Closing her eyes, [Y/N] was met with the faint smell of sweet flowers and windwheel asters, their aromas being carried with the wind.
Oh, and a fire burning.
Wait, what?
[Y/N]'s eyelids snapped open, her [e/c] eyes scanning the area, widening upon landing on a pale-headed boy—
—That was falling from a cliff.
. . . Mondstadt sure is strange... the girl thought with a grimace, supporting herself up with her sword as she began sprinting to the boy, pyro infused with the air before her as the girl propelled forward.
If only Venti were here. Where is he, anyway? [Y/N] looked around, her legs subconsciously working towards the free-falling boy as a gust of wind brushed past her cheek.
"You called?" A cheerful and light-hearted voice called, reminding [Y/N] of the birds soaring high above the mountains of Aozang.
"Just in time," the girl smiled, not needing to look to see who it was.
"Do you mind keeping that boy afloat so I can reach him?" She asked, unusually calm considering the conditions the boy was in right now.
"Hm? Sure!" Venti smiled, twirling mid-air as the falling boy abruptly stopped. Giving her an opening, [Y/N] rushed forward with pyro escaping her sandals. Arms wrapped around the boy, her flames mixed with the anemo and sent her flying upwards with the male in arms.
"I'll take payments in dandelion wi—"
"No."
"Wahh! You're becoming just like Master Diluc!" Venti exclaimed, a hand over his heart to feign hurt as the boy leaped out of the girl's arms.
"Thanks for saving me back there!" The boy patted himself down, straightening his ragged clothes as Venti and [Y/N] exchanged strange glances.
"I'll start heading back to the cathedral now. Once again, thanks, ma'am! I don't know what I would've done if I actually fell from that high..." the boy shivered, looking down over the cliff briefly before rushing back to Mondstadt, of course, tripping over air.
"Huh..." The girl deadpanned, looking over to Venti as if she were expecting an answer.
"What? Don't look at me!"
"Hmm..."
☆
On your way to Stormterror's Lair, you were once again met with the sight of the same pale-headed boy stumbling down a hill.
"Hah...?" You sweatdropped, your jaw hanging open as the bow was recreating a tumbleweed.
"Is that the same adventurer from before? Such bad luck is cast upon his door..." Venti's eyes followed your line of sight, a hint of amusement rising in his stomach at the sight of the boy rolling down the hill.
"Err... should we, eh, save him?" You spared a side-eye to the male who was strumming his lyre happily.
"That is up to you, my friend!"
"Set me some background music, Venti," you grinned, getting into a running stance.
"Dashi run run run—"
☆
You caught up to the rolling boy, grabbing onto his shirt as you yanked him out of the way from the mist flower right up ahead. Knowing him only for a brief while, you already had the idea of what would happen if he were to roll into that damned flower.
"A— oh, hey! It's you again! Thanks!" The boy rubbed the back of his neck bashfully, embarrassed that the second time you had met, it was under the same circumstance.
"Huh..." You hummed, lifting the boy up to his feet as Venti plucked his lyre delicately, floating with the power of anemo as the unlucky male introduced himself.
"I'm Bennett! Leader of Benny's Adventure Team! You?" Bennett smiled, holding his hand out as your eyes widened briefly at the amount of bandages and scrapes that littered his arms.
"[Y/N]. This is Venti, but he's irrelevant," you returned his smile, a shocked gasp from Venti as he plucked a string loudly.
"Oh, okay! Nice to meet you, [Y/N]! Venti! Your anemo is really powerful, Venti!" Bennett excitedly grinned, earning a sly smirk from the bard to you.
"Aw, thank you, adventurer!" Venti strummed his lyre, happy melodies leaving with each vibration of the strings.
☆
"Bennett, huh? Isn't that the infamous 'super bad luck don't go near him' boy that we heard the ladies talking about?" [Y/N] asked, glancing up at Venti whose arms were wrapped securely around her stomach, pressing her form to his chest as the two of them glided to Stormterror's Lair with his anemo.
"Hmm, you're right! Now that I think about it, I've heard some gossip surrounding the adventurer!"
". . . You knew all along, didn't you?"
"Ehe!"
☆
"It's a storm barrier!" Paimon cried, hovering next to the traveler as a transparent blue forcefield blocked the rest of the path.
"It looks so dangerous..." Paimon retracted her entire body away from the barrier, hiding behind the traveler as Venti stepped forward.
