I have nothing to say here, enjoy
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It had been quite some time since we started our search for that loud Oni, apparently his name was Itto and according to Sara he wasn't the brightest candle. We had by now been searching for nearly a day until I just could not take it anymore.
Y/n: "Ganyu you may not want this, but we have to accept that the Oni most likely went down the Chasm. Trespassing and breaking rules doesn't seem to far fetched from Sara's description of him."
I wasn't surprised by the small shriek Ganyu offered as a response, after all we had been searching for hours on end without talking to eachother. Before she could talk Sara too spoke up.
Sara: "Indeed, we haven't encountered this Yanfei either. That can only mean whatever she was looking for resides further down the Chasm. I understand your hesitant to access the lower regions and I don't doubt that you're this insistant because of a good reason, I too have started to pick up on the omnious energy leaking from there. We can turn aound now and go home, I wouldn't hold it against you as I am a woman of law as well, however know that whatever that is could be potentially harmful, not just to that stupid Oni but to all fo Liyue as well."
So they felt it too? This energy...now that I focus on it...it feels so familiar, just like the-
[Dubán: "Abyss? Yes that would be an adequate guess"]
Y/n: "!" Was that really... no I must be imagining things.
[Dubán: "Oi you better not ignore me now! I just recovered from saving your entire existence and you IGNORE ME!?"]
[Y/n: "So it was you. Why have you been so quiet since Beisht? You missed a lot you know"]
[Dubán: "Believe me, I saw everything. I just did not have the...let's say energy to actually interact with you. I don't know what we did back there against Beisht either but it happned anyway, draining me completely in the process."]
Ganyu: "Y/n? Is everything ok? You've been staring into space for some time now."
Y/n: "Huh? Oh Yeah I'm fine! I've just been trying to pinpoint the origin of that strange energy we apparently all can sense."
Sara: "So you can sense it too? Interesting. It feels familiar to me, but I can't quite figure out why."
Y/n: "Mmh to me it feels like the small burst of energy I feel whenever an Abyss mage creates his shield in battle, or when they teleport." As a response to my comment she just gave me a strange look before her eyes widened.
Sara: "Did you also hear that scream? It was quite high pitched. I think it came from-"
Ganyu: "Scream? I can only detect shifts in the temperatures everywhere around-"
Y/n: "What? Clearly the energy suddenly spiked in the-"
Sara/ Ganyu/ Y/n: "Lower chasm!"
With a loud sigh from Ganyu she gave us a solemn nod before darting off, thankfully not too fast, otherwise we would not have been able to follow her. At least not for long.
Before long we realized that the man made entrance was sealed shut long ago, leaving us with no other option than to glide down, fortunately I packed a glider in advance, knowing off about the drastic changes in altitude around the chasm.
Fine, I forgot mine and borrowed Zhongli's brown one.
Either way it was a rather terrifying experience to slowly glide down a huge, dark crater without knowing when you will reach the bottom, besides watching Sara just suddenly grow large, raven black wings to use as a glider that is.
Ganyu: "From this point onwards we must stay focused! I am not familiar with the tunnel system and neither are you two! I picked up traces of other elements being used down here, we don't know who or what is awaiting us down here." Her senses are amazing, as it is to be expected from an adaptus I guess.
Wait! This energy- no this aura! I guess even down here she finds a way to get us all in trouble! But even now her aura is shining through the dark, eerie energy. No her aura is blazing! Like a sun, everything is centered around her! Wait, there is more... it feels like a gentle breeze and a terrific storm at the same time, why is he down here now of all times?!
Y/n: "Ganyu, Sara I picked up Lumine's aura down here! It's faint but she was here, the same goes for Xiao! I don't know what is going on but I think finding them will reward us more answeres than wandering around aimlessly."
Turning back to them I saw a shocked look on Ganyu's face, did she not notice their auras further down? Sara however seemed to be ready to track Lumine down with us.
Ganyu: "Very well, please focus on keeping their presence! Try to guide us to them, the two of us will keep the way cleared!"
And clearing the way they did. It may be because they both were not exactly fully human but their abilities with their visions just blasted everything away. Either Ganyu's bursting cryo arrows or Sara's electric arrows usually killed anything even remotely sentient in our way. It was nice to not have to focus on fighting and tracking at the same time.
