."

...Okay.Ouch. Somehow, that hurt a lot, coming from Diluc.

"Today we stand for free will! Any suggestions on just how we steal it?"

"Free will," Ningguang repeated, in a tone that suggested she had no idea how to react to this.

"..." Lumine was speechless.

"Come now, speak up. That's what free will is for," Venti teased, catching sight of her dumbfounded expression, a truly rare sight.

"Free will," Shenhe mused, in an ominous hum that suggested she was taking Venti's words too seriously.

"No," Yaoyao immediately denied her.

Lumine snapped back to herself and glared daggers at Venti, causing him to involuntarily shiver. "I don't want to steal anything!"

Venti shook his head. "Hahaha, look at you. Sidetracked from the start." He looked at her compellingly."But seriously, you're more suitable for the job than I."

"Aside from singing, I don't really have any other talents." He said. "Besides, if I was caught, I'd have no one to right the grave injustice of my arrest."

"A grave injustice in hell," Sara muttered scathingly under her breath. Heizou nearly choked on the water he was drinking.

"How can it be a 'grave injustice' if you got caught stealing red-handed?" Paimon said in annoyance.

"But things are different for Lumine. You are the superstar of the Knights of Favonius. You have made contributions to Mondstadt." Venti ignored her. "Should you get caught, you would easily be able to talk your way out of it."

"What kind of respectable authority-"

"The guards here, it seems they're off duty throughout the night." He said, glancing to the doors. Indeed, as they were engrossed in conversation, the knights stationed at the Cathedral had begun to leave, greeting the lingering sisters who also went to somewhere else.

"Off-duty? Shouldn't there always be a guard out for important places like these?" Ganyu asked, baffled.

Surprisingly, it was Rosaria who spoke up. "That might seem like it, but truth to be told, most thieves don't see anything worth stealing from the Church," she explained. "Most of the precious items inside are one-of-a-kind artifacts no one but extremely powerful people in high positions would dare to buy."

Like the Fatui, was left unsaid.

"And besides, there are guards inside the vault," she narrowed her eyes. "The Traveler was lucky enough that I wasn't there at the time... If I had gotten my hands on her, not even the Acting Grandmaster could have stopped me from punishing her."

Paimon shivered. "What a scary person..." She whimpered, diving into Lumine's lap. Her friend, completely unfazed, started stroking her hair without taking her eyes off the screen.

"If we manage to seize this opportunity, it should be smooth sailing from here."

"Stop mentioning us getting caught!" Paimon yelled.

A few quiet giggles.

"Lumine... What do you say?" Venti turned to the blonde.

"I'm sorry– Wait... Did you just say... you're Barbatos?" Lumine said, suddenly remembering Venti's little act from earlier.

Barbara winced, fingers twitching by her side at the reminder of the mind-boggling 'joke'.

Venti frowned at the sudden change in subject. "Ah, yes. Seems I did mention that..."

"Your point being?"

"If you really are a god, then we can't simply abandon you." Lumine said.

Venti sweatdropped. "Why does your decision hinge upon whether or not I am a god?"

"Because I'm looking for my brother," Lumine said firmly, to the clueless Venti on the screen, her friend who was not really her friend yet then, who only knew her otherworldly presence and the hard, hopeful look in her eyes.

"Paimon'll fill you in on Lumine's background story when we get the time..." Paimon whispered assuringly.

"Saying it like she's a main character whose background is needed to be known to all to understand the reason for her journey is a bit..."

"Character or not, it might as well be true," Alhaitham cut in. "With what is essentially her life being broadcasted to us and all."

"And if you're not a god, then I'll help Dvalin anyway." Lumine continued.

"Huh?" Venti sounded out.

Lumine turned away. "I don't want to see another separation."

"..."

Venti could only stare at her back as she walked away into the Cathedral.

Ventiducked his head, smiling bitterly at his hands. It stung to see someone who had truly become a dear friend to him quietly hurt, knowing that he could do something about it.

But just as Lumine was dear to him, Mondstadt was even dearer.

(He was a coward.)

The two easily reached the basem*nt without problem. Before they dove into the fray, Lumine took a pair of cloaks out of her bag– things she stitched using materials bought from Marjorie's store to use when it rained while Paimon and Lumine were adventuring, heavy and thick and with hoods long enough to hide their eyes. Lumine's was white, and she clipped it at the neck, making sure the majority of her outfit was hidden from view. Paimon's was also white, with a design of black constellations lining the back as a reference to her cape.

Sara ran her eyes over the revealed cloaks, taking in every detail. Just in case they try something when they inevitably come to Inazuma...

"Those cloaks are pretty," Thoma complimented. "You made them yourself, Miss Traveler?"

Lumine, in true Traveler fashion, hardly reacted to being spoken to by a complete stranger and simply nodded. Seeing as she wasn't going to elaborate, the housekeeper continued, "Do you think we could share some sewing tips over a drink someday?"

Her lips twitched. "Sure, why not," she shrugged, her monotone voice almost playful in its next words, "As long as you pay."

Thoma simply laughed.

Meanwhile, Heizou was looking in amusem*nt at the scene of Lumine and Paimon discreetly putting their cloaks on behind a pillar outside of the Cathedral. "Those cloaks may be inconspicuous, but there's not a lot you can do when the criminal profile is a young adult and a floating child."

"Hey!" Paimon protested, but couldn't find the words to refute. "Well... I.. Uh.. Ugh-uhm! Uh!! Paimon's not leaving Lumine's side, ever!" Was all she could get out, crossing her arms and turning away from Heizou huffily.

They easily darted down and went past the patrolling guards in a swift set of motion, reaching the vault...

With each guard that just so happened to brush their eyes over Lumine's (admittedly bare) shadow, Rosaria's eye twitched. She began to tap her clawed fingers on her thigh in a slow, rhythmic motion, causing Paimon to shiver instinctively despite being too far to see the nun's stewing irritation.

After finally getting past the throng of guards, Lumine and Paimon snuck to the pedestal wherein the Holy Lyre was sat, hands reaching for it, fingers just brushing against the surface–

–when it was snatched by a figure in purple. The masked lady twisted her hand and hid the Holy Lyre behind her back, giving the pair a wicked smirk. "Huh-!"

"Wh-"

"Fatui!?There???"

"Since when are the Fatuinotthere???"

"...Well-"

Childe was looking on this entire situation with mild amusem*nt, munching on rabbit apple slices (that he sliced himself and carved into semi-realistic mini rabbits due to sheer boredom). Though the Viewing was certainly interesting and gave him a lot of insight, it didn't have quite enough battle scenes; he had to take all the joy he could get.

"Who're you!?" Paimon gasped, voice far louder than she meant for it to be. Then she covered her mouth with a wince.

The masked woman simply put a finger to her smiling lips, making an elegant 'shush' motion, while Lumine lunged after her. With naught but a sound, the masked woman disappeared in a crackle of electro, leaving Lumine to slide across the floor as her mind rapidly processed what just happened.

As the blonde stood, looking around in bewilderment, Paimon stated the obvious yet still being processed– "She... disappeared!"

Lumine gasped as footsteps clacked across the tiles. "Freeze!" A Knight snapped, laying his eyes upon their thankfully-disguised forms. "What are you doing here?"

"Toolate," Rosaria grumbled under her breath, eyes getting dangerously sharp as she recognized the face of the Knight on the screen. Looks like she would have to schedule a fewprivatelessons with... the entire vault guardstaff.

Seriously, what use were these so-called trained guards if they couldn't immediately recognize a different presence in their midst?

"Oh no, RUN!" Without hesitance, the two dashed across the room, ducking under the caught off-guard Knight's arm and making a dash for the stairs, ignoring the cacophony of alarmed yells behind them and the ominous sound of Knights rushing to subdue them. They took the elevator back up, and as soon as they arrived they wasted no time in practically flying to the Cathedral doors, bashing them open amidst gasps of Sisters.

Their bard, lounging on the terrace, snapped his head to them, locking eyes with Lumine for but a moment before he got to his feet and jumped off, summoning a barrage of winds as he went. In the three seconds it took for Lumine to reach the railing and hoist herself up to jump, arms spread, the unshaped winds transformed into a flurry that assisted the Traveler to glide swiftly above the plaza and circle around the Statue of Barbatos, the yells of the Knights behind her covered by the sharp whistling air.

Sucrose's writing hand faltered as she began to gape at the sight before her. She was far from the only one- almost every Anemo user in the room stopped to stare. Elemental fast-travel was one thing- any Vision user could do such a thing if they trained religiously for a long enough time while gaining experience on the field. But to move the elements in such a powerful way, and to do so within the span of seconds...

("I have not been back in awhile, it seems there are a few who areunhappywith my arrival.")

"S-summoning wind currents that shape themselves into something tangible...?" She muttered to herself, pupils trembling. Suddenly, she snapped her head in Venti's direction. Her own social anxiety couldn't stop her from calling for him, "Mr. Venti, I have a favor to ask-" -though the Viewing certainly did when the sound of the winds picked up in proper measure of the chase's fast approaching climax.

As Lumine swept her eyes over the grounds before her, she spotted a flash of green darting into the lowest part of the city, waving up at her. Lumine quickly summoned a burst of her own Anemo to tumble quickly down and skid across the pavement, running past the startled man standing by the door outside as she slammed into the tavern alongside her two companions.

"I would appreciate if none of you pulled that kind of thing in my establishment again," Diluc crossed his arms as the people the words were directed to stilled at the sound of his slow drawl. "You may do so in my Dawn Winery all you want, but public customers aren't exactly equipped for your brand of chaos."

"But those customers sure are nowadays, aren't they, Master Diluc?" Lisa laughed gently.

Diluc scowled at the reminder of the Traveler's incessant habit of stomping her boots all over the roofs of Mondstadt's buildings.

[A minute before their arrival...]

"Oh?" Zhongli rose a brow at this new development of captioned scene.

Inside the tavern called 'Angel's Share', two men stood by the bar.

"Master Diluc, this is this week's accounts." The bartender, Charles, presented the red-head in expensive clothes a clipboard, which he took and examined.

"I see, so this is where..." Jean muttered to herself, before pausing. She glanced at Lisa's curious eyes at her interrupted sentence and Kaeya's half-listening ear, and then shook her head. "Never mind. It seems that this is Master Diluc's 'official' introduction."

Kaeya nearly smirked at the thought of the scene in the previous episode wherein Diluc appeared out of nowhere, claymores a-blazing, and how he seemingly was never talked of after said scene. "Took him long enough." He hummed, just to be a little spiteful (playfully, of course.)

Diluc simply sighed.

"Hmm... The disaster has greatly affected business." The Master of the tavern, Diluc, murmured.

"Huh? I thought it was booming since the situation was so stressful," Amber said in surprise.

Diluc rubbed his forehead at the reminder of the disastrous months of Stormterror's terrorism. "In a way, it certainly did," he said, almost tiredly. Fortunately, he continued to elaborate, "..It's just that it boomed so greatly that regulars didn't have enough money to support themselves, their family,andtheir alcoholism, in Angel's Share."

"Not to mention the bar fights," he said under his breath, loud enough only for himself to hear.

Diona let out a 'hmph', too, at the whole wine business thing. Cat's Tail, of course, had gotten a lot more customers over those past few months, especially when aforementioned drunkard regulars could no longer afford the Angel's Share's directly-sourced alcohol from Teyvat's biggest winery, and thus retreated to cheaper and untraditional yet nonetheless tastier methods. In a way, it both boosted and hurt her pride at the same time. Why did she have to be the second option!?

Wait,why the hellwas she getting upset about gaining money through alcohol?

The cat girl nearly cursed at herself. Don't let the stresses and joys of competition affect you, kitty!

"Well, let's hope it all ends soon." Charles sighed in response.

The doors creaked open and in came a rather eye-catching trio, cheeks flushed and panting from exertion.

"Hi, we'd like a seat at your, uhh... least conspicuous table." Venti gave a charming smile.

"Well, that's not suspicious at all." Keqing remarked.

"Umm... The second floor has fewer customers. You'd be less conspicuous up there." Diluc replied hesitantly. "But aren't you a bard? Why not sit front and center?"

"Hahaha, let's save the paid performance for next time. We'll be heading up now, see you in a bit!" Venti waved his hand, before rushing up the stairs with his companions in tow.

The two watched the trio rush up past.

Diluc leaned in to talk in his subordinate's ear. "Hey, keep an eye on them. There's something strange about that bard. I'll go ask around."

"Ask who exactly?" Charles rose a brow.

"The 'protectors' of Mondstadt..." Diluc muttered. Just as he said this, a pair of Knights came in.

Childe perked up a bit after hearing the rather unsubtle implied air quotes. Ooh, drama.

...Though every Fatuus and their mothers were already in on the fact that Snezhnaya's fearsome urban legend, Firebrand, disliked the Ordo Favonius with a passion almost half as bright as his ridiculous hair.

"Ah, Master Diluc. Have you seen two thieves around?" Otto questioned as casually as possible, as though they clearly weren't on chase-and-arrest duty.

Diluc rose a brow. "What happened? Why have you mobilized so many guards?"

"Haven't you heard, Master Diluc? Two thieves were trying to steal the Holy Lyre!" Miles said, aghast clear in his voice.

"How would he have heard if it happened literally only a few minutes ago?" Tighnari retorted to no one in particular.

"Maybe he's referring to the suspiciously loud winds outside and the, what I assume were rather obvious noises of soldiers being mobilized outside," Candace replied to the mostly-rhetoric question.

"...The Angel's Share has soundproofing due to how loud it can get at times. Don't really want to add outdoor noises to that." Diluc said.

