Apparently, I failed to realize how awkward It would be alone with Amber since the both of us were complete strangers, But that was fine, wasn't It? I dealt with Lumine surprisingly fast, and we became…friends? I think we're friends, but she called us traveling companions- so I'm a little torn on the subject, really, really torn since I would like it if I was friends with the universe hopping women and her universe hopping brother.
Ah, I love sudden realizations, they truly aren't terrible.
Either way, Amber and I made our way down the steps after she finished giving Lumine a total Improve tutorial on how not to hit the nearest building with the velocity of 20 G's; but I wasn't so certain she would succeed, since, this wasn't aether, so the story Is already changed beyond certain measures.
Or was it? Since back In the real, actual game, it didn't really matter if you chose Lumine or Aether, the story was relatively the same; and the word relative is not really relative In this situation.
"Amber- quick question, so your an outrider, yeah? I glanced over at her, she glanced back with a neutral look, before it turned into a smile.
"That's right! outrider Amber ready for duty." I chuckled at that, enjoying the change of pace between people, while I enjoyed being and talking with Lumine and Paimon, I was still kinda psyched about meeting the rest of the cast.
"What…does an outrider usually do? Besides clearing out Hilichurls camps and escorting strange yet respectable travelers?" I asked out of genuine curiosity and as a way to Instigate conversation since…I'm still sure she's suspicious of me, even if slightly, I needed trust from others to make sure everything is as smooth as it can be.
Amber just chuckled awkwardly at my little reference the first time I've met her, "An outrider has many jobs to fill In- but over the years…there have been fewer and fewer outriders In action, currently, the only one active right now is…"
"You, right?" I'm a smart guy, I can pick up on things- and that Isn't just because I know most of the lore due to my constant need for escape and playing gacha games with hot women.
"Yep, you're looking at the only outrider, Amber." She didn't sound sad, maybe a little sullen If not disappointed, but she perked up.
"But that means I have a lot of work to do, and even If I'm alone as an outrider- I still have the rest of the Favonius to help me If needed, which means, either way, I can help people." Helping people is what Favonius do, is it not? And her words hit my heart a little, I wanted to help people- mainly help Teyvat in general, since…
I mean, why not?
I glanced up as yet another shadow came over us- Instead of flinching and inspecting Stormterror to roll up and wreck our absolute collective shit, It was Lumine gliding down from the very top of Mondstadt, a carefree smile was attached to her face as she laughed in the sky, feeling the wind brush against her hair.
Damn.
Nevertheless, my little spidey senses began tingling as I looked around, feeling the wind brush against me; Forcing vivid flashbacks of what was Stormterror, but It should be fine, It will be fine, but it's here-
No, I know we had more time.
"Amber." I quickly asked staring at the sky, but no one responded.
We had more time.
"Amber!" Amber jumped slightly as she looked over at me, who was currently sweating balls- because fuck man I know what's about to happen I fucking know It-
"What? Is something wrong?!" She quickly asked as she surely stared at my panicked and sickly-white face, we were lucky last time, but were not lucky anymore- I hate gacha.
"Has Stormterror ever attacked Mondstadt?" I barely whispered out as I looked over at Lumine, she looked concerned yet aware as my question came past her ears, narrowing her eyes as she landed; We stood next to the fountain.
"N-No? Never? Why do you…" She looked up, staring at the whirling sky as It grew darker and darker, the past clear blue skies were taken over as corruption settled In, the wind roared as It pushed past the buildings, and as wind turbines went out of control, thundering claps of wings quickly came Into reality- Stormterrror zipped past few of the buildings, dragging Its claws along It as It ripped out chunks of stone-
CRASH!
"Everyone! Get Inside your homes, now!" It flew past the headquarters of the Favonius, leaving them Intacked, flying past Mondstadt repeatedly as It suddenly twisted Its body In the air as Its eyes settled on the statue of the Anemo archon, emitting a terrible as It ducked towards the buildings and house below, dragging Its claws on another set of buildings.
"Wah! It's really mad!" Paimon zipped Into existence next to me, pushing past the wind as she tried to stand- or float next to us- but as Stormterror flew past us she was almost blown away, I quickly grabbed her.
