Author's Note: This chapter contains spoilers for the 2.1 Archon quest and the weekly boss fight. It also contains spoilers about Jean's, Lisa's, and Mona's vision stories.
Thank you all so much for the kind words. I'm very glad you enjoyed that last chapter. I'm sorry about the unusual delays between chapters but I injured my hands shortly after uploading Chapter Twenty-Six and decided to focus on recovering while tweaking the last few chapters. I've been watching a lot of Genshin impact lore theory videos on YouTube and have coopted a few for this fic.
Hope you all enjoy this chapter. And for those of you that have asked, yes, we are entering the final stretch of the story. There are two chapters after this and I'm thinking about writing a short epilogue just to close things out.
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Meeting
Barbara awakens to the vaguely familiar canopy of her four-poster bed without any memory of ever laying down on it much less walking into her childhood bedroom. While she had often visited her mother, she had often been careful enough to time so that she wouldn't need to stay the night. On the rare occasions that her mother had managed to convince her to pass the night, the songstress could never manage much sleep in her old childhood bed.
She had hardly grown much in height since those years so the bed and other furniture could still bear her comfortably. Save for a few drawings and photographs her mother had hung up, the room's décor had hardly changed in her absence. While her mother had always invited her to remodel the room as she saw fit, the trauma of her parents' failing marriage would not allow her a moment's peace no matter how fleeting.
Till this day she still associated the very four corners of her childhood bedroom with their breathless arguments, the simmering resentment building with each unspoken word, the growing hollowness and indifference. Within the very four corners of this very room she had witnessed and confronted them all. Had parsed through every argument, dwelled on every meandering moment, obsessed over every minute flicker of emotion. And every time she had always arrived at a singular conclusion.
My parents would still be together if I was never born.
She shakes her head, willing her thoughts to wander as she stares blankly into the darkness, waiting patiently for her eyesight to adjust as tries to recall the circumstances that had brought her there. A shudder runs down her spine as she slowly but surely recalls the Eighth Harbinger's death glare and the frantic voices of those around her as they tried to make sense of the spare vision clutched within her hand.
"A s-second vision?" Her mother had gasped, turning to watch Lisa expectantly. "What does it mean?"
"I don't think it is hers," the Librarian had informed her after examining the object for some time. "The shell's shape is different from the ones we use here in Mondstadt."
"I see," her mother had sighed. Barbara wonders if she had imagined the hint of disappointment laced within her words. "Come to think of it, I don't believe I've ever seen a shell that shape before."
"It's a Snezhnayan vision," Lisa had concluded before shifting to cast the Fair Lady a long and wary look. "But how did she get it?"
"Are you sleeping, Barbara?" The softness in Lisa's voice jolts the Deaconess from her reverie, prompting her to turn her head towards her bedroom door. The light from the hallway briefly illuminates the pair of silhouettes watching her from the doorway.
"L-L-Lisa? B-b-big sis-sister?" Barbara croaks, pushing herself into a sitting position.
"Yes Barbara," the Dandelion Knight replies gently as the bedroom lights flick on. "I'm here."
Barbara feels a great weight lift from her shoulders at the sight of her older sister and releases a quick sigh of relief as she moves to create enough space for the acting Grand Master to sit. Jean pads across the room, pulls off her gloves and presses her palm against the Deaconess' forehead with a contemplative frown as she assesses her condition.
"Well, you aren't feverish," the Dandelion Knight notes with a relieved sigh. "But you're as white as a sheet. How do you feel? Still nauseous? Lightheaded?"
"Thirsty," Barbara replies.
At this Lisa Minci moves to fill a nearby cup with water before approaching her best friend. When she reaches Jean's side, she sheepishly meets Barbara's gaze and manages a small smile before handing the goblet over to her. Barbara thanks her as Jean helps her into a sitting position before guiding the cup gently towards her lips.
"Lisa says you collapsed earlier," Jean states when the songstress finally lowers the cup from her lips. "According to her you haven't been resting properly."
"I'm fine," Barbara protests weakly as she manages a small smile. "W-what ha-happened to La Signora?"
As much as she loved spending time with her older sister, Barbara knew that the Dandelion Knight could not afford any distractions.
"Oh, you mean Ms. Lohefalter?" Jean asks. As she is speaking, Barbara notices a visible shift in Lisa's stance as a pensive frown twists her features. "Mother left to see her off while you were sleeping."
"What was she doing here?" Barbara wonders, shaking her head as she feels the beginnings of a fierce headache taking root.
"Apparently she's been buying up old art pieces from Eula's aunt—Lady Liesel Lawrence—and mother's been acting as their broker."
