WARNING: There is gore in this chapter! Specifically: skin piercing, suffocation, coughing up blood and possibly more. Read with caution if these make you uncomfortable!
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Your mistakes will be forgotten, but your successes remembered.
—
Dragonspine: the one place she could feel somewhat at peace. With no religious sisters at her throat; with no responsibility hanging from her shoulders; with no need to lift her weapon. It was somewhere she could fulfil her mind's desires with no consequence. Nobody questioned when she went to Dragonspine as they all knew how dangerous it could be, which is exactly why it was her element. Nobody would follow her, and she could keep an eye on any suspicious individual.
She heard the footsteps behind her, capturing her attention to see someone with Sunsettias in arms. Nothing about them screamed dangerous, but she recalled the words the bard had sung in Angel's Share.
With a face that seems so comforting,
This person will never be such a thing.
Our Creator impersonated so wilfully,
A lesson we should teach for the lack of affinity.
They seemed comforting. And with that in mind, she didn't let them say their piece as she lifted her polearm.
◇◆◇◆
Golden specs of the Wealth Ley Line Blossom covered a large diameter, frosting the grass with yellow as the elemental network hummed and huffed with the whispers from below. Surrounding the Ley Line was decaying branches of Dendro, weaved into one another to form a squared box that held no opening aside from above. Seeing a Ley Line wasn't that odd, but it was larger than the regular ones.
It was double the size of a Ley Line, situated where the most blood had been absorbed from due to Venti's influence and out of character action. The box of vines acted as the equivalent of a modern day chalk outline of a body, refusing entry as if the area was sacred and needed to be treated with respect.
Ironic, a bitter taste laid on their tongue, so many people say about how you're only important if you're dead. And the Ley Line seemed like proof. Footsteps behind them worried them but, as they turned, they relaxed at the sight of the blond braids of Albedo.
"Creator," he murmured, almost longingly, as he caught their eye. "I didn't expect to see you here." His clipboard clutched closer to his chest as his eyes lowered. Refusing to meet their gaze, he settled on observing the Ley Line besides them. "It would be wise for you to exit the area," his shoes damaged the grass below as he neared the Dendro vines, "I'm assuming Sucrose may be on her way to cover the area as I am."
Wracking their mind to remind themselves of their builds, [Name] stood closer to Albedo and knelt down to observe the branches. "I'll take my chances." They could feel his eyes as he shuffled from his place, shuddering from the piercing gaze as he tried to understand their mind and how it worked.
"If I'm inclined to ask..." He trailed off, struggling with his words as he tried to walk upon the eggshells he placed himself. There was a lack of a language barrier, but he had decided to place a phantom one for his own sake. Their eyes searched his face for any signs of a question, unsure if this was an elaborate plan to know their mind or if he was close to ratting them out.
Their eyes did nothing to calm him, something that confused him and exhilarated his mind at the same time. All he'd heard, his whole life, was that the Creator was a comforting source; that they could be the gentlest soul and that's what made the realm of Teyvat bow to their feet. Usually, at least. But the piercing gaze, something he was foreign to, put him on edge. Had he done something wrong for this behaviour? "You can ask..."
He, admittedly, had forgotten he spoke to them first. He cleared his throat, covering the sound of his gloves shrieking against his clipboard, as he nodded from their words. "How did..." He couldn't ask. He had the permission, but he felt as if he was back to his old self: stuck between the layers of humane and something that could never be. His mind whirled, throwing words towards him that he had been told millions of times when he was with his Master.
A soft, off-guard gasp left his lips as the sacred palm of the Creator held his shoulder. "Sorry," the warmth slide off his shoulder and exposed him to the tainted realm that wished to remove the blessed. "You just-" They cut themselves off, curling up into themselves as their arms held their torso. "Sorry."
His eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly as the tension between his joints faded, leaving him with a feeling of bliss and juvenile energy that he struggled to find himself. Watching their behaviour struck him as odd. Seeing them act so human, nothing like the being above the rest that he had been told, was... He couldn't fathom it. But he knew it was the Creator, they were different from the previous beings that wrapped the ignorant around their fingers.
As he recalled, he could remember the fear in their eyes as he waited to release his glider. He could recall the dumbfounded expression they held as he explained what he could without uttering a word of the harmful scenarios possible. He recalled the sorrow that fell upon them after reading the book, followed by the disappointment that he could practically feel radiate from them.
And the weather.
His gaze fell towards their arms, watching as their fingers dance across their flesh to keep them to themselves rather than reach for him again. His eyes clouded as guilt overwhelmed him. They were more human than he was, but he had blinded himself with the knowledge of libraries than the Creator themselves. He should tell them the dangers.