"Jesus! Does anyone have a plan?!" I half-screamed to make sure my voice made it past the wind, Lumine simply turned as she observed the dragon, weariness stitched to her face as panic began mixing Itself in her eyes, Amber was the same, but more focused on the civilians.
ROAR!
Tornadoes began forming near the statue of Barbatos, black as the abyss as they tried tearing at the ground, unsuccessful, I glanced at Lumine; She's gotta beat It, she has to since no one else can- or won't since Venti Is brooding or drinking somewhere else; The tornados became moving towards us at an accelerated pace, I began screaming profanities, but they were lost to the wind.
"Fucking hell-!" We all started to run towards the gates, Instead at any feasible protective shelter- but as I stared at the gates I saw a few Favonius with bows- But before I could respond to that the screams of Lumine being dragged away Into the heart of the storm was heard.
"AHHHH-!" The rest of us managed to quickly slide under the gates of Mondstadt, Paimon started to fizz as she stared at Lumine and then back at me, her face full of worry, and fear; She glanced back and disintegrated.
What.
"Stormterror has never attacked Mondstadt before- What's going on?!" She glanced at me for answers, but hell If I fucking knew! Blame the abyss order, not me! My hands were still up as I fought against the wind, I didn't enjoy the concept of hitting my skull against the concrete stone of the bridge behind me.
"I don't know! I'm new to the whole- dragon thing!" Sarcasm wasn't my finest point and skill, but god I needed It!
(THIRD PERSON POV.)
Whilst the two argued about what to do next, Lumine was busy battling the dragon In the skies of Its domain as an unknown force kept her lodged In the sky, an anemo sigil formed in Infront of her person; she felt the power flow through her as she shot out compressed air similar to bullets, chipping away the dragon's defenses; Zipping left and right In the air, a mysterious voice spoke.
"I'm preventing your fall with the power of a thousand winds!" A cheery voice spoke out with a stark difference to the situation, carefree and not caring; Free as a bird, the god of anemo spoke to Lumine.
"You should concentrate, See yourself grasping the wind. Harness Its energy." The voice helpfully Informed Lumine; And she had no choice but to abide and listen, despite her untrust of the Individual at hand, feeling as If the voice was familiar.
"And don't worry about your friend down there; I'm sure the winds will guide him." Her thoughts went towards Michael, before focusing on the task at hand, dealing with the big fucking dragon.
On the other side of things, Amber and Michael made their way through the streets of Mondstadt, ensuring everyone who wasn't Inside got Inside, "Move your asses you drunks! There's a big fucking dragon attacking Mondstadt!" While Amber didn't like the tone he was using while addressing the civilians, It was effective.
Nevertheless, the boy was having an Internal panic attack as he focused on the Information he knew; Firstly, Lumine was busy kicking a dragon's ass, second, he was busy escorting people Inside their house, and third- The rest of the Favonius was helping, few scattered between Mondstadt with Inefecctive bows, but were left useless as the real battle was up In the sky.
They had to catch her when she fell, with her wind glider and all she would've been fine; But It was best if he was there as soon as possible, right at where all the chaos was; The Statue Of Barbatos.
"Let's head back to the statue." Amber smiled slightly, running ahead of Michael as she turned.
"You just read my thoughts!" Both had different reasons for going up, Amber for a better viewpoint of the battle and Mondstadt, Michael because he knew Lumine would land up there, hopefully.
But somewhere else, In an unspecified location, a man stood still, watching the chaos and the battle In the skies, Icey blue eyes filled with curiosity as the star that was his pupil moved, yet with a calm, much like one before a storm, he didn't seem worried; In fact, he seemed excited If not amused, enjoying the show; but the underlying seriousness could not be missed.
Kaeya smirked wryly.
"Interesting."
"What the fuck is wrong with Mondstadt! Why so many fucking stairs!" I really fucking hated everything about this city now- no, Teyvat In general, always climbing, always so time-consuming ALWAYS SO FUCKING BORING!
FUCK YOU VENTI! YOU SHAPED THIS LAND!
