Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

    The lights were bright tonight. Granted they were bright every night in Liyue harbor but tonight they were especially bright. It must be another of their festivals. Thought the man resting on the roof of the inn within a tree. As far as he knew the humans he was sworn to protect had these ridiculous celebrations every night. He couldn't make sense as to why they would celebrate so often especially with the ever growing dangers around them. It was foolish to him but who was he to dictate how they lived or what they did. He was simply their guardian nothing more. Despite himself though he would often find himself curious as to what goes on these bright nights. What made the humans like them so much? What made them wish to have them so often?

 

    He leaned back. "It's a bright night," shutting his eyes he let his mind wander until he fell asleep.

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    Night soon passed and the golden rays of the sun started to peak over the mountains. The man was long since up doing his usual rounds around the inn that he called his "temporary resting place" but both the workers and the regulars knew it to be more like his home. He would never admit it either but he couldn't help but to be fond of the people he saw every day. At least fond enough to make sure that there would be no monsters or bandits around them. He convinced himself that this was all just part of his sworn duty and tossed the thought to the back of his mind. Just as he was about to head back to the inn he saw what he was looking for. A group  of Hilichurls had made camp not far from the inn no doubt with the intention of raiding it. Conjuring his preferred  weapon, a spear, out of his own personal inventory, the skilled adeptul warrior silently made his way to the camp. Just when he was about to launch  his attack he heard a loud high pitched shout of...

 

    "Lumineeeeee waitttttttt!" Turning to where he heard the shout from he was stunned to see a petite girl, sword in hand, charging towards the unprepared bunch of Hilichurls. Taken aback by not only the fury of this girl's charge, but by the small floating fairy creature chasing after her, the warrior hesitated. His hesitation gave the golden haired girl enough time to cut down the two Hilichurls closest to her with the swiftest of movements. Stunned by her skill he decided to wait and see just how she would handle the rest of them. 

 

    Seeing that there were a few monsters carrying torches as weapons, the girl conjured a mini tornado that lifted the creatures into the air, scorching them with the same fire they planned on using against her. 

 

    Animo...  thought the man now hiding in the bushes. Animo was the same element he was gifted with and to be seeing a human of all things handling it so skillfully was quite a sight to behold. Not only was she able to conjure up a tornado on will, she was able to control it to the point that it wouldn't get out of control.

 

    He watched as she used the power of animo to hop around the battlefield making it impossible for the poorly out matched Hilichurls to land a strike. He also watched as the small fairy darted around frantically Following her warrior companion. The blond quickly cut down the rest of her opponents with an ease he rarely saw. The girl  flipped her sword in the air and the man watched as it all but disappeared into her personal inventory. The fairy quickly caught up to her.

 

    "Lumineeee~ how many times have I told you not to run away from Paimon like that!" The fairy said gasping.

 

    Do the two have another companion named Paimon?

 

    "Calm down Paimon, i got rid of them quickly enough." 

 

    Oh she's Paimon,

 

    "THAT'S NOT THE PROBLEM!!!" The little flying thing Exasperated stomping her feet in the air. "Paimon's hungry! And all you ever do all the time is go around fighting monsters!!! We were so close to Wangshu Inn but you had to step off the trail and now who knows how far we are from it!" The small one said almost in tears. The blond stared at her companion with a blank expression until she decided to break the silence.

 

    "Paimon we need to work on your sense of Direction. The trail is just over there maybe a few hundred feet behind you." She said pointing her finger behind her flying friend, making both the man in the bushes and her turn to where the traveler was pointing. "And if anything this is somewhat a short cut cause if we keep going straight we'll end up back on the trail without having to do an unnecessary round about." The girl pointed her finger in front of her to where the trail was almost visible again. The man nodded his head knowing that she was right for if they were to go on the path she was saying, they would arrive at the bridge directly in front of the inn. 

 

"Oh... Hehe Paimon didn't notice." The girl said happily again floating up ahead of her friend. "Come on slow poke Paimon's food is waiting!" Shaking her head the traveler started after her friend. The hiding man took that as a sign to take his leave. He heard the two still chatting as he was making his silent escape but nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the high pitch scream of...

 

    "LUMINE BEHIND YOU!" The Yaksha turned on his heels, weapon in hand. He felt his heart sink a bit when he saw a large mitchurl with its axe raised, and the blond seeming to be still surprised by her friend's outburst. He knew he could never reach her in time even with the wind at his heels but for some reason he started after her anyway. He came to an abrupt stop though when he saw that she wasn't frozen in shock but she was in fact falling. She fell straight on her belly, avoiding the axe swing entirely and with her foot she kicked up a burst of air forcing the beast to stumble backwards. 

 

    With another burst of wind she was on her feet sword in hand. Wide-eyed the man stood there dumb founded as he watched her take down a monster double her size with ease. He was amazed by her none conventional and wild way of fighting. She had no style of fighting but that was her style of fighting. 

 

    "Lumine! Are you ok?" Paimon came flying at her friend just about crashing into her. 

 

    "Yeah... yeah I'm ok. Scared me though."

 

    "Scared you?!?! You scared Paimon!!! Aghhh whatever lets just go. See this is why we should have stayed on the path. We wouldn't have been sneaked attacked on." The flying girl turned,

 

    "Welllllll~ I don't know about that." Lumine said swinging her arms behind her back.

 

    "What do you mean by that?"

 

    "Well think about it. Why would a bunch of Hilichurls just randomly set up camp right next to an inn. They were planning on raiding it, and i guess they would have done it in the middle of the night. And if you ask me i would much rather be surprise by a mitchurl while I'm wide awake then to wake up and have one in my face." The adeptus couldn't agree more even though he knew that it would have never come to that. 

 

    "Ha I guess Paimon didn't think about it that way. See this is why Paimon thinks everyone needs a friend like Lumine! You're always the one to be thinking ahead and I think everyone needs a friend like Paimon cause I'm the one who always finds the best places to find food!" The girl said proudly holding her hands on her hips. "Now lets go! The inn and the food is safe now so lets go fill our tummies!"

 

    "Haha I can't argue with that. I am pretty hungry." 

 

    "Exactly so lets go!" The small one took the larger girl by the hand and started dragging her towards their destination.

 

    With the girls now gone and a certainty that there will be no more monsters coming behind them the man came out of hiding. Looking towards to where the girls had gone he replayed everything that just happened in his head. Not only did the way that the beautiful blond fight amaze him but the way that he wouldn't have even sensed her coming if it wasn't for her screaming companion truly impressed him. 

 

    "Lumine huh?" He mused to himself as he looked at the complete massacre she left behind her. Not seeing anything left to do here he decided that it was time to head back and rest.

Chapter Text

The warrior arrived to the inn long before the two girls, thanks to his power of teleportation. He took up to his usual resting place on the balcony. It wasn't that he didn't have a room for himself, on the contrary, Verr Goldet, the current  owner of Wangshu Inn, had separated a room solely for his use. He simply preferred the balcony and the cool wind that blew there. He took notice of the many people down below and wondered just how long it would take the strange pair to arrive. 

His question was answered a lot quicker than he thought it would be when he saw them at a distance. It looked like the little one was upset over something and “Lumine” was laughing at her anger. She must tease her often , was what he figured. He leaned back into a more comfortable position as he watched the two enter the ground level of the inn. With them here for the time being he could afford a small amount of rest. Not too much he knew for they were, after all, just mortals. 

 

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    Day turned to night all too quickly and having already been up for some time the young looking adeptus began his nightly routine of Searching for the demons of the land. He figured that the young blond and the child she had with her were fast asleep by now. Not that having them awake would change anything, he was just keeping his mind busy with thought as the long hours of the night passed. He had replayed the battle that girl fought an endless amount of times in his head analyzing every move she made and trying to guess what she would do next if anything in that fight had gone differently. With his countless analyzations he came to one conclusion. He truly had no idea what that girl would do next. 

Her movements were unpredictable yet calculated. Wild yet measured. In no means where they perfect but she was powerful. He had no doubt that if it came to it he would not be defeated by her, but if she were to fight him he would not enjoy the battle. Not that he enjoyed any of the battles he fought, he just knew that if he did fight her he would be in for an annoying tussle. 

He saw a pair of hilichurls Attempting to corral a boar. It's  almost pitiful how hard they’re struggling for such a simple task . He closed in on his prey. Their extermination was swift and quick. The poor creatures didn't even know they had been attacked before their heads were by their feet. Skillfully, the adeptus swung his polearm, ridding it of any blood left behind by the creatures. Without a second glance he took off in search of his next victims. 

Soundlessly Zipping through the night with the wind on his heels the adeptus covered much ground. The early morning hours were soon upon him, the sun yet to crest the Horizon. He decided he would parole the area to the west of Wangshu Inn Ensuring the safety of the residents that were resting. When the sun rises he would be able to rest for a short time while the residents were up and about. He would then have to do his afternoon patrol then his nightly Guard duty before starting it all up again. Having done the same routine for centuries he was quite accustomed to little rest. As used to little rest as he was, he could not help but admit to himself that lately he was tired. Not only was he tired, he was concerned. Tonight was no different from the past few nights. There was an unusual amount of monster activity, with the monsters being uncharacteristically violent. 

This had him on the edge. What was causing the Unusual monster activity? What could he do to stop it? He didn't have the answer to either of the questions so he put them in the back of his mind. For the moment his duty was to simply keep the people of Liyue safe. He could figure the cause of this at a later time. Some rustling in the bushes caught his attention. Crouching down he slowly stalked up to the noise in hope of a better view before he attacked. He was glad he did for he caught a glimpse of blonde hair and froze in his tracks. 

The sun's not even up, what is she..?

"HA I GOTCHA!" Came a loud call from the crouched girl making the adeptus jump a little. Shameful. He squinted his eyes a little to see just what 'Lumine' got but he was too late. The girl had stuffed it in her bag already. "Paimon keeps saying how she hasn't seen you guys in different colors so I'm sure she would like to see you." The girl spoke to her bag in  an accent he somehow missed in his first encounter with her. He couldn't quite place it either. She was from a region he had yet to visit?

