CHAPTER I, ACT I, PART II
After few hours of walking and climbing, you guys finally arrived at Jueyen Karst. You guys wandered around, trying to find Moon Carver. Instead of you guys found him, he found you first.
"And who might be? Those that dare enter Jueyen Karst?" The booming voice asked which honestly scared you for a moment. "Why does one sense Celestial force near this area?" He asked once again.
"We don't know about the last one but we were sent here." Aether said as he took out the Sigil of Permission from his pocket.
"A Sigil of Permission... Many a season has passed since one was last in the presence of such an item. He before you is the mighty and illuminated adeptus, Moon Carver. Speak, travelers. What business have you here?" He appeared himself right in front of you.
Honestly, he looked even more majestic than you usually would see in game. Paimon was about to explain before she got interrupted by the Milleliths who were trying to capture you.
"Bruh..." You looked at them in disbelief as you took out your sword while many of Milleliths gathered around you. Moon Carver looked at the Milleliths in displease as he sighed.
"...disturbing our borders. See them gone. One will not have interruption." He said as you began to charge towards them. Aether backed you up with but most of the times, you were the one who were doing the huge amount of damage.
The only thing he could do was summoning the mini meteorites on them to give you some shield. Paimon who was observing them fight as she noticed that the pupil of your eyes turned red when you were fighting them. Which was new sight to see.
Your fighting style certainly reminded the adepti of someone and he was quite stunned the fact you have the power of the Seven. "Interesting fellow..." He mumbled.
In few minutes, you already took out every single Millelith that tried to attack you. "I'm exhausted after that..." You said as you put away your sword.
"We've digressed. State your purposes, travellers." Moon Carver said as Paimon began to explain the situation about Rex Lapis' death and you being hunted down despite purifying the air from people being suffocated.
"Preposterous... PREPOSTEROUS!" He roared which honestly shook you for a moment. "The Liyue Qixing... utterly disappointing. How could someone possibly assassinate Rex Lapis during Rite of Descension? And then place the suspicion upon the attendees!? Especially to the one who save the life of Liyue Harbor." He said with clear disappointment tone in his voice.
He looked at you guys in pity as he thought for a moment. He looked at you guys as he said, "Traveler, of the unjust accusations placed upon you, one has become aware. The mind knows its answer. Though one must consult with one's fellows, lest the mind be misguided. Go. Take your Sigil of Permission, carry with you a message." You nodded in response as he gave direction to the adeptus' location.
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"Have I ever tell you that I hate climbing mountains?" You said while you were trying to catch your breath. Aether gave you a bottle of water for you to drink.
"You hated everything that requires you to move excessively. That's why you avoid fighting with monsters or people unless they are the Fatui." Paimon stated. She's not lying but you really felt bad for fighting with the hilichurl. Treasure Hoarders are really annoying to fight so you rather just not deal with them at all.
"Anyway, Paimon's hungry. Do you have any food to spare in that magical technology of yours?" She asked as you nodded.
You gave her Fisherman's Toast as she squealed happily. "Yay! Fisherman's Toast!" She said as she chomped down on the food while you guys kept heading towards the top.
Upon reaching it, you saw a stone table as if someone's were preparing a dinner. "Hey, who put this table here? They've even set it ready for dinner, there's a wine jug and everything..." Paimon went to check out on the table as she read out loud the names that was carved into the seats.
Retainer, Guizhong and Rex Lapis. From what you have known, Guizhong is Zhongli's old friend back when Zhongli wasn't as knowledgable as he is now.
Paimon said something that you didn't hear as you were busy observing the surroundings. There should be a bunch of cooking pots here though you did not quite remember what dishes you should make.
"Do you think maybe it's at all possible that the adepti might like to try some... Sticky Honey Roast?" Paimon questioned you guys as Aether shrugged.
"I think they only eat Liyue's cuisine." You said as you began to go towards the pot. You snapped your finger to light up the fire as you looked at the leftover ingredient.
