"𝗜𝗧'𝗦 𝗢𝗡𝗟𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗘"
❤︎
"IF YOU WANNA find the Geo Archon, this is the only chance you'll get all year"
'Guess It's a good thing that the bard brought it up earlier... a bit too early. Anyways, I definitely would've missed this years 'Rite Of Descension' A black haired girl thought as she looked around the busy street of Liyue. She was planning on bringing Aether along, but he seemed to be more busier with dealing something back in Monstadt.
'Also... I really don't know where it is' She sweatdropped. Remembering that Venti hadn't told her the exact location on where it would be held. [Name] then let out a sigh.
'Since I'm already in Liyue, might as well go ask some locals here'
--
"Rite of Descension... Oh yeah, that reminds me, isn't that tomorrow?" As you walked up the stairs, you overheard the woman saying that and decided to ask her about it.
"Once a year, Rex Lapis bestows upon us his divine prediciton, guiding us on how to run Liyue for the coming year."
"Last year it was the Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing that was given the honor of asking for the divine prediction."
"Liyue Qixing?" You looked at her confusedly.
"The Qixing is comprised of mere mortals, Rex Lapis is a god. Monstadt's god is nowhere to be seen, whilst our god is forever with us," The woman, LinLang explained "Stay in Liyue long enough and you'll see..."
"Given that you just left your godless city, it's time you experienced what it's like to be in a city whose god has walked with it through all of history."
Once LinLang finished talking, she resumed her conversation with the old man beside her something about her business going down. You let out a sigh and walked up the stairs while fixing your butterfly hairclip for slipping off.
Suddenly, a man then called out for your attention which made you turn towards him.
"Oh! Are you also a visitor here for the Rite of Descension?" He questioned as he looked at your attire up and down "To think I've lived in Liyue all these years and never come to see this before."
He then crossed his arms "I guess it's like they say. Locals never visit tourists spots."
"I wish you well on your travels! Liyue always welcomes you!"
With that, I left him there all alone and asked more people about the Rite of Descension.
"You too wish to bear witness to the Rite of Descension? Me too, we all do!"
𝕳𝖎𝖘 𝖛𝖔𝖎𝖈𝖊 𝖘𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖉𝖘 𝖋𝖚𝖓𝖓𝖞.
I let out a sigh when the voice's laugh at how the man speaks before nodding my head at the man and waited for him to continue talking.
"As a businessman myself, how could I not take interest in Liyue's most important business trends?"
"Hm"
--
Opening the door towards the room that the young slayer purchased, she must thank Verr Goldet for not making the price high or else she would've had some Mora issues.
"Ahh, I'm glad that I managed to get out of that situation just now," [Name] said as she stretched her arms out before falling back into her bed with a satissfied hum that left her lips.
"I wonder what the others are doing right now... hopefully Kamado won't do any silly moves on my sister while I'm gone"
Staring up on the ceiling, she tried remembering the memories of her back in the Corps which were slowly fading away day by day. She couldn't help but feel sad that she wouldn't be able to spend more time with the others back in her world.
[Name] wasn't even sure if they had won the war againts Muzan Kibutsuji...
𝕯𝖔𝖓'𝖙 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖐 𝖆𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖙 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙. 𝕭𝖊𝖘𝖎𝖉𝖊𝖘, 𝖜𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖓'𝖙 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖘𝖚𝖕𝖕𝖔𝖘𝖊𝖉 𝖙𝖔 𝖒𝖊𝖊𝖙 𝖚𝖕 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕼𝖎𝖝𝖎𝖓, 𝖔𝖍 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖘 𝖆 𝖋𝖆𝖑𝖈𝖔𝖓 𝖔𝖓 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖜𝖎𝖓𝖉𝖔𝖜 𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙 𝖓𝖔𝖜.
Lifting her head up slightly, the voice was right, there was a falcon sitting there with it's right claw stretched out holding a letter. Standing up lazily, she made her way towards her window before taking the letter away. Since it had been flying all the way from Monstadt to Liyue, she decided to give some Dandelion seed as a thank you.
