Reunited Once More

Chapter 2: Worries Eased Away

As they landed on top of Decabrians tower, Dvalin looked at his friend in worry.. "Barbatos, what is it that troubles you?"

"Its just that, i havent seen him since i fell into a slumber.. i left him in the dark, all alone.. Dvalin i broke our contract! its only fair that i pay the price in return.. He probably hates me by now anyways...."

"But you cannot know of his emotions, i personally think that you need a little rest. Perhaps you can talk to the rest of the winds after you wake..?"

"Right, a little rest sounds amazing.. thanks Dvalin.."

And with that, the god of freedom once again fell into a deep slumber, but this time it was different; for this time, he would wake..

~Meanwhile In Liyue~

The amber eyed god stood still as the group lead by the vigilant yaksha arrived on the peak of the mountain.

"My Lord..? I 've brought the saviors of Mondstadt, or atleast most of them, as you requested.."

"Thank you Xiao, im afraid i will not be talking with them just yet so please escort them to Wangshu Inn"

"Before we go, may i ask you a qustion Lord Morax?" Asked the dandelion knight, voice filled with curiosity..

"And who may you be" replied the god.

"I am known the dandelion knight and the acting grand master of the knights of favonious, my name is Jean.. Its a pleasure to be at your presence" Jean said, as she bowed as a sign of respect..

"Rise, child of freedom, what is it that you wished to ask me?"

"Venti or Lord Barbatos as you might know him, he has been worried about meeting you ever since i told him the about your request.. I was wondering if you were aware the reason?"

Upon hearing the knights words, the amber eyes of the god widdend slightly; "Is that so.." whispered he, his voice filled with longing "Since you have come this far; i suppose i could tell you the story behind it, however you you will need to stay for a little longer.. I shall tell you the ancient tale of a forbidden love between two gods.. and the only broken contract that went without a consequence.."

Upon hearing his lord's words, the vigilant yaksha froze on his place, his eyes wide in shock. He opened his eyes to voice out this thoughts but realized that there must be a reason for his lords choice of action. The vigilant yaksha stood silent, choosing to trust his lord's judgment. He shifted in his place uncomfortably, hoping for an explanation..

"I can feel your discomfort and confusion Xiao, im aware of my strict orders of having none go unpunished if they were to break a contract, however this contract was and still is different.. For its a contract signed by Barbatos and myself after the archon wars came to an end.."

Upon hearing that it was their god and dear friend who signed the contract, the people of Mondstadt looked at each other, the Venti they knew was a free spirit and would never sign a contract that may limit his freedom. They decided to have trust in their friends choice of action and look at the geo archon, silently asking for him to continue.

The geo archon, sensing the curiosity of the three, decided to continue his story.. "Since our nations were next to each other, we decided that it would be best for the both of us to stick together.. thus, we signed a contract to never leave the other without an explanation... but as you might know, Barbatos disappeared five hundred years ago, forcing everyone to believe he had died, including myself..." he closed his eyes, trying to make the tears that appeared in them go away.. "today however, i see that he is alive and well, that he broke our contract on his own free will and refuses to acknowledge it."

"I see... but what if he didnt mean to leave you?" said the dandelion knight; she looked at her companion, asking for his help in explaining the situation.. The bartender, understanding her silent request, took over the explanation: "Our god, Barbatos, has been living amongst his people for a few months now. During that time, he visited my tavern almost every night and he always looked so tired, like he has just fought in the archon war one more time.. When i asked him about it he kept saying he was fine and asked for a bottle of dandelion wine, however, sometimes he was just different.. those days, his eyes showed no will to live; he would come in, ask for a wine from Liyue -i believe it was called Osmanthus wine- and just sit in the corner of the tavern, silently sipping his drink and seemingly getting lost in his memories.." the bartender took a deep breath, preparing himself for the next part of his explanation.. "I remember one of those days, he left the tavern earlier than he normally did, so i decided to follow him.. i followed him to Stormterrors lair and watched as he broke down, i remember three of the four winds -the non mortal ones- appear around him, trying to comfort him in some way.. and yet h starting to shake and cry, repeating 'im sorry' over and over; and i remember the falcom of the west turning into somewhat human forms and hugging him, telling him that he would be forgiven.. now that i've heard your story, i believe that it was you he was apologizing to.." upon hearing of his experiences, the god of geo stood shocked.. The dandelion knight realizing that the archon had seen where they were coming from, decided to end the topic. "Perhaps you should talk to him? He is most likely in Stormterrors lair right now.. we would like to remain in Liyue for a fee more days, to form more alliances and allow our nations to learn more of each other.."

A silent sigh could be heard coming from Morax; "Thank you children of freedom, you can remain here for as long as you like for you have helped me greatly.. Xiao, please take our guests to the inn." he turned to Jean, a slight smile visible on his face.. "Thank you Jean, i will now take your advice.. farewell.."

The vigilant yaksha looked at his god and nodded slightly, motioning that he'd do as he was requested.

After seeing his trusted warriors reassurance, the god of contracts thought of old Mondstadt and he teleported away..