~•~•~
Lyra slowly returns back to the direction of the rite. That is when she sees her travelling companions with a stranger. As she goes closer to them, she can hear what they are saying. "Phew... Paimon's exhausted..." – "I am even more beat.", Aether says in between pants. "So insensitive! You have no idea how tiring floating around- wait! Just who are you exactly?" – "I was also wondering that, Paimon."
The group turns around to see Lyra standing there unamused. "well, regardless, I am happy to see you managed to get away without me. I had to console myself after seeing Rex Lapis' Exuvia... I suppose you can guess why." Paimon and Aether nod to her, signalling they could guess that she was referring to one of her past lives. She did tell them that she was close to most of the archons at some point, so they guess the geo archon has to be one of those.
"back to the original question. Who are you?", Lyra asks the stranger. "call me Childe." – "Childe? What, so we're supposed to dote on you?", Paimon asks. "Haha, no no, not at all. It's an alias of sorts. In Mondstadt, I don't suppose you came across a 'Signora' by any chance?", Childe asks back.
"Signora... Childe... You're Fatui! One of the Harbingers!", Paimon exclaims. Lyra scoffs. "oh, great. I am getting sticked into fatui business once more...", Lyra mumbles quietly, still audible to the others. "oh, no. don't worry, I'm not looking for a fight. Signora gave you quite the bad impression huh? Tsk, that woman... Can't say I'm fan of either."
Lyra looks at him unamused. 'I know not all Harbingers really get along... I mean, even though I managed to get along with all of them, they didn't necessarily like each other... and I didn't always agree with their methods and actions, even if I got along with them...', she thinks to herself.
"Right. Let's forget all about her, shall we? I'm here to help you." Lyra scoffs. "Help?", she ask with venom in her voice. "yes, help. I'm not a bad guy... okay perhaps I'm kind of a bad guy, but I'm not here to give you any trouble.", Childe says, clearly scared of Lyra's tone of voice, worried about what she could do.
"would it be too much to ask for you to keep the sword sheathed?", Child asks. Lyra takes her hand off her side slowly and lowers her stance, but still keeping her guard up. "Haha, I thank you for your knightly nobility, Lyra. I heard of your deeds in Mondstadt, so I couldn't help but notice you during the proceedings back there. and because I had my eye on you the whole time, I know it wasn't you. Someone else was clearly behind it."
Lyra's death glare turns into her unamused look once more. 'Well~ I do not know if you know about the contract or not, but if you do turn out to actually know about this, then I'll give you an A for acting skills.' Lyra then focuses again on what Childe and the others are saying. "But right now, if you want to clear yourselves of any suspicion – you need to get to Northland Bank." Lyra sighs.
"I suppose staying here is really not an option. After all: 'the walls have ears.'", she says.
~•~•~
"Northland Bank...", Paimon says as they enter the bank. "Correct. This bank was opened here in Liyue by Snezhnaya. Though everyone knows Liyue is the most enterprising in Teyvat, Snezhnaya is not short of change either." – "yeah well, poorer nations don't seem the type to have diplomats that come around acting the way yours do towards the Knights of Favonius.", Paimon deadpans.
Childe looks away. "Eh-hehe hehe..." – "Paimon, don't push it." Paimon straightens up at the mention of her name by Lyra. "anyway, here, let me give you this.", Childe says as he takes out some kind of Sigil. Lyra's eyes widen as she sees it. "This is a... Sigil?", Paimon asks.
"where did you get that?! Sigils of Permissions are not something an ordinary person should have, let alone a fatui harbinger! So I will ask again. Where. Did. You. Get. That.", Lyra demands. This time, it was not only her voice that was filled with venom. Childe could practically feel himself sink 6 feet under by the venom in her eyes.
"L-look! I was only doing my job as harbinger! I just happened to come across this!" Aether ignores Childe's pleading and looks at Lyra who snatched the Sigil from Childe's hand. "so, you know what these Sigils are?", Aether asks.
"yes. Made by an ancient Adepti, by the title of cloud dancer. Sadly, she died during the Archon war. She held the power of making barriers and seals that were unbreakable. These sigils are a form of seal made by her. She only gave them to mortals that she saw worthy of seeing the Adepti. So for now, we won't need little mister harbinger's help. With the Sigil, we can go and tell all of the Adepti about the death of Rex Lapis.", Lyra snaps.