The falcon, which she recognize as Vannesa then flew off after eating the seed and receiving a head pat from the former Hashira. [Name] then look down towards the paper she held in her hand before opening it gently, careful to not ruin it.
'Huh? This was sent by Diluc...'
It was indeed sent by the one and only head of the Ragvndir Clan from Monstadt as it was stated from the letter inside.
𝕿𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖙𝖗𝖆𝖛𝖊𝖑𝖊𝖗 𝖉𝖎𝖉 𝖘𝖔𝖒𝖊𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖌𝖔𝖔𝖉 𝖆𝖌𝖆𝖎𝖓...
In it, Diluc wrote down everything that happened during the fight with Dvalin and how Aether was pronounced as the savior of Monstadt in just three days. He also mentioned that the blonde traveler along with his companion would be quite busy for a few weeks resulting her to be all alone again, not that she minded.
'The last time I was alone was when both Shinobu and Mitsuri left me during that one mission... What mission was it again?'
𝕳𝖆𝖍𝖆
>:(
Sighing, [Name] place the letter onto the tiny table beside her bed before snuggling into the comfy pillow that the Inn provided. She hoped atleast tomorrow wouldn't be that bad as it is today.
--
"Hey... [Name]."
"Hm?"
"Don't you think that doing this.. can't bring you back to your own world?"
"I... I don't know.."
"Don't you remember that you sacrificed yourself for humanity?"
"I did? I can't seem to remember that."
"That's right, the reason behind is that he's slowly feeding off of you day by day. Of course you won't feel a single thing, but don't you feel weird that you don't remember some parts of your memory."
"..."
"Though you probably won't remember me either... as he already figured that I would come and warn you."
"Will I see you again?"
"..."
"Oh.. then, goodbye 𝕸𝖎𝖈𝖍𝖎𝖐𝖆𝖙𝖘𝖚."
"Goodbye."
--
𝖂𝖆𝖐𝖊 𝖚𝖕
As [Name] open her eyes, she found herself questioning the dream that she just had. Rubbing her eyes tiredly she stood up from her bed and prepared for another day, or the day of the Rite of Descension.
Dusting the dust from her Haori, she picked it up from where she hanged it before putting it over her shoulder, not bothering to wear it properly.
'I'm suddenly feeling tired... is this what I get for not training these couple of days?' She thought as she closed the door of her room and went down the stairs.
Verr Goldet, who was busy with her work look up at the former Hashira with a smile and offered her some breakfast that she made. [Name] who can't just let the oppurtunity for some free food to slide immedietly took it and thanking the woman before dissapearing to who knows where.
Verr shook her head dissapointingly as she notice that she forgot to give the girl a chopstick nor any utensils.
Meanwhile, [Name] appeared on top of Wangshu Inn as she looked over the railings. She had to admit that Monstadt seem more peaceful but then again the food there could not rival here in Liyue. Taking a bite of the food, the female's eyes immedietly lit up before eating it whole, thankful that she managed to atleast 'borrow' some utensils from the kitchen.
'Since when was the last time I ate something delicious as this!?' [Name] thought as the plate she had dissapeared into thin air. Not noticing a Yaksha watching her from above.
--
After arriving at the Liyue Harbor, [Name] decided to visit some shops here and there before heading towards the place where the Rite of Descension will be held.
Staring at the crowd of people the female could feel her hands sweating as she grip the bag that Diluc gave her close. She wasn't really well with crowds and the fact that she had to be there makes her even more nervous. Taking a deep breath, she reminded herself that she had to do this for the sake of finding Aether's sister and a way back to her own world.
Slipping into the crowd of people, [Name] stared ahead of her where a woman with white hair was looking up into the sky.
"The hour is upon us," The unknown woman said as her eyes scanned through the crowd of people around her.
[Name] then watched as the woman preformed something with her Geo vision. She didn't really bother to pay attention to anything except the chatter of people around her. Looking down to stare at her hand, she summoned her butterfly hairpin which caused her black hair to fall back down due to nothing holding it up.
The black haired girl examaine it closely to make sure that it didn't get damaged from the previous fight she had where a Mitchacurl had thrown her.
