There once was a land far away from even the Archons gaze so magnificent that even the sun itself could only appear once invited.

The Princess ruled over her realm with love and warmth that the people of the Immernachtreich, otherwise known as the Evernight Kingdom, would shower her with endless praises and love for the monarch.

Despite the amounts of adoration given to her by her citizens, however, the Prinzessin Der Verurteilung did not handle everything herself. After all, even someone such as she required assistance.

The most notable is her closest follower and friend who was always by her side: Ozvaldo Hrafnavins, the Prinzessins aide as well as the strongest of the nightravens that took residence within the realms of her majesty.

By her side was Mona Megistus, the scryer and astrologist of mythical proportions who had become a friend second only to Oz. Though she wishes not to partake in the linguistics expected of a citizen of the Evernight Kingdom, the Prinzessin has always let it slide due to the history they shared.

After her was Kaedehara Kazuha and Xinyan, the Knight Captain who had the highest rank within the castle in regards to the Prinzessins safety as well as the realm itself and the Musician Laureate with her masterful skill in composing epic melodies to record the achievements of the ongoings of the events of the Immernachtreich.

They were a humble five that spent their days together, ensuring not only the safety of the Immernachtreich, but the prosperity and merriment.

One day, however, a rival kingdom appeared at the doorsteps of the palace, demanding the head of the princess in exchange for the safety of the denizens of the Evernight Kingdom.

Such demands were met with mockery, resulting in the army advancing, but with the kingdoms forces spread too thin to defend their citizens, there was only so much that they could do to keep the walls standing.

Ozvaldo Von Hrafnavins and Kaedehara Kazuha were unfazed as they requested permission from their ruler to take to the battlefield by themselves so that they could ensure that their prinzessin could be untouched.

She approved of their request before blessing them with her own magic and thus the two warriors descended onto the battlefield in the name of The Glory of the Prinzessin Der Verurteilung and with their combined might they were able to turn back the tides of war, pushing back the army.

"I've created a piece to commemorate this joyous victory!" The Castle Musician announced and over the loud cheers from the ravens, she played a harmonious tune to mark this momentous event.

"The Immernachtreich shall never fall and our Lady Fischl will live on forever as the greatest ruler this nation has ever had!" The Astrologist scried, confirming the absolute rule of her closest friend.

There was not a single voice of opposition to oppose her words.

Kazuha walked through the grand hallways of the massive castle, doing his job as the Knight Captain.

The familiar layout was adorned with many portraits of past rulers and heroes as well as many relics that were diligently polished enough to the point where they seemed to glow thanks to the ever so meticulous Oz.

-veler

?

Kazuha stopped in the midst of his normal patrol route, having heard something in the normally dead silent halls of Lady Fischl's home.

-ere?

He had definitely heard the ending of a sentence, as if someone was trying to reach out to someone, but he couldn't pinpoint where the voice was coming from.

The Knight Captain felt uneasy, as if he should easily be able to tell where someone was in regards to being within his proximity.

His head began to throb, causing him to reflexively hold his head in pain. Wondering if perhaps he had gotten injured from the battle a few days ago, but did not feel any noticeable wound upon further inspection of himself.

-ear me?

The swordsman turned to an unfamiliar door that he had never seen in all his years working at the castle.

He was sure he knew every part of the castle down to even Lady Fischl's Personal Quarters and yet there was a door he that he had apparently never seen before

His head began to throb more, which told him that something was wrong not just with him, but also in regards to this door.

A normal person would likely disregard it for their own safety as a mysterious door appearing out of nowhere when one has no recollection of it is a massive red flag, but Kazuha was made the Knight Captain for a reason. There was no way he would leave a mysterious door alone, especially when he was on patrol.

Without hesitation, he opened the door to see that it lead downstairs.

Curious. He was unaware that there would even be a floor below the ground level, but he supposed that the mysticism of Her Excellency left many mysteries yet for him to find.

He could hear the faint voices of someone trying to get someone else's attention further on in, resulting in him making his way towards it to deduce who it was.