Childe clear his throat, turning the trio's attention to him. "I couldn't have said it better. I want to give you that Sigil to go to the Adepti, tell them the news and also for Justice." – "Justice?", Paimon asks.
"mortals seek the blessings of the Adepti for different things. Money, health, love... we will go there to tell them the news of Rex Lapis' death and also for our innocence. A mere mortal wouldn't be able to kill a god like that. Regardless, the Adepti should know about this death. So let us not waste time here. We have something more important to do.", Lyra says and she turns to the door, not letting anyone say anything back.
Paimon and Aether look at each other briefly and then run after her. Childe however, is still shaken up by Lyra. How could a girl that looks so sweet be so scary?
~•~•~
"So... where are we going?", Paimon asks the girl who walks ahead of her and Aether. "to Jueyun Karst. That is where most of the Adepti reside. I thought I made sure that the Sigils would be gone after so many years... well, they don't have their original power anymore, but they are still intact, which is wonder-some. Regardless, I have returned the Sigil we have back to its original glory.", Lyra says as holds out a golden glowing Sigil of Permission.
"whoa! So... what can a Sigil do? wait a minute... you must be the Adepti that died during the Archon war, right? I mean, the way you talked about it earlier...", Paimon asks.
"correct. In the Archon war, I was one of Liyue's Adepti. I was known as cloud dancer. I was the one who created the Sigils of Permission. I was one of the closest Adepti to Rex Lapis. Seeing his death like that... it makes me feel bad that I didn't have the time yet to meet him again...", Lyra half lied to the others.
Yes, she was telling the truth about her being the Adeptus, but she was lying about not having met Rex Lapis again. 'They will know soon enough anyway', Lyra thinks to herself. Then, she shakes her head. "regardless, we are going to be there soon."
~•~•~
After some time, they finally arrive at the abode. "and who might we be? Those that dare enter Jueyun Karst?", they hear a voice out of nowhere. Then, a deer appears in front of them. "we were sent here.", Lyra says as she pulls out their Sigil of Permission.
"A Sigil of Permission... many a season has passed since one was last in the presence of such item. Especially of such quality. Here before you is the mighty and illuminated adeptus, Moon Craver. Speak." – "Actually...", Paimon starts, but gets interrupted by footsteps behind them.
The trio turns to see a group of Millelith guards. "It's the assassin! They dared to flee to Jueyun Karst!", their sergeant says. "Sir, we've already stepped too far into Jueyun Karst ourselves...", one of the soldiers says. "We... Argh, there's no choice. Apprehending the assassin is top priority, we must press on!", the sergeant shouts to his soldiers.
"do they not use their brains?! Or do they even have one??", Lyra exclaims. "...disturbing our borders. See them gone. One will not have interruption.", Moon Carver says. As Aether takes out his weapon, Lyra steps forward. "let me handle this." Aether obeys and steps back.
Lyra walks towards them and takes out a polearm. "oh, Paimon never knew she knows how to use a polearm! We've only seen her fight with a sword and without a weapon.", Paimon comments.
"you, who dare go into the abode of the Adepti without a Sigil of Permission... you will be punished for stepping over the boarders. So, feel the wrath of the fallen Qilin!", Lyra shouts. As she steps forward, a radiant golden glow surrounds her and a cloud of ice appears. It surrounds Lyra and the guards fully.
"huh?! Paimon can't see a thing with this cloud!" – "this way of fighting... one has seen it before in years past... However, one remembers that they fell in battle while protecting others...", Moon Carver says behind Aether and Paimon.
"huh... so this is how she used to fight in the past...", Aether mumbles. Just a few seconds later, the cloud disperses, and the guards are running down the mountain. "We apologise, illuminated Adepti!", they can hear one of the guards shouting.
Lyra approaches the others. "well, that will keep them off the mountain. Now, back to the problem at hand."
~•~•~
The trio explains what happened at the rite of descension to Moon Carver. After a short moment of silence, Moon Carver speaks.
"Preposterous... PREPOSTEROUS! The Liyue Qixing... utterly disappointing. How could someone possibly assassinate Rex Lapis during the rite of descension... and then place suspicion upon the attendees?! If only the prior Tianquan was still around, one would surely have not heard of such things." – "oh?", Paimon voices her intrigue.
