After defeating Dvalin, the platform around you begins to shake. A panic-stricken Jean grabs hold of Aether and Venti, while you scurry to Diluc, the closest person to you. The floor collapses, and he shields you from the debris as you fall into the hole. You shut your eyes, and bury yourself against the redhead, awaiting your doom.
We're going to die, I'm going to die! I haven't even seen mom and dad—
Just as you see your life flash before your eyes, you hear a thud, and feel something against your back, knocking you unconscious.
When you wake up, you can feel the calming breeze blow against your skin. You open your eyes and see Diluc tending to you, with Paimon shaking your arm. When she sees your blinking, she throws your arm a hug. You chuckle at her actions.
Further up the dragon, you inspect your surroundings. Aether is lying unconscious beside Jean, who has her palm against his forehead. You see Venti sitting cross-legged at the front. You can't exactly tell by his expression, but seeing his hunched back and his right palm under his chin suggests that things went well after the fight.
"It's been a while since we flew like this together, huh, Dvalin?"
A deep voice shakes the mass below you, "Just now, why did you not ask me to protect you like the last time?"
"Me not wanting you to listen to the Abyss Order doesn't mean that you have to listen to me. Freedom, if demanded of you by an archon, is really no freedom at all."
The archon removes his palm and lifts his hands up, a viridescent energy accumulating on his palm. It then spreads around the dragon, dissolving. You stare at him in awe, with Dvalin seemingly confused, "Is this... the power of the Anemo Archon? But I am no longer part of the Four Winds."
"Even if that's so, you still protected us regardless. Now, spread your wings of freedom and go with my blessing."
-
After Amber welcomes your trio back to Mondstadt, you assist in cleaning up the hilichurl attacks that had gone when you were off at Stormterror's Lair. She invites you all to eat the Sticky Honey Roast that she promised before, but since she had work to wrap up, she tells you to go on ahead.
Entering the city, you can hear snippets of some citizens' conversations about the ordeal. Many were glad that the situation had been resolved, although some weren't as happy—mainly the Fatui.
Your trio reaches Good Hunter, and you approach Sara to inquire about Amber's reservation as Aether and Paimon are chatting behind you.
"Greetings, may I take your order?"
As you open your mouth, you hear someone tut at you, "Why so cold? I've always thought that we enjoy quite the intimate friendship."
You jump back from the source, whipping your head around. The Cavalry Captain stares at you with a pout on his face and you roll your eyes at his childish act, "Don't go around scaring people like that, Mr. Kaeya."
He chuckles, "To bask in the presence of Mondstadt's new big heroes is quite the morale boost. And that's coming from a knight."
Aether walks up beside you as Paimon floats, placing her hands on her hips, "Sweet-talking sugar-coated Captain Kaeya..."
"Nonsense! I speak from the heart."
Aether turns to the eyepatched man, "What are you doing here?"
"Just looking for a quiet spot to collect my thoughts."
The fairy raises her eyebrow, "While all the other knights are working hard to clean up after the battle..."
Kaeya sighs, "Thinking can be an arduous task, you know. Believe me, I'd much rather be taking out the trash."
"So what are you thinking about, then? Dvalin?"
He looks at you, "Something related to him. The Abyss Order. A dragon wreaks havoc in Mondstadt, and the Acting Grand Master leaves the city to combat the threat. Strategically, that's the perfect moment for the Abyss Order to make their move. If you were with the Abyss Order, would you squander this golden opportunity by sending in nothing more than a few hilichurls?"
You shake your head, "You're right, it doesn't add up."
"To get to the bottom of it, I decided to wait. So I waited, and watched for their next move." He points to the general direction of Stormterror's Lair, "Then came the day you two made all hell break loose in Stormterror's Lair, just as hilichurls' cries sounded from the city gates. The same day, I saw shadowy figures lurking in the city itself."
You all gasp, "Inside the city!?"
"Well, all the other knights were outside, fighting the enemy. As you can imagine, that left the inside of the city completely unguarded. Except for me, of course. And so I approached the Abyss Order infiltrators for a bit of... fraternizing."
The Cavalry Captain cups his chin with his fingers, "Through various means, I managed to gather some rather interesting intel."
You feel a shiver down your spine when Kaeya says 'various means'. What exactly did he do? You ponder.
"The situation is this—The Abyss Order are united under a single leader."
"The Abyss Order has a leader?" Paimon questions.
The older man nods, "Yes, and it was this very leader who devised the plot to turn Dvalin into a weapon of war."
"What exactly did you have to do to find this out!?"
A brief look of panic crosses Kaeya's face, only to be replaced with his usual charming look, "Let's just say I'm blessed with certain linguistic powers. There's more—The Abyss Order has a name for this leader. They call her 'The Princess'."
Aether mumbles, "Princess..."
Kaeya's eye darts beyond you, "Now, I'm sorry to cut this intelligence briefing short, but I do believe I spy Amber heading this way. I think she's still angry with me for my absence from the defense effort during the attack. I'd better slip away before she notices me."