Soon, he heard the voice more clearly as well as realizing where it was that he had wandered to.

It looked like a castle dungeon.

"3, 4, 5. Testing, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. I know you can hear me!"

A familiar voice called from one of the cells, prompting Kazuha to walk over, being careful in case whatever it was immediately realized he was present.

It was nearly pitchblack yet somehow there was just enough light from something glowing behind the bars and once Kazuha reached the cell, he was immediately hit with a wave of memories.

"Lumine?" The young man whispered as the sudden appearance of The Traveler appeared within his mind.

What laid before him was a disquieting scene. The familiar visage of Teyvats Foreigner was lying quietly as if she was simply in an enchanted rest.

This would be fine if it weren't for the fact that a knife was protruding from her chest. Yet there was no blood.

"Are you doing this on purpose? I thought we tested this out already!" A voice called once more from within the room.

Kazuha's eyes lingered on the still body before he noticed a strange contraption that looked like a smaller version of the machine that had brought them to this isl-

Kazuha held his head, his vision becoming blurry as he recalled where he was supposed to be. This was supposed to be a relaxing adventure on The Golden Archipelago. What had happened?

"Alright, if you don't want to talk, I'll try again later, but I'm serious! Call me when you can! I wish I could leave a message with this…"

Holding his head, the young Inazuman focused on the device, immediately entering the cell to get it.

Once his hands wrapped around the device to pull it however, he felt something soft and cold.

It was dark since the little device didn't seem to be activating again and as Kazuha's eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, he was met with the small yet fragile body of Paimon sitting against the wall, clutching the little device as if it was the most important thing in the world.

Steeling his emotions, he snatched away the device, observing it to indeed look exactly like the machine that had brought them to these islands. He wasn't sure what it did until he heard a click, having it glow once more.

"There you finally are! What gives? You haven't spoken for days! I was beginning to worry! I would have come down there myself if it weren't for the competition."

"H-hello?" Kazuha spoke in a startled tone.

"Huh? You aren't Traveler! Wait. Is that you, Kazuha? What are you doing with Lumine's Dodocommunication Device? She usually keeps it on her, so… did you frisk her?!

"Wait, who are you? What's going on?" Kazuha held his head, trying to recall the friendly voice.

"It's Venti! From the bar over a week ago and the Poets Festival in Inazuma! I can't believe you've forgotten already! I'm hurt, though I suppose an Island Vacation with a bunch of beautiful women could distract the mind." Venti identified himself in a jovial tone.

"Venti… You… There's a lot going on right now. I don't know what happened but Lumine is-" Kazuha didn't want to waste time as he tried to get to the point before the device completely disappeared.

There wasn't any sound or indication as to what had just happened, as if it had just never been there to begin with.

"Pray tell, my dear Knight Captain, what is it that you're doing in the dungeons after the body of the last lunar sister is in full view amongst her lovers?" A soft and lovely voice called behind him, causing him to freeze momentarily.

The voice seemed unconcerned with where he was and what he had found. She didn't even seem the slightest bit surprised with the fact that there was a dungeon, seeing as how she so easily referred to it as such.

"Lady Fischl, forgive me, for I was simply doing my patrols. I was unaware that we had dungeons, seeing as how we have never taken prisoners, so I thought it was best to explore this anomaly." Kazuha maintained his cool, doing his best to not act strange despite how potentially dire the situation now was.

"Oh my, have my memories been eroded by the ever ticking clockworks? Please forgive your prinzessin for not imparting such knowledge to you. For my errors, I beseech that you accept my apology and that you continue your vital mission to ensure the safety of the Immernachtreich."

She sounded normal as if nothing had happened and taking a side glance, Kazuha noticed that Lumine and Paimons bodies were nowhere to be found.

"Of course, Lady Fischl. I apologize for making you have to break your rest simply to inform me of something I should have always known of." Kazuha bowed politely as Fischl stepped to the side to allow him to pass and continue his patrol.