"Relax! We'll get up there in time-" Amber spoke redundant words, and I interrupted her.
"THE WIND'S TRYNA KILL ME!" The wind was pushing my ass, mainly forward, but forward with suck momentum meant I'd bash my face against the stairs and roll down like a ragdoll, It felt as If Stormterror was especially targeting my ass with this; I didn't even do anything to it! Lumine was the one who glowed like a party ball! And Paimon was the one who spoke-
I fell face-first onto the floor, which was thankfully the top of the endless stairs I climbed, ending my non-stop complaint against It, I groaned In pain and annoyance as I looked up, seeing Lumine shooting laser beams at Its ass repeatedly as It released another roar-
ROAR!
Like that.
It grew tired of Lumine pelting Its hide over and over again with air, sounding extremely pissed off, It flapped Its wings again with much-added power, sending Lumine towards the ground as the force that was keeping her up relented Its push, Stormterror fled Into the comfort of the skies- I released a breath.
Fuck, I was worried, and so, so short of breath.
Amber reached down to help me but I swatted her hand away, "N-No, no, go…go see If Lumine's dead or- or not." Amber nodded wordlessly, putting her worries towards Lumijne as she began floating down, I stood up by myself, placing my hands on my knees.
"God- I fucking hate dragons…" It wasn't as fun as It was watching, cool- so extremely cool, but also terrifying, I might be overreacting but fuck you, that was a dragon, dragons aren't supposed to be real.
"Most of Mondstadt shares that sentiment now, a shame, really." A certain professional yet…entertained voice wriggled Itself Into the center of my mind, my head flung Itself towards the pillars where It was coming from, and all I saw was a man In blue, an Ice-cold pelt of some animal hanged off his shoulders as he radiated-
Superiority.
"But I can't blame them, Stormterror has become an Issue after Its unexpected return." He Informed me as I straightened myself, feeling as all my focus redirected Itself towards the man In question, Kaeya, he was as… No, he was- his voice was nothing but Informal, polite If not disappointed, his eyes looked upon me with mild interest, and curiosity, and before I could say something, Lumine landed, he looked away, a grin of excitement formed Itself on his face.
He shrugged off my presence.
Amber hurriedly came to Lumine's side, checking for Injuries, but as expected she was fine, Kaeya walked closer as I shook my head, feeling my breath become shaky as I exhaled, and I moved forward, towards Lumine; Kaeya simply clapped.
"You've actually got the power to stand against a dragon…" His voice held excitement- no, purely Increased amusement, small awe If not respect and suspicion; He was assessing a threat.
"The Question Is, are you a new ally…or a new storm?" My eyes were on him at all times as I moved towards Lumine, a boiling feeling of uneasiness and distrust came forth, brought on by his very own distrust, his eyes stayed glued on Lumine's eyes as they slowly moved towards mine, no one spoke.
"Stormterror…Is attacking Mondstadt Itself?" The tension did not dissipate with Amber's worried voice, she was focused on looking around the sky, Stormterror could return at any moment, I looked at Lumine, relief came over my entire body as I saw her unharmed; I wanted to hug her- It was pure Instinct, but I restrained myself.
She stared at me for a moment, before her attention flickered over at Amber, who was herself stariang at Kaeaya as she talked.
"Kaeya! You've come at the right time, we must…" The script moved as securely as I had hoped, everything had become disillusioned for a moment and I began to worry; Kaeya's presence was…expected, but the feeling I got off him wasn't, It didn't- wasn't right.
"Now hold on, I believe you forgot to Introduce us, Amber." Introductions…I looked at my companions, they seemed fine If not a little spooked, Lumine was hiding It like a champ, If not a little suspicious of Kaeya himself.
"O-Oh, right! This is Kaeya, our Caverly Captain," She spoke quickly and nervously, looking between us as we stared at each other; She continued.
"These three are travlers from afar…Lumine, Paimon, and Michael." Kaeya's eyes narrowed at that, barely visible, but I was stuck staring as I waited for something to happen, the dark skies swirled freshly and violently as ever, and the tornadoes stopped quite some time ago; Amber started to speak again, more serious and sympathetic.
