"No, I don't think we're going the right way..." muttered a blonde traveller, flipping a dull and faded map from side to side, trying to pinpoint his exact location.
"Ugh, I knew we shouldn't have gone this way!" Spoke his companion, a small floating girl, running her tiny hands through her hair absentmindedly, "Paimon's hungry! Are you sure we don't have any more food?"
Her partner ignored her, instead focusing all his attention on the beat up piece of paper. He sighed, regretting his decision to take such a stupid commission. He'd long since known of the dangers in the Chasm, but he'd never expected it to be so difficult to navigate.
"I think we can make it if we head through that tunnel," He said, pointing a gloved hand to a sealed off mineshaft. Without waiting for an answer, he headed towards the opening, slashing the weak wooden boards barring it with his sword.
"Are you sure, Aether?" Asked Paimon, worry laced in her voice, "Didn't you just get us lost?"
"We'll be fine!"
"But-"
"No, look! The shortcut's literally marked on the map!"
"No, I don't think-"
The two adventurers continued their little skirmish as they walked, slowly making their way down the tunnel, guided by what little light they had. After a while, the pair started to feel uneasy, unsure if their chosen path was indeed the shortcut.
"Are you sure it's supposed to take this long?" Questioned the small floating girl, furrowing her eyebrows as the darkness pressed itself onto their eyes, "And is it supposed to slope down this much?"
Aether shook his head, trying to read his map in the dim lighting. Paimon groaned, flying close to the wall to examine the jagged stone. It looked old and worn down, much unlike the newer parts of the Chasm.
Curiosity consumed her and the girl stuck out her hand to touch the wall, running a finger along the smooth grooves. When her finger grazed the stone, the rock cracked, sending a streamline of crevices up towards the ceiling.
"Gah! Aether!" She shrieked, holding tight onto his arm as the two examined the damage. At first, the damage seemed minimal, only a thin fissure in the wall, but then, the stone groaned and collapsed, sending large chunks of shattered rubble crashing to the floor.
Without a second thought, Aether grabbed Paimon and ran fast away from the damage, hoping it wouldn't spread. Unfortunately, he wasn't that lucky. As the depth pressed darkness onto their eyes, boulders and stones collapsed behind them, almost catching up.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, the blonde dove for a crevice in the rock from which an odd light was escaping, desperate to escape the onslaught of what would be certain death. Aether tucked and rolled, hearing the mountain of debris behind him grind to a stop, sending dust into the air.
"Aether!" Paimon screamed, now darting out from under his arms, "Are you alright? What happened? Where... are we?" At these words, the traveller looked around, examining his surroundings.
They seemed to be in a deep underground chamber, lit by the glow of dozens of electro crystals, blossoming on the walls like bubbles in water. The walls and floor looked old and worn, much more so than the passage they'd previously been in. Small symbols were carved into every surface visible, resembling runes, but that wasn't what drew their attention.
In the centre of the room kneeled a man with long (H/C) hair, covering his face. His wrists were chained by electric purple chains, attaching him to the rock walls. His clothes looked traditional, but not from the current times. They were old, like Archon War old, resembling robes Aether had once seen in old recollections of Liyue.
"Who is that?" Asked Paimon, her mouth dropping in surprise. Aether took a step back, racking his brains for something he'd once heard the old and wise Zhongli tell him about.
The realization hit him instantly as he made the connection between the odd runes on the walls and the overwhelmingly strong electro power. This must be a sealed chamber, one sealed during the Archon War, meaning that the man in the middle must be either very powerful or very dangerous, or both!
He quickly explained his theory to Paimon who seemed to agree. The tension was upped tenfold as they tried to decide on their next course of action. Should they free him? What if he was dangerous? But what if he was innocent?
After a bit of debating, Aether's internal hero complex took over, causing him to step towards the imprisoned man, ignoring the electricity zapping at his shoes. He slowly drew nearer, examining the electro chains even closer.
The blonde hesitated before grabbing one of the coiling threads, imbuing his hand with geo energy to avoid any shocks or burns. With a yank, he pulled on the chain, not expecting it to give way, but it did.
With a buzz, the electricity dissipated, leaving only a set of wrought iron chains to fall to the floor. The man slumped forwards, one arm still bound. Aether ran to the other binding quickly, using the same technique to free the unknown person.
Letting out a shout, Paimon floated over, watching worriedly as Aether helped the man into a laying position. He put a hand behind the (H/C) prisoner's head, supporting him as he helped relax his legs, feeling muscles underneath the clothing.
This man must've been a warrior once. Aether could tell just by looking at his build and what visible scars he had, making him wonder yet again if he was on the gods' side or not because if he wasn't, the blonde might be in serious trouble.
He held the unconscious man in his arms, exchanging worried glances with Paimon. The blonde tried speaking to him, but to no avail. After a bit of this, he gave up, deciding on a different course of action.
"Do you think we should give him some water or something?" Asked Aether, prompting Paimon to float off and search for the water in the traveller's bag. She returned soon, carrying the bottle with some difficulty due to her small size.