Eventually we had to take a short rest before we could continue. Not because we had to rest from fighting but because the air was getting thinner, meaning we had to slowly adjust our breathing patterns in order to remain at full strength. Better wait a few minuetes than to suddenly collapse or worse down here.
It was during our short break that we heard something collapse, multiple voices could be heard screaming right with it. They sounded...familiar.
???: "Aahhhhh"
Sara: " Those screams... I would notice that sream anywhere, one of them was Itto aright."
Ganyu: "Yes I believe I heard Yanfei as well, we should hurry now!" With that we continued our track down the Chasm, reaching even further down.
Even if we find them... what could have possibly made someone like Lumine scream like that? And what is she doing down here to beginn with? I would put it down as a coincidence, but with Xiao's presence I doubt it. There is something happening and I don't like it.
It was hard navigating the last part since Lumine's aura vanished after their screaming, but a small, almost none existing speck was left and we were about to see what really happened. The walls of the narrow tunnel slowly distancing from us until we reached a larger cave with but a single source of light in the center.
Y/n: "What in the Archons names is this?!" Further ahead we saw what was bathing everything in a bright blue light.
There, further ahead of us floated a lone white pillar of unknown origin. Everything was quiet, only our shallow breathing could be heard. In that moment it seemed as if time had stopped, this one moment felt like many, one breath felt like 3 more were missing, only when the pillar seemed to pulse ever so slightly did we snap out of our trance.
Sara: "Look! It seems they too were inspecting the pillar, down there! It seems as if they fought something massive. The entire ground is split open." Following her gaze Ganyu and I gasped, only now noticing the hole in the ground below the pillar.
With another quiet nod to each other we proceeded to slowly glide our way down to the hole in the ground, upon closer inspection it almost seemed as if-
Y/n: "Say, it may sound weird but is it just me or does it look like something or someone ripped the pillar out of here? It looks too clean cut to be appearing so suddenly. of course that is just my opinion."
Looking around I checked for any indication of someone beeing here recently. It didn't take long to find a lone flower laying on the ground. Its vibrant white colours darkened only be the dust that had by now settled again.
Ganyu: "Wait that flower! It's-" Once more Ganyu blurred into the background, which mean-
[Dubán: "It is the national flower of Khaenri'ah, the Inteyvat. Usually it only lasts two weeks before wilting, but outside of Khanri'ah its leaves turn hard and remain so until returned to Khanri'ahn soil where it then turns to dust indefinitely."]
[Y/n: "Wait really? But this flower has been in Lumine's hair since the day I met her a year ago!"]
[Dubán: "Yes on that note, please prepare yourself. I fear something bad is going to happen if we follow them down there. Please watch out for yourself and that Xiao boy too. He worries me. I know he is capable of great deeds, but so is the enemy."]
[Y/n: "I will, oh and Dubán? It's great to have you back."]
[Dubán: "It is my pleasure, I'll be here, watching over you."]
Sara: "Fine, I'll say it. Let's jump down there. I may not like this, but they might need our help down there."
Of course we knew that too, but that didn't mean we were mentally prepared for this. How would we- how should I prepare myself for something like this? Certainly not by just breathing in and jumping!
It was now that we begann hesitating, not me, all of us. Something big happened, some real strong people just vanished in the matter of seconds, are we really prepared for this?
It was a single scream that immediately send us moving down that hole.
Paimon: "LUMINE!"
I did not check with the other two, I simply jumped and it seemed the others had the exact same thoughs.
During our fall down I was still trying to make sense of it all. Lumine, how did she get her hands on a flower that blossomed in a nation that was destroyed 500 years ago? Why is she here, why now of all times? And why did Zhongli not tell me about Xiao's presence down here. It doesn't add up.
Now that I think about it... how come she hasn't found a single clue about her brother yet? She...she wouldn't lie about any information she already found right?
Something big is starting, I dont like it. So many Unknown Variables.
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A/n
My schedule is clearing up! Let's hope it stays that way!
If it does I may be able to finish this story before the new year!
Hope you enjoyed it!
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