Barbara's eyebrows knot in a skeptical frown as she considers her sister's words. As plausible as the whole thing seemed she knew better than to dismiss the Eighth Harbinger's presence as mere coincidence. Thankfully, the Purple Witch of Rose shared her suspicions.
"What time period is she buying art pieces from?" Lisa asks, crossing her arms with a suspicious frown.
"I didn't ask," the acting Grand Master confesses with a shrug. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing it's just th-that name," Lisa pauses as her green eyes stray to some corner of the ceiling above Jean's left ear. "It reminds me of something I once saw at the Academy in Sumeru. I don't know why but…I just can't put my finger on it."
"Well, if it comes to you let me know," the Dandelion Knights says before turning to address her younger sister. "In the meantime, I've asked the sisters to bring the rest of your things here. Lisa will be taking some days off to monitor your condition."
"Oh no, I'm—" Barbara moans shaking her head slowly before catching the heightened skepticism on Jean's and Lisa's faces. "Was Signora here?" The songstress wonders out loud, eager to change the conversation. Eager to occupy her eyes, she cranes her neck to examine the brightly lit corridor behind them.
"Yes," Jean replies with a relieved sigh. "Lisa says she caught you when you passed out and kept your head from hitting the floor."
"I don't think we should let her speak to Barbara," the Librarian informs Jean's shoulder.
"Huh? Why not?" The acting Grand Master muses as she turns to catch her friend's eye.
"She's up to something," the Mage intuits.
"Because she's with the Fatui or—"
"No, because her expression changed when she saw that vision," Lisa explains, nodding at the spare vision sitting on Barbara's nightstand. "Almost like she realized something. When she asked to speak to Barbara privately something in her tone reminded me of someone who was trying to confirm something."
"I see," Jean hums as she lowers her head with a thoughtful frown. "What do you think she realized?"
"I don't know but—"
"It's Ajax's," Barbara blurts with a meek sigh. "The vision. I recognized it from that—that…" but the heat of shame filles her cheeks as she recalls that moment at the Liuli Pavilion when her lover had hovered over her briefly and reached between them to lower his trousers, drawing her attention to the shell encasing his hydro vision.
"But if this belongs to Ajax then what is he doing here? Does that mean that he's in trouble?" The Dandelion Knight wonders.
"It is not unusual for visions to move on their own," Lisa replies. "There have been many examples of people trying to throw them away only for them to return stubbornly."
"You think he threw it away?" Barbara wonders.
"No, but if I was being honest, it almost seems like it's here to do his bidding," the academic shrugs. "Almost as if its master sensed something and sent it here for safekeeping."
"Oh no!" Barbara croaks, burying her face into her small hands as she doubles over into a fit of heaving sobs.
She feels her older sister pull her into a protective hug and reaches out to wrap her hands around her, holding fast to her as her tears flow freely down her cheeks.
"Are you sure about this Lisa," the songstress hears Jean ask under her breath as she regains her bearings.
"I could be wrong," Lisa confesses quietly. "Although, I suspect it has something to do with her pregnancy. I don't have any concrete proof of this but I just finding the timing of its appearance very interesting."
The Dandelion Knight releases the Deaconess who begins to slowly straighten up. As she listens to their hushed voices intently, she is reminded of the pregnant maiden in her dream staring out of the window at the storm clouds gathering over Old Mondstadt.
"Do not forget friends that the tyrant in the tower commands two elements." One of the now-faceless rebels had informed the group.
"His cryo power allows him to wield the Judgment of Shamash without suffering any injury, pain, or deformity," Lady Gunnhildr had explained patiently to her gathered comrades. "Save for the pyro archon himself, Decarabian is the only sentient being that can wield that weapon."
"So how do we hope to defeat one who wields a weapon that will reduce us to ash?"
"We rob him of his cryo powers," the young Bard had replied with a dazzling smile.
"And how do you propose we do that?" The huntress in their group had scoffed. "He has shared his abilities with I and every soldier under his command without suffering the slightest—"
"The child!" One of her comrades had declared pointing towards the blonde maiden's swollen belly. "You carry the tyrant's child! Her breath! Look! It freezes despite there being no chill in the air!"
"It is true!" Imunlaukr concurs, drawing his battle axes. "The air only behaves this way when the Lord of the Tower is near."
Her thoughts return to her conversation with Lumine and Paimon in her apartment washroom that fateful night when they had carried the dying harbinger to her doorstep.
"I-is he a vision-bearer?!" She had asked the Outlander and her floating companion.
"Yeah. He has a hydro vision and an electro delusion."