"But won't that interfere if an emergency happens outside?"

"If an emergency happens," Diluc repeated dryly. "Knights would be busting through the doors to evacuate everyone out." One of the Ordo Favonius' few redeeming qualities was the speed and efficiency they took to get civilians to safety.

"...That makes sense."

"Oh? How odd." Diluc said.

Miles nodded fervently. "Isn't it? The Holy Lyre is a treasure that was played by the Anemo Archon themselves. Such a precious piece of cultural heritage–"

"Why would one want to steal something they can't sell off? Would pay better to steal from my cellars..." Diluc mused.

"Oh~? Is that an invitation I hear, Master Diluc?" Venti hummed mischievously.

Diluc shot him a dead look. "Rather than selling it off, whatever you'd steal would just go straight down your gullet."

"Hehe! You know me too well."

Rather than knowing him well, isn't it that Venti is too predictable? Lumine thought.

"Huh?" Otto couldn't believe his ears.

"Sorry, off-topic. Believe they headed that way." Diluc left the bar and leaned out the entrance, pointing to the west.

"Understood. Thank you, Master Diluc!" Miles bowed his head, and the two Knights came rushing out where they came.

Sara had an unimpressed look on her face. From what she thought was a respectable, righteous man of the law to this. Then, she shook her head at herself, sighing at how she had become a hypocrite.

It wasn't as if she wasn't guilty of hiding fugitives herself, after all.

A few moments later, the suspicious trio went down.

"Today, I think I'll have a glass of..." Venti started, leaning against the bar counter casually.

"You can put that bottle you stole from behind the counter." Diluc interrupted coolly.

"...something cold." Venti finished.

"Shameless," Beidou said delightedly.

"Shameless," Ningguang said, in a tone that suggested she was far from delighted. The two shared a look.

"...I've already paid my full tab and given apology funds for that one bar, A-Guang. Don't look at me like that."

"Right. I want answers." Diluc crossed his arms and regarded them all with a Look.

Venti smiled placatingly. "Lemme finish my drink first? I'll pay you – well, with a performance."

"It's not about money. You seem too young to be drinking." The redhead countered.

Venti shook his head. "No need to worry. When I started drinking, you were still – "

"How about answering my question first?" Lumine butted in before Venti could out himself, an emotionless expression righted on her face once more.

...

That about confirmed it for everyone who harbored the right suspicions.

Eula slowly buried her face into her hands.

Venti blinked before catching on. "Oh, you wanna ask 'Who's this?' Am I right?"

"He is Master Diluc, the boss of... ah, the owner of this tavern."

"He's very famous. By the way, his dandelion wine is one of my favorites." He revealed. "Though most of the time I can only afford a bottle or two..."

"It's telling enough that you can afford a bottle at all,since you're a bard and all, Mr. Venti," Dori muttered, distinctly remembering the exact prices of every single product from the Dawn Winery.

"Hehe!" Venti preened at the compliment.

"I just heard about some thieves from the guards." Diluc interrupted. "For the record, I like your guts for trying to steal the Holy Lyre der Himmel."

"Even if you are fools... but we don't often get to see people like you."

"Though we see them in the Adventurer's Guild every day," Mona said with a roll of her eyes.

"...Perhaps. Though rarely any of them live up to their bark."

"It wasn't us that stole it! The real thief is still out there!" Paimon insisted.

"You did try to steal it, though," Thoma hummed. "You would have gotten it, too, hadn't that Fatuus snatch it away right in front of your eyes."

"Sh-shut up! It's the principle of the thing!" The fairy threw back.

"This is the hotshot of the Knights of Favonius. Why would someone so aspiring steal Mondstadt's sacred treasure?" Venti said almost teasingly, making Lumine's eye twitch imperceptibly.

"Hotshot...? Oh, so it's you." Diluc mused. "So, you and the bard are close friends?"

"What a cold reaction to my humble act of saving lives," Lumine said monotonously. "Why, I must say, Master Diluc, that it really hurts my young heart. It can only be healed by a free bottle of wine."

"I invited you over already, didn't I?"

"I'm assuming that includes me~?"

"Absolutely not, you drunken bard. I will not have youinsidemy main workplace, where respectable people work."

"Ouch! You're really breaking a guy's heart, Master Diluc!"

"Then die." Diluc finished heartlessly.

"We're not close, actually." The Traveler said coldly.

Double ouch.

Before Venti could even say anything, Lumine threw in her fastball and said, "Close your mouth."

He did so obediently.

"Well... Despite only being a passing traveler, you still offered your help to Mondstadt in its time of need." Diluc hummed. "A shame you joined the Knights."

"The Knights of Favonius... Inefficient right from beginning to end." He sighed. "And towards the Fatui? Weak and conservative."

When he saw Paimon begin to open her mouth, he said, "Forget it. I don't feel like talking about it." Her mouth snapped shut.

"But you literally just talked about it, Sir Diluc..."

"Bennett,shhh!"

"Seems you don't really like the Knights of Favonius." Venti noted.

"Just differences in approach is all." Diluc replied. "I have my own hopes for this city."

"Now, answers. Why did you steal the Holy Lyre?"

Venti smiled mysteriously. "You sure you want to know? It could implicate you in the affairs of the Knights of Favonius."

"That's fine. I somehow always end up implicated in their affairs." Diluc said, almost bitterly.

"Well, that's just what happens when a single city hastwoprotectors," Kaeya remarked, near-sardonically.

"Two...?" Kokomi wanted to ask, but judging by Kaeya's tone and the topic at hand that seemed to be a rather old story, she decided not to. For now.

"If I tell you the story with a performance, will you believe me?" Venti asked.

"It depends. I'll make my own judgement." Diluc replied.

"Then will I get paid?" Venti returned.

"Your reward will range from anywhere between five Mora and the Holy Lyre. It all depends on your story." Diluc put in.

"Very well. Let me put on a show."

Venti plays the song about Dvalin he performed in the plaza.

Xiao closed his eyes and did his best not to think deeply about the lyrics, taking in the Anemo Archon's soothing voice instead.

"What did I just witness..." Diluc rubbed a hand to his forehead as if having a headache. "This is confidential information. Why did you let me know?" He examined Venti with narrowed eyes, all traces of humor (if there had been any before) gone.

"Why? Hmm... Perhaps the winds are changing." Venti smiled secretively. As if on cue, a strong breeze rattled outside, making the windows shake. Lumine spared them a glance, frowning.

Sara's fists clenched at her sides. She knew better than anyone in the entire military just how true that was... even if she didn't want to admit to herself most of the time.

Without having to look, she knew that Sangonomiya Kokomi was sitting as graceful and doll-like as ever, with her pure face devoid of anything that might give way to her true emotions, her mind a well-oiled machine of cogs constantly moving to keep up with her thoughts.

Perhaps the winds are changing.

Ayaka thinks solemnly of the former Vision users whose dreams and entire ambitions were stripped away from them for a bid to some unknown element above.

Ayato thinks of his sister, and what expression would be on her face if they lost the war.

His finger tapped on his thigh once, gaze locked onto the mysterious bard's secretive smile.

He would not let the rebellion fall to nothing but pieces of dust crushed under the Shogun's shoe.

"What say you, Master Diluc?"

The redheaded Vision user pursed his lips, thinking. "...Interesting."

"Give me some time. I'll organize some contacts." He turned to Lumine and Paimon. "Outlander, as one of the Knights, it seems you're not a suspect."

"Blonde is the only description on the wanted poster," he nodded towards Lumine's hood that had flown off when she was wind gliding to safety. Fortunately, she took off her hair accessory and tied it up beforehand. "you should be safe."

"Somehow, everyone missed the flying kid with white hair," Dehya said.

"As for the bard, however, it'd be better if you stayed in the tavern."

"Haha. No problem! I like taverns." Venti laughed.

"..." Diluc sighed through his nose.

Suddenly, Diona felt a wave of unwanted sympathy. Shameless freeloading drunkards like the weird bard really were the worst.

She was just glad that this particular weird drunkard had an allergy to cats, as stupid as that was.Did anyone ever have an allergy to humans? She thought sarcastically.

"Okay. Let's meet here tonight after the tavern closes."

Paimon and Lumine change back into their usual and leave the tavern, holing themselves up in their room at the inn that was paid for by the Knights until it hit midnight. As soon as the clock struck, the two left the inn and headed back to the tavern.

"You're here." Venti smiled at Lumine and Paimon, waving cheerfully.

"Wait, you're... Lumine?"

Perhaps the person they had least expected to see was standing right in front of them, crystal blue eyes wide, dressed in casual clothing that looked terribly out of place with the image that they had reinforced in mind of her.

Lisa hummed. "So this is what you were up to that night... And the following days after." When the ever-diligent Acting Grand Master who refused to take a break suddenly left her duties for an entire two days to Kaeya and went off to Barbatos-knows-where while lying that she really was taking a break this time, by breathing in the fresh air outside the city.

...Well, Barbatos certainly knew.

And she was certainly breathing fresh air. All of that, true... except for taking a break.

"Why is the Acting Grand Master here?" Lumine demanded.

Diluc rose a brow. "Well, first of all, I contacted more than one person."

"Secondly, she came here as 'Jean' herself, not the Acting Grand Master." He said in a sort of voice that was somehow reprimanding, making Paimon cringe from memories of Lumine using the same tone whenever she ate up their entire food supply. "A Jean you would never see, even as an Honorary Knight."

"Oh?" Xingqiu muttered to himself, subconsciously turning his head to them.

With a firm hand, Chongyun turned his friend's head back to its original position.

"What a surprise." Jean said, her brow raised at Lumine, though her lips were twitched into an amused smile. "I heard about the Holy Lyre, but I never suspected it was you."

"Who would have thought the newly-knighted hero was one to get into trouble like this, indeed," Ningguang smirked.

Lumine instinctively straightened, about to defend herself, before pausing and deciding it wasn't worth it.

"So, the sound of the Holy Lyre can purify Stormterror and return it to normal... Is that true?" The taller blonde turned to Venti for confirmation.

"That's right! Lumine is putting themselves on the front line to try and resolve this Stormterror issue." Venti nodded, and Lumine's eye twitched as he used her as his scapegoat. "Now that's the hotshot of the Knights of Favonius I'm talking about."

"Feels like we're breaking the law though..." Paimon murmured.

"When did you get that feeling? Perhaps when you broke into a guarded vault in an attempt to steal a cultural artifact?" Faruzan said wryly.

"Hey! That's not what Paimon meant!!"

"I understand this kind of absurd explanation is hard to believe." Diluc started, and though he wasn't looking at Jean it was clear he was talking about her. "But, we can ask the bard to play the song again and try to persuade–"

"I believe you." Jean said.

"To persuade our stubborn command– Wait, what?" Diluc stilled, then turned bewildered eyes to the unwavering woman.

Lisa's eyes turned up into crescents, showing her amusem*nt though she kept herself tight-lipped.

"I can't think of any reason for Dvalin's betrayal, given it was once one of The Four Winds." Jean explained her trust. "However, if it was poisoned in the battle over Mondstadt all those years ago..."

Nilou's face turned melancholic. As one of the believers of Lesser Lord Kusanali, she loved Her like any follower should- but even she couldn't help but daydream about what it was like to believe in a divinity so much that she would wholeheartedly trust in their intentions, no matter what the actions were.

...Still, for as long as she could, she would believe in their Dendro Archon. Whatever She may be doing now... Wherever she was now.

For she knew that even the untouchable craved love.

"And then corrupted by the Abyss Mage after it woke up – we can't really blame it." Jean frowned, a saddened look in her eyes. "But as Acting Grand Master I obviously cannot make such a statement publicly."

"Diplomatic pressure from the Fatui makes it hard for us to seek a peaceful resolution to the Stormterror issue."

"People would think I've lost grip on the gravity of the situation. That's why I can only do this in private."

Ningguang nodded approvingly, pleased that she found someone as rational-minded as one should be in a position of power. She had neverbelievedthe nasty opinions most of the Liyuen population had about their neighboring nation, but even she could fall into conformity.

She had thought that perhaps the head of Mondstadt's security was as free-spirited as its citizens, that though her hand was steady her mind was free from care.

She had thought wrong.

Perhaps it was finally time to have a proper conversation with Mondstadt's protectors, rather than just delegating it to the other members of the Qixing simply because she was much too busy with Liyue's affairs.

She caught Keqing's eye, and the younger woman gave her a slight smile.

"Hmph." Diluc's eyes were dark, though surprise still lingered on his face. "That's one of the reasons I don't like the Knights of Favonius."

Then, he muttered, "What surprises me is that you would believe an outlander so easily..."

"My cautious and meticulous superior, evenyoutrust her. Don't you, sir?" Jean rose a brow as if challenging him.

...

Huh?

A scowl had begun to form on his face as soon as she said the word 'superior'. "I already told you not to call me sir... Never mind. We don't often get to work together, after all."

...?????

"What does that mean???"Xingqiu was even more invested, and Chongyun had to physically hold him by the neck to keep from gazing at the suddenly silent Acting Grand Master and business tycoon.

Meanwhile, Noelle was blinking rapidly, eyes shining as the misunderstanding thought by majority in the room completely sailed over her head, forming a different misunderstanding in her mind. She knew that the redhead gentleman had had a flawless track record and highly respectable reputation back when he had been Cavalry Captain, but she had no idea that years after he left the Order the Acting Grand Master respected him to the extent that she still thought of him as her superior!

Lumine pretended not to have heard anything, staring straight into the wall behind the pair before her.

"..."

...

Diluc closed his eyes, sighing through his nose. "It's far from what you people think," he said tiredly. "I... used to be part of the Ordo Favonius. Back then, I had been the Acting Grand Master's superior officer at the time before I left. That's all."

