Lyra, despite being a Knight of Favonius however temporarily, had a lot of free time in her hands, so she shifted her attention to other matters. After a brief discussion with Diluc, she wrote down a little bit about Nocturna, how she looked and the like, and hung it next to his tavern, asking whoever saw her to report to Diluc. But after a lot of young girls used that as an excuse to talk to Diluc, despite not having any relevant information on Nocturna, Lyra took it down and asked people to report to Jean instead. There was no more word on her.
Lyra didn't have to go back to the library, but she still did when she wanted to. She had gotten comfortable with the walls of the library, the books on the shelves, the silence, the feel of paper.
"Cutie," said Lisa.
Lyra, who had been looking at the lowest shelf, stood up to see a rather serene Lisa, and wondered if it was the calm before the storm. She hadn't seen Lisa since the city was asleep.
"Ms. Lisa," Lyra said nervously.
"I hear you sang a city to sleep." Lisa's smile wasn't strained, but in Lyra's eyes, it was scary.
"Er, did they also tell you I woke them up?"
Lisa smiled. "I'm not here to chastise you, sweetie." She pulled out a book from the shelf and flipped through it, as Lyra watched. "My teacher was interested in your ability, but I turned her down. I don't think you would want to be a lab rat."
"Celestia, no."
Lisa laughed and turned away, raising a hand in farewell. "Make sure you return your books on time, or I might just give her the okay."
Lyra felt a chill down her spine as she watched Lisa's retreating figure. Leaving the Headquarters, she looked up the stairs, feeling an overwhelming sense of curiosity. She had never gone up them. She took the stairs two at a time, until she reached the top, where a fountain stood in the center of the plaza, sporting a huge statue. She walked up to it and whistled, her neck already hurting from staring up.
"Is this Barbatos?" she wondered aloud.
The person next to her nodded, as the ground shook and the sound of an explosion pierced the air, screams following.
Lyra turned to the Cathedral, which now had smoke pouring out of its windows and doors. People ran down from the plaza, but she ran towards the Cathedral, only taking a moment to spare a thought for her sanity. A red Abyss Mage was hovering above the cathedral, and by the looks of it, he was cackling. She gave it a dirty look, before walking through the entrance, where another girl bumped into her.
"There are people inside!" she said, as Lyra saw the sisters guiding people out. Lyra gently pushed the girl out.
"Let me." Lyra didn't think twice before heading into the fire, the pews and altar burning. Passing the door at the end of the Cathedral, she dodged fire and flames. She breathed a little freely inside—it appeared the fire had not yet reached this far. But the smoke was already beginning to suffocate her. Heading to a child who was crying near a door, she picked him up.
"Where are your parents?"
He grabbed hold of her shirt and pointed down the hall, and Lyra let him guide her to a room where many people had gathered. Most of them were elderly, perhaps beyond the age of sixty, and by the looks they were giving her, she knew they were aware of her deeds and name. She put the little boy down, and watched as he ran to a couple huddled in the corner, his blond hair a match of his mother's, and blue eyes a replica of his father's.
"Have you come to sing us to sleep?" asked an older woman.
Lyra considered her, and the mistrust evident in her eyes. "Not quite, but please do forgive me in advance."
'Again she stepped into the path,
A song of words on her lips once more,
The silence of their thoughts was imminent,
As she led them through the door.
Follow me past the flickering flames,
I'll guide you to a place of life,
Away from dangers, disasters and fires,
So that we all may survive.'
She watched as their eyes lost focus, except for one man in the corner, who was staring at her with a steady gaze. He tilted his head and smiled, indicating his ear, and Lyra nodded in understanding. She pointed to herself, then the others, and the path outside, and showed him the gesture for 'come.' He nodded, and she spun around, walking away, her song echoing over the walls. She heard their footsteps behind her, and mentally cursed as she noticed the fire had spread.
The smoke was becoming rather suffocating. She coughed through her song, but still continued on as more people poured out the doors, mesmerized. She led them through the doors to the hall, willing Barbatos to actually do something about this. The knights stood outside as she stumbled through the doors, her last notes fading. The knight rushed forward to help the others as she fell forward, someone catching her.
"Lyra?"
"Diluc." And that was all she remembered, before she fell asleep.
When she woke up again, someone's hand was on her head. Blinking, she stared up at Diluc, realizing her head was on his lap.
"Are you awake?"
Lyra looked to the step above Diluc, where an eyepatch came into focus before the rest of him did. "Uh-huh."
Diluc put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her up, so that her head rested on his shoulder. A glass of water was brought to her lips and she tried to push it away.
"Don't."
She stopped protesting and instead held his wrist as he gave her the water. Coughing, she pulled herself up. She looked around the plaza, where the elderly sat around and the sisters went around, a flash of light here and there. The little elf girl was wandering the plaza, skipping around the elderly. The deaf man smiled when he saw her. With his open palm, he first placed all five fingers on his chin, and then pointed his hand at her, very similar to how one might blow a kiss.
"That means 'Thank you,'" said Diluc, following Lyra's gaze. Lyra bowed her head to the deaf man.
"You breathed in a lot of smoke," said Kaeya.
"You think?" Her voice was still rusty, her eyes hurt, and her throat was dying. She felt like she had been run over by a dragon.
The girl who she had pushed out the door stood talking to Jean. Lyra vaguely noted that they looked similar, as they walked over to them, seeing Lyra awake.
"Barbara says the Cathedral was bombed," said Jean, as the girl beside her nodded.
Lyra looked back at the Cathedral. It was no longer on fire, but the smoke was still rising, curling into the otherwise pure air.
"It looks like Klee's handiwork," Diluc said quietly, looking at the bombing site. Even Kaeya didn't refute him.
"Klee wouldn't do something like that," said Jean, as the little elf girl ran up to Jean and hugged her.
"It wasn't me!"
"Did you leave one of your bombs lying somewhere, little one?" Lyra asked, looking around. The Abyss Mage had vanished.
"I had one buried near Cider Lake," said Klee, hopping up and down.
Lyra blinked. Cider Lake was literally the lake that circled Mondstadt. She looked up at Diluc in disbelief, and Diluc just sighed, while Kaeya laughed.
"Even after I told you not to blow up the fish?" Jean asked, as Klee looked down and avoided her gaze. For a second, Jean almost looked like Klee's mother.
"If it wasn't Klee, then who was it?" asked Kaeya, bringing the attention away from Klee and onto the matter at hand.
"An Abyss Mage. A red one. He was hovering near the Cathedral when the explosion happened." Lyra's head was killing her, and she leaned back into Diluc's lap, who didn't even bother to stop her.
"Are you alright?" Kaeya asked, sounding concerned.
"For the love of Morax, everything hurts," Lyra muttered, almost asleep.
"So she's from Liyue," observed Kaeya.
Jean gestured to the others, and took off down the plaza. Lyra was fast asleep at this point, and Diluc lifted her up without complaint as he followed Jean and the others.
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