Snapdragon, Lotus Head and Tofu. You have bunch of those in your inventory. Especially Tofu given the fact that you want to make some Almond Tofu for Xiao. "Whatever they were cooking, it sounds complicated!"
Paimon looked around as she picked up a piece of paper. "They left some notes, too." She began to read through the notes as she was lost in confusion. "Yep, it's a doozy! Paimon's not surprised they had to write it all down, it's a lot to remember... We should read it carefully."
"Actually, Paimon can you read it out loud the recipe? We should do this quickly so that we could rest up." You said as she heeded to your request. She began to read the recipe out loud as you followed her instructions.
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"It smells so good. Paimon's stomach is rumbling. Isn't this your first time making one? How come you looked like you've made it a thousand times?" She asked as you just shrugged.
You can't really answer her question so you decided to just hand her the bowl of soup. "Try and taste this if it's delicious." You said as you began to prepare another bowl for Aether and for the offering.
Paimon and Aether took the bowl as they drooled at the sight of the soup as they took a sip of it. For them, the food taste like a heavenly dish that was made by the god. Well considering you are a 'god', that's quite fitting for your food.
"This is so good! Paimon really surprised this turn out this good." You just chuckled at her reaction and watched her eating down the food happily.
Aether was quite content that he could eat your cooking every single day, given that you are one of his traveling buddies. Plus, now that you spent quite a time with him more than with the people in Mondstadt especially when it come to Kaeya.
"Naturally, I am a very good cook." You flipped your hair though it looks a little lamer given the fact your hair were quite short.
"Now... to another pot we go." You said as you headed towards southeast of the mountain. There were flour on the ground everywhere as if there was a bomb made of flour that exploded to it.
"Whoa... The ground is covered in flour." Paimon looked around the floor as she shook her head and clicked her tongue. "What a messy chef..."
Paimon took a look at the pot as she looked at it in disgusted. "Seems there's meat in this pot, but Paimon can't tell which kind." She said as she thought for a while.
You used your wind power to blow away the flour simply because you did not feel comfortable and throwing away whatever was inside the pot with the button that appeared on your phone.
Quite convenient given that there are no trashcan here for you to throw away the items. "I think I know what are they making..." You said in the middle of Paimon's explanation as she looked at you in confusion.
"Huh...?" She turned at you as you began to cook some Mora Meat that you remember of receiving one as your reward. It's basically like thick tortila breads with large chunky meats in the between that was marinated in a spicy sauce.
A wok would actually be nice for cooking this but you can't complain about it. Thinking about wok makes you think of egg fried rice. It didn't take you very long to make it given that it's easy to make.
"Woah! This looks so good. Paimon never seen this dish before. What are they called?" Paimon asked as you gave her a plate and turned to Aether if he want some but he was too full to eat another.
"I believe they are called Mora Meat. I managed to get a taste of it after completing the commission." You said as you made an aesthetic looking Mora Meat for the offering.
"Y/N really are on fire making these food." Paimon commented as she chomping down on the food.
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After finishing decorating the Mora Meat, you headed to the other pot that have Matsutake and Meat in a bag with a recipe next to it. "It's very clean here. Whoever cooked here last obviously likes to keep things neat and tidy. Paimon bets they were making an offering to the adepti."
There she goes again stating the obvious....
You just sighed as you began to prepare cooking some Matsutake Meat Rolls. It shouldn't be much of a different than wrapping bacons around potatoes and fried it.
A dish sincerely inspired by Food Wars that you made by yourself since you can't afford to buy the exact ingredient that he made for the roast. One could say it's a recipe for students that are in the rush to make themselves a lunch.
The smell of the food definitely raised Paimon's appetite. "That smells so good! Paimon can't wait to taste the food." She said excitedly as she watched you cooking closely.
This literally took you 5 minutes to cook and you are considering make this a lot. As per usual, you gave Paimon a plate before you served the other plate as a sign of offering.
After you nicely placed the food on the stone table, you saw a domain was unlocked. You turned your head around to call them to go inside the domain but turned out they reached there first than you.