Jean coughed into her fist, looking embarrassed at the rather potent misunderstanding that she just now realized had never quite been cleared up with the others shown onscreen. "Yes, what Di- Master Diluc says is right," she agreed.

Everyone politely agrees, and the matter is closed. There are secretive and dangerous things to learn about a person, and then there are embarrassing things, whether or not those embarrassing things are actually true.

"Wow! Um... This is really awkward..." Paimon coughed.

"I have a rough idea of where the Holy Lyre der Himmel is." Jean said quickly, jumping at the opportunity to push behind her misspoken words.

(Nice recovery! She's really talented at changing the subject...) Venti thought.

All part of being involved in politics, Ningguang thought.

"The conflict between Mondstadt and Snezhnaya stems from the conflict between the seven nations and their respective gods." Jean explained. "The Cryo God's Fatui seem to be after the Anemo God's power."

The room became solemn once more, as it was wont to do more and more often.

"..." For a brief moment, an unreadable expression flashed on the bard's face.

So it is true,Eula thought, pursing her lips. During the Stormterror situation, Eula and her reconnaissance team had been sent to the wilderness to investigate the leylines as well as check up on the unprotected villages around the nation, and thus she only knew the general rundown of everything that happened at the city when she was gone. Never anything personal such as this.

And now that she thinks about it...

Why did the Fair Lady rescind most of her troops from Mondstadt after the Stormterror situation settled?

Thishadn't been a question she asked because she, like everyone else in the general population and most of the ranks in the Ordo Favonius, simply believed that the Harbinger no longer found a reason to have so many of her people in the city now that their excuse for pressuring Mondstadt was gone.

In a way, it was probably true, but seeing all of this now, she couldn't help but think if there was a deeper reason as to why.

"So they want to kill Dvalin?" Lumine clarified.

"Right." Jean nodded. "If the Knights of Favonius publicly prevented an attempt on Dvalin's head, then..."

"The only other way to affect the Anemo God's power is to take the Holy Lyre."

"The number of Fatui that have come to Mondstadt is far from limited." Diluc commented, his eyes darkening ever so slightly. "I've already managed to... coerce a few reports out of them."

For some reason, the look in the usually kind and accommodating "Red Fruit Man" that he knew, made the hairs on Razor's arms stand up, his teeth baring intimidatingly. The only reason he could hold back a snarl was the feeling of Bennett's overwhelming yet relaxing body heat at his side, Fischl's concerned murmuring at his ear, and Oz's comforting weight on his shoulder.

"Oh?" Yelan muttered to herself. She hadn't known that the man considered to be the wealthiest in the world outside of the Fatui was that type of person.

Wasn't it that he had a terrible hatred for the aforementioned organization?

How interesting...

"Diluc has determined that the Holy Lyre is not being held in the Goth Grand Hotel." Jean cut in, and the look in Diluc's eyes was gone as quick as it came, his face returning to its default indifference."I imagine they don't want to leave something stolen in a place where it can be so easily found."

"Paimon gets it. If too much of a scene gets made then it becomes a big diplomatic issue." Paimon nodded.

"Hmph, such is the diplomacy between the seven nations." Diluc said.

Lumine was pretty sure that was how diplomacy worked everywhere, but she digressed.

When the conversation is finished, everyone decides to take a break. After half an hour or so of preparation, Lumine approaches Diluc, a determined look in her hardened eyes.

"Outlander, ready to go?" Diluc greets, a similar expression in his own red irises.

Lumine nods. "Let's go!"

They set off into the night.

The travel to the Fatui hideout doesn't take a long time– they soon find it nestled beneath a small cliff, thanks to the use of Elemental Sight and other non-magical means of investigation.

"I'm quite surprised that the Fatui of all people have not invented a way to hide their tracks from Elemental Sight," Zhongli said off-handedly to Childe, whose smile stiffened the moment he realized Zhongli was addressing him.

Still, the Harbinger spoke as if nothing was bothering him, "Well, even if an expedition fails, we always have plenty of back-up plans," he said smilingly. Though his words were partially true, the full reason was that anything truly worth hiding (something perhaps like the summoning ritual of an ancient god or the creation of a mecha-machine unlike the world has ever seen) was headed by people who actually knew how to hide it. Y'know, like a Harbinger.

Hearing his words, Diluc violently twitched.

Venti strikes up a conversation as Diluc, Lumine and Paimon prepare to enter the hideout.

"Huh, you and Venti didn't go with?" Amber asked in surprise.

"It just seemed unnecessary at the time," Jean explained. "Master Diluc is more than capable of handling a Fatui hideout on his own. The problem lay in retrieving the Holy Lyre without damaging it in a potential scuffle- thus, Lumine and Paimon were sent with. No one got injured, so I believe it was a sound decision."

Cyno narrowed his eyes. A man capable of handling a Fatui hideout on his own?

It seems like there was more to the baby-faced business tycoon than met the eye.

"Jean just said the Fatui are trying to take Dvalin's power for the Cryo God..." he muses. "I fear this might fall short of their true intentions."

"I think they intend to use Barbatos' connection to the wind to draw him out." He traced his fingers against the walls of the cave entrance, pulling away with dirt coating his fingertips. "Just like Lisa traced the source of the storm to the temples."

"What an apt conclusion," Kokomi hummed, lightly tapping her fingers on her thigh. She didn't need to wonder why and how Venti seemed to justknowall of that. Even if he wasn't who she thought he was, everyone had things they did in the dark- and it wouldn't be too out of place if a mysterious bard was someone who actually collected information on the most powerful people in Teyvat.

"The God of Anemo?" Diluc rose his brows. "...Hasn't been seen for more than a thousand years. What makes you think that's their intention?"

Once again, Nilou couldn't help ruminate on the differences between Mondstadt's divine protectors and Sumeru's own. Lesser Lord Kusanali, who has never been seen or heard from since she came to existence 500 years ago, whose followers could be counted in the dozens. How the whole nation was hung up on their dead gods, when everyone else beyond their sandy deserts and lush rainforests had long moved on from their own.

She knew that the circ*mstances of her god and Mondstadt's own were vastly different, with one being that the Anemo Archon was the first and only of His title, while their Greater Lord Rukkhadevata had been the one who first nurtured Sumeru into becoming the nation it was today. And yet...

The people of Sumeru worshipped Greator Lord Rukkhadevata to this day, despite Her death. The people of Mondstadt adored Lord Barbatos even after a thousand years had passed since His last appearance.

What about the 500-year old ̶g̶i̶r̶l̶ deity that was neglected and forgotten?

"Oh... Ah..." Venti seemed to realize too late that his companions were no longer just Lumine and Paimon. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking away.

"..." Diluc sighed through his nose. "...Forget it. I don't like having to pry," he quickly changed the subject. "Lumine, here. Take this." He handed over a small black cloth.

Diluc felt much like his counterpart. It seemed to be a miracle that Venti had gone undetected for so long, if he so carelessly spilled his secrets like this with anyone he got comfortable with.

"What is it?" Paimon asked as Lumine unfolded it, revealing a black eyemask that, when put on, gave the illusion of the eyes being completely white.

"A disguise, to protect your identity. Put it on before you run into the Fatui," Diluc instructed, putting one on himself and adjusting it as he spoke. "Unfortunately, they are still one of Mondstadt's allies. At least that's the facade we're maintaining..."

"Our actions are going to get them stirred up. Better not implicate yourself on a personal level." With that, he pulled up the hood of his cloak, hiding the shock of red hair from sight.

Seeing this, Lumine and Paimon did the same. Within a few minutes, the three were ready, and Jean and Venti sent them off.

After a long few minutes, they saw an unmistakable cloak lined with red and a plain black mask worn by a foreigner– a Fatuus standing guard.Let me handle this,Lumine mouthed to the others. She took off without waiting for their response, coming out of the shadows as if to casually approach the Fatuus. As expected, the guard sensed her almost immediately– but his reaction wasn't quite expected.

...For some reason, Childe had a bad feeling about this.

"No, NO! DON'T EAT ME– AH!" The Fatui guard screeched, pushing his body away and blocking his face with his arms. "Ah.. Ah..? You're... You're human?"

...

Childe's smile didn't twitch, even as snickers rose in the back. He was a trained Harbinger, a man who had to deal with drama at the dinner table every month because the Tsaritsa deemed monthly dinners with the Harbingers, tea parties at the Zapolyarny Palace that ended in scorched gardens and tables splintered to ash, dozens of paperwork each day, the entirety of the Harbingers' "friendly" bullying and badgering- he could take a little humiliation.

Their people weren't called'The Fools' for nothing, after all.

In the shadows, Diluc internally sighed.

If she was affected, Lumine didn't let it show on her face. "We have come for your life." Lumine said coldly, raising her chin to heighten the air of haughtiness about her– it wasn't hard, really. With her ethereal beauty, she could be as sweet and warm or as cold and dark as she wanted to be, with hardly any effort.

"Praising yourself, huh," Paimon deadpanned.

Lumine simply rose her chin in response.

Privately, everyone could agree that the Traveler's self-description was quite true.

"Ahh, ahh, ah!!" Fatui Guard screamed."No, don't! I have valuable information! I'll tell you!"

"We hid the Holy Lyre in the depths of these ruins."

"The place it's being kept is locked up tight. If you're after the key, keep going further into the ruins, but d-don't come after me!"

"I don't know which one of the guards has it, but I'm sure you can find the guards and find out for yourselves."

"That was... rather easy," Yun Jin commented, being careful not to look in Childe's direction.

Rosaria sniffed. "You'd be surprised howeasyit is for fear to take over rational mind."

"That trashbag in particular probably had no guts to begin with."

"This guy looks like he's about to wet himself..." Paimon noted.

The Fatui Guard glared at her, having heard that- though he was about as intimidating as a sopping wet kitten. "Y-You just worry about yourselves!"

"One of the Harbingers is already in Mondstadt." He hissed."Signora. Once she gets her hands on you she's going to string you up and torture you. When that time comes, don't you dare say a word about me."

"He's hardly in a place to negotiate," Cyno said, unimpressed.

The Fatui Guard then refused to say another word, backing away like a cornered animal, shivering and trembling underneath Lumine's sharp gaze, keeping his own eyes trained on her every movement like any animal trying desperately to stay alive when near death.

Diona's eyes gleamed, thinking back to when she would hunt mice as a small kitten back at Springvale- even now, the memory of their terrified squeaking getting slowly and slowly more inaudible as she bit down on their tiny bodies sent a shiver of glee up her spine.

"That's pretty accurate," she whispered.

The group go further into the hideout, scouring it for the key.

"Did he say Signora? What a strange name..." Paimon wondered.

"No. 8 of the Eleven Harbingers. Goes by the name Signora," Diluc said. Something cold had crept into his voice. "The fact the Fatui can run amok the seven nations like they do is entirely because of the Eleven Harbingers."

Clenching her small fists together, Nahida bowed her head nervously. There was certain information such as this that she had not a single idea of. The barest of data regarding the Fatui organization had only been gathered through bits and pieces of the conversations that Nahida had overheard the Sages have occasionally, and had slowly begun to grow throughout this Viewing. From what she has seen so far, the general opinion on them weren't positive overall. Even the Sages had complained about them, which was why the Fatui existed as a small section in her brain in the first place.

But the more specific details, even if they were considered basic, like the titles and positions of the Fatui Harbingers, the ranks that existed within the organization, their overall goal revealed to the public and what was suspected to go on behind closed doors... Nahida knew nothing of this.

Regarding this seemingly big player in an even bigger game she had just recently learned she was apart of, the God of Wisdom felt helplessly clueless- a mere cricket lost in the skylights of leaves and trees.

If she could ask someone...

She took a peek at ̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶s̶u̶b̶j̶e̶c̶t̶ a certain scholar from her nation.

Would he be frustrated at her for asking questions of such common knowledge?

"We need to act quickly before she gets wind of what's going on."

They encounter more Fatui Guards as they go deeper into the ruins.

"W-Who are you? How'd you get in here!?" The Fatui Guard screeched as he caught sight of Lumine's golden hair.

"Why's he acting so surprised? The entrance wasn't exactly well-guarded," Beidou snorted.

Kazuha's lips quirked up. "To correct you on that, Beidou-san, the entrancewas notguarded."

"I couldn't care less about your prissy grammar, but ha! You really think they'd have better security if they're keepin' treasure in there."

"We are goodwill ambassadors from the Snezhno-Mondstadtian Association," Lumine responded coolly.

The Fatui Guard recovered, still wary but relaxing after scanning Lumine with critical eyes. "Never heard of that association before..." He muttered. He looked at Paimon and narrowed his eyes ever so slightly– not that anyone could see it, considering that he was wearing a mask. "What are you lot doing here?"

Surprisingly, Childe barked out a short laugh. "I didn't know you were good at making stuff up on the spot, girlie," he said, almost fondly.

"You can say bullsh*t," she reassured him.

"Lumine there areliteralchildren here-"

Lumine and Paimon exchanged a glance. In the corner of the Traveler's eye, she could just barely see the shape of Diluc's gloved hand peeking out from behind a crumbled wall, formed in the shape of an 'O', or rather, a circle.

Lumine said in her best unfeeling voice, "We are here to investigate you for alleged corruption."

"Gods, she sounds like a tax collector," Kaveh said under his breath.

"What?"

"Uh- nothing."

Immediately, the Fatui Guard tensed once more. "What? How did you little brats creep in here? You take me for a fool?" The sneer in his voice was palpable. "Hmm, you're here for the Lyre, aren't you?"