"Leave it to me," the bard smiled, materializing his lyre as [Y/N] deadpanned at his sudden smugness.
"Although, this wooden lyre is all I have... I don't need the lyre to break through this kind of storm barrier— ah wait, what was that?" Venti glanced up, the sound of incoherent gibberish interrupting his little speech as the former-adeptus formed her sword from flames.
"Enemy attack! Prepare yourselves!" Jean yelled, her sword in the palm of her hand as the group got into a battle stance, masked hilichurls rushing towards them as their weapons were recklessly lit on fire.
"The stage will need to be cleared before my performance..." Venti facepalmed, his lyre idle in his free hand.
"Generally speaking, such chores are not the concerns of the performer himself..." The bard smirked smugly, sparing a side-eye to [Y/N] as she traced her thumb over her neck, gesturing that she was going to slit his.
"Ehe...!" Venti blinked innocently, a huff leaving the [e/c]-eyed girl's lips.
"Wait... what's going on? Something's not right. There shouldn't be any hilichurl camps in the vicinity of Stormterror's Lair..." Jean pondered for a brief moment, looking over to the bard.
"Talk less, we have some hilichurls to fight," [Y/N] grimaced, pyro infusing into her sword as she slammed the nearest enemy's skull inwards.
Merely nodding, Jean followed suit, covering the traveler as Diluc set the camp aflame.
☆
"Ah... Hilichurls do not usually venture into areas with high elemental concentrations. It puts a heavy burden on their bodies," Venti acknowledged, a finger on his chin as the traveler was picking up damaged masks from the fallen enemies.
"The Abyss Order must be manipulating them behind the scenes, yet they shouldn't have been able to determine that we would have come. They're presumably spreading their forces to halt our plans," Diluc analyzed, adjusting his black gloves.
Such quick deductions. [Y/N] mused, impressed by the red-head.
"Without further ado... I suppose I can play faster if my only audience is the wind," the bard smiled gleefully, his lyre resting in the palms of his hands as he began strumming.
Finally, the wind barrier dispersed with each melodic note that came forth from the bard, his eyes closed as muscle memory seemed to be doing all of the work for him.
Yet still, the sky was a dim unsaturated grey, the color draining from the clouds like a filter.
"It actually opened! You're not entirely useless, Tone-Deaf Bard!" Paimon cried, genuinely surprised as Venti merely thanked the mascot, ignoring the back-handed compliment.
"This is it. We're entering Stormterror's Lair."
"Watch yourselves. Let's move."
☆
"Looks like this is the front gate to Stormterror's Lair. The gate is enormous compared to us... But still, Paimon wonders how Dvalin gets in there with a body that huge?" The pixie tilted her head towards Venti, who kept his eyes trained on the gate.
"He doesn't walk in. He flies in."
"Oh... hm... you do have a point."
He has wings for a reason, doesn't he? [Y/N] sweatdropped.
☆
"It's stuck," Paimon hovered down to eye-level as Venti rested a hand on his hip.
"It's stuck."
"Let's make a detour then. Heading up!" The mascot beamed, following the traveler to a nearby wind current as Venti hummed.
"Let's make a detour then. Heading u—"
"No," [Y/N] clapped her hand over the bard's mouth, shutting him up before he could mimic Paimon once more. She was not going to put up with his antics. Not today.
☆
"So... this is the top?" You glanced over to Venti, his eyes solemnly glazing over each stone pillar and building as history seemed to paint itself in front of him, nightmares and people long gone from the lair as the sands of time brushed it all away.
"Yeah. It seems like we can't advance any further, the ruins seem to be guarded by ancient seals."
"Is this the work of Dvalin?" Paimon asked, peeking out from behind Aether's back, the blonde glancing warily at the ruin guard next to Diluc.
"No. These ruins were once part of an ancient city... Dvalin just happens to be nesting here," Venti sighed, tracing his hands over the stone floors.
"Anyways, I'll sing you that story when we have a chance in the future!" Straining a smile, the bard glanced up at the sky, the swirling clouds blocking out any possible ray of sunlight above it.
Staring past his exterior, you knew all too well of Venti's emotions. This was the city of which his first friend was. Where the first feather he had retrieved was brought, only to find out that the receiver was long gone... lost in the war for freedom.
It's okay to not be okay.
"The markings on this seal... If my archaeological knowledge is not mistaken, this appears to be a light actuator," Diluc crouched down, hovering his gloved hand over the swirling blue patterns.
