𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍. genshin impact

CHPT. 17 Betrayal in gold

"Hmm, but how did a relic of the adepti end up in the hands of someone like Childe? Suspicious..." Paimon asked, narrowing her eyes at the sigils.

"It's not just some relic," Aether said, turning to Alastor for some answers. The concept of sigils was not familiar to him, but no matter how much he hated the nation, Alastor was ironically a living textbook of Liyue's mysteries. The dread on the Contract demon's face made them worried even more.

"During the Archon war, Sigils of permission were used to channel divine power. With so much of them, who knows what the Fatui are plotting." He murmured, resisting the urge to burn all of the talismans to dust.

"Maybe the Fatui are copying the talismans in hopes of achieving a similar effect!" Paimon concluded, however that made the worry in Alastor bubble into an even greater fear.

"What would the fatui need so much divine power for?... Maybe... No, that can't be." Alastor whispered under his breath, looking around him for anything to doubt his suspicions. However, the signs were enough to solidify his dreadful theory.

'Damnit!' He thought, as his invisible counterpart glowered at the dull copies of the talisman.

"We better prepare ourselves... If the fatui succeed it is war all over again."

Aether noticed Alastor zoning out again, dazed yet focused at the same time. He watched as the demon trailed a line of fire he traced into the air, written with a language similar to Liyue's ancient writings. Nowadays, all nations write and speak in the same language, however many have barely learned their ancestral language.

"Gah! Imagine the Fatui bringing so much Divine power in battle!" Paimon shivered, making Alastor stiffen.

"Alastor, what does the symbol on the talisman mean?" Aether asked, assuming that the demon would be able to decipher it for them. When he and Paimon asked others about it, they all shrugged and said that it was a word from ancient times, but he felt like there was more to it.

Even the adepti's memory of the language was a bit hazy.

".... Nothing is Restricted. That's what the talisman says." He explained, grabbing one and shoving it into his pocket. If he could test it out on even a single adepti, he could confirm how dangerous it was.

Aether was surprised with his nonchalant answer, staring at the talismans. He didn't expect Alastor to easily answer on the beat, a bit of hesitation and more time to think before answering would have been more likely expected.

"Hmm, alright, that's enough sticking around here. We gotta go meet up with Zhongli soon." Paimon said, beginning to feel creeped out by the situation.

Alastor gave them a reluctant smile, "I'll... try to catch up with you guys. I'll continue investigating this." He explained, gathering a few more of the sigils.

Paimon and Aether gave each other a glance before nodding silently. Aether gave Alastor a serious and worried look, tightly clenching his fist.

"Alastor, please come with us this time. I don't know what kind of issues you have with Zhongli, but I need you by my side at all times. Especially now that we've uncovered the fatui's motives." Aether said, sounding a bit like a demand.

For the entire journey, Alastor has been less of a companion by the day. It could be because he despised Liyue, but Aether was slowly getting too curious about what had happened to the contract demon. In the beginning, he didn't plan on prying at Alastor's past.

Was it wrong that he wanted to be someone he confided in?

Alastor tried his best to hide his frown, forcing a false smile into his lips. He cupped Aether's cheek and smiled darkly. Both of his companions shivered as a floating sensation surrounded them.