5,000 yrs after the prologue (think after the archon war/around the time traveler woke up)
"What use is being the archon of healing when I can't even heal my own broken heart?"
"Mhmmm what was that?" A drunk bard in all green turns to you as you mumble the words to yourself . You and the bard were sitting in the bar at Angel's Share.
"It's nothing, don't worry about it."
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"Whats wrong Morax?"
"It's nothing, don't worry about it."
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As the memory of the day he left you escaped from the tight lock you kept on it. You let out a tiny gasp as tears threatens to escape. Despite your efforts, tears slowly start spilling down your cheeks.
"You are definitely not alright Y/N. Come on, I'm going to bring you someplace where you can calm down." The (now suddenly sober) bard said while helping you out the door. You quickly paid for your drinks and followed him out.
By the time the pair reached the tree at windrise you had calmed down enough to control your tears. They sat down together and he looked at you, concerned.
"Are you feeling better?" His concern cheered you up a bit more, but inside, you knew your heart was still shredded. It had always been shredded after he had left you for Guizhong. Even though he had left at your bidding, you knew that he would have confessed to Guizhong much sooner if he disregarded the promise they made. The promise that had kept him shackled to her. And that knowledge left you heartbroken.
"I'm fine, thank you Barbatos." She smiled at him. The smile appeared on her face as smoothly as putting on a mask.
"I told you to call me Venti, Y/N. What's distracting you so much you revert to your old habits? You haven't called me that, nor have you cried in so long."
"I-...." Venti looked at you sadly. "You still haven't gotten over him huh?" You shook your head. The bard placed his hand on yout shoulder in silent comfort.
"I just can't forget him Venti. I tried for the entire archon war and I'm still trying. Even through all my efforts I keep listening for every scrap of news about him I can get. I still...." you trailed off, still afraid of voicing the words to another person.
"I understand. You know, you're one of the strongest archons here." Venti smiled at you. The understanding that he had gifted you was what had helped you function the first few days after the incident.
"What do you mean? I'm not one of the Seven, I'm a minor archon that should be dead. I would be surprised if any of the mortals remember me." You looked at the bard, confused. Even when he wasn't talking in rhymes, you still found him hard to understand.
"No other archon, even in the seven, would still be trying to help people, to move on in life like you have. None of the archons would have ever had the strength to let their lover go for their lover's own happiness if they still loved him. Ei and the Tsaritsa have both been completely changed after their loved one's death." You smiled at him. Grateful for his kind words.
"Thank you Venti, but how do you know I haven't changed? I feel very different from how I was when we were together." You still refrained from saying his name. Venti just looked at you then turned away.
"Can you help me with something?" He asked tentatively. Surprised, you looked at him. He never had asked for your help unless he really needed it.
"Of course, it would mean a lot to me to at least help you a little bit to repay you for what you've done for me." You jumped at the opportunity to work. You were just working as a healer alongside a healer in the church named Barbara, but your shift had ended for the day, and you wanted an opportunity to get away from your memories.
"Thank you so much. You know about the situation with Dvalin right?" Venti then continued to explain that he wanted to see if you could heal him from the corruption that the abyss order had caused. You knew how much Venti cared about Dvalin, and you had been friends with Dvalin as well. Readily agreeing, you set of for the forrest along with Venti.
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As Venti used his lyre to lure the dragon down, you got your healing powers ready. As Dvalin landed, you kept to the side as Venti started talking to the dragon.
"Don't be afraid. It's alright now, I'm back." Dvalin seemed calm until both of them heard some anemo powers being activated behind a tree. Dvalin growled and Venti darted back.
"Who's there?" As Venti said those words, Dvalin screeched and flew away. Venti grimaced and nodded at you. You darted forward and grabbed him. Then, you quickly brought you both to windrise before the person watching them could see.
At windrise, you realized he was injured. Gasping, you quickly healed him. It was mostly effective, but you could still sense some corruption left that you couldn't disperse. By the time you did that, he had fallen unconscious. You quickly went to your current residence in Monstadt. Laying Venti on the couch, you waited for him to wake up.