"And just how do you plan to 'borrow' it?" He had figured their intentions out quickly.

Lumine smiled. "How does 500,000 Mora sound?"

The Fatui Guard startled as a fat bag of coins was thrown at him, barely managing to catch it. He immediately loosened the tie and greedily dug into the bag, checking the clinking coins for authenticity. When he was satisfied, he cradled it to his chest with a greedy smile.

"Wh- and you just had that much money on hand!?"

"I brought a bit of money along," Diluc explained. "I thought it might be useful."

Mona looked faint. "A.. a bit..500,000 Mora?"

Diluc rose a brow at her. "Yes..." He replied. "Half a million Mora is just about the amount of sales the winery makes in around five days. It's not that much in the grand scheme of things."

Kaveh eyed Diluc's clothes, suddenly renewed with interest for this very wealthy man. He and Mona happened to lock eyes across the room.

"Say, Master Diluc... Would you be willing to hire an astrologist and an architect to help with your business? Just for a week or two?"

On the other side of the room, Alhaitham's eye twitched.

Paimon silently renamed him as 'Greedy Guard' in her head.

The Greedy Guard looked up from his newly-acquired bag of coins. "Alright. You're free to go."

"But I don't have the key unfortunately," he continued. "You'll have to ask the next guard you come across."

Shinobu winced enviously. The Arataki Gang often had to fly by the seat of their pants just to get by day by day. That sum was no small stretch, and to just dump it all on someone who probably already had a high paycheck to begin with...

Candace frowned. "What a waste of money..."

The party left the Greedy Guard to his greedy coin studying.

The next room had another guard, timidly surveying the shadows in front of him like there was a threat to be faced in an occupied ruin. Lumine popped up behind him, making him let out a mightily high-pitched scream.

"Wh-Who are you? Wh-what are you doing here? Argh!" The Timid Guard put his arms in front of his face in a show of defense, his body leaning away from the Traveler and Paimon.

Another coward. Childe's dead eyes bore into the screen, already thinking of ways to beat such cowardice out of his own recruits the moment he saw signs.

Lumine quickly jumped on this show of weakness. "Give up. No one's coming to rescue you."

"Did you already beat all of the other guards?" The Timid Guard whimpered.

"I kicked their Snezhnayan butts." Lumine offered.

"Lumine!" Jean scolded.

"What?"Lumine whined back, so out of character that multiple had to do a double-take.

"Wh-What!? I-I'm not scared of you. An Agent will come to my aid!" Timid Guard exclaimed. Despite not being scared of her, he was backing away very scaredly.

Lumine rose a brow. "We both know you're making that up."

"Ugh... Ah..." Timid Guard squeezed his eyes shut, seemingly coming to a decision.

"Hehe..." His voice suddenly turned razor sharp. "I've had enough! I am a proud citizen of Snezhnaya! I will not falter!"

Childe's brows rose in interest.

Alright, perhaps his assessment was incorrect.

Lumine was clearly caught off-guard, her eyes widening for an imperceptible moment, before jumping back and barely missing the slice of a blade towards her.

It took a good few minutes, but Lumine worked off her initial surprise and managed to beat the Not-So-Timid Guard down, knocking him down with the hilt of her sword and a light huff.

"And where was Master Diluc in all of this?" Kaeya rose a brow, a mocking lilt in his voice.

Diluc rolled his eyes, fists curling from where they were partially hidden by his crossed arms. "I was in the other room, checking to see if there were clues and making sure the other guard didn't get any ideas," he said coldly, a total contrast to his otherwise fiery demeanor. "The Traveler is fully capable of handling herself for more than a few minutes, and you're more than aware ofthat."

Kaeya simply responded with a teasing smirk, making Diluc's irritation grow.

The Not-So-Timid Guard lay on the ground, panting from his injuries. "...I have the key here," he muttered, utterly defeated. "You can head in from the hall outside, but don't tell anyone that it was me who gave you the key."

Several people side-eyed Childe, who merely gave a huff and shook his head. "He's not even under Signora's direct command, and it's not like I know his name or face," he said to them.

Though Lumine swiftly walked off, Paimon lingered, eyeing the Fatui Guard's severe injuries with wide eyes. When he noticed this, he barked, "Scram! You already got what you wanted!"

Paimon didn't stay much longer after that.

"..That was unexpected," Paimon commented. "Who knew that such a timid guy would be the only one with big enough balls to actually fight back?"

Albedo's hands flew to cover Klee's ears. Yanfei moved to cover Yaoyao's. Xiangling attempted to cover Diona's, but the catgirl just batted her hands away with a hiss. Sayu was sleeping, but just in case, Ayato put a careful hand on her ear (she was sleeping on his lap and thus the other was already covered). Baizhu didn't bother with Qiqi, knowing she neither understood nor would she remember in a few minutes. Shinobu swiftly reached for Itto and covered his mouth before he could say anything. Chongyun pinned Xingqiu in place with a glare, only to yelp when Shenhe's hands covered his ears (though she only really did it after seeing how everyone else made a move to "protect" their young, whatever they needed protection for).

Lumine turned to Paimon, raising her hands as if to cover the fairy's ears, only to pause. Paimon stared at her.

"You know I'm the one who said it in the first place, right?"

The party finally found the room where the Holy Lyre was stored. Caged in the middle of the room, it was easy for them to walk up to it. But just as Lumine's hand reached for the lock, a deep, growling voice seeped into the room, "Where did you rats scurry out from..."

Itto didn't jump. Nope. He didn't. He didn't find that voice scaryat all.

Immediately, the duo were on guard, blades unsheathed.. A Fatui Agent emerged from the shadows, his dark cloak making it seem as if the darkness clung to him like mist, creating a sinister image that, combined with his heavy aura, would've made a normal adventurer tense. As it was, only Paimon squeaked and disappeared into her pocket space, while the remaining party stayed calm and appropriately wary, with the exception of a scowl pulling on Diluc's lips– the only sign of emotion.

Itto wasn't shivering. Stop looking at him like that, Shinobu! It was just a little cold!

In an attempt to silently convince her that he wasn't terrified, he turned to find one of the children (and child-looking individuals) occupying the room to go over and comfort them- only to see-

Diona picking at her nails in boredom, Klee watching the screen intently with bright and excited eyes, Sayu sleeping away on Ayato's lap while the man absentmindedly stroked her hair, Qiqi's head bent while she scribbled at a piece of paper and chewing on a tangerine, Nahida clutching a half-eaten date between her small hands as she watched the screen, just as fascinated as Klee, Dori playing with a pocket watch as she watched the screen half-heartedly, and Paimon already tucked away in Lumine's arms, but rather than looking scared as she did onscreen she was simply dozing off.

...

No way.

Itto wasn't... acoward, was he?

"Signora is not going to tolerate this kind of interference in our affairs,"The Fatui Agent mumbled, slipping a pair of flame-tipped knives from his belt."So I'll be the one to take care of you – save her the trouble of having to deal with you herself."

Ayaka remembered that the Fair Lady was a Harbinger- the highest position in the entire organization besides the Tsaritsa herself. This was seemingly just a Fatui Agent like any other, so why was he referring to her without an honorific? Not evenLady Signora? It was clear he (and the rest of the Fatui Guards shown beforehand) held her in some regard, yet not one of them referred to her even by her full title.

Northerners sure were strange.

With that, the Fatui Agent dove into battle, knives a-blazing.

Barbara shivered, clasping her hands together at her chest and hoping fruitlessly that they wouldn't get too injured.

Less than ten minutes later, he was half-dead on the ground.

...

Ah.

Barbara's shoulders slumped.

Right.

The ones before them were the Traveler... and Master Diluc.

With a growl of, "You can't run from debt,"the Fatui Agent disappeared into dust and shadow, running away from certain death if he chose to engage against them further.

"Holy sh*t," Kaveh snickered.

"What sort of debt are they running from?" Mona snorted. She rose a manicured hand before Albedo could explain that the phrase was a metaphor for the arrival of the Fatui themselves, blah blah blah. "Don't you even start it, Kreideprinz. I'm perfectly aware as to what he meant. It was a rhetorical question."

Albedo closed his mouth and quietly went back to eating his lunch.

"He sure was tough," Lumine commented, not having broken even a sweat.

"I agree," Diluc said, also looking unperturbed. "Though I must say it usually takes me a little longer to defeat Fatui Agents. You're not so bad a partner for missions like these."

"...How long is a little longer, Master Diluc?" Xingqiu inquired curiously.

Diluc thought. "Back then, it was around five minutes," he eventually said. "I've improved since then, so I'm not reduced to the same time constraints."

Heizou whistled lowly. What a terrifying man.

Finally, the key was inserted into the lock and the Holy Lyre was in the hands of Mondstadt's protectors once again.

"Finally, the Lyre is back in safe hands!" Paimon sighed with relief.

"Not for long," Rosaria murmured, recalling the destroyed state of the Holy Lyre currently in their vault, still trying to be fixed to this day.

Barbara covered her face with her hands and tried not to cry out in frustration at the reminder.

Suddenly, the Fatui Agent's voice echoed through the room, a lingering message of his defeat.

"Signora is going to end you. The songs bards sing of your demise will be so terrifying – the people of Mondstadt will never sleep again for the nightmares they give them."

Itto really, really,reallydid not want to meet this Signora gal.

"Coward," someone muttered, and Itto nearly jumped out of his skin.

"I-I'm not a coward!" He yelped.

Beidou, the source of the mutter, looked at him with amusem*nt. "Not you, buddy," she said. "I meant the guy onscreen."

Everyone's tensed shoulders loosened when they realize it was just a threat.

Paimon put her hands on her hips, huffing. "Big talk for a guy who still ran off in the end... Chicken."

With the Holy Lyre in hand, the trio re-navigated their way through the hideout and left, returning to the city.

At the empty, closed Angel's Share, Venti and Jean waited for them. The bard perked up the moment they walked in. "Welcome back!" His eyes lit up when Lumine immediately pulled the Holy Lyre out of her bag. "Ah, this is the Holy Lyre! You managed to retrieve it!" He looked and sounded overjoyed as Lumine passed it over to him, the bard receiving it with gentle hands and a fond look in his eye that spoke years of familiarity with the item– despite the instrument only having ever been played by the Anemo Archon himself.

Heizou's eyes sharpened. It couldn't be that...

He stole a glance towards the Mondstadtians around the room. Most of them had confused or curious looks on their face, but when he looked closer, he could see that some had oddly blank expressions, or resigned ones.

...

Goddamn.

"The pattern of flowing wind carved on the rosewood... and the strings still feel cool to the touch too!" Venti's fingers gently brushed over the strings, creating a brief melody that momentarily melted away the stress in the mind. "Oh, the memories..."

Jean did all she could not to bury her face into her hands. Diluc was staring at the wall, Lumine into nowhere. Paimon was sighing and shaking her head.

All the while, Venti, who had practically merged with the carpet with the way he tucked himself under his table and watched the screen with his feet swinging in the air, ignored them all, humming near-inaudibly.

"What do you think, Venti? Can you summon Dvalin?" Jean asked, completely ignoring Venti's suspicious musing. Venti blinked, pulling himself out of his nostalgic reverie.

"...Although this lyre is the real thing, I doubt it's going to work," Venti began. "As you can see, this lyre has been through a thousand years of history. Its Anemo power has run dry." Indeed, though the carvings of the lyre were beautiful, displaying its quality, it was nowhere near the divine look that would have been expected of an artifact that once belonged to a powerful deity. The wood was dark in a way that made it seem as if it was doused in water and never dried, and there were a pair of empty holes where jewels should have been. The strings were thick and heavy despite the soft melody it produced, and resembled the dark wood so exactly that it looked as if they were not real strings, but rather decoration to make sure it was an instrument that couldn't actually be used. At first glance, it looked like a glum and plain yet hauntingly lovely lyre, but nothing like theHoly Lyrethat was so revered in stories.

Barbara frowned. Indeed, it had been the melancholic musing of many a Sister at the church on how to restore the beauty of the Holy Lyre without further damaging it, but none had ever been brave enough to take a risk and possibly damage the closest physical item they had in relation to their god. When the bard, Venti, had 'repaired' it before returning it, it had been for several days the epitome of divine awe amongst the Cathedral workers- that was, until the spell wore off and everyone despaired as the true damage was revealed.

Meanwhile, Ningguang hummed to herself. "Even if it hadn't belonged to an Archon, and the instrument itself is shabby in appearance, it indeed is still lovely enough to be called a cultural relic once precious to a deity..."

"What I would give to have one in my collection..."

"In this condition, you couldn't play music fit for even Diluc's tavern with it..." Venti sighed forlornly, the sentiment genuine despite the jabbing words.

Diluc's eye twitched. "Bards fight to get on the stage of my tavern. Don't make assumptions!"

This got a snicker out of Kaeya and Rosaria, making the winery owner twitch ever so slightly upon hearing the dreadful laughter of his most hated customers.

Paimon interrupted, "Is that really important right now, Master Diluc!?"

She turned to Venti with her hands on her hips. "And you – did you just borrow the Holy Lyre to play music for drunkards to hear?"

Venti grinned, "Hehe."

"What do you mean 'hehe'!?"

Paimon scowled at the scene, looking quite like a rageful kitten as she crossed her arms and said, "Everytime that Tone-Deaf Bard says that I keep thinking up of ways to emotionally scar him forever!"

"Hehe!"

"SHUT UP-"

Brushing off the fuming Paimon, Venti said, "Anyway, we won't be able to call Dvalin with it."

"The lyre itself is fine, but the strings..." he frowned at the stiff strings that closely resembled the wood the lyre was made of. "You're up, outlander!"