"Long story short, I escorted them hereafter Stormterror was spotted near the forest after completing my mission- I originally found them wandering towards Mondstadt when they were looking for the…Anemo god? As they were searching for Lumine's brother…and since they didn't look like citizens of Mondstadt…I might've gone overboard with the whole...Favonius rulebook." He stared at Lumine for a moment, before chuckling softly, maybe sullenly as well.
"I see. Welcome to Mondstadt- though you haven't arrived at the best of times, as you've seen, I'm afraid." He looked over at Lumine again, serious now.
"I understand the feeling of being separated from family, though I do not understand why you are looking for the anemo god…" His eyes drifted towards mine, before looking at our little group In general.
"But everyone has their secrets, right?" Lumine had remained quiet as ever, but as I've slowly begun finding out, If I wasn't just me and Paimon around, she wasn't as talkative with strangers- but either way, my eyes narrowed Immediately at that, speaking.
"We do."
It was a little aggressive of me, but the mention of secrets really, really threw me off my game, even though he wasn't searching or probing for lies, It felt as If he was, Kenya simply laughed off his previous words.
"Haha! relax, I won't press you for more." He addressed me especially, but I didn't respond.
"But first and foremost, on behalf of the Knight of Favonius, I extend our thanks for your help just now, for dealing with the dragon- and aiding our civilians." The last part felt odd as he now acknowledged me, his curiosity broke through his words as I felt praise for my actions, yet again, I didn't respond, Instead stared gruffly at him, suspicion shown.
"We couldn't just do nothing, we had to help." That felt like a shared lie, but who was I to judge Lumine's intentions, while she was pushed Into a situation and ended up helping It, who am I to say It wasn't her Intention or not? Still, that felt like a shared lie; Kaeya spoke again as I felt Paimon float oddly close to me.
"Your fight against the dragon just now was witnessed by a large number of citizens; And thanks to your friend over there, some of them were lucky to even live to witness It," That now just felt forced, the rest of the knights could've handled that alone and without my help; He was trying to do something, I knew It.
Why am I so…
"The Acting Grandmaster of The Knight of Favonius is also very Interested In meeting you two personally, And formally extending her Invite to our headquarters through me." His words were as formal as the invite was, kind as well, cheery, I was about to answer, but Instead looked between Paimon and Lumine, we all shared a look as Lumine spoke.
"We accept." Kaeya looked at all of us with a smirk, gesturing towards a large building peeking behind him.
"Then we better hurry, there is much time to waste- but Jean wouldn't be happy about It."
Jean already sounded like a person I'd get along with great.
Much of the room was filled with pacing, quiet and hurried pacing, one from an Individual with no time to spare, a clock ticked and ticked a Jean walked back and forth, arms folded as an amused librarian watched from afar, leaning onto the back of the palm, Jean turned towards the door, thinking for a moment before walking towards It.
"Jean, what's the hurry? I thought we agreed to meet them here." The voice pestered, relaxed, somber, the worried women, Jean, looked up at her.
"There have been sightings of Stormterror all over Mondstadt and outside the city, now It attacked us directly, as soon as we meet our saviors, we must…" The librarian, chuckled, folding a book she was holding and placing It on a railing.
"Relax, I'll lend a hand when the time comes- and when you Inevitably need It." She teased her stressed friend, who only accepted her words as facts; But as they finished their conversations, the travelers from afar had finally arrived.
"Jean-" Kaeya had greeted her with a formal and curt nod, stopping as the group stopped and gestured over towards them, smiling lightly as everyone looked towards the grandmaster.
"I've brought them." A floating child, a girl dressed In odd clothing, and a boy, dressed In even odder clothing, one with the power to fend off a dragon, the other, seemingly the more relented one, more tired, held back with a gaze of curiosity and mistrust; He seemed to observe the grandmaster quietly.
Jean stared at them, slightly shocked as her friend, Lisa, released a soft chuckle at the strange sight.
"...And once it was over, I brought them straight here," Kaeya had finished his report as everyone waited patiently, the girl and the floating child were listening carefully, while the boy looked around the room, listening as well, but apparently more focused on trivial matters; Jean was left contemplative at the story as Michael finally looked over, Jean spoke.