They are too fast... You sighed as you headed towards the domains and entered it. Upon entering it, you saw many mechanism and floating island which looked quite peaceful.
"One senses the presence of a Sigil of Permission." Aether and Paimon were quite jumpy to hear the voice but didn't see who were talking. "One knows not why you have come, though the sincerity of your offering is clear... Hence, you shall be granted an opportunity. Find your way through mine abode, and you shall receive an audience with the adeptus whom you seek."
Man... this is going to be very difficult...
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It took you an hour to figure out the puzzle and using your Pyro magic is quite complicated given the fact that you can't control it very well. You finally arrived at the finishing point and there stood Cloud Retainer looking quite gracefully.
"One is most impressed. The path that leads through this abode defies those of ordinary abilities. The one before you is the adeptus, Cloud Retainer. Now, speak of the matter which brings you here." She demanded as you began to explain to her that Rex Lapis has been ✨assassinated.✨
"Rex Lapis... Assassinated!? How can this be!? Such a heinous crime... Who would dare? The notion is so preposterous as to be unbelieveable... one shall have to verify the truth of the matter independently. Perhaps one shall squash Liyue first, then convene with the other adepti–"
"Woah, woah, woah. Hold your horses."
"Excuse me!?"
You and Aether said simultaneously. Which something you didn't expected. "Wait, what!? Did you just say "squash Liyue Harbor"? Are you seriously gonna wipe out the whole city?" Paimon said in disbelief.
You could see the anger in her eyes while Aether tried to convince the adeptus. Though, he failed to do so and he turned to you to convince her.
You sighed as you thought of a way to convince her. "But you accepted the offering that I made for you isn't it a form a contract?" You looked at her as she flinched at your statement.
"'Contract...' A cruel irony that you should appeal to the notion after the merciless murder of the God of Contracts himself." She sighed as she looked at the Sigil on your waist.
She gave in to you but couldn't help, feeling quite strange how she gave in easily to your words than Aether despite saying the same thing.
"Your audience with the adeptus before you is now concluded. Leave at once, and disturb me no further." You immediately was brought out of it's abode and back to the last place where you were cooking those Matsutake Meat Rolls.
"... That went well." You said as Paimon gave you a look.
"You think? She almost going on a rampage on Liyue." She said as you shrugged.
"But I managed to convince her, didn't I? Anyway which adepti we are going to be meeting?" You asked Aether as he looked at his list.
"Next up is... Moutain Shaper."
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You guys arrived at the mountain as you looked at the pathaway that it carved. It looks quite pretty if you have to say so yourself. "Woah this looks so pretty. Such a perfect spot for a picnic actually." Paimon mentioned as you nodded in agreement.
It is quite nice to have a cup of tea with few biscuits on a side. You guys continued walking into the adepti's territory. After reaching the peak of the mountain, you saw someone praying near the lake.
You and Aether exchanged looks with each other before you telepathically decided to check up on the man. Honestly, you really don't remember about this scene if you have to be honest.
"Have mercy, O mighty adeptus! I beg you... Show mercy upon me and my brother... Spare our lives!" The guy begged with tears in his eyes.
"What's wrong...?" You asked as the guy turned towards you instantly. He looked at you guys in confusion.
"Who are you? What's going on?" He asked you.
"We asked you first." Paimon answered as she crossed her arms. The guy seems to hit realization as he looked at you guys.
"You enjoy safe passage in Jueyun Karst... It can only mean one thing! You must be adepti messengers! Sent here to rescue me and my brother!" Aether and Paimon gave him a puzzled look but you weren't even surprised at the slightest.
He began to explain about everything and begging for you guys to help him freeing his brother. You looked at the amber to see which one of them his brother.
You are too lazy to fight the potential monsters that might come out. Can you even use Elemental Sight to see what's inside the amber?
"What? We're not adepti messengers... We just wanna find the adepti, like everyone else!" Paimon stated as he shook his head.
"No no no, you must be messengers... You have to be! I have no idea which amber trapped him... Please, you have to rescue him! I beg you, show me some adepti mercy!" He pressed to you and Aether as Aether sighed.