"Oh, I should probably take you too." Lumine said, snatching up a few bird eggs from a low hanging branch. "And you... and you." She said as she picked a sweet flower and a matsutake Mushroom. She stuffed them both in her bag and started back to the inn. He caught a beam of light on his hand and realized that the sun was coming up. It was time that he made his way back to the inn too. He decided that he would trail behind her as a way of ensuring her safety. It was still pretty early in the morning and he knew that humans oftentimes find it difficult to function in the early and late hours of the day. She was most likely no different from the rest of her species.  

He heard her talking but he could not understand what she was saying. Not because of how far she was but because whatever language she was speaking he did not know it. Strange. She turned her attention back to her bag. 

"Now do you have any idea of what I can make with them?" She was talking to whatever she put in her bag. "I mean what can a person even cook with 4 eggs, a sweet flower, and a matsutake Mushroom?"

She wants to know what she can cook with the things she picked up? Why does that matter?

"Paimon will be demanding something to eat whenever she gets up and I'm running low on mora haha." She said with a nervous giggle almost as if she was answering him.

oh…

The girl reached into her bag and pulled out what she had stuffed in there earlier. It was a Geo crystalfly in a glass container. 

"Aren't you the prettiest thing~?" The girl chimed with a grin smeared across her face. "I promise I'll let you go after I show you to Paimon." She poked at it with her free hand and placed it back in her bag. When the inn was in sight the man decided that he had stalked the girl enough. He saw no reason to give Lumine more opportunities to discover him and teleported back to the inn. 

Upon the highest point of the building he could still see her. She was a warrior just as he was through and through there was no mistaking that. With every step she took power radiated off of her. Maybe that wasn’t obvious to the common mortals around her, but with his trained eye he could see the years she spent honing her skills. With a bit of training and a couple of years she may actually prove to be a challenge to one of the younger adepti.

Once again, he had no reason to be pondering these things, he just wanted to think of something to keep his mind busy. He slumped a bit as he felt another wave of exhaustion and pain hit him. The monster’s strange activity has been forcing him to use more of his power making his condition worse. 

Soon… he thought,

He looked up to the sky and closed his eyes.

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Making her way into the inn, Lumine waved to Verr. Verr waved back as the blond started up the stairs. Thinking of something the young girl turned and made her way back to the front desk.

“Hey Verr, I have a question, well actually two questions.”

“I may have the answer to at least one of them.” Giggled the woman “Now what seems to be the problem traveler?”

“Ok so I know how this is going to sound but does the inn offer a tab system by any chance?” Verr raised an eyebrow, “It’s not that I wont pay it’s just that it would be Easier that way.” 

“ Easier?” 

“Well you see I’m part of the adventures guild and that’s my main source of income. But a couple of things came up and I’ve been too busy to take on many jobs so I'm running low on mora. I have enough to pay my bill. It's just that if I do I won't have enough to get me and Paimon a place to stay once we get into the city.” The girl tightened her grip on her bag.

“As soon as I get to the harbor I’ll take on a few jobs from the branch there. It really won't be long before I come up with enough mora to pay back what I owe.”

“Haha it's not that I doubt that you would, it's just I’m a little surprised that you came to question me about our tab system. To be frank we receive a lot of adventures and travelers as customers here and many of them don’t have the funds to pay us at the time of their departure. As such we came up with a system that would give them more time to ‘come up’ with the mora. We’re actually quite well known for it.” The older woman gave the girl a playful smile.

“Oh, well, haha I’m not really from around here so I didn’t know.”

“Hahaha don’t worry about it too much. Just a little tip for the future,any time you stay at an inn ask about their tab. Most inns have one these days and if they don’t, I’m sure that there's an inn very close by that will. Now tell me about your second question while I add you to the tab list.”

“Oh right, I’ve noticed that the monsters around here have been strangely active, just this morning when I was out I ran into a few hilichurls and they were… well… umm… different?” Sometimes it was hard for her when Paimon wasn’t here to pipe up whenever she forgot some words.

“Oh yes, we have been getting reports about unusually violent creatures around the area. Unfortunately we have just about as little information as you do.” Verr placed a hand on her cheek and used the other to support her elbow.

“Oh I see.” Lumine thought for a moment. “Please, let me know if you find out anymore. I may be able to help.”

“Of course, I'll be sure to request you if I ever send in a request for the adventurer's guild.” She shot her a wink. Lumine was touched for she understood that this was Verr’s way of helping her out. If she sent a request to the guild she would be compensated for her labors. 

“Ha thanks for everything.” A smile came to the girl’s face which was soon passed to the woman behind the desk. Her smile was just contagious like that. 

“ Of course. Now, I assume you will be checking out soon? If you like I can start the process now, that way by the time you are ready all you would have to do is hand me your key.” 

“That would be great. I appreciate it.” The blond said, turning back towards the stairs. 

“It would be my pleasure.” Verr half bowed which Lumine imitated back at her. Her trip upstairs was a quick one saying that her room was just on the second floor. She made sure not to make much noise as she opened the door just in case Paimon was still sleeping, which she was. Her little friend laid sprawled across the bed, arms and legs all going in different directions, bedsheets only half covering her. 

Lumine shook her head trying to hold back a laugh. As gently as she could the girl rearranged her little pixie’s limbs into a way that wouldn’t leave her sore when she woke up. After covering her with the blanket, Lumine emptied her bag. She carefully placed the crystalfly on the nightstand while the rest of the items were all discarded with a little less care on the part of the bed where Paimon was not sleeping. (which was most of the bed)

The blond then opened her personal storage and pulled out a conveniently small cooking pot, a burner, and a lighting stone. She figured out what she would make her pixie for breakfast before they head out for Liyue Harbor. While cracking open the eggs she also pulled out some leftover cabbage and apples she had forgotten she had stored in her inventory. A satisfying salad would have to do. She didn't have any potatoes but she figured she'd somehow make it work. 

As the eggs started to cook, Lumine began shredding the cabbage into two small bowls she had left on the nightstand the night before. Once again looking to her inventory, the girl pulled out a small knife and a canister of water. She made quick work of the apples with her knife skills and after washing the Mushroom and sweet flower she started on them too. She sliced up the mushroom into thin slices and placed an equal amount in both of the bowls. With matsutake mushrooms being as big as they are she had no problem dividing it up between the both of them. The sweet flower though was a different story. Instead of cutting it she decided that she would squeeze its juices on the top sort of like a dressing. 

She pulled out the eggs from the pot and placed two in each salad. Even though Paimon was significantly smaller than the traveler she still ate just as much, if not more, then her. How Paimon worked was and forever will be a mystery to the girl. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her sleeping friend start to stir. A moment later the girl shot up.

“Ooooo Paimon smells something yummy.” Lumine turned to her friend.

“Well that’s because there is something yummy.” She had already started putting away all of her cooking wear as Paimon floated to her. 

“Did you make this Lumine? Is this a new salad? What are you going to call it?” Pimon woke up full of questions today didn’t she? Lumine handed her a bowl and the little girl immediately started chowing down. 

“Ummm im not sure, how about you name it?” Lumine said while taking a bite of her own food. The flavors somehow worked really well together. 

“Mmmm Paimon’s not sure… Ooo I know! How about Sweet Bite Salad?” 

“Sounds good to me.” She shrugged as she took another mouthful. This all felt nice. Really nice. Moments like this reminded her of when she was with her brother. Paimon was the main reason she still had an optimistic look on this world. Before her fairy came into her life Lumine cursed Tavat for being the reason she lost her powers. For being the reason that she was always lost and hungry. For being the reason Aether was no longer with her. 

    But somewhere along the way, she pulled Paimon out of this world’s ocean and now lived a pretty alright life. The language was still hard but everything else started falling into place one by one. The memory of the crystalfly crossed her mind and she put down her bowl only to pick the beautiful creature up.

    “Paimon look, I found it while I was looking for some eggs this morning.” That was a lie. She purposefully got up much earlier than her friend just so that she could go out to find one.

    “Oh wow!” Paimon exclaimed excitedly. “A crystalfly! And it's the color of geo!” The color of geo was just the way the people of this world called yellow.

    “Where did you find it?!” 

    “Oh well there were some by the statue of the Geo Archon.”

    “How did Paimon not see them?!” 

    “Because you have no observation skills.” The girl stated smugly.

    “Well Paimon had other things to think about so of course she wasn’t paying attention!” Paimon crossed her arms.

    “Oh yeah? Like what?”

    “Ah… well… like… Ugh! You know what Paimon doesn’t have to tell you!”

    “Oh ok sureee,” The girl said, rolling her eyes.

    “What are you going to do with it?” The smaller one asked no longer upset.

    “I was planning on just letting it go.” 

    “Oh ok pimon thinks that’s a good idea. This one’s too pretty to keep in a glass bottle. It needs to be freed. Oh but did you know that crystalflys can actually be used in alchemy?” Lumine stopped eating for a second.

    “No. Really?”

 “Yeah they can be used in all kinds of things! It might be mean to do so but their properties are extremely unique. But that doesn’t mean that you can use this one! Paimon got attached” 

“What kind of things can they be used for?”

“Ok well they can be used for all sorts of things. Some of them being…” The girls chatted away for at least an hour. Paimon explained in a very detailed manner everything she knew about how crystalflys could be used in alchemy. Lumine liked that about her. She made understanding the world so much easier just by talking her heart out. After a while the girls stopped talking and put their focus back on their food.

    “Ok so what’s the plan?” Questioned Paimon once she finished eating. 

    “The plan is on the Rite of Dissension in two days, we will stop the Geo Archon and hopefully have a chat with him. That's why we need to leave in a bit so that we can get to the harbor before nightfall.”