"Mondstadt welcomes and thanks to you for your aid today, windborne travels." Certain two travelers looked pleased with her words, while the smaller one kept hovering quietly over the shoulders of the boy, uncharacteristically quiet.
"I am Jean, Acting Grandmaster of The Knights of Favonius," She Introduced herself, before gesturing towards her friend; Michael was staring with a look of…well, It lacked calmness, more filled with…disbelief, he wasn't the only one.
"This is Lisa, our resident librarian." Lisa softly chuckled, bringing a hand over her chest, she spoke.
"Oh? Are you sweeties here to help us out?" The current thoughts traversing the mind of our resident dimension-hopper and current most Bafflegasted person, Michael, Jesus, or lordy of fuck what the fuck hell nah-
His face was calm, If not too calm.
"You three are all adorable!" Paimon giggled like a child as Michael looked towards the nearest window to hide his embarrassment, Lumine was now the person with the stone-cold face, who knew what dark thoughts lay behind that mask?
"Sadly, the timing is regrettable." Even though Michael has heard these words on a script and behind a screen before, several times, It still felt…genuine, like the first time hearing It, keeping a facade of all-knowingness and discarding for the present was hard, even when knowing what the future held.
What a certain future held.
"Stormterror has caused quite the ruckus after Its recent resurgence- Simply put, Mondstadt's elemental sphere In the ley lines are now akin to a yarn ball in the paws of a kitten from it," ley lines, ley lines….why the fuck do I not remember the ley lines? I knew they had something to do with…life? Loot? Artifacts? If that was important, I'm fucking fucked.
"And for a mage, it couldn't get much worse. My skin is one elemental particle away from a full-blown breakout." Did that mean death? I'm pretty sure that meant death? He thought, Lisa sighed out of mental fatigue; Jean spoke up,
"If it weren't for this interference, the Knights of Favonius would have better ways to help you than just putting up missing person's posters." Straight to the sauce, It went, Lumine's face contorted In… a mix of feelings, she already knew what she had to do; It appeared current talk was now directed towards how to pay back the travelers for their aid.
"We simply ask for you to repose in Mondstadt while we help you seek out your sister." Such a notion was nice, giving the travelers a place to stay, Kaeya and Amber had remained quiet during this, allowing the five of them to come to conclusions of their own; Lumine was quick to answer.
"-We should help out as well." I didn't argue with that, since I did agree with helping her find her brother, and either way, I think I need to say in Mondstadt if I want to survive, thus, I gave my opinion.
"I agree, it would be best If we helped in the search as well, as well as aiding anything that could restore the ley lines- anything that could help the process be faster, we'll do." Kaeya's face slowly began contorting Into one of excitement, enjoying Michael's words and what they meant, Paimon perked up, speaking finally.
"Paimon will help too!" She moved to the middle of me and Lumine, looking quite happy; Kaeya simply nodded at all of our words, happy with them.
"Good, In that case, we'll need a plan." With that It seemed I wasn't getting any rest soon, I still am not sure how these people can function for so long without rest, maybe I'm built different, literally, or maybe, I'm not a warrior like the rest of them- Paimon not Included, she's some eldritch abomination or something.
What is she anyway? A god?
Jean spoke up this time, crossing her arms and bringing an arm to her chin, looking at Karya and the three of us, "With Stormterror now directly attacking Mondstadt, we may have an opportunity to cut this problem off at the source." Isn't that source Venti or something? He is the anemo god…
"Lisa has relieved several sources of Stormterror's power using her detection magic." I'm going to assume this deception magic is just her electro vision; He thought, Jean, moved towards her desk, staring down at it, overlooking something as Keaya took over.
"Is that so?" He sounded mildly Intrigued as Lisa filled his appetite.
"They're located in the Four Winds Temples." That didn't bring me much confidence, because as far as I remembered, a giant fucking wolf was one of the winds; And that was all, fuck.