"De-delusion?"
"I'm not sure exactly how it works but when I fought him back in Liyue he could fuse hydro and electro attacks."
Could it be? Could her vision have been a memory of the rebels' plight on the eve of their battle against the Lord of the Tower?
No. That doesn't make any sense. Why would Childe's vision come to me just because I'm pregnant for him? Unless…
"Barbara, are you alright?" Lisa queries, squinting down at the petite songstress with a mix of worry and confusion.
"Lisa," the Deaconess' voice is strangely soft and firm as she turns to face the Purple Witch of Rose. "Can people share a vision?"
The Librarian moves to pace the room briefly as she considers her response, pausing every now and then as if on the verge of some breakthrough before veering off once more. When she finally comes to a halt at the center of the room, the manic sheen of realization is visible to both sisters.
"Yes, they can," Lisa concludes breathlessly. "While it's not very common, I did see some instances of students back in Sumeru activating dead visions and even inheriting their masters' visions while their masters were still alive."
"What?!" Jean exclaims rising to her feet in evident shock. "H-how?"
"A shared ambition," the Librarian states matter-of-factly. "In the cases I personally learned about, the successors and predecessors shared a common or similar goal or dream. I specifically remember one of my colleagues inheriting her master's vision when he retired from the academy to raise his grandchildren. The teacher's daughter and her husband had just died and left behind eight helpless orphans who were in danger of being sent to live with various relatives on their father's side. Dismayed at the thought of losing contact with his grandchildren, the teacher had entrusted his vision and research to his student who was his research partner and had a vested interest in seeing their research through. While the vision's element changed from electro to dendro, her shared zeal allowed her to command her master's vision."
The sisters sit in breathless silence as the Librarian concludes her tale. As Barbara considers the implications of Lisa's theory, she is reminded of that distressing night she had passed with a feverish child on the eve of receiving her vision.
"He's still crying," Barbara had noted sadly to Mother Victoria as they had observed the shivering child whimpering noisily into his blanket.
It had been a week since she had finally joined the church to study medicine and scripture and ages before she would become Mondstadt's Shining Idol. In those days she was known simply as Lady Gunnhildr's youngest daughter and the younger sister of the newly appointed Dandelion Knight. While she had enjoyed listening to the sisters singing hymns during choir practice, Barbara had yet to discover the pleasures of singing and had been far too timid and insecure to indulge in anything greater than a light hum.
"I had to send his older sister away," Mother Victoria had informed her with a sympathetic sigh. "Her mother and father are away on a commission in Dragonspine, and she has three younger ones waiting for her back home. Night is almost nigh and I did not want her walking back home in the dark. So, I asked her to return in the morning while we monitor her brother's fever."
"Oh no," Barbara had moaned, reaching up to wipe at the tears forming in her eyes. "Poor thing. I bet he misses his family."
"Indeed," the Confessor had sighed once more. "But I cannot discharge him until his fever breaks. We've done all we can for him. The rest is up to him now. Though I fear that the pain of missing his family will only hinder his recovery."
"Mother Victoria," Barbara had squeaked earnestly as she had turned to face the older woman expectantly. "What can we give him to relieve his pain."
"For the fever? Nothing more. For homesickness? Nothing at all," the Confessor had replied.
"He seemed to improve this morning when Sister Vind sang to him during his breakfast," a passing sister had suggested with a casual shrug. "Perhaps you could try singing to him, Sister Barbara?"
"Me? S-sing?"
"Yeah," the sister had replied with an encouraging smile. "Whatever song that comes into your mind. As long as the melody is pleasant, I doubt he will mind the tune."
Intent on healing this helpless child, Barbara had agreed with the kind sister's suggestion and had passed the entire night rocking the whimpering child as she had sang her favorite lullaby, humming when she could not remember the specific lyrics for the later verses until the child's trembling finally stopped and his breathing settled into an assuring rhythm. Thoroughly spent, she had tucked him into bed before collapsing against the wall and falling asleep herself with a single wish upon her weary heart as her eyelids had drifted shut.
How wonderful would it be if I could heal him with my songs.
And so, she had awoken the following morning to find her charge fully healed and beaming from ear to ear. Delighted, she had risen from her makeshift bed to embrace him, pulling away to examine him carefully before embracing him again. Her newly granted vision lying forgotten at her side.
Could it be? Barbara wonders, blinking listlessly at the gleaming vision. Could his vision have sensed our common desire and come to me because of it?
"So, if people can inherit visions by having a common dream or ambition," Jean begins, pausing briefly as she shifts to study her younger sister. "Why is his vision here with Barbara?"