    “Oh, well Paimon’s ready whenever you are so just say the word and we’ll be off!”

    “Hahaha ok Paimon calm down.” Lumine laughed at her little friend. “Tidy up the room some and we’ll go hand Verr her key.”

    “Ok, on it!” 

    I swear sometimes she’s more excited about these things then I am. 

    The blond couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. She fixed the bed while Paimon cleaned up any mess they might have left during their stay. Before not too long the room looked just like the way it had when they first got here. 

    “Alright ready?” The larger girl asked her companion.

    “Yep, yep!” 

    “Alright then let's go.” After turning the key in to Verr the two made their way out of the inn and began their track to the harbor side by side. Neither noticing the vigilant adeptus as he watched them start back on their journey. 

 

Chapter Text

    Seems they are to resume their journey.

  The adeptus mused. He watched as the pair made their way down the dirt road in the direction of the harbor. Although he would never admit to it, he was pretty curious of what that girl planned on doing once she got to the land overpopulated with humans and liveliness. He himself had rarely visited the harbor. In the rare occasions in which he did it always seemed to be in a time of crisis. That or whenever his god would call for him. He always took in the sights in his occasional visits. Though he did try to stay as far away from the mortals as he could. 

    As of recent years, the Lord of Geo called to him less and less. Although he was fairly certain he hadn’t, he couldn’t help but think that Morax was displeased with him. That train of thought was not productive, or welcomed, so he quickly cut it off. His Archon must simply be busy with maintaining his people. There was no need to think of anymore. He preferred it if his thoughts would go back to wondering what that girl would be doing in the city so that’s where his thoughts went.

    Perhaps she is one of those adventures that come by every so often. They do say that they get their pay form within the city. 

    He thought back to a conversation he overheard from one of the regulars at the inn. 

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    “I’m being serious here! Ain’t no way imma let that little chef get all the glory! All she did was happen to take out the last hihilichurl or two and everyone be acting like she saved the day.” A middle aged man spoke with a tone that Xiao did not particularly like. 

    “A hihilichurl or two?” Another man said, almost laughing at the first. “From what I hear, you were lucky that our little Xiangling happened to be passing through. You speak a lot for a man that got his rump handed to him and only watched as a girl not even half his age swooped in for the rescue.” The group around them burst into laughter. It was apparent that the first man did not find this amusing.

    “Oh please,” he spat out. So the girl is good with a polearm and can hold her own. I would hardly count that as ‘swooping in for the rescue’” The man on the roof truly did not mean to eavesdrop but he could hardly help it when the crowd always spoke so loudly. That didn’t mean that he didn’t take this opportunity’s to learn more about the modern world that he lived in. He especially took note of the girl’s choice of weapon. It was his own after all. 

    “I don’t see why you’re so worked up about this (name he did not quite catch). You still got paid did you not?”

    “It’s not about the pay you Buffoon, it’s about the principal. The girl ain’t even an adventurer and the people of the harbor praise her wherever she goes for it. I’m telling ya it’s because she has somewhat of a rep for her cooking abilities. The people will believe anything so long as it’s about someone that they fancy.” The man said as he leaned back in his chair crossing his arms. There was just something about the man’s demeanor that did not sit right with the adeptus. In fact it somewhat angered him. 

    The man should be feeling ashamed that he was bested by an opponent as weak as a hihilichurl. Not complaining that he was indeed saved by this Xiangling girl. As far as he could tell the guy didn’t even offer help to the girl and he has the audacity to be upset. The mortal mind was something he was fairly certain that he would never be able to understand. 

    The night went on and more stories were shared about the young girl and other youths of Liyue. There was the “young master of the Guhua clan” as well as an exorcist that constantly were seen together. Then there was the ‘rockstar’, the opera singer, the half adeptus, and even the funeral parlor woman. All of which were on their way to making a name for themselves. There were others of course but most of them were already well known throughout Liyue. Most of the stories were told by these ‘adventures’ and he grew quite familiar with the term.

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    He found himself startled at how long he let his thoughts run wild. He realized it was a bad habit that he had had for thousands of years. By the time he came back to the present he could no longer see the girl and her child. He looked up to the sky to see the position of the sun. He had indeed let his mind stray for far too long. The humans were gathering at the harbor at an alarming rate as they did every year around this time. With the increasing number of mortals in the area, came an increasing number of possibilities that one of them could get attacked by the foul creatures of the area. This was not a time for him to be idle.

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The two girls walked along the path at a leisurely pace. They knew that they would have plenty of time before nightfall, and the harbor shouldn’t be all too far now. Paimon would even stop and explain to her larger friend about several herbs and flowers that were only native to Liyue. Lumine was excited by everything she was getting to see. Throughout the many worlds that she has visited this one seemed to have rules all of its own. The previous city of Mondstadt had been exciting and new all on its own, but Liyue was something else entirely. 

It was big. Really big compared to where she had visited before. In the city of freedom life was lived to the fullest. Everyone who lived there was free to decide what they wanted to do with their future. This did not exempt  them from suffering but it was a very admirable way to view life. She could only imagine what the city of commerce would have to offer.

“Lumine, have you been listening to Paimon?!” Her little friend kicked into the air. 

“Not really, kinda zoned out there.” She gave the pixie a shrug.

“Ugh I should have known.” The girl huffed. “As Paimon was saying we shouldn’t be far from the Liyue Harbor now. You should start thinking about what you want to say to the Geo  Archon. Don’t want to show up unprepared.”

“I know. I think that I have what I want to say all mapped out in my head. Really the problem is that if I will remember what I want to say when we actually start talking. He is a god after all.”

“Yeah well we already met one ‘god’ and the tone deaf bard didn’t really come off all that scary.” The floating girl wore a board expression on her face.

“Well Venti is a carefree god. I think that Morax, who has been guiding his people for thousands of years, will have a little more of an imposing air around him.”

“Yeah I guess you’re right but still. Try to think positively.” The girl clasped her hands behind her back. “He might actually be really nice.”

“Yeah, let's hope so.”

“Oh yeah! Paimon remembers that you said that you wanted to let go of Shiny when we were closer to the harbor. Do you think we're close enough now???” 

“Oh shoot, I almost forgot about the little guy.” Lumine dropped to one knee as she slid off her pack stopping for a second. “Do you think that we’re actually too close to the city?” The blond looked questioningly at her friend. “You did say people can use crystalflys for All kinds of alchemy right? We wouldn’t want to get ‘Shiny’ turned into something shiny.”

“Ah! You’re right.” The little pixie stopped and thought for a moment. “What if we climbed up to that mountain top and let him go there?” 

“You mean I climb and you just hover? Float? Fly? What do you do?” 

“Paimon doesn’t know. Paimon just does Paimon.” Lumine Stares at her friend.

“Ah, I see. You should become a professor at Sumaru’s Academia with your ability to educate people.”

“Hey! Paimon is an Excellent teacher. Paimon just doesn’t know how she does things sometimes.” The girl stomped her feet in the air and crossed her arms. “If you’re so great at explaining things, tell me how you do the sword flippy thing.” The smug look on her face said that she won the argument. Lumine knew better than to try And argue the point. They had had this discussion a couple of weeks back and she came to the conclusion that she actually didn’t know how her personal inventory worked. She just knew that it somehow did. It always had, even before she came to this world.

Although she had come up with some theories (that she would probably tell her friend later) she never really came down to a concrete answer. She always thought that it was one of the many unique gifts that her and her brother possessed. So when she found out that everyone in Teyvat was able to store things in the same way they did, she was a little more than surprised.

    “Ughh fine…” the blond let out a sigh. “Let’s let go of Shiny up there.” She pointed up the cliff while shrugging her pack back on. Paimon clapped her hands together and took off much faster than anyone would believe that she could. At the base of the cliff the girl spun suddenly waving her hands in the air.

    “Come on slowpoke! Let's hurry so that we can have enough time to look around the harbor!” Lumine sighed again and made her way to the girl. Without even thinking about it the girl jumped and started up the stone wall. She was never a slow climber and with all the recent experience she’s gotten, she looked like a spider climbing up a wall. 

    She reached over the ledge and pulled herself up with her flying companion not far behind her. Brushing a strand of her hair back behind her ear, Lumine kneeled back down and took the yellow crystalfly out of her bag.

    “Can Paimon let him out?” Paimon looked at Lumine with such excitement and child-like wonder that not even a god could have refused her. Handing the girl the glass bottle Lumine sat down, legs criss crossed, watching her friend eagerly trying to open the lid. She couldn’t help but chuckle a little when the lid finally popped open surprising the fairy. They both watched as the beautiful creature slowly flew out of its glass prison and into the world before then. 

Paimon hovered over to her friend sitting on her lap. Lumine placed her arms around her in a comfortable hug. The girls didn't know when their friendship turned more into a sibling hood but they didn't care. They were happy to be with each other and for Lumine that gave a sense of comfort in a way. Paimon had saved her in more ways than one, even though she was the one who usually did the saving. 

The girl brushed her fingers through the little girl's hair. In response the fairy nuzzled herself in closer to her companion. They stayed like that for some time before Lumine realized Paimon had dozed off in her arms. She chuckled as she stood, still holding the girl. If Paimon was tired then she’d let her sleep. Under Amber’s guidance, Lumine practically mastered the art of gliding. So doing it with one hand was nothing to her. 

Back on the road, Lumine hummed to herself in peaceful silence save for the snoring of her friend. She didn’t know the way to Liyue harbor but with all the signs and people flooding into the city it would be hard to get lost. Paimon felt weightless in her arms which had her pondering just where all the food that she gobbled down went. She said it once she’d say it again. Paimon was the true mystery of Teyvat. She greeted a few millelith as she walked past one of their posts. She spotted another of the geo archon’s statues and Sped walked to it. She made certain that she did not wake the sleeping girl but still kept her pace swift.

