Act 2, Scene 9
19th of the 2nd Cycle
"Greetings, I am Mona Megistus of the Hexenzirkel, this is my attendant, Aether. We have a meeting with the Tianquan?"
"Of course, Lady Mona. The Qixing are awaiting you in the Jade Chamber."
"I was not aware all of the Qixing would be attending."
"The Tianquan invited them, My Lady. If you would follow me?"
How utterly devious, Aether thought. Indeed, the Tianquan is not one to take lightly. They followed the guide, Buyun, onto the plaustrite platform, and it began to ascend into the air. As they rose, Aether could see Liyue in all of its glory. Even with the death of their god, life continues on.
They levelled with the Jade Chamber, and Buyun tethered the platform to it. Stepping off behind Mona, he could see 7 attendants waiting for them.
"My Lady, sir, please follow us."
They obliged.
Thankfully, he managed to convince Mona to wear more professional clothing. To this end, she wore a long navy blue dress littered with stars, and a black shrug. For some reason, she wouldn't part with her hat. He did suppose she looked every inch the witch her organisation described themselves as.
In the main hall of the Chamber was a long trestle table. It was laden with the most luxurious foods Liyue had to offer, and sat by the wealthiest people of Liyue as well. They stood at one end, and seated on their left were the Tianshu, the Tianxuan and the Tianji. On their right were the Yuheng, the Kaiyang and the Yaoguang. Seated at the other end was none other than the Tianquan. Standing behind them by the opposite wall was the Head of the Liyue Secretariat, Ganyu.
The Tianquan and the Yuheng offered a striking sight, two young women seated at a table full of old men. The Tianquan rose to greet them.
"Lady Mona, it is an honour-"
Mona interrupted her, "Yes yes, great honour, great pleasure. Everything is a great honour in this bloody city, let's get this over with, yes?" She waved her hand as if there was a fly in her face.
She took a seat at their end of the table without asking for permission, put one leg over the other, crossed her arms, and raised an eyebrow.
"Well?"
Stunned silence dominated the room. They had discussed this in length the night before, both of them knew that the moment they let the Tianquan control their conversation, they had already lost. So Mona was to act as brusquely as possible, to never allow them to have the upper hand in their talks.
The Yuheng spoke, "Lady Mona, you had told us-"
"Ah ah ah, where's the Mora? Is this how the Qixing does business?"
The Tianquan slowly sat back down and offered a pleasant smile.
"Our apologies, Ganyu?"
The horned lady stepped forward and handed Aether a slip of paper. It was a promissory note for the Central Bank of Liyue. After he ascertained its legitimacy, he gave Mona a nod.
"Frankly, I do not see the need for a foreigner to take part in the investigations. Our own magi are already working on the Exuvia." It was the Kaiyang who spoke, grumbling.
Mona retorted, "Yes well, they are still working, and I'm already done. Besides, this four million is not just payment for my services, but also payment for me to keep quiet."
"In any case, I will not let it be said that the Hexenzirkel goes back on their word, or that they are not thorough. I will not only inform you of the culprit, but explain my process as well. If that is agreeable with you?"
"Of course, Lady Mona. Please, enlighten us." This time it was the Tianshu.
Mona coughed into her hand, and began.
"Not only am I a mage, but I am an astrologist and Allogene as well. I use skills from all three of my occupations the conduct my investigation. First, as an Allogene, I can sense Elemental energy in objects. When Rex Lapis' corpse hit the ground, I could tell that whatever Geo that resided in it was already fading away. From this, I can conclude that Rex Lapis' Gnosis was not located in the Exuvia."
She stopped to drink some wine.
The Yuheng spoke up in the meantime, "How does the Exuvia's lack of Gnosis help us find the killer."
Mona shrugged, "It isn't, it's supposed to help us find that there's no killer."
"What?"
"Let me explain. As a mage, I am also well educated in the art of Transmutation. When the Exuvia landed, it was fresh. Fresh as fish just caught from the Sea." She shook her head, "No, it was fresher than that, the Exuvia was created moments before descending. From this, I can conclude that the timeframe the murderer had to kill Rex Lapis was minuscule. The Geo Archon must've died on the way down."
The Tianji spoke softly, "So what you are saying is-"
"What I'm saying is that the chances that the killer is mortal is non-existent."
She took another sip from her cup of wine, uncaring of the disbelieving faces cast at her. "Can I have another cup of wine? This stuff is divine… whoops, too soon?"
She laughed.
There was a deep intake of breath from someone in the hall. He can tell that everyone in the room is reaching the ends of their ropes. He subtly nudged Mona's shoulder from behind her.
"Ahem. Finally, as an astrologist, I can gaze into the stars. Every sentient being in Teyvat has a constellation, gods are no different. Rex Lapis' constellation is Lapis Dei. Here, take a look at this."
Mona spun her hands in a circle in front of her face, creating a divination wheel. She then placed her right palm on the face of the wheel and pushed it.
"It is all written in the stars."
The starry sky exploded out from the wheel, filling the room with the darkness of space and the light of celestial bodies. It reminded him greatly of the holograms they had back at home. The attendants in the room gasped in awe, the Qixing were more restrained. But he could tell they were all starstruck, quite literally. The sight was truly beautiful.
The starmap 'zoomed in' focusing on a vaguely diamond-shaped cluster of stars.
"This is the constellation Lapis Dei. Since your uneducated minds cannot comprehend what you are seeing, I'll spell it out for you. Lapis Dei is still shining in the Sky, all of it's links are unbroken."
Mona took a deep breath.
"Morax is still alive. The Exuvia is nothing more than an empty vessel, dead from the moment it was created. Your god faked his own death."
Pandemonium.
…
…
"Can I get a refill now? All that talking has made me quite parched."