Just then, the sound of something big falling and people gasping made her snap herself out of the thought. Looking ahead, she could see a dragon laying on the table which used to place various of food as offerings towards their god, Rex Lapis.
[Name]'s [e/c] eyes widened at the scene in front of her as the butterfly ornament got placed back into her inventory. The people's whisper then gradually got bigger as they too was suprised seeing their god in such state as this.
"Rex Lapis has been killed. Seal the exits!" The woman, known as Ningguang then inspected the dragon before standing back up and ordering the guards to block the exits from anyone leaving the city.
[Name] then slowly backed away from the scene as she held the bag close to her chest to calm her beating heart down.
'The Geo Archon... is dead?' She thought placing the back down letting it hang on the side of her. Her eyes then caught sight of the Millelith asking one of the people 'They're questioning suspects who got too close...'
She then got quite for a moment, the only sound was just people talking and the wind.
'Wait... I got close.. Am I a suspect!?'
Shaking her head at the thought, she immedietly walked away after noticing that many of the Millelith soldiers were getting closer towards her. She couldn't let herself be captured by these people, not until she finds a way back to her world and finding her companions sister.
After sneaking past the various of soldiers, she found a way back down as she headed towards the staircase. Letting out a sigh of relief [Name] looked around cautiously, not noticing another Millelith soldier around the corner.
"Hey you!"
[Name] flinched as one of the Millelith had pointed her out causing her to immedietly run towards the staircase quickly.
"Arrest them!"
She had to thank Shinobu for that hellish training for making her speed increasing. Though, with the help of the Concentration Breathin: Constant, she managed to run more faster as she jumped down from the stairs before continuing to run again. Not long after, the female sadly got surrounded by the Millelith from both sides as she prepared herself to jump down over the railings, not caring if it was high or not.
"There's nowhere to run," One of the Millelith soldiers pointed his spear at her as he glared at the female in front of her. [Name] glared at him back before summoning her Nichirin Blade.
Flower Breathing, Fourth Form:
Crimson Hana-
"Hey girlie-- Hold stil."
Her technique then got cut off as a ginger haired male landed in front of her after sending three Hydro infused arrows towards the Milleliths. [Name] then watched as he summoned two water blades and started attacking the soldiers before grabbing her hand and fleeing from the scene.
--
As I was dragged by the ginger haired male in front of me, I had to thank him for saving me back there but just grabbing my hand suddenly and dragging me away from the scene made me take back the thanks.
We then stop in front of some random shop as his eyes scan everywhere, making sure there was no Milleliths around here before letting go of my hand.
Rubbing my wrist, I look up at the male suspiciously before asking "Just who are you exactly?"
"Call me Childe," The man now known as Childe introduced himself as he sent me a closed eyed smile making me tilt my head to the side.
"Childe? What, am I supposed to dote on you?"
He let out a laugh, "Haha, no no, not at all. It's an alias of sorts," he explained making me nod my head. He then continued "In Monstadt, I don't suppose you came across a "Signora" by any chance?"
Signora? I've never heard anyone by the name of Signora in Monstadt before so I could only shake my head as a sign that I don't know. Childe nod his head, his smile still there as he cross his arms.
"Right, let's forget about her, shall we? I'm here to help you."
Squinting my eyes at him suspiciously, I took a step back a little making him confused at my actions, "Help me?"
"I heard of you friend's deeds in Monstadt, so I couldn't help but notice you during the proceedings back there," Childe said as I twirled a peice of my black hair around whilst listening to him speaking "And because I had my eye on you the whole time, I know it wasn't you. Someone else was clearly behind it."
"But... regrettably, given I'm a Fatui envoy from Sheznaya... there's no way I'd be trusted after something of this magnitude," He continued "The ruling Qixing of Liyue has always been overly suspicious of us."
"Well can you honestly blame them," I pointed out as I placed my hair back down making Childe laugh "Hahaha. Guess I shouldn't try to deny that."
Shaking my head, I let out a sigh as I could see him resisted into patting my head "Okay, sure. Maintaining a distance between strangers is probably a good idea. Either way, I'm already used to it at this stage."