As Venti's eyes opened a few hours later, you were beside him. "Are you going to go berserk like Divalin did now, or are you alright?" You sarcastically asked.
"Of course I'm alright. The oh so great mighty Y/N healed me! And don't worry, the amount of corruption is minimal small enough so that I wont go crazy." As he spoke, you noticed that Venti's eyes seemed far away.
"We'll save Dvalin, don't worry." You comforted him. You could tell he was upset that the plan had failed.
"If not for the person who interrupted us, the plan might have succeeded!" He grumbled. Clearly angry.
"I'm not so sure about that. When I tried to heal you of the corruption, it mostly worked except I couldnt get all of it. And I can't even purify the teardrop crystal that we obtained! We need to try another route." You calmed him down. "For now, rest."
Placing the teardrop crystal on the table beside him, you left, quietly slipping into your room.
As you left, Venti looked at the corrupted teardrop crystal sadly. "Dvalin.... the anguish he feels.....has brought him to tears," He looked wistfully at the ceiling, reliving the memories he made with Dvalin, "He was once such a gentle child. Now so full of rage and suffering. Closing his eyes, the bard was borne away on the wind to a land where all was well, even if only for a moment. Even if it was only in his dreams.
Meanwhile, in your room, you were sitting on your bed while staring blankly at the wall. Tears were slipping down your face unnoticed. All you could think about was how useless you were in everything.
Why am I even still alive when I can't be of use to anyone? I'm just a burden to everyone. I'm an archon who isn't even proficient at my own power. Someone else out there must be able to heal Dvalin, but I'm the literal freaking archon of healing! Why can't I help anyone?
Alone with you thoughts and the whispers in your brain, your mental state degraded even more until you were on the verge of a breakdown.
Why am I an immortal? Anyone else could probably handle it better than me! Venti was wrong. I'm not a strong archon. I can put on a facade of everything being alright, but inside, I'm just a broken person. If I was a mortal, I would have dies a long time ago and it probably would have been for the better. Why can't I just be a normal mortal? This is why Morax left me.
That was the thought that finally pushed you over the edge. You curled up on your bed, hugging your knees. Tears were streaming down your face. It was the first time you had thought of him and mentioned his name, even in your thoughts, for thousands of years. Sobbing, you buried her face in her pillow.
Outside, the wind started blowing harshly and the sky turned a dark color. Venti barged into the room eyes widening when he sees you in this state. "Y/N, Dvalin is attacking Monstadt! We have to go handle this situation!" You quickly got up and immediately wiped away your tears. After using some of your powers to remove any trace of the breakdown from your face, you rushed after Venti.
You saw him outside, using his powers to assist a blond girl in white clothes alongside a tiny fairy like being. "Why are you helping her? You could just go calm him down yourself you know!" Venti yelled back, "I don't want to reveal myself! It would ruin the ideals of this city! And this girl, she's special! I can feel it! The power of Anemo runs deep within her! I think we found the person that can help up save Dvalin!" Shocked, you just looked at him. You felt a twinge of jealousy that that girl, this mortal they didn't even know, could probably save Dvalin while you, a freaking archon, had already failed. Brushing those feelings aside for now, you assessed Vent's situation.
For someone that hadn't used their powers in a while, he looked fine. "I'm going inside for now, yell if you need me." You walked inside. Venti didn't respond, he was too focused on controlling his powers.
As soon as you entered her room and shut the door, you collapsed back into your broken state. Too absorbed in sobbing and hugging yourself while laying on the floor, you didn't even notice the storm coming to a stop and Venti coming in. You did notice when you were picked up though.
"Shhhhhh, it's alright, I handled the crisis. Let me take you to windrise again. Let's hope that helps." Talking more to himself than you, he helped you to walk to windrise causing you to feel a strong sense of deja-vu.
Ok, that's the end of the first chapter. It's so sad rn huh. I don't even know how I'm going to have the story progress. I guess we'll find out?