"I don't know how to fix broken instruments," Lumine denied.

"Relax! It's not broken." The bard waved her off. "It's just that the intensity of its Anemo power has greatly diminished."

"Lumine, do you still have that Teardrop Crystal with you?"

Lumine retrieved the crystal from her bag and touched it to the edge of the Holy Lyre. Within moments, the instrument began to glow, absorbing the Teardrop Crystal and floating into the air, giving off a bright, blue light as its power was replenished by the crystal. When it landed back into Venti's hands, it looked slightly less worse-for-wear, with the strings being a bit brighter and the whole instrument giving off a faint, barely there, divine aura.

The intense sound of writing was deafening as the scholars within the room fervently recorded what was being shown before them- while Albedo was thoroughly describing the visuals and creating a sketch as the scene was being played, Faruzan was seemingly deviating away from information-recording and straight into blueprints, drawing up rough sketches of machinery that could harness Lumine's purification power and use it for whatever the twin-tailed scholar had in mind.

Alhaitham was listing down what texts he might need to read up on in order to gain more knowledge about corruption and purification in nature only for Tighnari to silently pass him a paper ripped from his notepad. On the paper contained a short list of the related literature the scribe was looking for- all of the books which were very likely to be on Tighnari's shelf at the Forest Ranger base. The two exchanged curt nods, a silent promise from Alhaitham to pull some strings and get more support for the Rangers and their mission to purify The Withering, and the two returned to their seats like nothing happened.

Collei watched them with a slightly slack jaw.What a weird yet somehow fitting duo...

All the while, Nahida was fidgeting, but her emerald eyes were sparkling.So this is what scholars looked like in their natural habitat!

Still, no matter how faint it was, it was still there.

"It worked, as expected." Venti smiled gleefully in Lumine's direction. Meanwhile, Jean had a hand held to her chest, eyes sparkling as she looked upon the Holy Lyre with reverence fit for a devoted child of Mondstadt.

Much of Mondstadt's population in the room shared the same expression as her- even Razor's normally hard eyes were lit with a childish awe rarely seen on him.

"So gorgeous..." Barbara sighed.

"This youthful glow..." She gasped.

"Praising yourself?Really?" Paimon was unimpressed.

"...How did you even come to that conclusion, Paimon?"

"Look- there was a lot of stuff going through Paimon's head at that time!"

So, too, was Jean. "...I was talking about the Holy Lyre."

"Thanks to Lumine having purified the crystal, the Holy Lyre won't continue to lose power." Venti interrupted."That said, its power is far from replenished. It'd be great if we could get more tears."

"How can we make Dvalin cry? By hitting him?" Lumine said with a serious face.

"Traveler..." Keqing sighed. "You truly have a unique mind..."

"Thank you, Keqing."

"...Paimon doesn't think that was a compliment, Lumi."

"Hey! Just what is going on in your head!" Paimon screeched.

Venti ignored them both, his eyes swelling with melancholy- an all-too familiar look on him by now. "I can surmise that Dvalin will already be crying..."

"Suffering alone in some deserted place..."

"Dvalin..." Jean sighed, something heavy in her throat.

"Poor baby..." Paimon frowned.

Noelle wrung her hands out in shame. She could still remember the lack of sympathy she extended towards the dragon. At that time, she had been entirely focused on herself and what she could do to help the people around her, taking time for nothing else and not even deigning to give a thought to the well-being of the heroes working behind the scenes and the dragon so clearly suffering within plain sight.

To this day, she still feels ashamed to call herself a proud citizen of Mondstadt, knowing that she couldn't even believe in one of The Four Winds that once protected them.

But to make up for it, she knows-

-That she has to become the best version of herself in order to become a Knight andfinallybe able to make it up to Lord Dvalin, protecting their nation and spreading tales of his legendary presence, a safe haven, make it so that any creature who was similarly corrupted could find solace in Mondstadt...

Jean closed her eyes, thinking for a moment, before nodding to herself, seemingly coming to a decision. "This is not something that an Honorary Knight can accomplish alone. I will mobilize the rest of the knights to assist."

"When you get the Teardrop Crystal, please let Lumine perform the purification process."

Lumine nodded seriously, showing no hesitance as she said, "Leave it to me."

"Heroes supporting each other and setting out on a journey together... How exciting!" Venti smiled, perking up."Lemme come up with a song for you..."

Yoimiya clapped her hands together, eyes twinkling. "This really feels like the turning point when the heroes' party finally step into the most serious and dangerous part of their journey," she gushed. "I can almosthearthe orchestral music."

"Me as well," Xingqiu nodded, a smile of camaraderie on his face.

"Ha ha ha ha!" Fischl laughed grandly, grabbing the attention of the duo. "If this is what it takes to fascinate you mortals, then you clearly have never witnessed the fraught journey of a true legend!" Eye sparkling, she strikes a pose towards the sky. "For my biography,Flowers for Princess Fischl,tells it all- the tale of a princess who shall set her heart ablaze to relight the world anew!"

Yoimiya hardly blinked before saying, "Oh? I haven't heard of your biography before, Fischl-sama! Tell me all about it..."

"Is that all you're going to do? Just sing?" Paimon rolled her eyes.

Venti shot her an amused smile. "Wouldn't be much of a bard if I didn't, now would I?"

"Hmph. You're so cheeky... You deserve an ugly nickname." Paimon sneered."Oh, Paimon knows! From now on, you'll be known as 'Tone-Deaf Bard'!"

Paimon huffed proudly, still proud of the nickname she made up on the spot and still used today, getting even Lumine to refer to him as that every so often.

"Tone-Deaf Bard," she shot scathingly toward Venti, who simply ignored her. She pouted. He wasn't just tone-deaf, he was deaf!

The next morning, before the skies had even brightened, the party set out to the Thousand Winds Temple, entering a domain hidden within– taking the shape of a crumbling city in the skies.

Kaveh's eyes glittered, admiring the ancient city suspended in an eternal white-gold sky. Ever since the Jade Chamber had first been built and shown to the world, he had been seething in envy and rage at not being able to work on such a project, having just been a student then.

He still hasn't gotten a request to design a floating building like the Jade Chamber, due to how expensive such a project was and how most of the wealthy persons of Teyvat didn't care much for a floating base of their own or already had their own personal architects and builders, not to mention that when the Jade Chamber would inevitably begin rebuilding it had no real need for architects since it already had an existing design. It was highly unlikely that the Tianquan would want a major redesign.

Though he actuallycouldask... He had a bunch of sketches on floating buildings and even his own personal designs of something akin to the Jade Chamber- even if she just wanted to change something minor, he could definitely help out with that. A free trip to Liyue and a good cheque? The only thing he was missing was the Tianquan's interest and approval!

How terribly convenient this Space was, lumping him in with a bunch of renowned people that he felt slightly inferior towards due to their sheer fame and talent... He could only wonder what kind of role he held in the future if he was one of the chosen Sumerun Vision users for the Viewing.

"This reminds me of a feud I once had with the Fatui." Diluc mused as they ventured deep into the domain. "Six months ago, a thief stole treasure from the East Temple of the Four Winds."

What kind of winery owner had an active feud with the Fatui what the f*ck.

Heizou would really like to know more about this man.

"Whoa. What was it? A cup used by Barbatos?" Paimon questioned.

Diluc shook his head. "No. Although if such a thing existed, it would be very valuable."

"Wasn't it said earlier that relics would be useless to sell since they would belong to the nation and therefore have no value anywhere else?" Kaveh asked curiously.

"It depends on who finds it first," Rosaria said shortly before Barbara could open her mouth.

Kaeya gave his wine-haired friend an amused smile that made her huff before he explained, "As she said, itdoesdepend on whoever finds it first. Unfortunately, though we do have a law in place regarding ancient relics, it's not like we can make people hand them over- when we don't even know they exist in the first place, or if said relic was even still around. We, ah, actually have a team solely for relic hunting and regulations, but they're... currently out of commission due to an expedition."

"Among all the relics they managed to dig up, one particular object was very rare..."

"It was a vial which contained the Anemo Archon's breath."

Zhongli made a humming noise. "That sounds quite unique indeed," he said. "Though I do wonder how they were able to verify that it was indeed the Anemo Archon's breath, considering how far-fetched it seems..."

"If I may," Diluc interrupted. "Based off of the counterfeits I've found and the information I've gathered on the real thing, the 'breath' seems to take the shape of a ball of glowing green wind that supposedly feels 'wild yet divine' even when you're simply holding the vial. If the cork is removed, the 'breath' doesn't dissipate and serves as an endless, small source of cool wind."

The redhead crossed his arms. "...Though that's only what I've heard. Neither the Fatui nor I have found it to this date. Who knows, it could be entirely different."

Zhongli eyed Diluc with curiosity. "How interesting." He stated, and it wasn't towards Diluc's helpful answer.

"Relics come in every shape and form huh..." Paimon murmured thoughtfully.

"Anyone with an eye for fine art would like to add this relic to their collection." Diluc added."Once word got out, the Fatui started trying to seek it out as well."

"They've made tons of counterfeits that can be found everywhere."

"In response, I just bought every one I could find, irrespective of its authenticity. We're still at it now." He said as if this was totally normal."I've bought more than two thousand fakes to date, and the Fatui have yet to find the real one."

"...Master Diluc, out of curiosity, how much does one fake cost?" Mona asked.

Diluc took a moment to remember. "On some occasions, the prices differ, but on average, one costs around 1.9 million Mora."

1.9 million Mora multiplied by two thousand was...

Three billion eight hundred million Mora. Spent on fakes.

Diluc watched with bemusem*nt as Mona fainted into a startled Sucrose's arms. Even some of the more stoic-faced people in the room had expressions of bewilderment after calculating the total amount.

Meanwhile, Ningguang, who was the only person in the room richer than him, looked amused. "Do you have a warehouse dedicated to storing such things, Master Diluc?"

He nodded. "I do. It's stationed a bit a further away from my normal warehouses since the workers not assigned to it would probably walk into it on accident and get confused... or see things they're not meant to see," he cleared his throat. "But the fakes aren't totally useless. The Fatui at least put in the effort to make their counterfeits look real. The vials they use are made from glass unique to Snezhnaya and Natlan's respective climates, and the 'breaths' can surprisingly used as a type of magic fertilizer. I usually have them planted with the dandelions for my Dandelion Wine."

"As for the glass, their durability and unique make ensures that whatever is stored in them is preserved for longer, which is incredibly useful for ingredients. Long story short, purchasing these counterfeits is essentially a win-win situation- with both wins attributed to Mondstadt."

"Though lately the Fatui haven't been as active in producing these counterfeits along with looking for the real thing..."

"OKAY, we get it, you're a nerd!" Paimon interrupted in annoyance.

Diluc's eye twitched, lips thinning, and he kept quiet to himself as everyone else looked away, trying to hide their amusem*nt. It was quite unfortunate that various figures around the world were learning of Diluc's tendency to ramble and overshare, which fortunately for him rarely was commented on simply because of his absolutely stoic expression and nonchalance.

On the rare occasion someonedid,it was unfortunately showcased just how easily embarrassed Diluc could get. As currently shown by the way he closed his eyes just now and began to steadfastly ignore everyone and everything around him.

"Whoa. You guys are insane..." Paimon breathed out, looking suddenly as if the weight of the world had just been revealed to her."So, it means that the real one must be somewhere out there on the black market, right?"

"Hmm... Paimon'll give you a discount on them if she finds any – cause Paimon's just great like that!"

Diluc offered an indulgent raise of the brow. "Sure, you can try to find the real one. I'll take what you can find, even if they're fake."

"Once you're done, find me at the winery. I'll trade you a beer for every 20 that you find."

"One beer isn't enough for thirty-eight million Mora," Lumine deadpanned.

Diluc, still in his state of embarrassment, ignored her.

All conversation stopped as the party focused on defeating the monsters in their path. With Diluc's merciless flame, Jean's healing winds, Venti's supporting breeze, and Lumine's aggressive swordsplay, they managed to get through the monsters living in the ruins in no time, obtaining Dvalin's Tear.

Gorou's eyes sparkled as he watched the effortless battles taking place. Hearing of renowned Vision users was one thing, and watching them in action was another.

"Despite the Elemental Resonance being unbalanced, they still manage to fight together so well," Candace murmured to herself, nodding in respect.

Like Gorou, Bennett's eyes were also sparkling. Watching the way the party members adapted to one another seamlessly despite only having fought together just then was awe-inspiring, and he found himself thinking back on the time when he, Fischl, and Razor finally found their rhythm together and learned to fight as a group, adapting and making way for each other's skills, and covering the necessary holes.

A wave of gratitude and warmth washed over him, and he turned to grin at Fischl and Razor, both of whom had their eyes locked on the screen. He had always dreamed of the kind of teamwork on the screen, when an adventure team gradually became a family, knowing each other like the backs of their hands. For a long time, he never thought he would actually get something like that, considering his curse, and how the original lineup of Benny's Adventure Team never quite managed to learn how to fight and live together.

Now, he had Razor, Fischl, and even Oz.

Bennett really was lucky to have friends like them.

"Paimon didn't think we'd find Dvalin's tears in a place like this." Paimon commented.

"As knights, we are taught to hone our investigative skills." Jean replied.

Paimon clapped. "Wow! Very impressive!" She sounded genuinely impressed.

"In my experience, the secret to find what you are looking for is to never look for it in the first place." Jean said."Don't think too much about it and don't search too hard... and before you know it, what you are looking for will appear right before your very eyes."

Qiqi, who always forgot everything she laid her hands on, blinked. She proceeded to write it down in her notebook, nevermind the fact that the technique regularly applied to her without her knowing.