Kazuha passed Fischl, doing his best to maintain his facade, wondering if he was truly going to simply be able to walk away, as he made his way back to the stairs.

"Kazuha?" Fischl called, stopping him in his tracks.

"Yes, Your Highness?"

"Is that expression on your face appropriate within the presence of your Princess?"

A large sound of a door slamming above resonated through the dungeon, completely engulfing what little luminescence there had been as the last words Kazuha could hear was a faint and horrified scream from a voice he had not heard for what felt like ages. The wind was by his side to give him a warning.

Run!

There once was a land far away from even the Archons gaze so magnificent that even the sun itself could only appear once invited.

The Princess ruled over her realm with love and warmth that the people of the Immernachtreich, otherwise known as the Evernight Kingdom, would shower her with endless praises and love for the monarch.

Despite the amounts of adoration given to her by her citizens, however, the Prinzessin Der Verurteilung did not handle everything herself. After all, even someone such as she required assistance.

The most notable is her closest follower and friend who was always by her side: Ozvaldo Hrafnavins, the Prinzessins aide as well as the strongest of the nightravens that took residence within the realms of her majesty.

By her side was Mona Megistus, the scryer and astrologist of mythical proportions who had become a friend second only to Oz. Though she wishes not to partake in the linguistics expected of a citizen of the Evernight Kingdom, the Prinzessin has always let it slide due to the history they shared.

After her was Kaedehara Kazuha and Xinyan, the Knight Captain who had the highest rank within the castle in regards to the Prinzessins safety as well as the realm itself and the Musician Laureate with her masterful skill in composing epic melodies to record the achievements of the ongoings of the events of the Immernachtreich.

They were a humble five that spent their days together, ensuring not only the safety of the Immernachtreich, but the prosperity and merriment.

One day, however, a rival kingdom appeared at the doorsteps of the palace, demanding the head of the princess in exchange for the safety of the denizens of the Evernight Kingdom.

Such demands were met with mockery, resulting in the army advancing, but with the kingdoms forces spread too thin to defend their citizens, there was only so much that they could do to keep the walls standing.

Ozvaldo Von Hrafnavins and Kaedehara Kazuha were unfazed as they requested permission from their ruler to take to the battlefield by themselves so that they could ensure that their prinzessin could be untouched.

She approved of thei-

"I forbid such actions, Oz, for your lady requires your presence more than ever in these tumultuous times. Take heart as I am fully in expectations that Sir Kazuha will be more than capable of bringing glory to the Immernachtreich Kingdom." Fischl spoke in a loud and proud tone.

As if broken from a trance, Mona blinked a few times before her eyes seemed to regain some recognition in them.

"W-wait, Lady Fischl, he can-" Mona began, but was cut off.

"Of course, Prinzessin. I will do my best to fulfil your expectations of me." Kazuha bowed politely to Fischl and ever so slightly, everyone seemed to miss the slightest glimmer of a sinister smirk.

"Then go forth, Kaedehara Kazuha, for in the name of The Prinzessin Der Verurteilung, you will stain your blade but purify your soul!"

Mona couldn't say anything to try and stop what was happening anymore as if an unknown force was not giving her permission to.

What happened was gruesome as the 4 watched from atop the castle.

"Something doesn't feel right…" Kazuha thought as he faced the massive army approaching. "I can hear someone but I can barely hear what they're saying…"

Kazuha held his sword to ready himself, unable to shake off a strange feeling that something was wrong.

It was akin to an execution. Fischl watched coldly as Kazuha suddenly winced in a pivotal moment of the battle and the momentary action resulted in his messy and gruesome death.

The screams of the other two ladies washed over the battlefield as they watched in horror, having been so sure that their friend was skilled enough to truly win all on his lonesome while their Prinzessin watched with a dull gaze.

Suddenly a rumbling was heard, surprising everyone present.

Everyone looked around to find the source of what was causing the earth to tremble before they saw Mona with her own surprised expression looking towards what could only be described as a massive wave of a biblical scale.

