─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───
DEAR FELLOW ARCHITECT.
I apologize in advance for troubling you by sending a letter through a fellow...'friend'. I am Kaveh, a Sumeru architect from the Kshahrewar Darshan of the Akademiya. I don't know if you've ever heard of me but I think I'll save the detail of my works for another day. I write this letter to you as I'm highly fascinated by your work, especially the Jade Chamber.
As someone who is highly fascinated by art, Jade Chamber has surely caught my interests. Everything about it is so majestic and grand, from the intricate interior designing to the entire capacity of Jade Chamber. How it remains afloat high in the air, protecting the city of Liyue from any potential threats.
I'm a little ashamed to say this but, I have recently faced an artist's block that is preventing me from going ahead with work but thankfully I found someone who actually is helping me out recover. I am glad to have met her in Liyue, or who knows I might have even ended my career in the near future.
For this letter, I have a question for you. It would be great if you could reply and give an answer that might be helpful for me.
How did you manage to pull something off like the Jade Chamber? Indeed and intriguing form of architecture, but it had two different problems to it. Even if tried, only two contradictory solutions would have come out while trying to fix it. Yet, you managed to find an optimal solution that would make The Jade Chamber stay afloat at one stationary position, withstanding the strong turbulence of the wind and also manage to make it float despite the heavy load over the base.
I'll await a reply and hope I haven't wasted your time.
Yours Truly.
Kaveh.
─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───
Your's lips slightly curve up as you read through the letter. You were busy the entire day dealing with intelligence work that required paper work done immediately, hence you couldn't read it immediately after Kaveh left.
It was already midnight and the entire office was empty besides your's and a few other's. The entire Liyue Harbor shone dimly as the people went to sleep, closing their stalls and shops.
After neatly folding the letter back into its envelope, you placed it down into your drawers. If you had decided to respond back now, Kaveh would find it suspicious. Hence why you decide to do it later in the coming days.
Your assistant sat in a room that was opposite to your office, so as you walked out, you looked in to see her yawn. Upon noticing you, the assistant instantly got up.
"Ah! Madam is there anything you want me to help with?" She asked as she adjusted her glasses.
You chuckle at her behavior. "No need. I'm about to head back and suggest you do the same too. Good night." You said and left the building.
As you were heading back home, you noticed Chihua rock was still lively as usual, despite being late in the night. Xiangling was busy dealing with some of her drunk customers. You decide not to disturb her so you went by to the stall that served grilled tiger fish.
"Welcome, welcome miss Y/n! It has been a while since you've come and had some grilled tiger fish!" Chen, the owner of the stall said.
"Yes indeed...I'll have two— no one grilled tiger fish with extra seasoning." You said. This was one of your favorite food stalls to be at...even in the past you and Aaron quite often came here.
"Just one? Ah that's fine miss but the seasoning...are you sure you can suddenly handle it?"
"I'll be fine boss!" You reassured the man, who began grilling the fish. You gaze at the flickering fire that was being used to grill the fish.
The flames of the fire kept flickering up and down, which constantly kept reminding you of yourself. A Reflection of your life.
You firmly grip your elbow, digging your nails into the skin, slightly raking it as you kept hating the slight flashbacks of all your mistakes.
Why was it so hard to move for you? Because you forgot to shield yourself from betrayal. Had you raised a shield around your emotions in advance, he wouldn't have hurt you this bad.
Your train of thoughts snapped as the fire slightly came down. Chen handed over the grilled tiger fish to you. As you walked back to your house, you completed eating the fish.
You enter your apartment and throw your bag and footwear away. After washing your face and hands, you momentarily looked at your own reflection on the mirror as you held a towel to dry your face.
No matter how hard you tried, you felt like you were still naive. weak. feeble. Your hands were shaky, looking at yourself but you wished to have been a little more mentally stronger to face the problem head on head.
You walk out of the bathroom, changing your clothes as you sit on the edge of your bed. You pulled the drawer from the nightstand.
There laid the letter that should have taken you to the better path of life. The Invitation to join the Kshahrewar Darshan.
END — CHAPTER 11.0
a/n : the chapter will be split into two halves for a better reading experience + give out a clearer answer to this chapter.