"I really don't get the logic behind it, but somehow it always works," Collei complained.

"What?" Paimon replied bluntly.

Jean shook her head. "Don't worry about it too much. The more flustered you are, the less likely you are to find it."

"Pay attention to what you see in your peripheral vision, and you might just stumble upon what you're looking for."

"I don't know... It doesn't sound like that would work..." Paimon trailed off.

Lumine was nodding along to Jean's words. "It does work," she said.

Paimon just gave her a look of disbelief.

"Itdoes," Lumine insisted. "Back when Aether and I were starting our travels, we lost things all the time. If we looked for it for hours, we'd come up with nothing, but as soon as we decided to give up and leave it be, whatever we lost would appear right in front of us. As in, we'd leave our camp to look for it, but on the way back it was miraculously just lying on the ground."

"Lumi, no matter how much you try to convince me, I won't believe you."

As the two bickered in their own corner, Venti looked at Lumine with a sad yet fond expression. Lumine rarely talked about her brother, but every once in a while anecdotes of their journey together would slip out without her noticing. From what he'd observed, it was more likely to happen when the Traveler believed it was just her and Paimon alone, confirming that she'd only be comfortable to do it around people who knew almost everything about her.

Doing it now, in a room full of strangers, acquaintances, and good friends who nonetheless couldn't measure up to someone like her ever-loyal Paimon in terms of trust, Venti could only now realize how tense she still was.

Considering the simulation was almost entirely based on her perspective, it was understandable, something Venti could even empathize with.

Even as the time crept closer for the reveal, Venti still didn't know how to feel about his people (and many, many strangers) finding out about his secrets.

"No, seriously, it does though." Jean insisted. "In fact, it's how I used to find my tortoise whenever he went missing."

Paimon blinked, taking in the information, before- "...Wait – you had a pet tortoise!?"

"What's so surprising about that?" Jean huffed a laugh.

Similar to her future/real-life counterpart, Jean gave her a curious look. "Yes, why? Something wrong, Paimon?"

"No, it's... uh, well, just surprising is all." Paimon dismissed, lowering herself from the high spot in the air she had jumped to.

"Why?" Jean asked genuinely.

"Paimon can't imagine Jean having a pet tortoise. Surely you find it hard to imagine too, Master Diluc?" Paimon turned to the redhead desperately.

"No, I don't." Diluc said."I had one too when I was a kid. What's so strange about it?"

Kaeya began to laugh openly. "Well, you see, Paimon, there's this phenomenon calledrich kid petwhen the child of a wealthy character typically keeps a small, docile animal as a pet-"

"Just what are you going on about this time?" Diluc huffed.

"But I'm not incorrect, am I, Master Diluc?" The dark blue-haired knight turned to Eula. "If I may ask, Captain Eula, did you have a pet tortoise as well?"

Eula nodded stoically. "I did. His name wasKing of Tango The First."

Kaeya blinked at the rather unexpected name, before bursting out into laughter, the sound of it just as musical as his voice. "What a spectacular name! And pray tell us, Master Diluc, what was yours called?"

Diluc glared at him, but ultimately gave in with a sigh, "...She was calledLady Breaking Dawn."

"And there we have it! Therich kid petphenomenon joined by the optional circ*mstance of spectacular names such as,Lady Breaking DawnandKing of Tango The First."

With an amused smile on her face, Jean joined in, "My tortoise had been calledThe Dragon Lord Victoire of the Seas."

"...Not so optional, then."

"What? You too!?" Paimon screeched.

To the Kamisato siblings, "Please don't tell Paimon you guys had one too..."

Both shook their heads. "It's more common amongst Inazumans to keep hamsters instead," Ayato informed, an amused smile on his lips.

"UGH! So it's a rich people thing!?"

The party leaves the domain and take a picnic break to replenish their energy. It wasn't exactly planned, but Lumine had stopped them all and had pulled out a picnic blanket from her bag while looking straight into their eyes, so they had no choice but to stop and recuperate. They enjoyed the food and drink that Lumine had preserved in her bag.

"That bag of yours is quite interesting," Faruzan began, eyes wandering to the leather bag seated at the real Lumine's side. "How does it work? Is it encoded with something? Is it a special sort of machinery?"

"It's an enchanted bag," Lumine denied. Faruzan looked a bit disappointed, but then brightened up again.

"I see... Would you teach me that enchantment you used for it?"

Lumine shrugged. "Sure. Why not."

An hour later, they went back to it, this time following Dvalin's footprints to a ruin deep within the woods.

After their enemies were all defeated and they obtained Dvalin's Tear, they made their way out of the woods once more.

Paimon sighed, "We're done gathering! That was hard..."

"It's too early to relax. We're still not done with Stormterror." Diluc said, crossing his arms and levelling a stern look at Paimon. "Besides, the Fatui could also be planning something..."

"Hey Diluc, I heard that the Fatui have recently proclaimed you 'persona non grata'." Jean suddenly said.

Qiqi tugged at Baizhu's sleeve. "It means a foreigner who is unwelcome in another country," he said to her lowly. "Like a specific Mondstadtian unallowed to enter Liyue."

She nodded seriously and wrote that down in her notebook.

"Hmph, what an honor." Diluc rolled his eyes."Nobody was ever proclaimed 'persona grata' by the Fatui anyway."

Well, it was true.

Still, to be so publicly and loudly declared essentially an enemy of the nation was almost impressive, in all of its political ramifications, and Ningguang acknowledged that with an amused huff, casting a glance over to a bemused Childe and an impassive Diluc.

The Tianquan's thoughts were further proven with the next coming words of the simulated characters.

"The Fatui? The diplomatic delegations from Snezhnaya? What have they got against Master Diluc?" Paimon pressed.

"The Fatui are a problem not only to the Knights – they also present a real threat to the whole of Mondstadt." Jean explained, a little wearily."And when it comes to threats against Mondstadt, Diluc is–"

"They present a threat to every nation but themselves," Lumine murmured to herself with an eyeroll.

'Murmur', she did, but considering that at least half of the viewers in the room had enhanced hearing, whether due to a testament of their skill or magic or simply their non-human heritage, she may as well have spoken them aloud for everyone to hear.

Lisa hid an exasperated smile behind her hand alongside a fake cough.

"That's enough, Jean." Diluc said sternly."You knights are subject to too many restrictions. You can't directly confront this so-called 'diplomatic' scum."

"Personally... I despise them."

"If I had to choose between 'eating a Cryo slime alive' or 'joining the Fatui'..."

"...I'd prefer to be crushed to death by a meteorite."

Hu Tao snickers, elbowing a stone-faced Zhongli in the side. "Oh Master Diluc~" She sang. "We have someone who can do that, right here!"

"What flowers would you like for your funeral?" Hu Tao burst into snickering at her own poor joke, gaining various sets of unimpressed eyes upon her form, including that of Zhongli and Diluc.

"Geez, your wording is so very dramatic..." Paimon sighed.

Jean murmured, "Diluc has always been a bit of a drama queen," which causes the aforementioned redhead to spin around, a look of betrayal on his face which rarely made big expressions. It was so unexpected and so much like the Diluc of their youth that a brighter, younger face flashed before her eyes in that very moment. She couldn't help but raise her arms up in the air in surrender, a fond smile tugging at her lips, as she capitalizes on this familiar feeling, this familiar situation- "My apologies, Mister Diluc. I simply meant that you have a... unique way of expressing yourself and your thoughts."

Diluc reels back at her teasing tone, eyes momentarily widening in shock- actually, more than a few people are affected by Jean's unexpected words, with Amber and Noelle looking more than a little giddy at seeing their role model loosen up and shocked that she would willingly use such a tactic on her own, Kaeya's entire body stilling, Paimon turning to her in incredulity and opening her mouth before Lumine pulls her back with a hand clamped over her face.

But Diluc settles quick, and even as his body visibly struggles to choose what language to convey, the man himself only grumbles out an uncharacteristically low, "Quit your teasing, Gunnhildr," before he turns his head away.

Jean feels herself relax.

(It's not much at all. But it's a start.)

When they finally leave the woods, Lumine says, "Is it alright with all of you if I go ahead and get the last one on my own?"

Lumine twitched as several unimpressed and exasperated eyes came to gaze at her.

"So you've always been the type to take everything on your own shoulders and leave nothing for those who want to help you," Keqing's brow twisted in exasperation, though her lips were upturned. "Helpful to know."

Lumine sighed.

Everyone turns to her with surprise on their faces. "...If you think you can handle it, then that's fine with me," Jean started hesitantly. "But why the sudden change of plans?"

Lumine shrugged. "I want to get some time to think on my own." Was all she said.

"Huh!? B-but then Paimon is more likely to get attacked by monsters!" Her fairy companion protested. Lumine rolled her eyes.

"That has never happened," The blonde reminded her companion.

"W-well, it could one day! And then you'll be all over Paimon, more worried than Jean during tax collection day!"

"It wouldneverhappen." Lumine said sternly. Paimon huffed and turned away, angrily munching on a handful of lotus crisps.

Behind them, Jean sighed, brow twitching even as her lips were spread in a small smile. "Why am I the example...?"

"You never leave your space during battle, what the hell are you gonna get attacked by?"

"Hey! That's mean! Paimon can totally still get hurt, you know!"

"Hmph!" Paimon needlessly huffed in a show of agreement with her simulated past self. Lumine just ignored her.

"If that's the case, we'll leave you on your own," Diluc interrupted. "But just in case something goes awry, we're giving you three hours to travel to the next location, fight off any surrounding monsters, get the Tear, and come to the Dawn Winery. Nothing less, nothing more. If you surpass the timeline, then we're going to come for you." His face was stern, and so was his voice, leaving no room for argument.

"Huh!? But three hours is–"

"Fine," Lumine cut off her fairy friend, looking calm and unperturbed by Diluc's demand. "You guys do that. I know the way to the Dawn Winery, so don't worry about me getting lost." With that, she turned on her heel and walked off to the direction of the next Tear, using her Elemental Sight to trace Dvalin's energy.

"H-Hey! Wait up!" Paimon flew hurriedly after her.

"Reckless," Keqing muttered. Though it was a mutter, it was rather pointed as the Yuheng raised her head and made direct eye contact with the Traveler just as she said it.

The Traveler, a divine being with advanced hearing, pretended not to hear her.

Before an hour had passed, the audience sees Lumine hiding in a pair of bushes situated high above a mountain cliff. She was staring into a humongous valley tribe of hilichurls– one nicknamed by the Adventurers' Guild as the 'Eclipse Tribe'. Situated in every angle was a tower of hilichurl shooters, waiting for a trespasser.

Silent as a mouse, Lumine snuck up on each hilichurl shooter, swiftly taking them out before they could attract any attention. Before long, she was diving recklessly headfirst into the fray of hilichurls guarding two paths where one must have Dvalin's Tear ahead of it, swiftly slaying the angered hilichurls before running into the nearest path.

Bennett and Fischl held their breaths, Razor's eyes sharpening as he fixated on the screen. The unlucky boy's face was twisted in a nervous expression, while Fischl sat straight as a board with her fists clenched at her skirt.

Lumine thought their concern was rather silly; after all, the real her was right here, and it wasn't like she got hurt in thatscufflethese mortals called a fight.

(She could practically feel Diluc's unimpressed glare boring into the back of her head, despite the fact that the past him hadagreedto the set-up.)

Fighting off Abyss Mages and Lawachurls at the same time wasn't easy, especially when the path she had run into wasn't where Dvalin's Tear was held, but at the start of the third hour she had obtained her prize, leaving nearly all of the tribe extinct. Heavily panting and covered in cuts and bruises, Lumine wiped dirt from her face, bending down to a nearby pond to clean herself off with Paimon hovering worriedly over her shoulder.

Just as the third hour ended, Lumine made it to the Dawn Winery, triumphantly waving Dvalin's Tear above her head when she came into view of the party.

"You're justwaytoo cool," Itto whispered, staring at the simulated Traveler with sparkling eyes. The girl was so tiny, yet she had stronger hands than anyone the oni had ever met.

Hearing this, Paimon puffed herself up proudly. "That's just our show-stopping Traveler for you!" She proclaimed, face akin to an overly-proud mother after her daughter just delivered the winning blow in her third grade football match.

"Woohoo!" Paimon cheered as they stepped just outside of the entrance where the party was waiting. "Dvalin Protection Squad! Assemble!"

Jean gave Lumine a smile of relief once the taller blonde finished checking her over for serious injuries. "You got back safe." Was all the Acting Grandmaster said.

"Welcome back." Diluc greeted, body nonchalant, but it was clear to everyone there that even he felt relief in Lumine's safe return.

A brief look of bitterness flashed across Kaeya's face, too quick to be noticed. In contrast, a relaxed smile appeared on Jean's shining face at the sight of her old friend showing concern (in his own, gruff way).

Venti, having not doubted Lumine even for a second, simply gave Lumine a beaming smile when she handed him the Teardrop Crystal. "Let's put our crystals together," he said.

Lumine huffed silently, glad that at leastsomeonetrustedher to be able to handle herself.

̶(̶S̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶o̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶a̶d̶m̶i̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶i̶n̶s̶i̶d̶e̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶w̶a̶r̶m̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶i̶r̶ ̶s̶i̶n̶c̶e̶r̶e̶,̶ ̶h̶o̶n̶e̶s̶t̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶c̶e̶r̶n̶.̶)̶

Diluc and Jean retrieved their own crystals and let them float in the midst of their circle.

"Oh..." Venti said sadly. "The color of these crystals look... muddy."