His lips parted for a moment but soon pursed as he followed their gaze. The teal in his eyes dulled as the Ley Line played what Teyvat recalled. They had already unlocked the power of Dendro, and the Ley Line showed him how.
◇◆◇◆
The soft coos of the birds often meant good things to the eyes of the Mondstadt people, telling them that the day was safe and there was nothing to worry about when it came to the weather. If the birds could sing: so could they.
The waves nearby caused eyes to open, [Eye Colour] irises covering the pupil that shrunk from the intensity of the sun rays on their face. With a soft groan, the Creator turned to their side to meet the door of the Midsummer Courtyard Domain. The cerulean of the symbol brightened from the attention, slowly waking them up as their mind struck static.
Footsteps neared them, the crunching of fallen leaves really drilling in their mind, as they turned their head. Familiar braids fluttered in the wind, comforting their confusion as they sat themselves up. "Ven...?" Their voice failed them as his bright, playful eyes grew dark and sharp. Their eyebrows furrowed at the expression, opening their mouth to speak again but the bard simply rose his hand.
He reached his hand towards them and, with caution in their veins, they hesitantly placed their hand into his as he helped them up. He didn't let go, continuing to pull them closer until something struck their stomach. Their breath hitched, impulsive to stop the pain as their eyes hesitantly cut contact with his own. The hand that held their own snaked to their wrist, creaking the bone as his grip tightened. "You shouldn't be here." He dropped them to the floor, letting the wind drag them as the piercing from their stomach hit the ground and jerked their organs from within, watching as their jaw hit the ground and crack one of their teeth.
A wheezed whimper left their lips, a palm trying to grab the blade (or whatever it was) that stuck in their stomach but was unable to. Their eyes narrowed, trying to focus, as they looked for something: anything. With nothing to see aside from the shoes of the offender, they hesitantly changed their gaze towards the bard that stared coldly. His hand rose again, forming the wind vessel from his idle animation. The theories of Venti creating black holes seemed to vanish from mind as the wind around drifted towards his palm: including what was filling their lungs.
Heaves escaped their drying throat, leaving them as a helpless mess as the pressure from their stomach loosened; letting their blood flow freely into the grass. His voice carried to them, but they couldn't hear them at the time, as he held the ball of pressure up. His moves reminded them of Ganyu, lifting the cryo ball and let it release the pent up ice to the enemies below. Although, it wasn't ice that fell. The pressure from the centre burst, directing all of the Anemo built up inside to their helpless body. The strikes were unclean, jagged and bent their organs and skin as they pierced to the other side.
One of their lungs pierced, bubbling with the oxygen that was held within as they desperately wheezed for air. The blood within traveled up, entering their oesophagus before spluttering onto the ground in front of them as they coughed instinctively. Their eyes reluctantly closed, reaching a hand out for anything as the bard spat venomous words to them.
"You don't deserve to impersonate them." His hand lowered as his eyes flamed, devoted for his Creator as he struck them once more. "How dare you. Impersonating the Divine Creator, but unable to even hold yourself in a fight." More of their blood splattered as the Archon used a single arrow to pierce the other lung, ignoring the mess as he stood himself up.
He didn't understand the guilt.
◇◆◇◆
Teal clashed with glossy [Eye Colour]. Albedo's previous peace eradicated as his mind replayed the scene, struggling to find the reasoning to the attack but remained questioning. "Your Grace..." He couldn't trust his voice as it wavered, lifting a gloved hand as they took a deep breath. Ignoring his own comfort zone, his hand rest on their shoulder (as they did to him) to relay the message of comfort they desperately needed. But he didn't move further.
He had already made his mind up of the boundaries he has created for them. He wasn't worthy of anything more.
"I..." His eyes softened as his lips pursed, finding an unusual amount of difficulty to communicate as he closed his eyes. It made sense what they had uttered to him during their first encounter. He refused to be a sinner. He let out a soft sigh as he pulled away, tapping against his clipboard as they refused to lift their head. "Your blood," He whispered, "it's the essence of thriving for Teyvat. What you recall: Teyvat recalls. The quantity of your blood ensures the capability you hold for an element. In this case, I'm assuming, Dendro is the element you'll be most... That you'll find the easiest to master."
He cleared his throat as his eyes lingered to the Ley Line once again.
"I'm afraid it comes with a cost." He watched from the corner of his vision, noticing their antsy behaviour as he quietly uttered his knowledge. "Considering the situation, I believe that you can only wield the elements of the Archons who recognise you. If the element you try to use is under the impression you're not who you say you are... It will rebel."
The clipboard in his hands whined from his anxious grip.
"So, please..." He caught their gaze, "keep yourself safe."
The clipboard snapped.