"I'm not sure," Lisa shrugs. "But I have a theory."
"W-what i-is i-i-it?!" Barbara squeaks before catching herself and mumbling a hasty apology.
"I think his vision came to Barbara because she now shares whatever dream or wish he had when he received his vision."
"Th-that's not—I would never! I-I've begged him to leave the F-Fatui but he won't listen to me. H-he r-refuses. Claims he has some sort of sickness that makes him…makes him…" Barbara falls silent, unable to voice her lover's sickening obsession with death.
"Somehow I don't think his dream had anything to do with fighting," Jean states bluntly. "I've always wanted to protect and serve Mondstadt. That was the driving goal when I received my vision."
"That's right," Lisa agrees. "And I received my vision when I had always wanted to study the intricacies of elemental energy to elevate my understanding of magic."
"And I wanted to heal people through songs," Barbara chimes in.
"So, I doubt he received his vision because he loved killing and fighting," Lisa theorizes. "If I had to guess, his love for killing and fighting developed after he received his vision."
"But what was his dream when he received his vision?" Jean wonders. "What is the most important thing to him?"
"His family," Barbara replies without thinking. "He would do anything for them."
"Including joining the Fatui," Jean agrees, snapping her fingers as she turns to give her younger sister an appreciative hug.
"So does that mean I-I-I'm h-his family now?"
"In a way it makes sense," the acting Grand Master opines. "You are carrying his child."
"Hold on a minute," Lisa cautions. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We still don't know if that is really his vision. For all we know it could be a fake."
"But I thought you said—"
"I know what I said," Lisa sighs. "But remember it was only a theory. We have to confirm it first."
"But it is Ajax's vision. I know it is," Barbara insists, her voice rising ever so slightly in frustration as she fights to her feet.
"How can we confirm if it is his vision or not?" Jean wonders.
"The only way to know for sure is to touch it," Lisa replies. "Mona once told me that she received her vision from her master as a study aid. She claims that there are times when she uses it for scrying that she hears her master's voice nagging her."
"Do you think it will help if she touches it?" Jean presses, her features hardening.
"I'm not sure," the Librarian admits. "I need to speak with Mona. Since she inherited her master's vision she would definitely know if it would be safe for Barbara to touch his."
"B-but I've h-held it before and was fine," Barbara mutters. "Remember? In the library?"
"I do," Lisa sighs. "But then you passed out again and your condition worsened."
"Maybe it's best if we don't risk it then," Jean opines with a thoughtful frown. "We can just stow it away and send word for him to come back for it."
"W-what if he's in danger?" Barbara wonders, fidgeting with the hem of her nightgown.
"We don't know that for sure and it's far too risky to make any assumptions," Lisa rebuts.
"Please, big sister," the songstress pleads, turning to face the acting Grand Master. "Is there any way we can find out what's going on? I'm worried about him."
"Why?" Jean asks, concern knotting her eyebrows now. "What's wrong? Whatever it is I'm sure we can figure it out together."
"I don't know," Barbara confesses with a dejected sigh. "I just can't shake this feeling that he's in trouble and his vision came to me for a reason."
"What kind of reason," Jean presses gently.
"Would it help ease your mind if we spoke with Mona?" Lisa offers. "Just to confirm that it's safe to touch his vision."
"How long will that take?" Barbara wonders.
"I'm sure I can find her easily enough," the Librarian replies. "She often comes to the library to research her Steambird articles."
"Alright, you go find Mona and talk to her," Jean instructs.
"Do you think it would help if we told her about my pregnancy?" Barbara wonders.
"No," Lisa replies. "We need to keep that on a strictly need to know basis. Other than Jean, have you told anyone else?"
"Well n-no but I think S-sister Rosaria s-uspects something," the songstress replies. "S-she commented about my cr-cravings once and is always watchful whenever I'm eating."
"I wonder if Diluc's told Kaeya," Lisa muses.
"He wouldn't," the Dandelion Knight insists. "Diluc would never reveal a secret that was not his to share."
"Alright, but I feel that we need to tell some people," the Librarian suggests. "Just to make sure that Barbara is protected."
"What do you think Barbara?" The acting Grand Master asks, distractedly rubbing soothing circles against her younger sister's back. "Should we tell Kaeya?"
"A-alright," the Deaconess assents. "D-do you think we should tell the Traveler?"
"Normally, I wouldn't have any qualms about telling Lumine," Jean sighs. "But I'm afraid I just can't trust Paimon enough to keep it a secret."
"Y-you're right," Barbara agrees, bowing her head as she tries to figure out their next course of action.