It was power that had not been seen by any lands since the Archon War and yet a single individual was capable of calling upon such power.

With her anger, Mona realized what she had done and without any hesitation she drowned the enemies mercilessly.

Such a sight would have been a momentous occasion that any historian or muse would have immediately made a passage of, but there was no time for such novelties as it had come at the cost of a friend whose body was miraculously recovered but with damages that made them glad that Kazuha died before the worst of it came.

"Kazuha…! What am I supposed to tell Captain Beidou…?" Xinyan wailed as tears streamed from her eyes.

"Fischl…" Mona was apprehensive, staring at her friend with a pensive look.

The emerald eyed blonde turned her gaze towards her, her lone eye visible sharpening as she studied the astrologist.

"If you had let Oz join him, this wouldn't have happened."

There was a deafening silence only broken by the occasional sobs from Xinyan and the soft flapping from Oz.

"I agree, Mein Fraulein… I do not understand why you didn't allow me to assist Sir Kaedehara." Oz joined in with his own thoughts.

The two stared down their ruler with saddened yet confused looks.

"I believed in my Knight Captain, but it seems fate was so cruel as to end his story here. We will have a grand wake for his passing, so much so that even Rex Lapis would envy his send off…"

There was a hint of sadness in her voice as she turned around, walking off to avoid the stares she was receiving.

Mona seemed to let this slide for the moment, finding that right now wasn't the time as she had a dear friend to bury.

Oz however gave a look of concern before he vanished in a flurry of electricity and feathers.

Mona sat within the confines of her bedroom, going through her usual magical tools to work her magic.

The death of Kazuha weighed heavily on her mind and heart, but there was something more than that that bothered her.

She felt like she had done all of this before and it had ended with a much more joyful result as opposed to the now tragic end to one of their seven friends.

Mona felt her head hurt for a split second, causing her to hold her temple temporarily, trying to calm herself down, wondering what was wrong with herself.

It may have been because she had done something she would have never imagined was possible. Being able to summon such a massive flood was only ever spoken of in myths and she had been able to do so.

Almost as if it was a dream…

Wait. Seven friends? That didn't seem right…

Fischl, Oz, Herself, Kazuha and Xinyan. That should have just been five. Where did she get the number seven from?

Monas door suddenly slammed shut, causing her to flinch, immediately raising her guard to look towards the entrance.

But there was nothing.

"Am I too exhausted?" She thought to herself, before sighing and deciding she must have been stressed due to Kazuha's passing.

She shook her head, trying to hold back her tears before she continued her duties.

?

Strange. Had she messed up?

The glimpse of the future didn't make sense to her. It was almost as if there was something laying a fake prophecy over the actual one to trick her.

Has this always been the case? She had been working as the Immernachtreichs magician for years and yet she had somehow had someone pull the wool over her eyes?

Such an anomaly caused her to become more focused, trying to figure out what had happened. Wait.

No matter where she was, the stars did not lie to her, even under a false sky, she was capable of eventually finding the message given by the celestials.

Her eyes widened as the message spelled out "Wake up!"

Suddenly all the lanterns went out, leaving Mona in complete darkness. She made an audible "Eep!" sound before calming down, remembering that she could cast magic to light up the room.

"You came much too close to finding out the truth, Mona. I'm really sorry. You were always such an amazing friend…"

Fischl's voice came from the darkness, but when Mona held up her hand to cast magic for light to flow, she was met with the lifeless and doll-like eyes of a blonde that was not the Prinzessin.

"L-Lumine?!" Mona gasped before her own light vanished.

There once was a land far away from even the Archons gaze so ma

There once was a land far away from even the Archons gaze so ma

There once was a land far away from even the Archons gaze

There once was a land far away from even the Archons gazeThere once was a land far away from even the Archons gaze

ThereoncewasalandfarawayfromeventheArchonsgazeArchonsgazeArchonsgazeArchonsgazeArchonsgaze

There was a land shunned by even the Archons so fractured that even the sun itself wouldn't appear even if invited.