"Of your transgressions, your predicament, and your repentance, one has become aware." He said in deep voice that scarily similar to Moon Carver and you don't even know if you should be impressed or scared the fact that his voice can even go that deep.
You shouldn't be this surprised given the fact that he had the same VA but it's just too shocking to see that pure face of him could have that deep voice. "Thanks be to the adeptus of Mt. Hulao, and to their messengers! Never will we be so foolish again..." The guy said as he bowed to you guys in gratitude.
"Whoa, check you out! When you speak like that, you actually make a pretty convincing adepti messenger." Paimon complimented Aether. He nervously chuckled as you guys headed down the path in finding which amber has his brothers
You aren't going to comment anything, worried that you might say the wrong thing and ended up making you looked like a creep.
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You've been touching the amber to see of you could feel any difference with the others and you were slight surprised it was as if touching a harden jelly. If that even make sense.
You could tell slight difference. The pattern of the breathing it have. Mitachurl tend to be quite heavy while animals' breathing hardly have an effect on the amber. Though, you can't tell the differences between of hilichurl.
You managed to be reasonable with hilichurls that you broke free of. Attacking hilichurls are the last thing you wanted to do.
You kept looking around before you stumbled upon a camp filled with books and notes. Treasure Hoarders were here...? You approached towards the camp as you looked through the books and notes.
You found a very interesting book laying down on the floor. Tales of Villarreal and Teyvat. You opened the book before you saw scribbles all over the books.
The stars are fabricated with lie. Celestia isn't real. The Seven Archon are just a weapon for Celestia to supress humankind just like Khaenri'ah. Family of Villarreal are the true gods of Teyvat. One of their heir will retained back the throne that was rightfully his.
You stayed silence as you tried to process the scribbled notes on the front page. You turned to next pages to see there's a portrait of a family smiling at the photo.
There were also name that written on the picture. Azariella, Lucian, Adira, Adriel and Zuhra 'Y/N'. Your eyes widen as you saw your name on the book. Though, you don't know why there's 'Y/N' next to the name.
Were Y/N supposed to be your middle name or something...? Wait, how is this book written in your standard alphabet letters?
You closed the book and took it with you. You'll read the book later, right now you're just going to focus on finding the trapped person.
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After an hour passed, you finally found the person you were looking for and made sure that he returned safely. "Thank you for rescuing my brother, O mighty messengers of the illuminated adepti."
The guy thanked you and bowed down to the point his head touching the ground. "It's really nothing, j-just raise your head." You do not feel comfortable at all seeing people bowed or kneeled down to you unless under few circumstances.
He stood up and hugged his brother tightly. Aether was about to ask if they seen the adeptus but you already see the adeptus stood right in front of your eyes so you just signal him not to ask them. "Anyway, we have trespassed in the realm of the adeptus for long enough. We should get going. Thank you, mighty adepti messengers..." He said as they headed back down to the mountain.
Paimon just sighed as she tried to calm herself down. "It seems like this adeptus has got a real temper problem but it's not like we've done anything wrong, so... hopefully we'll be okay... hehe..." Paimon tried to reassure herself before the red white crane step forward towards you with anger in his eyes.
"Who dares trespass on my mountain? Who is it that frees the thief from his incarceration?" He made an eye contact with Paimon which immediately made Paimon hid behind you.
You looked at her in disbelief. Why me...? You thought as Mountain Shaper spoke, "Foolish mortal, come forth and receive your punishment at once!" You flinched as Paimon began to step in.
"Wait! We can explain!" She said as you took the Sigil of Permission that was hanging on your waist.
"Moon Carver sent us." Aether stated as you showed the Sigil of Permission to him. The adeptus were astounded as he turned to Aether.
"Moon Carver... trusted mere mortals as his messenger?" He asked as he turned to the Sigil of Permission. "Is this... a Sigil of Permission? One is surprised to find that such things still exist in the mortal realm."