"What about Albedo?" Lisa asks after a lengthy pause. "He's been supervising Sucrose's research into elemental hypostases. He might have some insight to offer about visions."
"Sounds plausible," Barbara mutters before turning to watch her older sister. "What do you think?"
"Albedo has always been nothing but professional," Jean states matter-of-factly. "If anyone could offer any meaningful insight it would be him and we don't have to worry about him keeping things under wraps."
"Alright then. I'll go speak with Mona first and do some digging of my own. But I suggest we meet up with the others to try to come up with a game plan." Lisa suggests.
"Very well," the acting Grand Master assents. "I'm sure Diluc wouldn't mind hosting us at the Dawn Winery."
"Too far," Lisa shoots down, shaking her head for emphasis. "We need somewhere inside the city, so Barbara doesn't have to travel very far in her condition. Why don't we do it here?"
"Barbara hasn't told our mother about her pregnancy so we can't risk it," Jean replies. "How about the Angel's Share wine cellar? It's at the center of the city and it wouldn't look out of place if people saw us entering the tavern. Besides it's usually packed with rowdy patrons so I doubt anyone will notice or bother us."
Satisfied with the Dandelion Knight's suggestion, they adjourn for the night with plans to rendezvous at the Angel's Share the following evening leaving Barbara alone to rest. The Deaconess sees them off before returning to her room and shutting off the lights. She allows herself a drink of water to calm her nerves before padding softly to her bed, assured by the promise of a plan tackle her future.
Since discovering her pregnancy, Barbara had been too frightened and confused to seriously consider how she was going to deal with it. While Jean and Lisa had tried their best to assure and comfort her, the thought of revealing her condition to the world filled her with dread. The very thought of confessing to her parents fills her with dread and her stomach sinks to the pit of her stomach whenever she reminds herself that she would have to face Ajax eventually.
I wonder if he'll call off the wedding. She muses as her eyelids slowly but surely begin to droop. Despite her worries, the thought of thwarting Signora's wedding brings a small smile to her lips as she turns to her side and settles into a more comfortable position. As she reaches up to stifle a soft yawn, she detects the faintest creak from her balcony door and shifts to observe the offending sound.
Her heart leaps into her neck at the sight of a large, gloved hand easing her balcony door open. Trembling beneath her covers, the Deaconess squints fearfully into the darkness, intent on discerning as much as she could of the interloper's identity. In the darkness a bulking frame calmly strides into her room, pausing to shut the balcony door carefully behind him. He turns to face her bed and for a harrowing moment Barbara wonders exactly how he intends to kill her. For why else would such a person sneak into her childhood bedroom in the dead of night.
For a long moment the intruder remains motionless as he watches her bed as if waiting to confirm something. Barbara feels a shudder of fear seize her as the stranger's gaze is suddenly drawn to the gleaming vision sitting on her nightstand. Not daring to shut her eyes, the songstress can only watch as the assassin marches toward her nightstand pausing briefly to acknowledge her with a chilling chuckle before leaning forward to inspect the hydro vision.
Despite his height and imposing frame, the stranger's movements are strangely fluid and noiseless, concealing his presence to the other occupants of the great house. Sensing danger, the Deaconess parts her lips to scream but fear swallows her cries, allowing a raspy, strangled sound to rise in its place. The cry barely carries past the foot of her fourposter and she can only watch as the stranger calmly reaches over to turn her nightstand lamp on.
The lamp emits a soft glow that illuminates the few feet between her bed and nightstand, allowing her her first glimpse of the intruder. A chill runs down her spine as she notes the crimson carvings of a rooster's mask covering the man's face. Clearing his throat, the stranger lifts his mask off, revealing a middle-aged man watching her with a kindly smile.
"Dear me," the man tuts, shaking his head slowly as he moves to occupy the cushy armchair where her father had once sat to read her bedtime stories. "It appears that I have frightened you."
"Who are you?" She asks in a hollow and flighty tone that is far too foreign to her own ears for her liking.
"Pardon my intrusion but I'm afraid I've come on the most urgent business."
"Wh-who a-are y-you?" She presses as tears begin to stream down her cheeks.
"I am your lover's friend," the man replies, his silky smile spreading as he lowers his frame into a deep bow. "Pulcinella, number five of the eleven harbingers."
Author's Note: I've been watching a lot of lore theory videos and was inspired by Mona's vision story and voice lines about receiving her vision from her master. After Kazuha activated his dead friend's vision briefly during that awesome 2.1 archon quest fight scene I decided that shared visions fit Genshin's canonical lore.
I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the matter.