Xinyan stood at the top of the castle with her guitar in her hands as tear streaks remained on her face.

"How long have you known?" Fischl asked as she stood in front of her. Lumine, Paimon, Kazuha, Oz and Mona were nowhere in sight.

"After Kazuha died first." Xinyan answered.

"Which time?" The crimson eyed beauty asked without a hint of remorse.

"I don't know. I just know I had to do something." The normally cheerful pyro wielder readied herself for what she had to do.

"I'd have left you all untouched if you didn't try to ruin the story."

There was a long period of silence before Xinyan asked her with a soft voice.

"Where's the real Fischl?"

There was a somewhat surprised look on the imposter's face, before her face contorted into a cheshire like grin.

"I'm the real Fischl and I always have been. That girl wished she could be me but she could only wallow in her own self pity. Even in the world of her dreams she could only ever think about her own weakness. Pitiful." The imposter spat before all their friends appeared floating upwards beside her.

Lumine looked as if she was made of porcelain. A beautiful doll entirely of glass, so fragile and ravishing with her delicate frame and golden locks that made Cor Lapis look cheap. What looked like Paimon floated near her, looking much more akin to a stuffed doll as anything that seemed organic was instead cloth and stitches.

Kazuha looked terrible however. His clothes were in tatters and most notably his wraps were loosened enough that they were slipping off his hands. Looking closer she noticed that it was due to them having absorbed enough blood that they had gotten slick enough to fall. His hands were a mangled mess as if he had never stopped swinging his sword.

Mona was normal save for a blindfold over her eyes that was dyed red. There was no need to guess what had happened with her and one could only hope that whatever had happened didn't cause her to suffer too much.

Lastly was Oz who had many metal rods jutting from his body. His electrical powers crackled around them before being taken in by the foreign objects as his wings were pierced through as well, holding his wings in place to this body.

All of them were people she knew and were now slowly floating towards her with the maniacal grin that wore Fischl's face.

That was enough for Xinyan.

Her Pyro vision blazed to life and with the activation she held her guitar tightly.

With all her energy Xinyan strummed her guitar and with the accompanying sound the world temporarily lit.

Like Mona's mythical manifestation having been capable of washing away entire armies, Xinyan burned a whole into the cloudy sky that had blocked the sun.

But there was nothing beyond the misty barriers. It was simply a black void behind the purple hazy curtains.

"Now what was your plan? Did you expect there to be something beyond my realm to assist you? It truly is saddening. If it were the master magician or the prodigy blademaster, perhaps they'd have found a solution, but you're just a musician." The imposter clicked her tongue in disappointment as she walked towards her, but was then held back.

?!

Lumine's hand had grasped her shoulder.

"What? I didn't tell you to…" She began but then Mona's hands grasped her wrist.

Slowly each of the remnants of the victims she created moved of their own volition.

Kazuha held her from behind, draping himself over her back as Paimon latched herself to the top of her head while Oz used his weight to pin one of her feet down.

She tried to struggle, unsure of what was happening, panic finally filling her eyes as she yelled.

"Let go of me! I'm the queen of this country and you are servants of mine!" She tried to fight back but they then began to tear at her.

She'd have screamed loudly if they hadn't gotten covered, leading her muffled death cries to spread.

Xinyan watched in horror as what were akin to animated corpses turned on what had created them till she turned away to avoid locking this in as a gruesome memory, covering her ears to drown out the sound of a monster using her friend's voice to scream out her throat, trying to blank out the world.

All she wanted was a nice vacation with friends and yet it somehow ended up with everyone dying.

"Xinyan?"

A voice broke her from her stupor, causing her to look up to see Kazuha waving his hand in front of her with a worried expression.

"Huh?" Xinyan blinked, confused to see that the ronin was not only alive, but perfectly fine.

"Ah, good. It seems we're all back." He stated.

"Waaaaaaah! Did Paimon really die?! That was so scary!" Paimon was bawling in the corner, tightly wrapping herself around Lumine's face who was doing her best to console her.