"yes. The prior Tianquan, named Azure, was in possession of a Sigil of Permission. She always held a clear mind and would not have accused any bystanders, as she knows the power of Rex Lapis. She would have come herself to deliver the news to the Adepti as well. One is certain she would have handled this differently. She must be very disappointed in her successor.", the Adeptus explains.
A moment of silence comes over the group. "Traveller, of the unjust accusations placed upon you, one has become aware. The mind knows its answer. Though one must consult with one's fellows, lest the mind be misguided. Go. Take you Sigil of Permission with you a message.", he continues.
"who should we look for?", Aether asks. "Mountain Shaper and Cloud Retainer can be found here. Only fate will decide if you shall find them – only fate. There exists a Conqueror of Demons, a Guardian Yaksha. Go to Wangshu Inn. There you shall seek him."
~•~•~
As they arrive at Wangshu Inn, Paimon decides to initiate a conversation. "So it seems we are back at Wangshu Inn... Compared to Jueyun Karst this place is basic. Are we really gonna find an adeptus here?"
Lyra chuckles. "oh, you would be surprised. How about you go to the terrace? I will follow you later. I have to get something." – "alright.", Aether shrugs. Paimon and Aether start going up to the top terrace, while Lyra goes to the reception.
"hello, Verr. I was wondering if I could use the kitchen for a little something?", she asks. "oh, sure. It's just right over there. Tell the chef that I gave you permission to use the kitchen. Only the ingredients are off limits.", Verr answers. Lyra nods at her. "of course."
Meanwhile, Aether and Paimon arrive at the terrace. They take a look around, but they don't see anyone. "I wonder why Lyra wanted us to come here... let's just go back down to her-", Paimon says, turning around. As the two turn around, an adeptus appears in front of them.
"A Sigil of Permission? You came prepared. Though this only prevents me from hurting you myself. Doesn't stop you from getting hurt in other ways.", the adeptus says. "Uhm... Paimon doesn't get it..."
"too much contact with our world is breaking the rules. Mortal souls are not as robust of those Adepti, nor can your blood carry this level of adeptal energy. It's for your own good. Leave. Now.", he continues, ignoring Paimon's statement. Without giving Aether and Paimon time to explain, he disappears.
"Alright I got what we need." The two turn to see Lyra. "hey Lyra? The Adepti is not open to talk to us...", Aether informs her. Lyra sighs. "let me handle this..." she steps out and looks over the terrace.
"to protect our people, honour and might, for that I stand and for that I will sacrifice myself for your safety." In just a second the Adepti comes back. "... you again.", he mutters.
Lyra smiles and turns around. "Don't go disappearing again!", Paimon shouts. Without saying anything, Lyra hands Xiao a plate of food. "Almond Tofu, your favourite. Only the best for my dear best friend Alatus."
He looks into her eyes. Normally, her eyes are an emerald green, however, as he looks into her eyes, they are a reddish purple – eyes he could recognise from anywhere.
They were from the Adeptus that was his best friend during the archon war, who had protected him to her last breath. "L- cloud dancer? But... how?", Xiao asks, barely above a whisper.
"long story short: I have been reborn for many years now and am currently on my 15th life. I can explain more some other time. For now... we got some important news.", Lyra quickly explains.
Xiao takes the food and begins to eat it as the trio explains what happened. "Rex Lapis... how could this be? I... can't imagine it. Though times have changed, I've never imagined a Liyue without him. The ruling Qixing... Just what role have they played in this?" silence comes over the group.
"I will seek Moon Carver, Mountain Shaper and Cloud Retainer. It is time they too made their decisions." – "will the Adepti take over his role in Liyue?", Aether asks.
"Adepti do not turn on their responsibilities. I have my reasons to not want to be tainted by the mortal realm, but... our god is the god of contracts after all.", Xiao says. Then he turn to Lyra.
"Cloud dancer... will you-" – "return to the duties of being an Adepti? No, when I died that day, I finished my contract as an Adepti. Regardless, I will always protect Liyue if the need comes. Also, I must thank you for training her once I... died.", Lyra says.
"... it is the least I could do. anyway, time for me to leave." Xiao looks at Lyra one last time and then disappears.
~•~•~