"Stormterror's ability to whip up these kinds of storms comes from it drawing power from the temples themselves." I could say I knew most of this stuff because I did, but unfortunately, I'll be needing it, all of it, which meant I'll suck it up and try not to complain while everyone was talking, so much for skipping cutscenes.
Jean had turned at looked at them when the two finished their little explanation, "Our objective is to deal with three of the four temples," She paused, looking at everyone, "I trust everyone understands why we are only dealing with three," As Paimon floated between Michale and Lumine, she muttered something.
"Paimon doesn't…" Spoke like a true person, because neither did I.
"It must be a local thing then," Lumine muttered back,
"It's probably cultural or something," Michael gossiped back to them, Kaeya had or might've heard their words, and choose to mutely chuckle.
"Knights of Favonius, time is against us." Michael hummed softly at that, time was against them, especially him, and time was an endless pressure simply growing, and growing, and growing.
"The storm is rampant, there is no point in maintaining a defensive position." Amber had shuffled at those words, Kaeya had all but grinned, Lisa continued them.
"Which means we need to take initiative and act before the situation escalates," Which meant trying to kill the big fucking dragon if I remembered, or curing it…or attacking the temples, or…something.
Michael's eyes snapped towards the windows, all he could see was the dark sky of the storm and…the night, they had been at it for long, far, far too long, Kaeya spoke, "And Initiative will be taken tomorrow, I firmly believe everyone needs rest after this situation and its aftermath, after all, I'm sure our honored travelers are tired themselves from their long journey." I as well as Jean both had the urge to complain about time, and we would've If not for Lisa silencing Jean before she could speak and Lumine placing a firm hand on my shoulder.
"We'll work on finding my brother later, but first, we need rest." Lisa chuckled at that as Michael had no room to argue with the fierce women.
"She is right, rest is a needed thing- but action will be taken as soon as possible in the morning," Kaeya had looked at us with crossed arms,
"There's an Inn not too far from here, near a food stall, Amber will guide you there, the first night's expenses will be paid by yours truly." Michael's eyes narrowed at that, but…he appreciated the gesture, and gave a mild nod as thanks, Amber however laughed as Jean spoke.
"You mean the Knights will pay the entire month, as I assume you plan on taking from the church's treasury." Michael gave a few chuckles as he restrained himself from laughing full on, at that as the others simply sighed.
"Did you steal from the fucking church before?" Kaeya gave a wry smirk, but Jean continued.
"That was my plan as well, think of it as another thank you for aiding us with the Stormterror situation, while seeking your brother for you is one of the things we plan on doing for return, a month in an inn is the least we could do as well, besides allowing you to spend sleep within the headquarters of the Favonius."
"Why of course, I was simply trying to see if you had forgotten for something as minuscule as this, and it turns out I was wrong- as expected." The previous tension had despite as the room was filled with chuckles, of course, some of them were strained as…time was against them; Paimon spoke up.
"Paimon's really tired! Let's hurry so we can get some work done and eat in the morning!"
Lumine and I didn't argue with those words and allowed Amber to lead us to our temporary homes within Mondstadt, the night was high, and so were the dark clouds within the skies themselves.
After being led into our conjoint sleeping area, and talking to the kind food-vender outside; Overall, it was very nice and comfortable, wooden floor with wooden furniture around and there, even a small book-shelf, which was truly kind of them, and a medium-sized bed in the corner, it was expected as this was a….couples room.
"I think we should've explained to the women in the front that we are…simply traveling companions before she fitted us into a single room." I choose not to react in a stupid manner, as this was different from the Lisa situation as I liked to call it, nevertheless, a hand was at my chin as I thought of what to do; Lumine spoke up, standing next to me.
"Well, It can't be that bad, we've already slept next to each other…"
"With a campfire between us, and I'm not so sure either of us is…comfortable with sleeping so close to the other since…we did meet a day ago," Yeah, we grew kinda close in a short time, at least, close as friends I'd assume, she was trusting of me, and I was of her- Paimon however, It was hard to feel threatened by her, so we all trusted her.
"What's the big deal? We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow with that weird lady! And rest is important!" I was complaining internally of how tired I was not a moment ago, and Paimon was right, there was nothing to be embarrassed about- even though I wasn't; Lumine yawned at that, stretching again.