"Goodness, that was… a terrifying experience… I did not expect that…" Mona rubbed her arms together, her body shivering as she tried to steady herself.

"I-I'm so sorry everyone… Because of my darkness…" Fischl spoke from the center of the room.

"Wait… what happened?" Xinyan asked, realizing that they were back on the islands, though the sky was still dyed a purple hue.

"Well, it seems that our reality crossed with Fischl's fantasies." Kazuha stated, looking serious as he looked over to Mona. "Is that correct?"

"Y-yes…" Mona nodded in confirmation, leading everyone else to turn their attention to the two.

"Do you mean to say that everything that had happened was real?" Oz asked with no change to his overall behavior as if nothing had happened.

"That's a hard question to answer… I'm still trying to understand myself, but listening carefully, it appears that The Snezhnayans we had met a week prior had brought a machine to this island. If my guess is correct, it has some capabilities to replicate the powers of an Archon."

"It manifests dreams into reality within a closed space, so anything that happens is real to our reality, but could easily become undone as if it never happened." Mona used Kazuha as support as the two gave their explanation.

"It… It used us as the hosts of the dream reality, but…" Fischl began.

"Your darker side manifested itself. She had a higher will and took control." Kazuha finished for her.

"Wait. Why did she just go crazy like that!?" Paimon asked.

"She felt threatened. I don't quite understand Lady Fischl's past, but it appears she held a darkness much blacker than any of us here so she had a much higher spirit than anyone here except…" Kazuha began before turning to Lumine who looked surprised.

"It seems you threatened her. She couldn't risk you taking control so she killed you and Paimon who was always by your side."

"Huh? Why would she feel threatened?" Xinyan finally spoke up with a confused look, somewhat becoming calm after it seemed everyone was safe.

"Because she had an idea of perfection that she wanted to maintain and if any of us were capable of challenging that she could disappear. That imposter was a dark interpretation of what Fischl believed to be how she should act. However, it appears that manifested into her own being thanks to this environment. If any of us were to take over control, we could easily have her erased, which was why when I temporarily took control of this dream scenario to summon all that water, she felt threatened." Mona explained, finally being able to steady herself.

"I was slowly able to piece what had happened thanks to the Traveler's Communication device and the wind being able to warn me somewhat, which painted a target on me early." Kazuha added his piece.

"Oh! So Lumine being able to potentially take control from the start is probably why she attacked us in every reset!" Paimon realized.

"In the end, it's thanks to Xinyan that we were able to break the cycle and fully break free." Oz finished.

"Gosh… I'm just so glad we're all alive." Xinyan began to tear up again, but she held her tears back to take deep and steady breaths.

"That was truly a harrowing experience. I believe that I definitely need a real vacation now." Kazuha sighed as Lumine turned to Fischl who had a guilty expression on her face.

"?"

"I…" Fischl but couldn't find the words.

"There's no need. You didn't mean for all of that to happen, let's just be glad the nightmare is finally over." Mona sighed, rubbing her eyes from the phantom pain.

"We all have our darkness and I won't force you to tell us yours, but I hope there comes a time where you can at least tell us your real name." Kazuha rubbed his hands together, glad to have the normal feeling in his fingers again.

"Fischl… What happened was a lot… You're holding a lot more inside yourself and while I'm still quite shaken up… I'm here to help…" Xinyan gave a weak friendly smile, still exhausted from the turmoil she had just endured.

"Agh! Forget all of this! Let's go and destroy that Fatui Machine before something like Kazuha's evil side shows up!" Paimon waved her arms wildly, looking extremely worried about them just standing there.

There was a lot to be said on the matter, but knowing what the source was, the group was able to solve the issue from creating any more potential dangers.

At last the nightmare was finally over.

This is admittedly a rushed one shot for the halloween event being squeezed in at the last minute with a lot of things skipped and glossed over for the sake of making the deadline.

Regardless, hope you enjoyed the oneshot attempt at horror even if it just stole a bunch of cliches.