Carefully, Aether tipped some of the liquid down the man's throat, using his hand to open the (H/C) warrior's mouth slightly. His eyebrows furrowed, noticing the strange shape of the individual's teeth.
Fangs... He thought, handing the water back to Paimon, he must be an adeptus! Or part adeptus... or worse! The two sat in anticipating silence, wondering if he'd finally wake up. Like clockwork, the prisoner coughed, wincing as his eyes adjusted to the purple light.
"Are you okay...?" Asked Aether uncertainly as the man rubbed his head, seemingly trying to process the situation. The first couple seconds were... very confusing.
An onslaught of emotions and thoughts flooded the stranger's head, making his groan in pain, head in his hands. He thought of the imprisonment, his name, his purpose and everything else. Suddenly, as if a lightbulb had been extinguished, they all disappeared, lost to the wind.
"Um, hello?" Added Paimon, making the man flinch at the sudden noise.
"Where am I...? Who are you?" He questioned, his voice deep and hoarse. Aether's eyes widened, looking at Paimon with a raised eyebrow. The adventurer opened his mouth, pausing before starting to explain everything.
"I... see..." said the man, still looking rather lost and confused. He shook his head, seemingly trying to clear his mind. "So you... rescued me. Thank you..."
"Please, it was only the right thing to do!" Replied Aether, his cheeks slightly pink as he shook his head, "But if it wouldn't be too much of a bother, could you tell me about yourself? Who are you? How did you end up here?"
The (H/C) man thought about this for a moment, seeming even more confused than before. To him, it was like fishing without bait. No matter how hard he tried, not one bite happened, not one memory surfaced beyond basic information.
"They called me (M/N)," he mumbled, sounding unsure, "I think, at least... as for other things... I don't remember..." (M/N) rubbed his head some more, willing the memories to surface.
"N-nothing?" Exclaimed Paimon, floating idly with a shocked expression, "You mean you can't remember anything that happened? Not even how you got down here?" Aether looked equally worried, sitting next to (M/N) as he handed him some more water.
"There was something about... runes... and a sacrifice..." The (H/C) man grumbled, accepting the water with a brief "thank you." The adventurers frowned, alarmed by this lack of recollection.
"Maybe your memories will come back with time!" Suggested Paimon, trying to lighten the mood.
"That's right," chimed in Aether, trying for a reassuring smile, "in the meantime, we can head back to Liyue, perhaps seeing the city will spark something! You are from Liyue... right?" (M/N) shrugged, standing up gingerly, flexing and relaxing his body.
"I'm not sure, but we can go anyway," stated (M/N), flashing an uncertain smile at the pair. The adventurers nodded in unison, looking back at where they'd entered the room.
"Ah, but there's just one problem..." Aether said, looking sheepish and the three gazed upon the rubble of the collapsed tunnel. Quickly, he explained what'd happened with their disastrous entry once again, highlighting how their way in was not blocked.
(M/N) walked over to the worn stone, putting a hand to the cool surface. Paimon and Aether stared in amazement, the anticipation rising. Was he going to do something? What secrets could he be keeping?
With a sigh, (M/N) closed his eyes, concentrating on the barrier of rock. At once, every electro crystal in the cave shattered, imbuing the air with a zappy atmosphere. Using some skill or another, the (H/C) man blasted a hole straight through the solid rock, no weapon required.
Aether's mouth fell open in shock as he looked at the display of power. (M/N) seemed equally as confused, staring in awe at his hand as electric sparks formed on his glove. He frowned before shrugging, beckoning the shell-shocked adventurers to follow.
"How did you do that?" They asked in unison, following to examine in the wake of the damage. (M/N) gave a noise of unknowing, still looking as if it was difficult to think straight.
"I'm... not sure," he said as the three proceeded up the newly opened tunnel, "It just felt right." Aether put a hand to his chin, the others could almost see the cogs working in his head at that moment.
"Okay, so let me get this straight," the blonde started as they entered the more surface level parts of the Chasm, "we found you in a sealed chamber in the deepest part of the Chasm. You're wearing old, traditional clothing, are possibly a part-adeptus and have no memories."
(M/N) nodded hesitantly, running the thoughts through his own head to make sure. Paimon let out a small "ooh..." next to him, as if she understood the blonde's train of thought. (M/N), however, was more confused than ever.
"That means," Aether continued, looking more certain by the second, "you were probably around during the Archon War and lost your memories due to some incident or another!" (M/N) squinted his eyes, trying to remember. Yes... that certainly sounded right...
"And that also means there's one person in Liyue who can certainly help you get your memories back!" Paimon chimed in, bobbing up and down in excitement.
"The oldest man we know,"
"And the wisest!"
"We need to find Zhongli!"
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HIHI!! Sorry this took so long to write! Ive been busy with art school ajshjghf
yeah so i actually dont have that many ideas for this fic, this'll probably just be a short lil filler while i search for more worthwhile ideas for other fandoms haha
i actually stopped playing genshin a long time ago, im just still keeping up thru random info and shorts on yt lmfaooooo
anyway guess my fav genshin character and lmk yours! HINT: i am not a simp (lies)