"I think it's best we fell asleep now; I'm still a little hungry, but hopefully we'll have something to eat in the morning." With that she walked over to the bed and sat down, sighing, I did as well, glancing over at the bookshelf.
"You can hit the snooze if you want- I on the other hand would like it if I knew more about this world- especially this city." I already knew enough, but it wasn't enough to be comfortable with, and as well, there was still a thing I wanted to do, something I didn't get to do the first time. I walked over towards the bookshelf, grabbing a book about…The Mondstadt Tower?
"I never took you for a bookworm." Paimon fizzed into existence as she spoke, Lumine chuckled with muffled laughter, and I glared at the child.
"I am not a bookworm- and knowledge is an important thing! Especially when you're trapped in a different world, rat." The rest was history as Paimon and I brought on a miniature argument as I sat at a neat and small desk while Lumine tried to speak, it was at the foot of her bed, so we did our best to keep it quiet.
After a while of chatting and bittering between ourselves, Lumine included as she tried to sleep, the storm raged on outside, at least in the clouds, I found myself staring out at it whilst Paimon was busy, not existing, disappearing, but I knew she was there, either sleeping herself, or observing; She was strange, and…I had a lot of questions about her- but those could wait, there was something more important on my list.
The candle I had lit for reading glowed with a small ember, The Mondstadt Tower was an interesting book, it spoke of a grand tower built in the name and honor of Barbatos, the god of wind and freedom, but instead of being a nice story the tower was only built as a flex by the wealthy people and royals of past Mondstadt, spouting nonsense about sin and all that, the characters within were lively, as I assumed this was a tale of the past.
The most interesting thing here for me was the mention of Barbatos; He had no real figure within the story besides the tower built in his name, but I felt it was fitting with what I wanted to do now, I closed the book, looking over at Lumine.
She was sleeping soundly as I spent an hour re-reading the book, I could've grabbed another, but I didn't want to make noise and wake her up, it didn't take her long to sleep after we stopped our bickering; it was cute, I could admit that, nevertheless, I looked back at the candle and blew it out, as the room was now filled with a blanket of darkness.
I slowly got out of the chair, sighing as I shivered slightly, it was cold, and I didn't bring a jacket into the other world, I shook my head internally, I headed for the door, slowly opening it as I peeked outside, it was quiet, so, I stepped outside, slowly closing the door as I looked back at my traveling companion.
"-And where do you think you're going?" A sudden hushed voice interrupted me, making me jump slightly as a flying gremlin peaked back from the door, I stared back at her, shushing her.
"Quiet! Don't wake her up." Paimon simply stuck her tongue out at me as I opened the door more, allowing her to squeeze by as I stared at her, irritated.
"Why are you awake?" I questioned her, but she barked back.
"Why are you awake! Jean and Lumine said we all should rest!" She shouted in a hushed voice, I growled back.
"I will sleep, soon! There's something I have to check out first, and I didn't want to bother Lumine with it!" Paimon simply grumbled something back, I sighed, mulling over my thoughts, and I looked back at her.
"Listen, I'll be back soon, promise, but you have to keep watch over Lumine, got it? I just have to check something, thirty minutes tops." Paimon hummed in contemplation as she looked back at Lumine, then back at me, huffing.
"Fine! But Paimon doesn't like secrets- and you owe Paimon a snack!" I hastily agreed to her demands and closed the door quickly, hopeful she could keep a secret, but Paimon was loyal to Lumine, and she…she was smarter than I gave her credit for, shrugging her off was a mistake.
"Thirty minutes tops…thirty minutes tops…I'll get there quickly, won't I?
I exited Mondstadt without a hitch, I assume, greeted some sleepy guards politely, stuck staring up at the sky as the storm-ravaged on without mercy, at least there weren't any tornadoes in sight, either way, I was right now trusting my knowledge completely, as there was a pretty big tree I wanted- needed to find, with a statue of Barbados, I would've been worried of someone following me, but who would've?