"If we retrieve and reintegrate all the parts, we should be able to get it working," the male added, glancing up over to the traveler.
"Let's put the last part back and see," Jean nodded.
"Traveler," You stood up, staring directly into Aether's golden eyes.
"If it isn't too much, I would like to accompany you."
☆
"W-What? Sure!" Aether nodded, fidgeting with his sword as [Y/N] turned over to Venti, encasing his wrist in her own fingers as the bard's mouth went dry at the sudden touch.
"Don't go being all depressed on me, okay? When I come back I better see you being an idiot. Not moping," the girl sternly said, letting go of the bard's hand as he gulped.
"Revisiting the memories of those who are long gone will do no good. There is only one way, and that is forward."
Smiling sadly, Venti gave the girl a close-eyed smile.
"Of course."
Turning around, the [e/c]-eyed girl left with the traveler, her sword materialized on her back as their forms disappeared in the swirling grey canopy of clouds.
'Thank you, [Y/N].' Venti closed his eyes, his gratefulness portrayed in a soft breeze that brushed the girl's cheek, seeking her out from even beyond the barrier of clouds.
No problem. The girl smiled, a warm wisp of air swiping past her nose as she reached out to nothing, yet it seems that it was everything.
☆
"Is this the first light actuator?" Aether asked, peering over to [Y/N] as the girl bent down, examining the strange markings.
"Yeah. Let's get the pieces to activate it," she nodded, heading off to a wind current as the traveler followed suit, beginning to climb up a broken stone pillar.
Receiving the needed parts, the both of them made it back to the center at the light actuator. Uncertainty sparking in their gazes as they inserted the pieces needed to activate the device.
"Well? Was that the last par—" The traveler started, but was quickly interrupted as [Y/N] reached out, shoving him out of the way as a quick shard of pyro zoomed past Aether's cheek, barely grazing over his skin.
"What is this?" A sickly voice of an Abyss Mage cooed, whirling around its strange staff as the [e/c]-eyed girl formed her sword from the palms of her hands.
"A strange power..." The Abyss Mage edged closer to the girl, the blazing heat from its shield drying up all moisture from her skin.
"Traveler..." [Y/N] side-eyed the blonde, his golden eyes wide in shock as she stabbed the Abyss Mage's pyro shield towards him, his anemo bursting up on instinct as sticks and leaves whirled from the ground.
"You know what to do."
☆
Chanting incoherent noises, the sounds of the two samachurls in front of you fell onto deaf ears. Trusting Aether, all you could do was fulfill your part of the fight as your vision would be of no use to the Pyro Abyss Mage.
Channeling pyro into your sword, the grass below you was set aflame. Heat mixed with the damp environment of Stormterror's Lair, the grey sky mixed with ashes and smoke of your fire as the world turned black.
☆
[1,900 YEARS AGO]
"It hurts..." [Y/N] said with a wince, water mixing with the crimson red color of her blood. Oozing down into the grass as the emerald shreds of nature turned brown.
"Shh... It's going to be okay..." A voice hovered above her, barely being able to make out the sight, the [e/c]-eyed girl could only sigh as a bird appeared over her face.
"How is she?"
"Alatus..."
"She... can't.... probably.... bled out...." There were pauses... no—blanks in between the sentences. Losing consciousness ever so slowly, the only thing [Y/N] could see was a dazzling amber. Staring deep into her [e/c] irises, piercing through her soul...
There was only one name. One name she could hear before everything left.
Rex Lapis.
☆
[PRESENT]
Finishing off the samachurls, your blade pierced through their body. Disintegrating into dust, the only remains of the enemies were of the loot and sealed scrolls that dropped from their forms.
Killing the flame, smoke and ash filled your lungs. The hazy sky clearing out with each strong gust of wind, your eyes trailing over to the fallen form of the Abyss Mage, its puny state laughable as the Traveler finished it off.
"Is the light actuator on?" Aether asked, wiping the sweat on his forehead with the back of his arm, his hair slightly disheveled and crisped at the ends of stray strands.
"Appears to be. Let's head to the next one," You hummed, spinning your sword gracefully into the air, materializing it into dust.
"Alright!" Aether cried, pumping his fist up in the air triumphantly as Paimon cheered alongside him.
☆
"This is the next actuator," [Y/N] observed, tracing her hand over the artifact and its missing contents, a hum leaving her lips as she eyed three beams of light ahead of her.