He was quite perplexed about the fact you held the Sigil of Permission. "In the beginning, Rex Lapis cast them for the mortals with his own hand. Few were made then, and thousands of years on, fewer still remain..."
He paused for a moment before he demanded you to speak and explain your business with him. Aether explained how the incident that happened at Liyue.
"Rex Lapis... Assassinated?" He let out a very loud roar as you covered your ears. That hurts your eardrum a lot if you have to be honest. "What mortal in Liyue– nay, in all the world, would conspire to commit such foul treason? Or perhaps the more pertinent question is, what power in this world could aspire to achieve it?" He asked but you knew the answer that there is a power that could actually kill the gods.
They began to exchange words with each other as you thought that today is really going to be a very exhausting day. "Y/N! Let's go. We need to meet The Conqueror of Demons next." Paimon said as she dragged you and you tagged along behind her.
Moutain Shaper watched you guys fled but he couldn't help but wondered, was it you that have such divine aura surrounding you.
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"Here we are at Wangshu Inn... And coincidentally, we arrived at night." Paimon said as you guys looked around for Xiao.
Why your heart is so nervous right now? To be fair you are either filled with nervous or excitement when knowing to meet these characters that you have been playing as.
"Compared to Jueyun Karst, this place look quite plain... Are we really going to meet an adeptus here?" Paimon wondered as she looked around the place.
"Let's take a look. Paimon reckons he'll be on the balcony. Heh, doubt we're going to find him in the kitchen." She said as you guys went to the balcony.
The balcony seems to be empty which confused Paimon. "Huh, no one's here." You went closer to the balcony before you admired the view.
The view was breathtaking and you could've sworn you could see the lights of the city lit up from here. You heard the sound of a wind blowing right next to you as you heard a voice said, "To the blind, everything may not be as it appears..."
You turned to see him stood next to you. "Oh it's you..." He laid his eyes on you as he sighed. Not going to lie, you did went up to the balcony once only because you were bored.
You only had a glimpse of something white when you went up there but you didn't actually thought that it was him. You really thought it was some sort of paper flew around.
"We meet again..." You said as Paimon and Aether looked at you in confusion. You forgot how intimidating he sounds when he's talking in English.
You remember playing switching the language from Japanese to English because Xiao's growl scared the hell out of you. Plus, you were too attached to Zhongli's and Kaeya's English voice to change into any other language.
"Why do you insist on getting involved in the world of demons and adepti? You're breaking the rules too often." He grumbled with worried in his eyes even though he wore a cold look on his face.
"Mortal souls are not as robust as those of adepti, nor can your blood carry this level of adeptal energy. It's for your own good. Leave. Now." He said as he disappeared into a thin air before Paimon could even finished what she was going to say.
You are not quite sure if you have mortal soul but you do know that it could took a toll on someone's body just being around with him for too long. The aura surrounded him were quite too heavy.
"Argh! Paimon's... peeved! All he does is think about himself!" Paimon stomped her feet as she huffed. She complained but too scared to say any further given that he is an adepti.
"How come you never told us about you meeting him before?" Aether asked with such sharp tone. You turned to Aether who seems to be quite upset at the fact that you met him.
"Does it matter...?" You asked as he gave you a very... possessive look. This definitely give you a vibe of a jealous boyfriend which you find it cute if you have to be honest.
You would ask him to marry him right here and now but the thought of facing his sister and leaving him for another man or woman. He definitely does not deserve someone like you.
"I only met him in a glimpse, alright? No need to get all jealous." He immediately blushed at your statement as he just looked away.
Having said that, the word jealous made him wondered on why would he be jealous at the first place, knowing that you were only his friend and you probably have zero feeling towards him. Which is obviously false.
Paimon just sighed as she facepalmed. It pains her honestly to watch Aether being such a simp to you yet is too coward to pull a move on you. She can't tell if you like him as much as he does given the fact that you gave the same loving look towards almost every people that you met along the way.
"Are we forgetting about our objective here?! Anyways, I think we have to ask the boss lady regarding Xiao." She said as you nodded in agreement.
