As The Sun Gazes Upon The Moon [Zhongchili]

Chapter 2 - Heart of Ice

After Zhongli presents the letter bearing their Archon's seal to the staff at Northland Bank, they waste no time arranging an emergency ship bound for Snezhnaya. He departs later that day, a single suitcase accompanying him.

The tides are rough, and the seafarer's life of oversalted meat and stale crackers leaves much to be desired. In fact, they leave everything to be desired, and more than once Zhongli is left thanking his adeptal constitution after being fed a meal that would have left lesser men kneeling over the side of the ship.

As they pass through Mondstadt's waters and into the northern territories, the coastal breeze segues into a biting gust. Although Zhongli's years spent among Liyue's mountain peaks exposed him to similar conditions, Snezhnaya's winds are incomparable, clawing through his skin and wrapping around his bones. They leave Zhongli shivering no matter the number of threadbare blankets he stacks upon himself at night.

Zhongli watches from his cabin window as they pull into a port, rows upon rows of ships lining the docks like silent soldiers, extending as far back as is visible through the dense snowfall. Each corner of the walkway is decorated with a steel pole sailing a flag bearing the symbol of the Fatui, and masked agents pace like wolves as they wait for Zhongli's ship to approach.

Yet despite the frosty welcome, the docking proceeds without flaw and the captain gives the passengers the all-clear to disembark.

Zhongli steps onto the docks, pulling his coat snugly around his neck, scanning the area for the contact The Tsaritsa mentioned in her letter. However, none of the prowling agents pay him any heed.

A powdered layer of snow settles on his coat and the weather shows no sign of easing, so Zhongli makes his way to the building at the far side of the dockyard, a lonely, grey thing with webs of ice crawling across the windows. The sign on the door reads 'Enquiry Office - Open', so he takes the invitation and presses the door open, wincing at the shrill screech of the rusted hinges.

He steps into a near-bare reception area, where a woman in a dark robe watches him from a reception desk at the room's far end, a tight lipped smile forming under the mask concealing the top half of her face.

"Mister Zhongli, yes?" she says—a statement, not a question. "Her Majesty will be pleased to hear you've arrived. Step this way, they're waiting for you."

Zhongli passes the lone chair furnishing the waiting area and follows the woman behind the desk. She takes him through the back door, which leads into a winding downward stairwell, a single lamp lighting each corner as they descend, and Zhongli sets his feet carefully on each uneven stone step. It's not quite the welcome he envisaged, but the Fatui have their established procedures, and it is not his place to question their ways in their own country.

The stairwell levels out into a long, windowless corridor and the woman walks ahead silently, making no indication of wishing to introduce herself or invite conversation. Zhongli continues without a word, only the echo of their footfalls reverberating around them. It's a far cry from the friendly faces of Liyue, but so long as he is brought soundly to Childe, he holds no complaints.

Eventually another stairwell leads them back toward the surface, and they emerge in a room no larger than a broom cupboard. From there he is escorted out through another reception area that is identical to the one at the port, and the woman opens the door leading outside.

"They are waiting for you."

Zhongli nods. "Thank you for your assistance."

She doesn't reply, and as soon as Zhongli crosses the threshold, the door clicks shut behind him.

On the road before him stands an open-sided white carriage, set against a snow-dusted pine forest. Two pure white draft horses draw it, mist floating from their nostrils as they whinny and stamp at the ground. A Fatui agent sits at the driving seat, holding the lines in one hand as he waves to Zhongli with the other.