Mondstadt at night was pretty, I'll give it that, but besides it…everything was pretty during the night, and that's with the dark-clouds in the sky, smelled as it was gonna rain any second-
THUNDER!
A few droplets fell onto me as I tempted fate and lost, thankfully I didn't jump like a coward as I began running, risking my life on a feeling and a hunch, who knew if I would get jumped by a gang of hilichurls, some bandits, treasure hoarders, or a giant fucking dragon- but that didn't matter, I was running for a few minutes, I lost count and charged head-first into the wilderness, I know where I had to go, but…
Right, follow my gut feeling, it's somewhere around here, I knew it.
Windrise.
The land was flat, clear if not muddy from the rain, I was wet as a dog, but that was fine; a big tree finally came into view, Windrise, and with that, a statue of Barbatos, this was the closest one if I remembered, so it would work.
It had to work.
Panting as I climbed up towards the statue, the rain stopped falling so hard onto be as the branches of the tree-covered the skies where I was under, I stared up for a moment, thanking nature as I looked back down, I saw tattered bricks and stone, who knew if this was a shrine once, or whatever worshiping places existed, I climbed the steps, breathing in the clear and wet air.
I stared at the rugged and…somewhat ruined statue, It was the same as the last one I saw, but in slightly better condition, or worse? I didn't know, didn't care, I never got the chance to touch the statue's before, lost one back at the miniature island, so the chance of me being able to use the elements…
It was possible, and it would be a game-changer.
I sucked in my gawking and awe as I sucked in a shaky breath, taking a few steps closer I stuck out my hand and touched the center of the statue, pressing it onto the stone.
…
…
…
Nothing happened.
Unlike the waypoints, it didn't react at all, there was no glow, no sudden feeling of nothingness, of emotion and feeling I didn't understand.
There was just…nothing, no reaction.
I removed my hand and touched it again, I prayed for an answer.
Nothing happened.
I pulled my hand away from the statue again, sneering slightly, I had expected a reaction after everything that had happened, I was proved wrong- it wasn't fair, why didn't I get it? Didn't I deserve at least something? Didn't I lose something like Lumine?
Wasn't I deserving like Lumine?
Turns out I wasn't it seemed, as all I was left with was a disappointment- guess the thing that was bugging my brain wasn't really in the first place.
"That…" I turned around slowly, staring at the pouring rain, I choose the wrong time to leave Mondstadt on some delusion-fueled mission- I pressed my back against the statue, and leaned on it as I ran a hand through my hair.
"That was a waste of time." Time, something I had a limited amount of, for something seen as an infinite concept, I sure had a low amount.
I fell onto my ass as I dragged myself down, sitting and leaning against the statute, I stared at the rain, at the wind, and at the dark skies.
I guess I assumed I was special because I was in Teyvat- in genshin impact, but guess I was wrong.
…
…
…
At least the view was nice, I guess, I've…appeased how beautiful Teyvat was on many occasions, but that felt like an empty lie from a man who already knew how it looked, and what it held, and how it would…
Stupid thought process.
"Was it a waste of time?" A voice interrupted my brooding as I turned quickly to my left side and fell backward, staring at him.
"Well, at least you got to meet me, right?" He laughed slightly, poking his head and his little hat from the edge of the statue, he moved forward, fully showing himself in all his stature and presence.
"That was your goal from what I've gathered, wasn't It?" Venti had questioned me, who was stuck staring at the man in question, shocked, confused, terrified, scared-
"You seemed more talkative from afar." He mused, arching his back forward as he stared at me, joking around.
"You…" I began, pushing myself up as I kept staring at him, he laughed again as he brought a hand to his mouth.
"Barbatos." He had revealed himself to me, it appeared he was listening to my prayers all along and answered in an unexpected way,
"Yep! But you can call me Venti! That's what I go by now."
Authors Note's
(I think I've fixed the capitalization problem I've had for the last few chapters and previous stories, hopefully, I'm not sure, either way, from this point onward, I'll try and stray away from cannon a little, still keep it y'know based around it for reasons you'll see soon enough, but enough so its a little spicy with the story, as I also plan on exploring the infinite cosmic terror that is Paimon and her food addiction.)