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"Oh hello customer! How can I help you?" Verr Goldet asked you with a friendly smile on her face while Wei the cat plays with your sleeves. You just patted it and tried not to get distracted.
"We've come here to ask about X-" you fake cough for a moment almost slip up his name since you aren't supposed to know his name. "The adeptus... Apology, it seems my throat isn't doing well." You said as you coughed some more to make it looked legit.
"Oh? You've already met Xiao? Not bad, not often he's in a good enough mood to see people." Goldet said as Paimon just looked at her in disbelief.
"That's his good mood?" Goldet nodded as Paimon just stayed silent for a moment. Goldet explained that adeptus are hard to come by despite being prayed to them every day.
You, of course as per usual, got distracted and played with the cat waiting for their conversation to end. "Well... If you wanna know my opinion... If you keep Xiao in a good mood, things should be okay." Verr Goldet said as Aether and Paimon look quite puzzled.
"Good mood? Can't really imagine what a 'good mood' looks like for that 'Vigilant Yaksha.'" Paimon commented as Goldet giggled.
"Will be interesting, won't it? How 'bout this — you go see the chef for a bowl of Almond Tofu, and a plate of whatever it is you are best at making. Almond Tofu is one of the few human foods Xiao likes. The other dish is up to you." Goldet suggested as Paimon looked at you.
"Quick, Y/N! What dish are you good at?" You thought making an ice cream for him would be splendid, given that he ate snow before. Though, you know that he was only eating snow to satisfy his hunger back then before Zhongli's rescued him.
"I think of trying to make this dish... I think he would like it very much." You could rely on Chongyun's popsicle recipe and combined with your knowledge of making popsicle.
"Oooo.... Can Paimon have one?" She asked as you knew that she would ask that.
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You totally forget that you had to deal with this whole ghost situation. You just sighed after finishing dealing with her. She possessed the Ruin Hunter probably the scariest thing ever.
Imagine it fighting you with a little girl giggling at the back and saying 'Come play with me.' It was worth it given that Yanxiao not only made you an Almond Tofu but gave you a recipe for it.
You also managed to convince him to let you borrow the kitchen to make your popsicle dishes using Cryo Slime Condensation, Cryo Whopperflower Nectar and Sunsettia.
You tried one and it just taste sweet and fruity. You can't actually pointed out what does Sunsettia taste like but it definitely taste something like if a pear and a peach were combined as one.
"This is so tasty! Paimon really love this!" She squealed in happiness as she did double backflip in joy.
"Glad you actually like it because I have no idea what I was doing at all." You said truthfully.
"Anyways, let serve this to Xiao!" You guys returned to the balcony and saw him sitting on the hand rail, watching the view.
He sensed a presence on the balcony as he saw you guys. "It's you three again..." He frowned before Paimon stopped him from disappearing.
He noticed the tray of food that you held. "What's this?" He questioned as he apporached to you.
"It's your favorite dish, Almond Tofu! As well as Y/N's specialty, Sunset Memories Popsicle." You just turned to her in baffled. That is sure one mouthful dish name.
He began to eat the popsicle first as Aether immediately explain about the event happened at Liyue. He was quite shocked both by your popsicle.
He was shocked by your dish because he was surprised by the taste of sweetness and cold that was surprisingly comforting him. A taste that he never experienced before which shock him.
He looked at you who seems to be quite nervous while listening to Aether's explanation. He couldn't help but wonder how is it possible for you to be able to create a dish that taste quite pleasant.
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He heard the full story as he in a state of shock and disbelief. "Rex Lapis... How could this be...? I... can't imagine it. Though times have changed, I've never imagined a Liyue without him." He sounded sad that the fact Rex Lapis was dead.
Yet, he still have that tough look on the outside. He immediately said that the adepti will fulfil their responsibilities accordingly that was given by Rex Lapis himself.
He immediately disappeared right in front of you and made a decision to stay here before returning to Liyue to see Childe.
TO BE CONTINUED
Author Note:
Long chapter as a compensation for the wait :) I hope you have a nice day :D