Extending a hand, she lightly brushed the statue’s surface. The power she felt both inside the statue and inside herself was exhilarating. Both of the purest gold and the hardest stone. It sent a shiver down her spine and it also sent Paimon shrieking into the air. 

“AHHHH! What was that?!?!?” Lumine blinked at her friend. 

“You felt it too?” 

“If you mean a weird sharp and tingly feeling in Paimon’s belly then yes. Paimon felt it too.” The girl shook herself to exaggerate the sensation. Only then did she look up at what they were standing under.

“You touched the Statue of the Seven?” 

“Yeah I figured that I might as well since this is the first time I’ve seen this one. Plus it wouldn’t hurt to be able to teleport so close to the city.”

“Bapbapbapbap” the girl said in rapid succession. “That's not the point. You touched the statue and Paimon felt it.”

“Ummm… weren’t you able to feel the power of the statues before?”

“Ughhh well… yes but not really. See Paimon has always felt a power from the statues, not the power. Being next to them has always made Paimon feel like she has more energy or has made little cuts and sometimes really bad tummy aches go away. But this… it feels like Paimon got a full factory reset! It feels amazing! It almost felt like Rex Lapis had blessed me himself! Is this what you get every time you get close to a Statue of the Seven?” The pixie balled her fists and kicked her legs excitedly at her friend. 

“Umm well I guess?”

“Ahhh I see. That's why you always look so refreshed after resting by one. It's been decided. Paimon’s grabbing on to you anytime we see a statue.” She gave a resolute nod and started floating ahead of the blond? 

“Paimon was a little confused when she woke up but now she knows where she is. This way traveler.” The girl waved to her friend and took off. Lumine just stood there for a moment though. She knew that she had some sort of connection with the statues but what did this new information mean? Is she somehow an outlet for their power? Can she amplify it? Does this mean that she has some sort of direct connection to the archons themselves?

She’ll find out. She has time. More than enough time. She doubts that finding her brother would be a short mission (no matter how much she wishes that wasn’t true) and it wouldn’t hurt to discover more about this world. She was a traveler after all not only that but she was an adventurer. It was in her nature to be curious.

“Lumineeeeee are you coming?!?!” Paimon’s call removed her from her thoughts. With a final look at the statue started after her friend. More eager than ever to meet the Lord of Geo. 

Chapter Text

How did this happen? Why did this happen? What even happened? 

These were all thoughts that were spiraling through Lumine’s mind as she made her silent escape out of Yujing Terrace. How could the Geo Archon be dead? She hadn’t even been in the city for two days and yet somehow witnessed the death of the nation’s god. She didn’t even get to look at the man in his living eyes, much less speak to him. She learned nothing about her brother and worse she was under suspicion of being Rex Lapis’s murderer. This was bad. Really bad. 

“Hey! Stop right there!” Some millelith caught sight of her just as her escape plan had almost been a success. 

Well so much for subtlety 

She took to sprinting down the stairs as fast as her legs could carry her, jumping the last bit of the way, Paimon barely being able to keep up with her. Her glimpse of freedom was blocked by another group of millelith coming from below. Seeing no way out she resorted to drawing her blade. 

This is so infuriating 

She hadn’t done anything wrong but these people were treating everyone who was watching the Right of Dissension like murderers. 

As if everyday people would be able to kill a god. He was already dead by the time any of us even laid eyes on him anyway. 

She had learned from her experience in another world that when a nation loses one of its beloved leaders (or in this case, their beloved god) they tend not to listen to logic. Instead they’d rather place the blame on the first person, or people they can. She and Aether came to the conclusion that they do this in order to keep the blame off of themselves for not being able to protect their beloved leaders. But how was that her problem? Just take the blame if it’s your fault.

“Hey girly, hold still.” came a call that broke her out of whatever train of thought she was in. Before she knew it, two millelith were disarmed and confused. She was a little confused too until a man jumped out from the brush behind her and made swift work out of the rest of the guards with his blades of Hydro. 

“Come with me.” chimed the young man as he took off in a run. Seeing that the only other option was to face off against more of the nation’s military, she decided that it was best to follow the man who helped her out. With a quick glance to Paimon for approval, the two girls made their escape right on the heels of  the red head.

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“Such a pity that we won’t be able to see this year’s Right of Dissension.”

“It’s really not that big of a deal grandpa, we can always just catch it next year.” said a young girl to an elderly man. 

Oh right, it’s the Right of Dissension that the people are gathering for 

“Right, but if these old bones would carry me just a little bit faster we wouldn’t have missed this year’s.”

Oh, Rex Lapis has already left…

“Oh don’t worry about that. Next year we’ll just leave the village a little bit earlier, and besides we didn’t miss, miss it. My friend should be there and I'm sure she’s taking in every single word of wisdom that Rex Lapiss is saying right now. I’m sure that if we ask her she’ll have no problem telling us what was said.”

“I suppose you're right, girl. That child has no problem recounting the entirety of a ten book novel series. We could have her talking for hours and that would only bring the girl joy.”

“Exactly, so don't worry so much. We won't fall behind on this year’s trends.”

“Speaking of, you know what I heard? Apparently, old man Le is…” The adeptus tuned out the rest of the conversation. Morax is speaking with the people of Liyue today. He understood that this was something that his god did every year as a means to guide his people. What he didn't understand is why the people needed “guidance” in things as useless as business, trade, and simple commerce when there were more pressing and important things the people should be taught. Then again, who was he to be questioning how a god looks after his people? Currently this was a time of “peace” and with how short human lives are, most of these people would long be dead before that peace shifts into something more sinister. But with all the strange monster activity, who knows just how close times of hardship are? He let out a sigh and turned his head to the moon. 

Right of Dissension huh…

His mind wandered back to the girl and her destination. All mortals from this world crave the wisdom that the gods have to offer. Perhaps she was also here to witness and learn from his lord. He could hardly blame her if she was. His Lord has much to offer even if it is about just a bunch of useless information. He himself had never taken a liking to all of the business mortals seem to obsess over. But he had to admit that when Rex Lapis would speak of these matters, it all seemed just the slightest bit more interesting. 

Catching a glint of light in the corner of his eye he turned his gaze towards the harbor. What could Rex Lapis be telling his people? Nothing that would be of any use to him for sure but he still would like to listen in. Perhaps he would even tell him why he hasn't summoned him for several years now. If it was a mistake he made he would certainly do his best to right his wrongs (whatever they may be). No use thinking about it now he figured. There was a lot going on and he refused to neglect his duties just because of questions he won’t have answers to unless he speaks to Rex Lapis.

Although it was technically his rest period, he was growing too restless to sit still. Xiao summoned his jade spear just letting it rest in his hands for a moment. How long had he used this weapon of murder? How long will he have to keep on using it? And why was it that he felt more at ease whenever he held it? That thought repulsed him. Had he really grown so accustomed to war and bloodshed that without a weapon in his hands he felt ill at ease? Of course he would. He was a weapon of war after all. 

Ever since his earliest memories he can't think of a time that he wasn't on some sort of battlefield. During his younger years he was enslaved to a god that would force him to do horrible and evil acts, and when he refused to do so he was horribly punished. He was only saved when Morax killed his master and set him free. Out of kindness and pity Morax took him in and made him one of his people. Even though he was given a home and family he was still in a time of war and upset. Both Morax and the late Guizhong thought the idea of putting such a young adeptus on the battlefield was cruel and unforgivable, yet neither could deny the boy of his talent. 

From that day to the present he has yet to put down his weapon. War was all about them in the past, and now the war he fights is one that was left after their victory. It was a victorious war he fought alone. Not that he wanted company in his endeavors. He knew that if another were to join him, it would just curse them to bear the same karmic debt that weighed down his soul. He tore his eyes away  from his spear and back toward the city lights. He had a duty to the people living there and it was a duty that he fully intended to fulfill. With one final glance at his weapon, he vanished in a puff of green and black smoke seeking to purge the evils of the land. 

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Why were the damn monsters so active tonight? It didn’t make sense. It was almost as if the evil that he purged wasn't being purged at all, or worse, more had been brought to this world. He was exhausted. It wasn’t a matter of how strong his opponents were (because they weren't all that strong) it was a matter of the sheer number of them. For some reason, not only were the monsters acting strange, but it seemed whatever was infecting those foul creatures was also affecting the mortals in the surrounding area. He had run into a group of Treasure Hoarders that were just a little too eager to fight him. 

It felt wrong, almost like they had been possessed. Perhaps that was what was going on here. Something was possessing the local creatures of the area. Although he would have to do further investigation, this somehow seemed like the most likely probability. I mean, how else would you describe what was going on here? Even if he was wrong at the very least, he would be able to rule out that possibility.

His train of thought was suddenly cut short as he easily dodged a beam of anemo aimed directly at him. Turning his full attention to his new attacker any thoughts of what was causing the monster aggression, faded away. What stared back at the adeptus was a creature he was all too familiar with. It was a manifestation of a god long since killed and with it came a hatred for anything still living. Its form was only partially completed meaning that it had only just awakened. That was a good thing. Had it been freely roaming the lands of Liyue for much longer it would have gained much more power then what it currently possessed.

It could have attacked an innocent traveler on their way to the village close by, or worse it could have attacked a village child. It was better to deal with this here and now instead of resting for a short while to recover his strength. If the thing catches the scent of the human settlement he could very well come back to a village massacred and a creature made up of nothing but hate and resentment being ten times stronger.

“You should have stayed in the hole where you were resting.” Xiao swings his polearm down by his side.

“R-r-r-r-restingggg?” the thing hissed out as it tilted its head with strange jagged movements. “Di-di-diatree will p-p-p-pay.” Diatree? Xiao remembered that name belonging to a kind natured god that fell during the archon war. This must be one of the many gods that met their end at his hands. He let out a sigh.

