Genshin Impact - Wrath of a God

Harbingers Punishment

Through the rest of the time they kept their silence, enjoying the last few precious moments they've got with each other. It was.... comfortable, something that Childe wasn't all that often outside of a battlefield. But with every passing minute, a pit opened up in his stomach. He knew his Queen. And yet he wasn't sure what his punishment would be, because weakness is always punished, no matter the circumstances.

What felt like a small eternity later their small bubble was busted by a loud knock on the door. It was Aether. "They've reached the Harbour." Nothing else was needed before Tartaglia went through the pain of getting dressed. First the shirt followed by the jacket and scarf, then his boots and his mask. The last piece of clothing left were his gloves....Before he pulled them on he looked up at the older man, locked eyes with him and kissed the geo symbol on his hand gently. After that they waited for the inevitable.

Minutes later the door flew open and a group of five entered, immediately surrounding the Harbinger. The apparent leader stepped forward and held out what looked like a letter, intended for Zhongli. "We are here on her Majesty's orders to retrieve the 11th Harbinger and bring him back to Snezhnaya." The brunette took the paper and just nodded, stepping back from them and from Childe.

Without another word everyone moved, Tartaglia in the middle of the guards. As if anybody or anything would be stupid enough to harm him, but the poor men had orders. Orders they would follow to a T.

Once outside it seemed as if all of Liyue had gathered. There were people everywhere! Ajax saw quite a few familiar faces among the masses: Restaurant owners, merchants, visitors of the bank. Even Xianling and her friends....But he just looked ahead, because if he looked at them they would be in danger too. And he put these people through enough already. The ship was in sight and the pit in his belly just kept growing. Something just felt off.......But he just couldn't pinpoint what exactly it was.

'Ten more steps, then I'm on my way home....Nine, eight, seven, six, five.......four, three.....two......one.' With that last step the ginger finally turned around and gasped. There, high up on the cliff, were Liyue's Adepti. And right at their helm was Rex Lapis, lips pulled into a frown and eyes narrowed with his arms at his back. Right beside him crouched Xiao, spear in hand and ready to jump at one single command. This united front took his breath away, because it was one last massage they were to take back with them. Liyue will not fall, because Rex Lapis was ready and not afraid. "She will not keep you away from me."

The hand with the Geo Archons emblem unconsciously fisted his shirt right where his heart is sitting, beating strong and wild at this picture. A breeze caught in the sails and Childe gave it one last massage of his own, hopeful that it will carry it back to the one it is intended for. One last forlorn smile and a short whisper, that's all. "I'll be waiting in the Tsaritsa's frozen lands, Lord of Geo." And maybe it was a trick of the light, maybe it was his own imagination, but it looked as if Xiao had spoken to his lord and Zhongli's answer was a single nod. With that Childe retreated under deck, already pensive and tired.

No one disturbed him during the whole trip back, not a single soul and his unease refused to be soothed. There was something wrong, Childe just didn't know what it was. His thoughts circled and circled but nothing really came up. He knew what was waiting for him, of course he did, yet there was something else.... When did he start to feel afraid he wondered? Did he fear his punishment? Or was it the separation from Liyue's bright sun and her people? 'No, that's not it either.' No matter what he thought about, he just couldn't shake this strange wrongness. It was as if he was walking straight into a very obvious trap, his instinct telling him to walk away. But he was still the Tsarita's Vanguard. The first on the battlefield and ready for about every challenge one could imagine. For archon's sake, he was ready to fight against Rex Lapis! Utterly lost blue eyes looked through the small window, out onto the sea, letting the waves calm him at least a little bit.