The man walks away just as Amber arrives in a hurry, panting, "One minute I see Kaeya, the next he's slipped away! Clear sign of a guilty conscience."
You pat her on the back as you hand her a cup of water that you requested from Sara, "He probably has his... reasons... but he could've at least informed you."
"I know! But let's forget about him. I worked super hard today and my tummy's rumbling. Let's order!"
She grabs your hand and you two walk to Sara, Aether and Paimon in tow, "Hi Sara! One Sticky Honey Roast, please."
-
Amber grabs her slice of the Sticky Honey Roast as you take a bite, "So, now that the Stormterror threat is behind us, what are your plans for the next step?"
The fae answers for you two, albeit with a full mouth, "Paimon thinks it's time to leave Mondstadt and keep looking through the seven nations until we find clues about Aether's sister and Y/N's way to go back to their world."
One of Amber's bunny ears drooped, "Huh, really? Well, I guess this is goodbye for now..."
"I will miss Mondstadt." Aether quips. You soberly nod.
"Hey, don't feel down!" She smiles warmly at you two, "You'll always be friends of the Knights of Favonius and our Honorary Knights. Wherever you may go, and wherever the wind may blow."
"We'll come back and visit."
The pyro user cheers, "That's the spirit! Remember, Mondstadt will always welcome you. Alright, now let's eat before it gets cold!"
When your group finishes eating, Paimon plops down on the chair beside yours, "Mmm, that was so good! Note to Paimon, Amber's recommendations are worth the wait!"
You pat your full belly to show your exaggeration on Paimon's statement. The mentioned girl giggles, "Of course! While I don't trust myself in the kitchen, you can always trust me with the menu! Oh—I almost forgot to mention—Jean's waiting for you at the Cathedral. It's something to do with the Holy Lyre der Himmel. You'd better head there now."
-
You close your wind glider when you land at the front of the Cathedral. Aether shakes his arm off, "Shall we enter?"
You nod, opening the door for them. Inside the Cathedral, you see Jean, Venti, and another girl around the same height as Venti waiting by the altar. You make sure to tell Paimon to lower her voice to not disrupt the other churchgoers from praying.
Although you see no signs of threat, something tells you to be wary of your surroundings. You shake it off and focus on your current objective.
Approaching the group, Jean slightly nods in greeting, "This is Barbara, the Deaconess of the Church. She is here to retrieve the Holy Lyre der Himmel."
She points to the younger girl, who smiles warmly, "May the Anemo Archon protect you. I'm not really in a position to speak compared to our Acting Grand Master, but I still want to thank you all on behalf of Mondstadt for your assistance! Fortunately, everything was resolved peacefully. I can't imagine how an all-out war between the military and the dragon would have ended."
Staring at the Deaconess, you think to yourself, She kinda looks familiar... Her eyes... Hm... Where else have I seen it?
"Now, the Fatui have no choice but to keep their mouths shut. They must be annoyed that things didn't turn out as planned for them. This time, they even lost their best excuse to pressure the Knights of Favonius."
Jean smiles wryly, "Diplomatically speaking, they gained nothing, and on the contrary simply proved how vexatious they can be."
You shift your gaze at Jean, then back to Barbara. Then to Jean. Then to Barbara.
Oh, that's it! Are they related?
"Sounds like quite the story. So, did you bring the Holy Lyre with you? We cannot ask you to keep defending the lyre forever. The Seneschal has been pressing me for a while now."
Aether puts his hands behind his back and stares at the ground as Venti plays with his braids. You stare at your fingernails while Paimon tries her best to explain the Lyre's situation, "We... did bring it with us... But um... it's a little..."
The Deaconess shakes her hands, "Oh, don't worry! I'm not here to collect a rent! The Church has always received special funding."
You nudge at Aether who shoots you a glare. You signal Barbara's hopeful look to him, to which he merely sighs and summons the damaged Lyre. Everyone silently braces for Barbara's reaction, and you hold your breath in.
"A-ah..."
You mumble, "Ah, shit."
Venti sighs beside you, "Ugh..."
The Deaconess screams at the top of her lungs at the sight of the instrument and kneels down, profusely praying, "Oh, Lord Barbatos... Even if I atoned for these sins for the rest of my life, it would still not be enough!"
You see Jean at your peripheral putting her hand on her forehead, exasperated. The archon kneels in front of Barbara, "Oh, give it here."
He channels his Anemo energy to replicate the shape of the Lyre. He returns it to the Deaconess, who looks up at Venti with tears streaming down her eyes, "How could this—The Holy Lyre... But how?"
You and Aether stare at the Lyre in awe. Paimon's eyes widened, "Huh? Let Paimon see!"
Barbara takes the Lyre away from your vision, shielding it from the rest of you, "No! No! I don't know how you managed to fix it, but you'll never touch the Lyre again!"
She storms off to the staircase leading to the Lyre's vault. Venti nervously chuckles, "We, uh, really should get going..."
Noticing your confused faces, the bard looks away, "The trick I used to 'repair' the Holy Lyre—I mean the magic I used—isn't going to hold forever, you know."
"What!?"