“Diatree has long since passed from this world and no doubt into a better one. If you were half as intelligent as him then you would have chosen to do the same.” He lifted his weapon sensing an attack soon coming. A strong burst of wind hurdled at him as the manifestation screeched in anger. 

Suppose it doesn't like being insulted. 

The thing swung one of its clawed arms at the man only to have it deflected by a burst of anemo as soon as it connected with the jade spear. Knowing the power that this thing could possess Xiao thought it best to not hold back in his attacks. Donning his mask, he instantly went on attack mode. Teleporting behind the abnormally large creature he swiped a clean strike between its shoulder blades. It cried in pain as it turned sharply to swing at its prey turned attacker. The swing only hit air as the man was nowhere to be found. It whipped what was meant to be its head from left to right desperately trying to find what had struck it. A strange breeze turned the thing’s attention to the sky where it found what it was looking for.

Xiao shone in the moonlight curled up in the air with his spear ready to strike. All too quickly for the creature to react he plummeted back down to the earth suddenly flipping over upright to land another cruel strike across his opponent’s chest. When his feet touched the ground he immediately jumped back as an arm unsuccessfully grabbed at him. The thing was fast. Fast and it didn’t really seem to respond to the wounds as normal creatures would. With how deep it was, the wound on its back would have been enough to down a human. But this was a dead god. Of course it would naturally be more resilient than mortals. Fortunately it did seem to still feel the pain. It might be harder to kill, but with a little more effort it could be done. 

Suddenly a wave of dizziness and pain hit him all at once and he stumbled. That moment of weakness was all the fallen god needed to land a strike. The blow was hard and landed right in the middle of Xiao’s body, sending him flying only for him to crash into the stone wall of a cliff. The air left his lungs and the pain from the strike and the landing riddled throughout his entire body leaving him unable to breathe. Why of all times was his karmic debt acting up now? He needed to get this done now if he wanted to see the sun rise in the morning. 

Xiao caught the thing’s movements in the corner of his eye and knew it was coming for a second blow. He lurched forward just out of the way of the creature landing and crumbling the stone where he was resting on just moments before. The thing swiped its arm sending a blade made of anemo hurling at him. He barrel rolled out of the way collecting the weapon he had previously dropped. It was getting faster and stronger as their battle continued? How was that even possible? Turning to face his opponent once again, Xiao was met with the sight he least wanted to see. The manifestation was becoming more whole. 

He was able to clearly distinguish the form of a woman now as well as the beginnings of her face becoming noticeable. How was this god able to recover her strength so quickly? Usually it would take these manifestations at least a few weeks to a month to regain a tangible body, but she seemed to be able to do so in just a few hours. That is if she’s even been awake for that long. It donged on Xiao that the two of them had been staring at each other for a while now with neither of them making a move to attack. When her head snapped up to the sky he braced for whatever she was about to throw his way. He waited and yet… nothing happened. She was just standing there blank slate of a face facing the stars above. 

What could she be planning? Was she casting some sort of spell? Did she just exhaust herself? 

All sorts of thoughts were spiraling through his mind as he braced his body for any/all attacks coming his way. A few more moments passed in the strained silence before something he hadn’t prepared for happened. In a gust of wind the long since dead goddess vanished into the night’s breeze.

What?!

Xiao bolted upright and instantly stretched his senses as far as they would go in order to try and find it. He could find nothing and fear of the worst started to seep into his bones. The thing just vanished. She didn’t take off in any sort of direction she just disappeared in a glitch of wind. 

… Teleportation?

It was a reasonable guess saying that he had nothing to work with. How could a creature so newly reborn into this world gain such power? What was she planning on doing with it? Where was she going?

The village!

Xiao started in the direction of where he thought was soon to be a village of corpses, when another wave of dizziness struck him leaving him heaving. That wasn’t important right now. He wasn’t important right now. He gathered himself as much as he could and teleported close enough to the small settlement to see what was going on, but yet not close enough to be seen. It all seemed peaceful enough on the surface but he just wasn’t sure of what the dead goddess was capable of. 

Reluctantly, he made his way to the village, hidden in the shadows. Even though it was a bright night, he had no problem staying hidden with his years of practice. Silently he peered into every house’s windows only satisfied when he saw the people occupying it sound asleep. Everyone seemed safe and there were no traces of any elemental energy as far as he could detect. Then just where did she go?

By this point he was exhausted and needed to rest. He also had to get away from the people here before his karma caused them any harm. It was almost dawn and the people showed signs of waking. He was out of time, yet he knew that the dawn also bought him some time. Demons of the dead goddesses nature, tend to be more active in the night. He needed to rest and recover his strength, then set back out in search of the foul creature when the night came once again.

He turned back towards the direction of the inn and set off. If he could not find the thing by tomorrow’s dawn, he would have to seek out Rex Lapis and ask for his advice on how to handle this matter. If worse came to worse he would even have to ask the god for his help, but that should be the worst case scenario. He dared not to disturb the Geo Archon for anything he could manage on his own. Even so he was hesitant to do so even when the matter got too out of control for him to handle. Whatever that was a problem he would find out if he had to solve or not by tomorrow's daybreak.

With the inn in sight he slowed his pace to a comfortable and not so painful one. Yes his karmic debt was taking its toll but so was his newest injury. He was certain that he had cracked a rib or two and he wasn’t even about to count the pain the (no doubt enormous) bruise was causing. A short breather should be enough to mend at least some of the injuries. When he got close enough Xiao teleported the last bit of the way to the balcony where he instantly flopped against the outer wall. He should enter the subspace he placed between the walls so that he can get the rest he needs, away from all the mortals.

Opening the small gateway, he stepped in and let the view of a small valley of all kinds of flowers surrounded by mountain walls sink in. He hadn't been here in a while due to his need to stay vigilant but as much as he loved the peaceful serenity of his domain there was something about the quiet that he just found unnerving. Flopping down in the bed of flowers, he took as deep of a breath as his injured ribs would allow him and closed his eyes. 

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Quite some time passed before he opened his eyes once again. Staring at the orange sky of the late afternoon, Xiao knew that more or less as much time had passed outside of his domain as inside. Reluctantly (and painfully) he sat up once again. The short rest had healed some of the injury, but the rest also allowed all the adrenaline to seep out of him, allowing the pain to seep in all the deeper. No matter. It was time to get up and search. Opening the portal once again, he stepped out onto the wooden floors of the inn. Looking out at the scene below him, his eye caught sight of particularly shiny blonde hair accompanied by the power and stance of a warrior. 

Ha, back already?

The Right Of Dissension must have ended and she must have gotten the information that she wanted. No doubt she’s most likely off to some other land to continue her adventures and fulfill whatever purpose she might have. But wait. The longer he looked at her the more her pace seemed to carry a sense of urgency and seriousness. He decided to wait just a little longer before taking off. Who knows, maybe her sense of urgency is related to the undead god. He sat up on the roof as he stretched his senses just enough for the wind to carry her and her little compaion’s words to his ears. 

“Are we really gonna find an adeptus here?”

An adeptus? Are they looking for me?

“Paimon, you can't just judge a place like that. Who knows maybe he just likes how homey it feels. I don’t think all the adepti are as ceremonial as the ones that live in Jueyun Karst.”

She’s met with the other adepti?! Just who is she?

Another wave of pain struck him and he knew that the amount of karmic debt that he was radiating off of himself was still far too dangerous for humans or any mortal to be around. But still, she had met with the other adepti. In other words, the least he could do was meet with her. Although he would have to warn her that she could not stand close to him for long, else a tragedy may befall her. When he heard the footsteps of the girl on the staircase leading up to him, he braced himself for a conversation. He had not talked to many mortals and even the conversations he had with the adepti were short or were simply made up of him just listening to what the others had to say. This was going to be unpleasant. 

“Oh he’s not here.” He heard the small one say below him. Looking down at the two from his vantage point, he watched as they were awestruck with the view before them. He followed the girl with his eyes as she leaned up against the railway taking in all that she saw. He figured now was as good of a time as any and descended right beside her. 

“To the blind everything might not be as it appears.” He said pointedly at the floating fairy. The two were surprised, almost shocked at his sudden arrival. Of course they would be. Why wouldn’t a person be scared by another if they so silently creeped up on them. This conversation has already started off poorly on his part. 

“Oh! Umm…” Lumine hurriedly scrambled through a hidden pocket of her dress and pulled out a golden piece of paper presenting it to him. 

A Sigil?

“A Sigil of Permission? You’ve come prepared. Though this only prevents me from hurting you myself. Doesn’t stop you from getting hurt in other ways.” When her face hardened he knew he messed up. He hadn’t intended to sound threatening yet here he was “threatening” her. He merely meant that if she had been using that as a form of “protection” against the other adepti, they could simply cause an “accident” and that piece of paper would be useless. Not only that but who knows what his karmic debt is doing to her right now. 

“Uhhh Paimon doesn’t get it.” Lumine shot the girl a small glance and shifted her body ever so slightly in front of her. She was preparing to defend her little friend from an attack if he were to strike. 

Of course she would be hostile, she must be able to sense my karma. 

He immediately thought to his karma instead of the words he was saying. His karma could seriously be harming her and her child. For their sake he should cut this short. 

“Too much contact with our world is breaking the rules. Mortal souls are not as robust as those of the adepti, nor can your blood carry this level of adeptal energy.” He glanced at the girl again and it seemed that her gaze had somewhat softened once again, though it seemed that she was still trying to converse with him. Or at least say something. “It’s for your own good. Leave. Now.” He turned and heard the small one say something about how he should wait but he was gone in his usual puff of green and black before she could finish. Down by the march he still saw them up on the balcony before the both of them turned to head back inside. He blew out a sigh and looked up at the sun. There was still plenty of time left before sundown and in the dark would be when he was most likely to find what he was looking for. With another glance at the balcony to ensure the two were gone, he teleported himself back atop of the roof, and waited for the moon to peak its head.