"Dvalin... You're going through so much pain..." Venti's eyes were pinched, grief welling up in his eyes before he closed them. He reopened his eyes a moment later and looked up to the rest of them, a weak smile tugging at his face. "...Let's start purifying these crystals first. Please, Lumine."

Without a word, Lumine silently puts her hand over the gathered crystals.

The glow is blinding. In mere seconds, years' worth of miasma become less than dust as the crystals grow brighter and brighter, until finally they are glittering, shining jewels of yore. The moment they are fully purified, the crystals reflect the sunlight and shine even brighter, bright blue in their diamond glow, spreading across the feeling of rightness.

Kazuha's eyesglittered. It was as if witnessing something that had been scorned and left to rot return to its old, beautiful self- something that was almost exactly the truth. More importantly, it was the feeling that seeing something that belonged to the freedom of nature getting closer to returning to its rightful place was freeing in his own heart. His shoulders relaxed and a content smile unconsciously came to rest on his lips.

Around the room, many were experiencing the same feeling. Most especially those whose freedom had been taken from them for a long enough time, liberty and rights something akin to a luxury instead of something that belonged to all living creatures since birth.

(Contrarily, the eyes of the Raiden Shogun had tightened, a complicated frown on Her face. What was this feeling of inordinate freedom?)

(And why was it so kind?)

"It is hard to believe such a thing is possible, until you see it with your own eyes," Jean breathed with awe, her eyes wide in almost childlike amazement as her hand unconsciously hovers over the Teardrop Crystals, nearly touching them.

"Interesting," Diluc sounded, eyes locked onto the sparkling jewels despite their too-bright shine with the assistance of the afternoon sun. "It's like filtering wine. The process is... refreshing."

Venti smiled, all trace of sadness gone from his face as his sky-like eyes sparkled with joy– the way they should be. "I think we should have enough tears now. So next we..."

"Use the crystals on the Holy Lyre like the last time."

Barbara tensed in anticipation.

"Let me give it a try," Lumine says, and Venti takes out the Holy Lyre to pass it to her. She presses the Teardrop Crystals to its surface. Much the same as in the tavern, the Holy Lyre floats into the air, glowing brightly as its weariness is washed away. In the blink of an eye, the lovely yet plain lyre from before is transformed into a divine instrument made for a god– gleaming gentle white gold and shining as if it were really made of gold, its intricate carvings shining like a flower blooming under the sun after heavy rain. Its teal-colored jewels were restored to their natural order, twinkling under the light like capsules taken from the sky, and the strings were positivelyluminous,unearthly in their sky blue glow. When Venti brushed a reverent finger over a string, it produced a melody so kind that it brought them to near-tears.

"My god," Nilou breathed out, a pair of crystalline tears trailing down her cheeks in contrast to her wide, joyful eyes. When had she last heard something so utterlykind?

̶E̶i̶ The Raiden Shogun let out a shuddering breath, yet Her face was still stony.

"It worked!" Paimon said, mouth open in awe. Her eyes glittered with joy as she looked over the Holy Lyre, marvelling in its beauty.

"It seemscompletelydifferent from before." Jean managed to get out, eyes locked onto the holy instrument before their very hands.

"The lyre's Anemo power seems fully restored. We should be able to use it now." Venti turned to the blonde-haired Traveler with an unusually gentle smile on his lips, eyes bright with unadulterated happiness that Lumine couldn't help but smile back. "It's all thanks to you, Lumine." He said softly.

It took a few moments for their 'meeting' to resume. After all, it's not everyday that you witness the restoration of a divine instrument.

"I think the Traveler certainly sees a lot of things that are mind-boggling to us mortals with normal lives that thisshouldbe everyday for her," Beidou smirked.

"Do any of us herehavenormal lives?" Xinyan responded disbelievingly. It was true. Though there was always a sense of consistency and repetition that popped up in everyone's lives, especially for those with business or management related jobs, the lives they led compared to actual normal people were definitely...

"It can be said that these are normal lives for Vision users," Yanfei commented quickly.

"Well... You're right, there."

"Now, where should we summon Stormterror?" In the end, it was dutiful Jean who dove into the reason they were going through all this trouble for. "It must be away from the city, else there will be casualties should we fail."

"Perhaps here at the winery..."

"If the winery was destroyed, it's not something I couldn't eventually fix, but... I'd still rathernotgo through the hassle." Diluc immediately dismissed the notion, raising a brow at Jean for the obvious bad suggestion.

"...:" Jean smiled sheepishly. She hadn't been sleeping well ever since Stormterror became a problem– even less with all the hustle and bustle that went down just in one day to retrieve the Teardrop Crystals as soon as humanly possible.

"You never rest, Jeanie," Lisa sighed, thinking back on how terrible Jean's eyebags were during that time- even worse than normal. At least she had actually given in and delegated much of her regular work to others.

"It was a chaotic time, you know that," Jean defended.

"But still. Even after everything had settled down you kept working so hard we were afraid you were simply going to drop one day," Lisa frowned. "Thankfully we set up that party for you. If you kept working at the same pace you would have ended up with bedrest in the Cathedral."

"Lisa..."

"She's right, big si- Acting Grand Master," Barbara butted in, mouth creased into a nervous line but her eyes determined, shining with a hint of concern. "If you had pulled another all-nighter even after the party, I would have confined you to a month's worth of bed rest in the Cathedral! That still is up in the air!"

Those words took Jean aback. "I..."

"So stop overworking yourself so much," Barbara said, then after noticing Jean's silence, quickly added. "Please."

"...I'll try."

Barbara sighed at those meekly-spoken words, but her shoulders relaxed a little. "I'll hold you to those words, Acting Grand Master Jean."

As the younger girl returned to her seat, Jean couldn't help but stare at that small back which she still remembered supporting with a hand during horse-riding lessons.

When had her little sister grown so much?

"The wind that blows at sea or in high places should be able to carry a bard's words far away." Venti said."It's never going to work if the air is too dry or suffocating."

Paimon nodded slowly. "Paimon understands. Sea or high places, right?"

"In the sky? You could play the lyre as you're gliding through the air..." Lumine offered half-seriously.

"Even Amber would never think of doing such a thing..." Jean sighed.

Amber made a strange, choked noise, torn between laughing and being offended.

"That sounds fun!" Klee gasped, eyes shining with delight. She turned to her older brother, hands already clasped together, pouting up at him. "Can you teach me how to play the lyre? Please, please, pretty please..."

Albedo sighed. "I'm afraid I don't know how to play the lyre, Klee. Or any instruments, really. Perhaps I could ask for musical lessons, but you'll have to wait until I get good enough to teach you." It was an obvious dodge, so that Klee would think her wish was fulfilled and that she could do so later on. Obviously, since her big brother was so busy, she'd understand that he didn't have time for music lessons, and then would eventually forget about it herself.

For now, the not-forgetful child that was Klee squealed and jumped. "Yayyy! Thank you so much, big brother!" She stood and give a loud kiss on his cheek, which made him smile faintly.

Diluc began, "If you go east from Starfell Lake, there are mountains south of the beach."

"..Oh! You mean that beach you were snoring away on and Paimon had to wake you?" Paimon said to Lumine.

"If you head to the place where the cliff juts out – that place is known as Starsnatch Cliff." Diluc explained.

Ayaka's interest was piqued. "Why is it known as Starsnatch Cliff?" She asked her attendant.

Thoma explained, "It's because of an old folktale, milady. There was once a thief who was never caught despite having a ginormous bounty on his head, having stolen numerous things from the poor and the wealthy alike. Even when bounty hunters managed to chase him, he always somehow found a way to escape. He could steal even the most priceless artifact and the most well-hidden treasure. In fact, he was even said to have stolen the Holy Lyre der Himmel, millions of Mora minted straight from the Golden House, a precious fan that belonged to the Raiden Shogun, one of the books from the Dendro Archon's personal collection, a jewel on the Hydro Archon's necklace, an old weapon belonging to the Pyro Archon, and one of the Tsaritsa's teacups. Because of all these priceless treasures and the other countless things that he stole from maximum security or right under a person's nose, he was said to be able to steal even the stars from the sky.

But one day, after getting caught red-handed attempting to steal a figurine from the Favonius Grandmaster's office, he was chased to the mountains by the Knights and dozens of angry civilians. Even though he managed to escape, he had retained severe injury and wouldn't make it out alive without a professional healer. They say that his dying moments were at the edge of the cliff that overlooks the sea, no land or civilization as far as the eye can see, hand reaching for the stars until his dying breath."

"What do you think, bard? Meets the requirements, no?" Diluc crossed his arms and tilted his head to the shorter.

"Lemme think... Starsnatch Cliff..." Venti murmured.

"...Alright, let's do it there."

"Very well. Then let's meet at Starsnatch Cliff when we are ready." Jean nodded. Then, intoning seriously, "Please don't be late."

"Hee-hee! Yes, Ma'am!" Paimon giggled, smiling gleefully.

Jean caught her slip and her eyes widened. "Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to..."

The scene closed there.

A little while later after they had a break to replenish their strength, with Lumine and Paimon eating heartily at the Dawn Winery's dining table, they set out for Starsnatch Cliff just as the sun began to set, and arrived at their destination while the skies were still slowly being painted a dark blue, hints of rose pink and orange peeking out from the horizon.

Albedo absentmindedly flipped to a new page and started sketching the view.

At the very top of Starsnatch Cliff, the winds blew strong, cutting into the skin. Paimon shivered and drifted closer to Lumine, whose only reaction to the biting cold was a slight frown.

"Everyone is finally here." Diluc did one last sweep of the small group to assuage his own worries, nodding to himself.

"What a view..." Paimon's eyes were wide in wonder as she took in the horizon, seeming to forget all about the cold.

Longing struck Ayaka's heart once more. It felt like such a long time had passed since she last saw a sunset that didn't make her feel exhaustion and dread, when yet another day had passed since the Decree and yet nothing could be done.

"Lovely for a fated reunion, isn't it?" Venti smiled, though a solemn look had reached his eyes."Well, we must be prepared for a fight."

"Regardless of the outcome, things finally seem to be taking a turn for the better." Jean offered."Mondstadt has really been through so much recently..."

Diluc crossed his arms and scoffed. "Huh! In the end, the solution to our problem was as simple as a traveler and a song."

"This quite feels like the climax to a story," Xingqiu pointed out, sipping at a mug of tea. His side was pressed to Chongyun's as if looking for warmth, and though all he received was coolness due to Chongyun's natural temperature he didn't dare to plaster himself away. "I must say, it's unusually exciting."

"Itdoesseem to be set in a story format," Yae Miko hummed. "With how long this chapter has been already, it's likely that the next one is the last. I'm quite curious as to what will come next when so much has happened in this one already..."

"Aiyah, you people, put into a story it may be, but it still is real life," Hu Tao smiled, amused, after spotting the strange look that had overcome Diluc's face at the fact that their hardships had been put into an entertainment format. "Be careful of what you say~"

Still, no spoilers, please, were the unspoken words. If The Seeker of Desire wanted them to react to real life events as if they were nothing more than stories brought to life before their eyes, then might as well treat it as such.

Diluc sighed, but silently acquiesced.

"I suppose the Knights of Favonius may have played a part in it too..."

Venti sighed. "Oh, we get it, Master Diluc... Everyone, please step aside!"

"I, the best wandering bard of the mortal world, shall begin my performance with the Holy Lyre."

Many straightened in anticipation for what was to come.

With that said, he began to approach the edge of the cliff. The Holy Lyre in hand, he began to strum a song so gentle and dear, known only to those of the paper past, the breeze dancing with the leaves to accompany his performance.

With a few simple(beautiful, complex)notes, it was as if a gentle breeze had swept into the room. Caressing their cheeks and brushing their hair, bringing with it the scent of fresh green and humid skies. The simple yet kind winds had come to comfort them; soothing the wounds in their hearts and seeping out the tenseness and stress from their weary shoulders and aching backs. A mother's soft call for dinner, a father's hearty laugh, a sister's beaming smile, a brother's star-like eyes, the leading hand of a friend, the unadulterated love from a beloved pet, the embrace of a thousand winds waiting to fix you back up.

The music which impossibly reached out from the screen and took their faces in its caring hands felt likehome.

It didn't take long before the ground started to rumble, and a humongous dragon rose from the depths, bringing with him a swirl of powerful wind that caused everyone but Venti to cover their faces and take a step back. The bard stood unwavering before his old friend, still strumming the strings of his Holy Lyre.

Barbara dug her fingers into her skirts, trembling.

When the wind stopped, so did the song, and the dragon now known as Dvalin levelled himself above them. Lumine cautiously dropped her arms from her face and watched as Venti stared calmly up at the divine dragon before him.

The real-life Venti had the same expression as he did on screen, eyes calm without any hint of concern or wariness.

You have come...

The dragon's voice was a breathy snarl that echoed across the lands, making the grass bristle as if his breath was a strong gust of wind.

What has done cannot be undone...

He snarled right in Venti's face, his mighty jaw hovering right above the bard's head, yet still the boy in green did not falter.

"If so, then why do I see sadness in your eyes?" Venti placed the Holy Lyre at his hip as he stared up at his old friend with big, determined eyes, eyes that held the skies.

(Eyes like turquoise jewels, eyes like the colors which birds flocked to, eyes like skies, eyes like-)

"Sadness that speaks of your yearning for this song..."

The windborne bard strummed his strings dolce

And the Holy Lyre answered his questions kind

In response, Dvalin unhinged his jaw, showing off his rows of sharp teeth and growled so deeply that involuntarily, each mortal behind Venti shivered, their hairs standing up.