At each pillar of light were parts for the actuator. One of them being a hilichurl camp, a rocky stone wall, and a wind current that was close to the main barrier where the rest of the group was encased in.
"I'll take care of the hilichurl camp," Aether said confidently, wielding his sword as the girl beside him merely agreed, standing up from her previous crouching position.
"I suppose I'll get the rocky one and windy one. I'll meet you back here," [Y/N] spun around, walking towards the rubble as her [e/c] eyes gazed at her clothing.
After getting charred, [Y/N] had to toss the shirt and pants she was wearing. Now? She was wearing the same cape and bow as Venti. Not knowing where it came from or whether it was Venti's (it probably was), the girl was more amazed he got a duplicate than concerned for how he knew her exact sizes.
But hey. At least she looked cute!
☆
Standing in front of the rock pile, the towering grey spheres and shapes shadowed over your form as you pressed your palm to the rock that was directly in front of you.
Closing your eyes, a heat rushed up your body and outwards from your hand, a warm light and flame charring the first rock black, then slowly the infectious warmth spread to each and every rock until they were nothing more than ash.
Appearing from the crevices, two geo slimes launched from the molten heat. Their shields already crisped at the end, hopping slowly and cautiously thanks to the large pile of rocky exterior that sat atop one's head.
Transferring the heat from your palm to the sword, the metal weapon blew up in flames, sustaining its form as you sliced the lesser geo slime, clashing with the larger one as some of the rocky shield flew off and into the air.
Angling your sword, the metallic material glinted under the fire's light, a small smirk twisted onto your face as the sword found its way into the bigger geo slime's form, sparkling under the murky brown color as the enemy bursted into slime residue.
"Aether did yo—" Turning around, you headed off in the direction where you last saw the traveler. But just as you made your way into the hilichurl camp, a deadpan carved itself onto your face, a streak of sweat gliding down the side of your forehead.
"Wooh! Paimon loves food!" The floating mascot exclaimed, hovering above her blonde companion as the traveler was sitting in the middle of the camp, roasting some chicken mushroom skewers without a care in the world.
. . . Ah. Okay, Honorary Knight of Mondstadt . . .
"Weird."
☆
"This should be the final actuator. We just need to glide..." [Y/N] mused, tracing her hand over the actuator as Aether headed towards the nearby wind currents, whipping out his wind glider as he shot upwards.
Go you! I'll do the work with you... in my heart. Yeah. I'm good moral support. The girl sat down, resting her legs from all of the running and unlocking waypoints.
"Ack!" Paimon's scream echoed throughout the area, prompting [e/c] eyes to dart upwards, prepared for danger—
"Paimon likes food! Not leaves!" The mascot cried, batting away stray plants from her form as the wind current pushed random objects up into the sky with Aether.
Fine dining.
☆
"Is that it?" Aether asked, coming up next to you as his golden irises followed your line of sight, landing on the bright blue lights in the center of Stormterror's Lair.
"Yeah... I think that is," you smiled, twirling your blade with your hand.
"Let's not keep them waiting, yeah?" You looked over at Aether, his blonde hair messy with stray sticks and leaves popping in and out of his braids.
☆
"[Y/N]! Paimon was wondering, how are you so strong? What food do you eat?" Paimon asked, floating beside the girl as she merely laughed.
"I'm just good with a sword, that's all."
"Paimon doesn't believe you! You're even better than Master Diluc! And? You're best friends with Venti! Venti is a big Barbatos Anemo Archon man!"
" . . . " Traveler and Paimon exchanged glances.
"[Y/N] . . ." Aether turned sternly towards the [e/c]-eyed girl, furrowing his eyebrows in deep thought, he could only take a deep breath.
"Are you an archon?"
The girl's jaw dropped.
"Let's keep the thinking to Jean and Diluc, yeah?" [Y/N] patted the two's back, her stomach hurting from trying to contain her laughs as Aether and Paimon visibly deflated.
"Paimon was so sure of it too!"
☆
"The heroes are back!" Venti cooed teasingly, strumming his lyre gleefully as Diluc and Jean shared exasperated expressions.
"Venti is back..." [Y/N] deadpanned, wondering whether she liked big man Barbatos or Venti more.
"I'm thinking about turning these adventures into songs after we're done," Venti mused, an index finger on his chin as the Traveler nodded.
"Well, we certainly have gone through quite a lot recently."