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Not too long after he sent the girls on their way he heard them (her) walking back up the stairs leaving him no time to hide back up on the roof or in his domain. He could do nothing but let out a sigh.

“…you two again.” Paimon quickly flapped her arms and he found this somewhat amusing.

“Wait! Don’t go disappearing again!”  The Traveler quickly pulled out two dishes from her inventory and presented them both to him. 

“What’s this?” He recognized the almond tofu instantly saying that it was probably one of the only human foods that he actually enjoyed. The other was a mix of different kinds of greens and some other things. Were they giving these up to him as an offering? He heard that the other adepti often get these types of “gifts” but he himself, being one of the fearsome yaksha, had never received any sort of thing. It was a surprise to him and not really knowing what to do he accepted them. 

“ It's your favorite, almond tofu! As well as this distant travelers, best dish— a satisfying salad!”  The small one interjected once again. Ha how did they know that he enjoyed almond tofu? Wait they gave it to him with a fork even? Were they expecting him to eat it right there and then?! He didn’t like eating in front of others, but since this was a “offering” he supposed he had no choice. He started on his meal when he heard the flying one whisper something to the fighter and suddenly the crisp yet smooth voice that he heard just a few mornings ago somehow became even more crisp and smooth now that it was aimed at him. The accent that she spoke with just made the final touch on the perfect sound escaping her lips.

“So… umm” it seemed like she was searching for the right words to say. “As I told the other adepti, something terrible has happened.” Oh, this girl is serving as a medium between the adepti and the people of the harbor. They must have encountered a situation that they cannot handle on their own, therefore seeking the help of the adepti. “During this year’s Right of Dissension, I’m so sorry to say, but the Geo Archon, Rex Lapis, was assassinated.” The fork along with the plates as well as everything still on them clattered to the ground and a look of horror spread across his face.

Morax… Rex Lapis was… dead? 

Chapter Text

 When a young man suddenly appeared right next to her, she barely registered what he had said. She was surprised by his sudden appearance but if she was being honest, she was getting used to all the strange things that happen in this world (Especially after meeting with so many other adepti). After the surprise somewhat left her, she remembered what she was here to do.

 “Oh! Umm…” Lumine hurriedly searched for the sigil that was in one of her pockets. When she found it she quickly presented it to the adeptus. She wasn't really sure what to say while giving the guy the sigil. Really she wasn’t sure what to say for this entire conversation. The other adepti didn’t take it all that well, some even threatened to hurt the people of the harbor, so obviously she didn’t want to provoke someone with a name like “The Conqueror of Demons”. It was best to let him start the conversation. 

 “A Sigil of Permission? You’ve come prepared. Though this only prevents me from hurting you myself. Doesn’t stop you from getting hurt in other ways.” What? What had she done wrong? Why was he already hostile towards her? Doesn’t matter. If he tried anything, she was strong enough to fend him off, at least long enough to make an escape. 

“Uhhh Paimon doesn’t get it.” 

Paimon!

As far as she knew, Paimon wasn’t even able to win a fight against a kid, much less an adeptus. She shifted her body in front of her friend just in case. She stared at his unreadable face trying to find any hint or tell that he was going to attack. Or more specifically one that showed that he wasn’t. Another beat of silence passed before he spoke again 

“Too much contact with our world is breaking the rules. Mortal souls are not as robust as those of the adepti, nor can your blood carry this level of adeptal energy.” 

Oh… 

It clicked in her mind that he was trying to warn them not against him attacking, but against a danger that he posed by just being near him. She opened her mouth to say something but was quickly cut off.

“It's for your own good. Leave. Now.” He turned 

“Wait a sec, we came here to…” But before Paimon could finish her sentence he disappeared. Rude. 

“Argh! Paimon's... peeved! All he does is think about himself! Paimon wants to give him an ugly nickname... but if you tick off an adeptus, the only thing you'll probably ever find in treasure chests is cabbages! Bleurgh!'' She watched with amusement as her little friend Seriously thought of the consequences if she did give someone as powerful as an adeptus an “ugly nickname”.

“Yeah it's probably best not to get on their bad side. Who knows, maybe if you tick one off enough they might turn you into a cabbage.” she crossed her arms over her chest in a thinking position, feigning deep contemplation. She peeked through her eyelashes to see Paimon’s horrified face and could hardly suppress her laughter.

“Ughhh Paimon doesn't want to turn into a cabbage!”

“Then don’t go around ticking off any Illuminated Beasts.” She gave the girl a sly smile.

“Ughh ok Paimon gets it. Guess we should go ask the boss lady of the inn about just how she manages to talk to adepti.” 

“Yeah that’s probably a good start.” and just like the adeptus did, they turned their backs and were on their way.

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Although they had to do quite a bit of work, they finally managed to gather a plate of almond tofu and a salad as a way to buy them enough time to tell the antisocial adeptus their message. This (just like the last three times) wasn't going to be pleasant but Lumine knew it had to be done. Paimon accidentally bumped into the girl as they made their way up the steps to the balcony bringing Lumine to a stop.

“You think he’ll actually hear us out if we give him this?” Paimon turned to her with a somewhat goofy smile on her face.

“Don’t know, but we might as well try!” She spun back around in a dramatic fashion placing her hands on her hips. “Even if he tries to leave again, Paimon will grab him by the ear and not let go until he listens to us!” Lumine couldn’t stop a small chuckle from escaping her. 

“Remember what we were talking about, be careful with what you say or else you might just be turned into a cabbage~” Lumine said in a sing-song voice as she passed the floating girl. Paimon cupped her hands over her mouth before whispering in a small voice,

“Oh yeah, Paimon needs to be more careful.” She floated up behind the blond and hid behind her shoulder. Lumine simply giggled at how the little girl thought that simply hiding behind her would block her from the adeptus’ view. Making it to the top of the stairway, a wave of nervousness hit her as she saw the powerful bing standing by the rails. She really didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news anymore, she really had no idea why she agreed to play the part in the first place. A sigh came from the man and she knew that any hope of bailing out of this was gone. 

“... you two again.” Paimon quickly sprang out from behind her flailing her arms around to get the young man’s attention. 

“Wait! Don’t go disappearing again!” Lumine took her friend’s rather aggressive hint, and pulled out the two dishes she had stored in her personal inventory and more or less shoved them at him. She watched as his eyes somewhat widened as he looked at the dishes. 

“What is this?” She didn’t know if that was a good or a bad sign but when he took the plates she settled on good.

“ It's your favorite, almond tofu! As well as this distant travelers, best dish— a satisfying salad!” Xiao hesitated a moment, looking between the dishes and her before settling on taking up the fork and eating what he was served. Paimon quickly turned to Lumine cupping her hands around her mouth to whisper something to her. 

“Lumine! Quick! Tell him everything before he finishes eating!” 

Oh, here we go…

The moment that she had been dreading was finally upon her. She took in a deep breath and readied herself for whatever kind of reaction he was bound to have.

“So… ummm” She paused for a moment searching for the right words before speaking up again. “As I told the other adepti, something terrible has happened.” She looked down, not wanting to look the man in the eyes. “During this year’s Right of Dissension, I’m so sorry to say, but the Geo Archon, Rex Lapis, was assassinated.” She heard the clatter of dishes hit the floor forcing her to look up. What she saw was something she most definitely did not expect to see from this seemingly cold man. His face was the pure embodiment of abject horror, shock, and disbelief. 

It tore at her heart. She was expecting anger, rage, or quite literally anything else, but what she was witnessing was the truest form of heartbreak. He looked around searching for something somewhere on the floor boards that would tell him that what he just heard was a lie, and when he found nothing his eyes settled on the discarded fork laying amidst the mess on the ground. 

“Rex Lapis… how could this be?” He looked up at her, the truest sorrow present in his eyes leaving her absolutely speechless. 

“I… can't imagine it. Though times have changed, I've never imagined a Liyue without him.” His gaze darkened for a moment and Lumine felt chills run down her spine.

“The ruling Qixing... Just what role have they played in this?” He thought on that for a moment then let out a sigh, allowing some of the darkness to fly away from him. 

“I will seek Moon Carver, Mountain Shaper, and Cloud Retainer. It is time they too made their decisions” 

Decisions? Decisions on what?

She couldn't help but think that he was talking about taking over the governing of Liyue. What else was she supposed to think when all the other adepti seemed keen on wanting to take revenge on the humans for failing to protect their god. From somewhere deep inside, she found her voice again.

“Will the adepti take over his role in Liyue?” She said in a somewhat somber tone. Another moment of silence passed before Xiao spoke up again.

“Adepti do not turn on their responsibilities. I have my reasons to not want to be tainted by the mortal realm, but. Responsibilities are responsibilities.” He lets out another shaky sigh. “Our god is the God of Contracts after all.” He seemed to turn inward on himself. His eyes held no light in them and his gaze no longer fell on her, the floor, or any of the surrounding area. Her heart broke for him as she watched him dissociate from the current situation. She had to remind herself that this man was thousands of years old. Meaning that he must have spent thousands of years in the company of the god who was just revealed to him as dead. 

She couldn’t imagine the devastation Xiao must be feeling right now. To her knowledge, Aether was simply missing. She had no idea how she would react if one day someone were to come to her to tell her that he was actually dead. She wished she could somehow give the grieving man any kind of comfort, but she knew that it was probably impossible for her, a complete stranger, to give him any comfort.

“Wait! Paimon has one last question.” She turned her confused attention to her little friend. Lumine thought that they had said all that there was to say on the matter. A prompting humm came from the adeptus telling the fairy to continue. “That… Dusky Ming. She’s…”

Ahhhhh Paimon! Now’s not the time!

Lumine’s face was half surprise, half horror at the unnecessary question asked by her oblivious friend. 

The poor man just received news that someone he cared for deeply died, give him some time to process!

Xiao hollowly told the two how sometimes harmless spirits have a hard time moving on, so when he happened upon the child spirit, he asked the innkeeper and boss if they would allow her to stay near the inn for a while.