The bard's songs invited him to sing along

For he yearned to let all perceive him fair

Barbara, with trembling lips, opened her mouth, "Y-

Jean looked upon the scene with wide eyes. "They are... communicating... Huh?" Her shock was put off-focus when she caught a glimpse of something all-too familiar above them.

Dehya snapped to attention, uselessly barking out-

"Watch out!"

A beam of light struck seemingly out of nowhere straight at Venti– or rather, the Holy Lyre. Before anyone could even react, the Holy Lyre fell to the ground, burnt by the light and flickering in static shock from the damage to the strings.

Barbara couldn't help but let out a gasp, kneeling up from her seat in terror.

It was as if the room forgot that what was being simulated was already done and passed- Xingqiu was leaning forward, hands braced on his table and not mindful of the cup he had knocked over in his sudden surge of panic, Nilou had let out a gasp so loud it made Collei flinch and was currently covering her eyes, Yun Jin had a hand over her mouth, Thoma looking uncharacteristically serious, Diona having let out a loud curse that was barely covered by the sound of the simulated Venti's body thudding onto the ground.

The only ones seemingly unaffected included those immortal (both hidden and unhidden) and those who had been there to experience what was being simulated. The rest who weren't caught up in unnecessary panic and concern were hyperfixating on the screen, eyes rapidly following every movement.

(Yae Miko had to agree with The Seeker of Desire; seeing the reactions of those around her was quite entertaining.)

(And on an interesting note, her dear friend was grouped into those whose eyes were glued to the screen rather than the general consensus of unaffected immortals.)

"No! Tone-Deaf Bard!" Paimon exclaimed, and the party ran to their fallen comrade.

Do not be fooled by him, dear dragon...

With a snicker, a Cryo Abyss Mage revealed itself from behind Dvalin's neck.

An instinctive snarl made its way to Diluc's lips, eyes hardening as he glared at the screen. Despite the events having long since passed, he could still clearly feel the dark rage he felt back then, when the mystery of what the Abyss Order was up to was only just discovered...

Until now, he could only collect bits and pieces of scattered information, the Abyss Order having somehow closed in on themselves. No matter how far he looked, it felt as if information was being deliberately kept away from his reach, now that they had confirmed his active involvement in their most major of plans.

He left you to rot alone!...

It floated by Dvalin's side as its beady eyes looked down upon the humans mockingly.

Jean struck an arm out to shield the injured Venti, preventing him from going forward as his cry of, "No! Listen to me!"was drowned out by the Abyss Mage's next words and the winds which were beginning to pick up in his panic.

Xiao winced faintly, eyes going distant, the increasingly wild sound of the winds bringing forth all-too familiarmemories-

Now he attempts to deceive you once more...

"No," Venti whispered, closing his eyes as if in pain.

It was too late– Dvalin had fallen for the Abyss Mage's trap, cursing out Venti's name–

Barbatos...

By this point, almost everyone had already figured it out. With how brazenly Venti displayed himself and barely put effort into hiding his identity, it wasn't exactly difficult.

To hear it confirmed was a different matter in itself.

Barbara sucked in a breath, mouth hanging open as she tried to process...

Noelle's hands were covering her mouth, teary eyes comically wide as she looked at the screen.

The Abyss Mage's voice wasgleeful.

Let your wrath fester!

Mondstadt has already turned its back on you!

"No," Eula gritted her teeth. "No, that isn't-"

Dvalin's anger reached new heights– with an earpiercing roar, he took to the skies, causing another strong gust of wind to nearly knock them off their feet.

You...!

With each heavy thrum of his flapping wings, Dvalin's voice filled with more rage.

You were planning this all along!?

TO HAVE ME SLAIN BY THEM?

This time, even Yae Miko frowned from the pain of the earth-shattering voice.

All of them had to dig their heels into the ground to prevent from being knocked off their feet, legs straining and ears ringing in the face of Dvalin's screams.

"Dvalin, it's not like that!" Venti's face was gradually being overcome with despair as he looked up at his friend with desperate eyes.

Zhongli's face was solemn as he stared upon his old friend's stricken face. It had been a long time since he had seen such raw emotion on that face, and he had been hoping, silently, foolishly, that he never would again.

(It seems like time truly stops for no one. The hurts of the past had yet to completely close up, and yet more had come in store for them.

Even the two eldest Archons could only struggle in the face of an abstract being they had no control over. Pain was such a rainbow of nuances.)

The Cryo Abyss Mage flew in and landed on Dvalin's neck, right before the jut of the venomous blood clot that shaped itself in a glowing purple horn.

Xiao's eyes fell onto that clot of rotten poison, jaw clenching.

The time has come for the dragon to serve itstruemaster...

Despite having no facial expression to speak of, the Abyss Mage was more than just smug. Itradiatedthe feeling.

"'Valin hasno master," Razor growled, eyes flashing with a rage that spoke of a similar pain.

Unsurprisingly to his people, but somewhat unexpectedly for the rest,B̶a̶r̶b̶a̶t̶o̶s̶ Venti gave a nod of agreement, eyes glued to the screen.

While you bewail your pathetic selves.

And watch the world tremble with fear!

With one final roar, Dvalin flew off into the skies, leaving the rest behind to cough in his dust.

"Dvalin..."Venti sighed tearfully, his entire face crumbled into despair.

Soft sobbing was louder than bombs in the silent room.

"Babart– Venti, please be careful..." Jean fretted as Venti slowly limped over to them, wincing imperceptibly as he did so.

"Hehe... You've known by my true identity for some time now, haven't you, Jean?" Even now, Venti managed to find it in himself to crack Jean a wry smile, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Though, I thank you for continuing to use the name Venti."

As if waking from a dream, the fog cleared from Venti's eyes, and he allowed himself a smile, turning to Jean and nodding in another form of thanks.

Jean could only smile weakly back.

"How's the Holy Lyre?" Diluc cut to the chase. "Can it still be played? Or does it need to be repaired?"

With her gentlest touch, Paimon picked up the Holy Lyre and its pieces scattered to the ground, presenting them meekly to Venti.

"Wow..." He sighed tiredly. "Unfortunately, I think it's beyond repair..."

"...Uh-uhm, I'm sure there's someone out there who specializes in repairing instruments,"Collei spoke nervously, trying to cut through the heavy tension. She turned to Nilou. "Do you know anyone, Miss Nilou?"

The professional dancer was silent for a long moment, wiping away her tears. Just as Collei began to falter, the dancer said, "...I think one of the members of Zubayr Theater knows a Vision user who does."

"That's great! Then, they could probably fix the Holy Lyre.." Collei lit up, bright with excitement for a moment before she turned her head to the nuns in the room. "...!"

"...We'll see if we can do a commission," Rosaria responded, sounding distant.

Lumine's face was pinched, worrying lowly, "Dvalin is in a lot of danger..."

Bennett patted Razor's arm comfortingly. "Hey, it's okay. Lord Dvalin is safe now. He took you to that island, remember?" The pat was a bit hard, but it did its job of startling Razor out of his current emotions.

"....Mm." Razor grunted lowly. His shoulders only began to relax when Fischl put her hand on his arm, too.

"No, we should make thatAbyss Magepay first." Diluc's face was contorted into a truly fearsome scowl, spitting out the name like a curse. In a way, with how it had so badly hurt his homeland, it was. "If we don't fight the evil at its source, then we can't save Dvalin at all." His eyes were flaming red, a hidden passion alighting them into the most powerful flames to ever be seen in the mortal realm.

Cyno's own eyes narrowed in thoughtful challenge.

"In which case I shall call upon Outrider Amber to track it down..." said Jean.

Diluc brushed her aside, looking somewhere far away with a hard look in his eyes. "No need."

"Why is that?" Jean ventured cautiously, glancing upon his angered visage with appropriate apprehension.

"I eradicated one not long ago, in one of the Four Winds' temples." The redhead explained curtly.

A small smirk pulled the end of Kaeya's lips at the reminder of that day, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything with the current atmosphere. Besides, he too was deep in thought. A god having been within vicinity of him for all these months...

How could he not have noticed?

He had always known something was up with that bard, especially with the way Jean and even Diluc trusted him and seemed to know him so well, clearly hiding secrets with him (and apparently, about him.)

But to think it wasthisall along...

(His eye itched.)

Meanwhile, Amber muttered despondently, "I would have been more than happy to help..." Her voice was unusually lacking life, likely due to the shock of what had just been revealed.

Surprisingly, it was Diluc who spoke. "There was no real need. You already had enough on your plate." Though his tone was obviously grudging, the words were sincere.

Amber could only gape at him. Nice words from the second biggest Favonius hater???

(The Fatui were said to be the biggest haters.)

"What world are we living in now...?" Eula muttered to herself, almost dead-eyed. Too many things have happened within the span of a few minutes. Too many.

"What!? When...?" Paimon gasped.

"If you want to track those monsters down, then I'll seek answers from my contacts. I've gotothermeans for tracking them down." And with that, he brushed them all fully aside, beginning the trek back down to civilization without another word.

"Oh... Diluc..." Paimon sighed, equal parts exasperated and fond. "Though he dislikes the Knights of Favonius, he protects Mondstadt in his own way."

Tsundere,Lumine thought idly.

She'd like to voice the thought aloud, but considering the gravity of what had just been revealed, she didn't think such a comment would be taken anything but awkwardly or ignored entirely.

(Perhaps she was finding a bit of glee at the situation. After all, while Venti had no escape from the reveal and would thus be subject to a lot of scrutinizing looks and flipped behaviors, there was someone else in the room who, in her humble opinion, had a much bigger and more unexpected identity reveal.)

(She pitied Venti, but when the time came, she was going to be the first to point and laugh at their resident consultant.)

"Ooh?" Venti teased as they ambled after him. "Why does our little Paimon sound so doting all of a sudden?"

As Paimon glowered at him, Diluc spoke from the very front of their party, showing that he could still hear them despite the slight distance between them.

"Hmph." He scoffed, though everyone could tell he didn't mean anything by it. "Wait for my word. I'll be sure to let the Abyss Order know that their blatant disregard for Mondstadt...

...will not go unpunished."

"It really is like the climax of a story," Yoimiya repeated weakly.

The scene closed, the screen darkening until only Diluc's hardened eyes and flaming irises were all that could be seen, until the screen fully went black.

Diona wasn't the only one to feel a chill up their spine at the cinematic emphasizing of Diluc's eyes.

"Dramatic bastard," she muttered, trying not to think about the flash of fear that took her heart for a moment. If Diona was a cat, then Diluc must be a panther- an unforgiving predator who rarely let his guard down.

(As loathe as she was to make that comparison, even in her head.)

Then, a brand new scene opened up. One that was ominous and cold.

"...?"

A youth with flowing gold hair in a braid and dressed in black stood at the edge of a cliff, overlooking the eternal storm that was Old Mondstadt– whose windy barrier only grew worse by the occupance of Dvalin turning it into Stormterror's Lair. Behind the youth bowed two Hydro Abyss Mages, setting an unsettling picture.

"...What?"

The sharp and sudden voice was high-pitched and breathy, decidedly unfamiliar, especially when one turned and found the source to be the ever-unshakeable Traveler.

"...Lumine?"

With their back to the screen, the golden-haired youth was an ambiguous figure to most within the room, but those who were used to the Traveler's presence could quickly see a resemblance or feel a similar feeling that they get when around the golden-haired outlander.

Slowly, eyes turned to Lumine.

Her slackened face and trembling fists could only confirm the slow connection they made in their heads.

Above them, the whole world rumbled as Dvalin screeched, flying his way back into his decrepit, lonely home. In a flash of Cryo, the Cryo Abyss Mage which had broken the Holy Lyre der Himmel and manipulated Dvalin back into the Abyss Order's dark clutches appeared.

It, too, bowed its head to the straight back of the golden-haired youth.

Your Highness... Your humble servant returns.

Lumine snapped her head to the side where no one sat, squeezing her eyes shut.

Meanwhile, Kaeya was completely still, eye rapidly taking in every inch of the mysterious figure being shown to them. To him, the identity of this person was doubtless.

The Prince of the Abyss Order...

Jean murmured, "This isn't a memory...?" Frown lines crinkled her mouth. Hesitantly, she shot a look of worry towards Venti, but his back was turned, face blank as he watched the screen.

The boy glanced back, revealing cold gold eyes like a shrivelling sun.

Paimon flinched back, stumbling wide-eyed into Lumine's stiff body from the gaze that made her blood run cold.

That face...

Undeniably, it was almost exactly the same as the Traveler. The only differences were the curve of the eyes and the size of the nose- even then, they were so minute that you would have to take a good look to realize unless you knew that face very well.

Not only that, but the face belonged to a head of blonde hair- the shade slightly dark and more akin to sunshine than Lumine's pale locks, and yet the luminosity was the same. A petite frame and slender figure. A small face and doe eyes.

They were like twins.

The shock of seeing such familiar eyes retain a look that could freeze hell over stayed with Paimon even with the warmth of her companion next to her.

When your homeland returns to this world, we shall revel in its glory!

The words echoed in Kaeya's mind. A familiar scene from the past was unwittingly being dug up once more.

Albedo's eyes, which had become steadily blank throughout the duration of the new scene, regained light, yet he remained solemn. The numbness hadn't yet gone away.

He didn't need to take a look around the room to realize the atmosphere.

For good, the scene closed with the awful sight of the boy's all-too familiar face and cold eyes.

Perhaps it was the climax of the current story as Yoimiya had phrased it, but the real storm had yet to begin.

Prologue: Act II - For A Tomorrow Without Tears

Complete

The Travels of the Starborne [Genshin Impact Reacts] - Chapter 3 - cheesybaby, cheesylobrr (cheesybaby) - 原神 (2024)

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