"But right now, if you want to clear yourself of any suspicion-- you need to get yourself to Northland Bank."
I let out a confused 'huh' after hearing the name of the place and his hand that was on my shoulder "Staying here isn't an option. As the old Liyue saying goes: "The walls here have ears"," With that, Childe left me standing there as he headed towards where 'Northland Bank' might before stopping to look at me.
"Ah, I almost forgot. What was your name again?"
Giving the male in front of me a smile, I replied "It's [Name], [Name] Kocho."
--
After leading my new comrade to the Northland Bank, I let her stand there for a moment as I talk to the woman near the door.
"Northland Bank," [Name] said as she admire the building in front of her whilst I put a hand on her shoulder. Turning to look at me, she gave me another smile to which I returned with a small one "Correct. This bank was opened in Liyue by Snezhnaya."
"Though everyone knows Liyue is the most enterprising in Tevyat, Snezhnaya is not short of change either."
Her eyes then seem to squint at me as she placed both of her hands behind her back, still having that same emotionless smile on, "Well, poorer nations don't seem the type to have diplomats that come around acting the way yours do towards the Knight of Favonius."
Ohh, I've never seen this side of her yet.
Chuckling at the girl's behaviour, "Here let me give you this" I then took out a sigil that I 'found' and gave it to her "I'm not sure, exactly. Sometimes, all money can buy is 'things' and not a name for oneself."
"All I know is a sigil. A sigil to keep the "mighty and illuminated adepti" from bringing harm to you."
[Name] seem confused as she inspect the sigil closely before placing it inside her bag, carefully. She then blew a piece of her hair away from her face that was covering her view. I wonder where she place that butterfly hairclip away...
"Adepti?" She ask as she finished tying her hair. I nod.
"If you head north from the harbor, then west from Guili Plains, you will eventually reach a stone forest known as Jueyen Karst."
"The people of Liyue believe it to be the abode of the adepti," I finished as the girl in front of me seem to be thinking before asking me another question "They really believe that kind of stuff?"
"Legend or not, they believe it. As such, offerings to the adepti are made at its borders. Nobody dares venture in," I then shrug my shoulders as I gave her another smile "But I have no need for believing -- not when I know for a fact that the adepti truly exist."
Sighing, [Name] close her eyes and rub the side of her head. "Hate to admit it but your Fatui intel seems alright. But, why would I go looking for the adepti anyway?"
"Ha, oh my little friend. There are plenty of reasons mortals seek the blessings of adepti," I said, enjoying teasing her height making her more annoyed than before "Money, health, love... But you... you will go for justice."
--
[Name]'s eye widen as she kept her best to smile at his words.
𝕵𝖚𝖘𝖙𝖎𝖈𝖊..?
"The Qixing will already have dispatched the Millelith. They'll be seeking out the assassin from amongst the onlookers," Childe said as he shake his head "But how could a mere mortal kill a god that can sweep aside entire armies? Rex Lapis never gave up his power as a god."
"This level of crude response is beyond what is called for. How suspicious.." [Name] said as she put a hand over her mouth as her smile was not present anymore as a frown was replaced with it.
"Or... to hide something else. Hard to say," Childe continued "Even now, the Northland Bank wouldn't be able to hold the Millelith off for long, but the adepti can clear you of any wrongdoing."
"Liyue was founded by the Geo Archon and the adepti -- of course, it was built by force."
"Look for them. And be faster than the Qixing's messengers, so you may give your version of events first."
"If there is anyone that can help you in Liyue now, it can only be the mighty and illuminated adepti." Childe finished as [Name] was too lost in thought.
Noticing her behaviour, the Harbinger tap her shoulder making the girl flinch before kicking his shin which he manage to dodge in time.
"Oh, sorry about that."
'What... what was that about!?'
--
After running and fighting off some of those treasure hoarders and hillichurls, I've finally made my way up to one of the mountains in Jueyun Karst. Sighing, I wipe the blood off of my sword with a handkerchief that Kaeya gave me and decide to take a look around the place.