“So really Wangshu Inn was looking after her! Really keeping a wide range of business going, huh!” She gave the man a goofy smile as she clasped her hands behind her back. Lumine could not believe her friend’s brashness. Luckily (or not) it looked like Xiao was still too shocked to take any offense to her words. He looked at the blond with eyes that didn’t really see and without a word vanished in a puff of teal and black smoke. Lumine quickly turned to face her friend.

“Paimon, really?!” Her face suddenly stern. “There is a time and place to ask things, and right after you tell someone that someone they loved died isn’t one of them.” Paimon’s shoulders drooped. 

“Paimon knows, it’s just that he looked so sad, and Paimon wanted to say something that would distract him for a little bit…” 

Oh…

Lumine simply assumed that the child had let her innocence and ignorance get the better of her. She forgot that most of the time her friend was actually very emotionally intelligent, and when she wasn’t it was usually because her youth got in the way. Actually, she had no idea how old Paimon was. She just guessed based on how the girl looked and acted. She didn’t even know what her friend was. She had never seen anyone like her the entire time she’s been in Teyvat, and every time she tried to ask her about it, Paimon always just brushed her off saying something like 

“Paimon’s just Paimon.”

“Oh, I don’t really think it worked but it was nice that you tried.” Paimon clasped her hands in front of her chest.

“Did Paimon make it worse?” The dejected look on the girl’s face always made Lumine feel bad about scolding her. She let out a sigh.

“No, I don’t think you could make it worse even if you tried.” She paused to pat the girl on her head. “He just got some… uhh… really bad news. It’s going to take him a little bit to fully come to… terms(?) with what we just told him.” Putting her thoughts to words will never not be heard in Teyvat’s backward language. Paimon lit up a bit at her words. 

“Yeah you’re right, and you’re getting a lot better at Teyvaten. Looks like all of your practice is coming in handy.” It didn’t feel like it but that’s how it always felt when she was trying to learn a language. “Still Paimon hopes that the Conqueror of Demons will be ok.” Lumine let out a sigh.

“Yeah, me too. I think he took it harder than the other adepti.” Paimon gave a short nod.

“I think that’s somehow true…” The pixie agreed softly. The silence lasted a couple seconds before Paimon spoke up again. “I think we should get going.”

“Yeah, we have things to do.”

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He wasn’t sure what he was saying. He wasn’t sure he was saying anything at all. 

Rex Lapis is dead? How could he be dead? He’s a god, a powerful god. How was he assassinated? Assassinated?

That thought lingered in his mind. The Qixing. They were the people that were in charge of caring for him. They would be the closest people to Rex Lapis at the time, wouldn’t they? Did they have something to do with his death? He let himself imagine what he would do if he were to find out that they were the ones responsible for this tragedy. Needless to say that Liyue would have many empty governing positions. He looked up at the girl taking note of the odd expression on her face. He couldn’t quite place what it meant but then again, he was never good at reading people. At least not their expressions.

He thought on what could cause a person to have that kind of look on their face, then a thought came to him. He had been speaking, hadn’t he? What did he say? Had he said anything on the Liyue Qixing? Did he scare her? He let his anger slip away from him. He didn’t want to scare her or her little friend, that was never his intention. He figured that he should say something to somewhat ease their fears. 

“I will seek Moon Carver, Mountain Shaper, and Cloud Retainer. It is time they too made their decisions” When he spoke, he allowed more of his anger to slip away and he immediately sensed he had made a mistake. By releasing whatever bit of anger he was using to keep the full wight of the devastating news off his mind, nothing but absolute despair filled his soul. Morax, Rex Lapis was dead. The man who saved him, the man who named him, was dead.what was he going to do? What was anyone going to do? 

Liyue needed him. He needed him. There was too much going on. His karmic debt was going out of control, the monsters were going rampant, and there was a dead god somewhere doing something that was completely out of his control. But what did all of that matter now? His god was dead and he can no longer seek counsel with him. He heard the blond ask him a question. It was something along the lines of if the adepti were going to take over Liyue. 

Were they? Is that what was supposed to happen next? He didn’t know. He had to go see the other adepti. He had too many questions and no one to answer them. He heard himself giving the girls another half hearted answer but truly he himself didn’t know. He had to leave. He had to get out of there to clear his mind before they asked him any more questions he didn’t have the answers to. He was about to teleport when a piercingly loud high pitched voice begged him to stay a moment longer. The little one had a question, and against his better judgment he allowed her to ask it. He didn’t like interacting with children, but he always had a soft spot for them. He truly didn’t know why because more often than not he found himself annoyed by them. Whatever the case may be he stood and let her ask her strangely irrelevant question.

He was surprised that she asked about the little ghost girl he had brought to the inn. She wanted to know why she was there. He didn’t see any reason why he shouldn’t tell them about the girl, and besides, it was strangely relieving to be asked a question he had the answer to. He told them about the girl and why she was there and when he was done with the story the flying child practically shouted,

“So really Wangshu Inn was looking after her! Really keeping a wide range of business going, huh!” Such a strange outburst. It took him a moment to realize that that was a sad attempt of her trying to jest about the innkeepers' work ethic. The joke was in poor taste. He felt his eyes unconsciously gravitate towards Lumine. In truth he didn't think he was looking at her. It was more like he was looking at the air around her. Some might call it her aura, or her spirit, or whatever other name an intelligent being came up with, but what he saw was her light. It was calming for some reason and if he were to make a comparison, he would say that her light was one in the same as the moon. Peaceful and serene yet powerful.

The moon. The moon huh?… Moon Carver? 

Ah that was right, he had to meet with the other adepti. He truly didn’t feel like there was anything else to say so he simply left. Teleporting his way to where he was certainly going to find

the others, where they would always meet since the founding of Liyue, Guili Planes.

Chapter Text

Guili Planes… it has been a while since he returned to his first real home. The last time he was here was at the summons of his god. When he received the call, he had been worried that something had happened but when he arrived at the ruins, he was met with a cup of tea, and endless stories. He didn’t understand why his lord did this from time to time but now he wished with every part of his being that by some miracle everything the traveler said was wrong and the god was waiting for him with a cup of tea in hand.

 

He knew that was impossible. He saw the honesty in her eyes. The sympathy on her face. But he just couldn’t accept it. He was shaking. He had been afraid many times before but this felt different. He knew this feeling all too well, it was the feeling of despair. He had always believed that the simple human sentiment of hope was useless and stupid, yet against his nature, he hoped. He hoped that his god would be waiting for him, holding a seat for him, wanting to chat with him. But hope failed him, as it always did. Rounding a pillar of the large center structure that was their unofficial meeting place the yaksha saw (and heard) the other adepti in a heated argument.

 

“One is telling you that this has to be a mistake! He is a god. There is no feasible way he has been assassinated!”

 

“And yet here we are. We have tried all kinds of contact and none seem to be reaching him. Still, cease this incessant bickering. Mountain Shaper will come to us with the truth soon.” Moon Carver seemed to be at his wits end. He seemed like he was ready to explode with all this uncertainty and chaos raining down on him. Yet he has always been the one to at least try and keep a level head when it comes to troubling matters. Xiao took his time walking around the pillars to take the seat that has been his for thousands of years.

 

“So the conqueror of demons has made his appearance.”

 

“Conqueror of demons tell this fool that you agree with one. There is no conceivable way that a god as mighty as Rex Lapis has been assassinated!”

 

“Conqueror of demons, tell this fool that there is no reason to be arguing the point when we will soon find out.” It was clear that they had been fighting for a while. Cloud Retainer has always been loud when trying to get her point across. She was like this last time too. She just couldn’t accept the death of her beloved god. Even if she witnessed Guizhong fall with her own eyes.

 

In all honesty, Xiao didn’t want to believe the news he was just given either. But how could he deny it? He felt it in his very soul that the girl was not lying. There was too much honesty in her eyes… in her soul. For good or for bad, he has always been able to tell the truth of a soul.

 

Just then Mountain Shaper came swooping in from above. With a large gust of wind from a powerful wing flap, the adeptus landed at his designated seat.

 

“Well?! Don't keep one waiting. What have you discovered?” Cloud Retainer’s voice seemed to tremble at those words. He knew that deep down, she knew that what Lumine had said was the truth. Mountain Shaper just stood there for a long moment. He said nothing, and in some ways this confirmed all of their fears.

 

“Well?!” It was Moon Carver who spoke this time.

 

“... it’s true… one saw the body with one’s own eyes.”

 

“No!” Cloud retainer turned her back to everyone.

 

“By the gods…” Moon Carver whispered to himself. Xiao… Xiao felt nothing. He felt nothing and everything all at once. He knew it was true but… there's a body? There being a body made it all the more real. It made it too real. He felt nauseous. He felt dizzy. He felt trapped.

 

He was trapped in his own body. He couldn’t move or breathe. He was just existing there with the pressure of a thousand mountains weighing down on him. There was nothing he could do to escape the feeling. The truth was there, laid out right in front of him and he could do nothing to deny it.

 

He could do nothing to deny it when the moon herself told him about this heinous tragedy. Again he could do nothing to deny it when the trustworthy Mountain Shaper confirmed her story. It hurt. His lungs were screaming at him to take in a breath, but he felt so disconnected to his body that he couldn’t bring himself to care. He heard something from somewhere that was asking for his attention.

 

Xiao somehow forced himself back into the present, forcing his eyes to focus on the scene before him. The Adepti were all looking at him.

 

“Well Conqueror of Demons?" The mention of his title brought him back to himself enough to suck in a breath. When Xiao gave no motion to answer, Cloud Retainer asked her question again. “We know the Qixing must have had something to do about this. If not directly then by their inaction. Are we to just let this Transgression go unpunished?”