"Hopefully, this song will be sung for years to come by the people of Mondstadt, just like The Legend of Vennessa," The bard smiled, side-eyeing the girl carefully, his pretty ocean eyes tracing over her form to check for any injuries.
"I didn't get hurt," The girl responded without a word, feeling Venti's 'sly' gaze on her as the bard pouted.
"How'd you catch me?"
"Intuition."
"How are you feeling today, Traveler?" Jean asked, turning over towards the blonde as the male rubbed the back of his head.
"I am completely prepared and fully confident that we can do this," The acting grandmaster added, a poise and elegant aura embracing her form.
"Rest assured, I'm also completely prepared!" Aether exclaimed, pumping his fists up into the air triumphantly as Paimon turned over to Diluc.
"Even Master Diluc accompanied us to the very end, despite only being an accidentally involved... bystander," The mascot beamed, earning a faint whistle from Venti as he nudged [Y/N]'s side with his elbow, a small smirk on his lips.
"Stop it, Tone-Deaf Bard!" Paimon cried, interjecting whatever the male was about to tell the [e/c]-eyed girl.
"You shared your secret with me, and I only returned your trust to the same extent," Diluc crossed his arms, ignoring the internal battle between Venti and Paimon as [Y/N] sighed.
"So 'trust' is what drove Master Diluc here," Aether hummed, earning a vigorous nod from Paimon.
"As for Master Jean... 'responsibility' perhaps?" Turning towards Venti, Paimon could only narrow her eyes at the archon.
"What about you, Tone-Deaf Bard and [Y/N]?"
"It's 'freedom' for me," The bard smiled sweetly, brushing shoulders with the girl beside him as she could only rub her eyes.
"It's getting dragged into Venti's messes for me," she rubbed her temples, irritated with the growing headache she was getting.
"Ehe!" Venti bashfully smiled, earning a sweatdrop from the rest of the group.
"Freedom...?" Paimon echoed, tilting her head as Venti rested a hand on his hip.
"When you first arrived at Mondstadt, did no-one tell you that Mondstadt is the City of Freedom?"
Exchanging glances with Paimon, Aether breathed "Amber..."
"Hahaha... She really is a child of freedom!" Venti laughed heartily, a warm smile cascading onto [Y/N]'s lips at the amount of joy Venti seemed to gain with each of Paimon's queries.
"Mondstadt is a romantic city, without the reign of a king. And its citizens enjoy the most freedom amongst the seven nations. I hope the dragon that once protected Mondstadt will soon be free too..." Venti trailed off, staring into the sea of clouds that hovered above the great dome building.
Silently watching the male, [e/c] eyes scrunched up at the sudden distraught tone of voice. Straightening up, [Y/N] cleared her throat as to do the rest of the speaking for the bard.
"No-one should have deceived him by telling him that Mondstadt betrayed him, and no-one should have told him that it was his eternal duty to protect the city. He has the right and freedom to choose his own way of life," the girl nodded solemnly, brushing her fingers over the archon's as he seemed to relax at her touch.
"[Y/N] . . ." Paimon teared up, a crestfallen expression on her face.
"Well then, Traveler, may the thousands of years of wind that have blown through Mondstadt go with you. Just like the last time, I shall channel Anemo energy for you," Venti relaxed, an unreadable smile on his face as Aether gaped at the bard.
"I knew it! It was your voice I heard!"
"Oh! No wonder Aether said his voice sounds familiar!"
☆
Trekking towards the illuminated blue seal, your eyes widened at a sudden touch to your calloused fingers.
Eh—
Whipping your head towards Venti, you were surprised to see his slender and well-trained hands clasped around yours, his braided hair and cape rustling with the wind as your own copy seemed to mimic his movements.
"[Y/N] . . ." Venti trailed off, gulping nervously as you raised your eyebrow.
"Please... please don't put your life in danger for me, okay?" Venti sniffled, his grip tightening around your hands, worried that you'd fly off into the air.
"You sure think mighty of yourself to think I'd put my life in danger," you smiled, squeezing his palms as his tensed shoulders loosened ever so slightly.
"I, [Y/N], solemnly swear that I will not die during this battle with Dvalin. It's a contract, now."
Comically deadpanning, Venti merely sighed wearily at the fact you still made a contract in the land of freedom.
"[Y/NNNN]... this is not Liyue!"
"Contracts cross over borders, Venti."
☆