"And who might we be? Those that dare enter Jueyun Karst?" A voice said as I turn around to face whoever had said it.
And it turn out to be an animal with weird features!
Bowing my head slightly at the animal that I guest was one of the adeptus, I took out the sigil that Childe gave me and showed it to him "Please take a look at this."
"A Sigil of Permission... Many a season has passed since one was last in the presence of such item," He said as he look at the sigil much closer "He before you is the mighty and illuminated adeptus, Moon Carver. Speak, traveler. What business have you here?"
"Actually.." As I was about to explain the entire thing to Moon Carver, someone had already cut me off making me annoyed.
"It's the assassin. They dared to flee here to Jueyun Karst!" Turning to look over my shoulder, I could see a man with a beard to which I guess is the leader was standing there as one of the soldiers said to him "Sir, we've already stepped too far into Jueyun Karst ourselves..."
"We.. Argh, there's no choice. Apprehending the assassin is top priority, we must press on!"
'Have I ever told you.. that the people here are total dummies..'
𝖄𝖔𝖚'𝖛𝖊 𝖆𝖑𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖞 𝖙𝖔𝖑𝖉 𝖒𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙.
'Yes. Yes, I did.'
"...disturbing our borders," Moon Carver spoke behind me "See them gone. One will not have interruption."
My eyes sparkled at the fact that he's giving me permission to attack these soldiers. Oh, how long have I held back on those treasure hoarders, I'm sadden to hear that I can't kill those guys yet. Smilling at the soldiers, I took out my sword that was already coated with a poison.
"Dance of the Butterfly" Running towards the group of Millelith, they prepared themselves to attack me, but was suddenly suprised when I had dissapeared from their sight "Compound Eye Hexagon"
With that six of them were already on the ground from the poison I had injected, fourteen more to go.
--
"We digressed. State your purpose, traveler." Moon Carver said after seeing me defeating the Millelith soldiers "Well.."
As I explained the events that had happened in one day, I could feel the aura around Moon Carver getting more and more angrier by the second. Though, I decided to take out the story that Childe had given me a sigil that he got from who knows where. This reminds me of that one time when I had to explain this one mission to both Shinobu and Kanae where I encountered my first ever Lowermoon. Let's just say I was lectured for a while.
"Preposterous..." The adeptus in front of me spoke "PREPOSTEROUS!!"
He continued but with a much bigger tone making me flinch a bit. Curse you Uzui for hightening my hearing and thank you to his wives for beating him up for me.
"The Liyue Qixing... utterly dissapointing," Moon Carver said "How could someone possibly assassinate Rex Lapis during the Rite of Descension..."
"And then place suspicion upon the attendees!?"
"..." He let out a hum as I stood there in front of him, not knowing what to do.
𝕹𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝖐𝖓𝖊𝖜 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖆𝖑𝖒𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖞 𝕳𝖆𝖘𝖍𝖎𝖗𝖆 𝖈𝖆𝖓 𝖇𝖊 𝖘𝖈𝖆𝖗𝖊𝖉 𝖇𝖞 𝖆𝖓 𝖆𝖓𝖎𝖒𝖆𝖑-
'It's an adeptus... and for your information I am not afraid of him you idiot.' I corrected the annoying voice in my head as it let out a laugh. I then noticed that Moon Carver had already finished and was now looking at me.
"Traveler, of the unjust accusations placed upon you, one has become aware," He spoke to me as I place my hands behind my back, looking up at him "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."
Perking up, I tilt my head to the side after hearing him, "Who should I look for?"
"Mountain Shaper and Cloud Retainer can be found here. Only fate will decide if you shall find them -- only fate," Moon Carver said as I made a mental note in my head to make sure to find these two adeptus "There exists a Conqueror of Demons, a Guardian Yaksha. Go to Wangshu Inn. There you shall seek him."
-----
YAHHHHH I ALREADY FINISHED THIS CHAPTER! anyways cant wait to write another chapter that will probably take me another 1-2 months <3
my brain is dead rn and im currently getting deez nuts joke by my own crush😔