 

The anger in her voice and posture was enough to match the anger of the undead gods… the undead goddess. Did she have something to do with this? An idea suddenly came to him. What if it wasn't any fault of the human Qixing? What if this went beyond them? Could the undead goddess somehow have orchestrated the assassination of Rex Lapis?
If she did not orchestrate it could she have caused it? Then was this his fault? If he had gone to Rex Lapis to report his findings about the strange monster activity beforehand, could they have discovered the goddess before she took form?

 

“It is no more the Qixing’s fault than it is ours.” he found himself saying.

 

“Ours?! Don’t be preposterous! How dare you even suggest-”

 

“I encountered an undead goddess last night.” They were all silent at that and they remained silent for a long while before Moon Carver broke it.

 

“Have you not dealt with their kind before? What does that have to do with our situation now?”

 

“I have but there was something unusual about her. The rate in which she gained back her power was unprecedented. I fought her for just a few minutes and she seemed to gain more of herself every second that went by.”

 

“She escaped you?”

 

“Yes.” He felt shame admitting that but the shame was nothing compared to his need for justice.

 

“But by your own words you merely encountered her last night. by the accounts of those in the harbor, Rex Lapis fell from the sky during the Right of Dissension. Was that goddess already fully formed? If not there's no feasible way that she was in any way related to the assassination.” Mountain Shaper made some good points except for the fact that her influence went beyond for physical form.

 

“Have you all not noticed a strange monster activity as of late? I have concluded that this is due to her influence. She has the ability to possess and warp others' minds. That is why the creatures of this land have become unruly and incredibly violent. I have reason to believe that her influence is even affecting the mortals of this land.”

 

“And you did not think to seek counsel with us?” Moon Carver said a bit angrily.

 

“Why would I? By your own words I've dealt with this matter countless times. It is my duty as a Yaksha to deal with the remnants of these fallen gods and I will not delegate my duty onto others. I simply speak of this matter now because if this goddess has the ability to warp the minds of monsters and humans alike, what if she is able to do the same to something more powerful? Something that can… can kill a god.”

 

The others were stunned by his reasoning. It made perfect sense as much as none of them wanted to believe it. This kind of power was not unheard of especially amongst the gods. Even if this goddess has been deceased for thousands of years, she could still harness that ability through sheer hatred.

 

“Conqueror of Demons, is one to believe that you cast aside all blame from the humans?” Cloud Retainer asked somewhat coldly.

 

“No, I do not cast away all the blame. I'm simply suggesting that maybe this was a matter too great for them to handle. I do not believe that the Qixing could have done much to prevent this if divine forces were in play.” they couldn’t deny his logic.

 

“So what are we to do?” Moon Carver asked. “If we are not to condemn the Qixing for their failure, what are the next steps in our course?”

 

“That is none of my concern.” Xiao decided. “My task is to hunt down this fallen goddess and avenge Morax. You lot may do as you please.” he stood to leave.

 

Strangely Lumine’s face when he threatened the Qixing came to mind. She was fearful and sad at the thought that they would be the ones to receive the adepti’s fury. He truly had no idea why, but he didn’t want to harm the ruling Qixing if that was the face that the moon would make. He let out a sigh.

 

“But if I do have a say in their fate, I say that they should be left alone. Let them be the ones to handle the fall out on the mortal end.” Then he vanished in a puff of green and black smoke.

 

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So much was happening all at once. The passing of Rex Lapis, having to tell all the adepti of the tragedy, helping to arrange the Rite of Parting, and now being invited to Jade Pavillion. This was almost too much for Lumine to handle. She felt like she had been doing nothing but running around in circles non-stop ever since arriving in Liyue. She was exhausted and ready for a good long rest.

 

Paimon and her decided that they really wouldn’t be getting any rest if they stayed in the harbor. They both decided that it would be best to head back to Wangshu Inn for a few nights. That's where they were headed now. It was late and Paimon just couldn’t stay awake any longer, so again Lumine resorted to carrying her the rest of the way. She was determined to make it back to the inn before she got any sleep herself.

 

Luckily the trip was almost over. She could already feel the cushiony bliss of a bed as she crossed over the stone bridge. It was late. Probably well past midnight before she managed to secure a room for the two of them. As soon as she entered her room she threw her pack into a corner and gently laid Paimon in the bed.

 

Yes she was tired but she was also road filthy. She needed a bath and bad. Not really being one to care about decency, she stripped all her clothing off before heading to the bathroom to clean up. She was always amazed by this world’s technology. Unlike many other worlds that she visited, this world didn’t rely on electronics for their amenities.

 

Take the hot water for example. Instead of having a hot water tank, the people of this world somehow discovered that you can infuse different elements into crystals. To get the steaming bath Lumine was just dying to take, the inn placed pyro crystals inside of the water pipes. She really didn’t know how exactly they made it so that she could control the temperature, but she absolutely admired the ingenuity.

 

After allowing the water to warm up, the outlander stept in the bath. As soon as the water hit her skin she melted. She let out a relieved sigh as she fell to the floor. Lumine just sat there allowing the water to wash away the last couple of weeks. Oh how she needed this.

 

She could let a couple of days pass before going to see lady Ningguang in the Jade Palace. Lumine fully intended to stay a couple of days at the inn to just relax a little. She let her eyes fall for just a moment and before she knew it the water had turned cold. She must have fallen asleep with how exhausted she was.

 

“Damn.” Quickly she shampooed and conditioned her hair before shutting off the shower and wrapping herself in a towel. Honestly she felt like a new woman. Yeah she may have gotten little sleep but some sleep is better than none. Besides, she's gone longer without a good night's rest.

 

She rummaged through her pack to find a clean pair of pants and her usual tank. She would need to do laundry, but she’s going to worry about that when the sun comes up. She threw herself on the bed next to Paimon, stretching out her limbs as far as they could go. My God did it feel good to be in bed again. She shut her eyes and before she knew it she was in a deep sleep.

 

Her sleep was dreamless like most of her dreams have been since coming to this world. She didn’t know why it was happening but honestly that was the least of her worries. A noise woke her from her sleep and she opened her eyes to the room door being shut and locked. The room was bright with the morning sun so she assumed Paimon must have gone out looking for breakfast. She rolled over trying to get a bit more sleep before starting the day.

 

She ended up staring out the window through the crack in the curtains. She was more than happy to be right where she was. It was peaceful, and after the last couple of weeks, she could use a bit of peace. A loud thump from above had her sitting up though. This room was on the top floor of the inn, the only thing above here was the balcony.

 

Aside from her and Paimon, she couldn’t think of anyone being up this early. Those two were used to waking up at the crack of dawn to go on their adventures. Besides, everyone is still in the city proper. The only people that are this far out from the harbor are herself and the elderly who couldn’t make it in time for the Rite.

 

… Only her and elderly people people were out here… was that an old person? Old people like to watch the sunrise don't they? Did one of them fall? She swung her legs off the bed and tried to listen closer to what was happening up stairs. She heard a slight groan and was up making for the door in an instant.

 

Like almost every other world she’s visited, the elderly here were fragile and easily broken. A small fall could lead them to their graves. She didn’t hear any other voices or footsteps so they were probably alone. When she reached the top of the stairs she slowed her pace. If it really wasn’t an emergency she didn’t want to scare anyone by running up there.
She peeked her head around the doorway, trying to get a good look at what was going on. Just as she feared there was someone crouched down grasping their chest in pain. Unlike what she feared, it wasn’t one of the elderly patrons. In fact he wasn’t even human. The Conqueror of Demons Xiao was huddled clutching at his chest struggling to breath.
For a moment she was too shocked to move, but only for a moment cause in the next she was right beside him.

 

“Xiao? Oh my God are you alright?” He was clearly not alright. He looked terrible. It was obvious that he was just in a fight, but with what who knew. He had blood all over him and she couldn’t figure out if she would rather it be his or whoever he just killed.

 

Last time she saw him, she couldn’t tell if he was going to take revenge on the humans who allowed his god to be assassinated or not. For the sake of the people of Liyue she hoped that whatever found its end at his spear was a monster. Taking a closer look at him though, it was clear that whatever he fought, fought back. He looked worn down and hurt. She could see blooming bruises everywhere where skin was exposed.

 

“Hey, what happened?” She tried to put a hand on his shoulder but in a violent rush, he swung his hand out, slapping her hand away so hard she wasn’t sure that he didn’t break anything. The two just stood there staring at each other. Lumine not really knowing what to do and Xiao huffing and almost growling. His eyes still looked like he was locked in the battle that left him like this. He didn’t see her, she knew that.

 

His eyes were nothing like they were before. In their last meeting his pupils had been rounder, more present. But now they were nothing but two harsh thin lines bearing into her. She would be lying if she said that he wasn’t scaring her. In a moment of recognition though, his pupils rounded back out again, almost taking in his whole iris’.

 

He lost his defensive pose but before she could say anything his eyes fluttered closed and he was falling. She lunged to catch him and managed to reach him before he hit the ground. What the heck was happening? She looked over him again and realized that his wounds were so much worse than what she thought. It wasn’t that they were particularly bad or dangerous, it was the fact of how many there were.

 

He was covered from head to toe in all kinds of wounds and bruises. At that moment she felt guilty for ever thinking that she would rather most of this blood to be his. At least half of it was. What could have done this to him? Wait, was it the same thing that killed Rex Lapis? If that was the case, he was lucky he made it out with his life.

 

She couldn't be sure about anything that happened but all she knew now was that he needed her help. Besides, he can tell her what happened when he wakes up. She picked him up as gently as she could, she didn’t want to hurt him more than he already was. She started heading back to her room trying to remember if she had enough medical supplies to cover this many wounds. She only made it a step or two when she remembered something.

 

The statue of the seven. It always made her feel alive and even healed her from time to time. She turned back around deciding where she was going. The statue of this nation was the statue of Rex Lapis himself. Who better to heal him if not his own god. She just hoped it would still work despite the situation they were in.