Barbara was currently helping with the "Welcome Back" party preparations,
She was told that she didn't need to, but she insisted...
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All to distract herself from certain thoughts...
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Yet it didn't look like it was working,
As intrusive thoughts still attacked her mind...
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The same ones she thought she has already forgotten,
Getting over it, as she realized her own worth...
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And yet...
-...I am still not good enough...Unlike my older sister, I...-She couldn't help saying aloud, feeling so useless now. -...I am still so horribly weak...
Comparing her to her older sister, to Jean,
She was still so lacking, wasn't she...?
...
Ever since they were children, she always wanted to be just like her sister:
Conscientious, courageous, kind and considerate, as well as the best at everything she does...
*Barbara couldn't help but admire her, always trying to be more like her, with various successes...
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Though she soon realized she wasn't good at fighting,
One thing led to another and ultimately she made a decision...
"My dream is to bring a smile to the faces of all the people in my life!"
…
This was her biggest wish, her dream,
And yet, was she really able to accomplish it...?
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She was able to heal people's wounds with her Hydro Vision,
She was able to cheer people up with her songs, hopefully making their day brighter,
She was able to reconcile with her sister and parents, all of them soon becoming closer again,
She even became her Archon's "Adorable Deaconess" and a good friend, one who...
"Babies Barbara's and Jean's adorableness healed my old soul~"
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That was a white lie, one which he made to make her feel better about herself,
She wasn't the one who ultimately helped him out, she was sleeping at the time...
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Even though she promised to stay with him as long as she could,
She couldn't fully be there for him to heal his soul...
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It was all her father, Mister Albedo and Miss Emilia,
In the end she barely did anything to help...
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And then, being compared to her sister, to Jean,
To such a strong, compassionate and capable person...
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Unlike her sister, she was so inadequate...
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-You are not inadequate, Barbara and never were. -A familiar voice was soon heard, making the Deaconess quickly turn around to its source, the slightly tired yet sad looking face of her sister appearing in her field of vision. -I heard about it from the Winds and rushed right here, to tell you that you shouldn't be feeling like this. You shouldn't think so lowly about yourself. -She soon admitted, looking so serious Barbara couldn't bring herself to say anything back. -You might not be as physically strong as me, but instead you have your emotional strength. No matter how hard things get, you never give up, you continue working so hard in order to heal everyone's hearts. All of us know this, myself, our parents, everyone in Mondstadt and even that mischievous Archon of ours, who really likes getting into trouble. -She continued in a warmer voice, carefully taking her sister's hands in her own. -And you did help him, as much as you possibly could at the time. The fact he could even leave the room was thanks to you. At the time, nobody really knew what to do, seeing how depressed he was after his friend left. Yet even if it was hard, you still didn't give up and laid out the groundwork for his recovery. And look how much better he is feeling now! -She added in some amusement, the scene of their unusual entrance still clearly etched in her mind. -...What I want to say is, I am proud of you, Barbara, I always was and I always will be. You are my beloved little sister, so strong and kind and you should never put yourself down.
She admitted in deep warmth, enveloping her now shocked sister into a hug,
Soon getting the hug returned, as Barbara started crying into her chest...
"We are sorry to interrupt your fun, Barbatos, but both the Traveler and Yaksha Xiao have recently entered Mondstadt borders.", the Winds suddenly said, sounding a little conflicted, "...From what we heard from the Liyue Winds, the two along with a few others went through a lot, which is something the Conqueror of Demons still seems to be..."
-XIAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! -Venti suddenly yelled out, his voice soon reverberating through the area, much to the annoyance of a few people.
"BARBATOS! COULD YOU STOP...?!", the Wolf Spirit started, about to pouch on the other, before he was stopped by someone teleporting between the two.
-Lord Barbatos, is there any...?! -Was the first thing Xiao said, before he noticed where he was and looked around, a sigh soon escaping his lips. -...Venti, did you just call to "teach me how to have fun" again...? -He soon asked, looking calm and collected, yet trying to hide his real thoughts about the matter. Such as the fact that he actually liked the attention and wanted to hear the Archon play the flute for him again. But he was already given enough, from both him, Yánwáng-dìjūn, the Traveler…And even that stupid Fatui who for some unknown reason kept doting on him when he was a toddler, telling him he was like one of his siblings back home and...Why did he have to remember that of all things…?! -...As I said before, there is no need for you to show me so much concern, as I have already received enough...
-So this is where he ran off to...! -Was heard in the distance, as everyone turned around to the voice's source, seeing a few familiar shapes looking towards them from atop the Arena ring. -...Is that the tone deaf bard...? What do you think...?
-VENTI! IT'S SO NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I RECENTLY WENT THROUGH! Ever since entering the Chasm...-The Traveler yelled out as they jumped forward and opened their glider, soon starting to tell a summary of what happened. -...And then we were all trapped in a pocket of time and chaos created by the Electro Yaksha during the Cataclysm to protect Liyue and came face to face with the Yaksha briefly and eventually found a device that brought us to the surface but not before Xiao became suicidal and tried to sacrifice himself so everyone could escape only to be saved by Zhongli and then...!
-Traveler, calm down. -Venti interrupted them, looking and sounding interested, as well as slightly amused by his friend's eagerness. -I understand that this experience might have been so overwhelming for you, you can't wait to pour all your emotions out, but there is no need to hurry with it. Just tell me about it step by step, alright...?
He suggested, just as the other finally descended,
Paimon and the others now quickly flying/jumping down as well...
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-Alright, I will do just that, Venti. -The Traveler finally said, looking serious, yet not without some reluctance about having to take things slow. There was just so much happening ever since they entered the Chasm and until Xiao...-...Quite a lot of things must have happened to you too, aren't they, Venti...? -They soon said in realization, wondering what kind of trouble their friend ran himself into now. -...After I tell you of my own..."Adventure", how about you tell me of yours too...?
-...I thought about asking for help, but somehow the space itself completely blocked my teleportation. It was the same case with Xiao, he couldn't teleport out no matter how much he tried. And he did try, so many times he almost collapsed. We were truly stuck there and as more time passed, we started getting more and more desperate to just get the f*ck out. Maybe it's not much of a wonder that at some point Xiao...-The Traveler paused in their explanation, before they deeply sighed. Just remembering what happened was hard, even after everything Xiao went through, he still planned to...-...Afterwards he was rescued by Zhongli and we stayed in Liyue for the night. Only to find out in the morning that Xiao turned into a toddler out of practically nowhere! -They couldn't help yelling out, the memory of such a shocking sight still fresh in their mind. -...So we stayed there for a few more days to wait for him to return back to normal and decided to visit Mondstadt afterwards, to see what insanity you were surely up to again, Venti. -They finally finished their retelling, showing a small and slightly amused smile by the last sentence, before their expression turned serious again. -...Before meeting everyone, finding Xiao and getting stuck in the Chasm...Before saying goodbye to Dainsleif as he mourned the sudden sacrifice and passing of his friend...When looking around the place with him, my sibling's..."Gift" wasn't the only thing I found. -They slowly and carefully said, soon taking out what looked to be a piece of paper from their "Hammerspace". -...This is a letter, presumably written by someone from Khaenria'h, most of it is unreadable except for one lone sentence. You might want to see it, Venti.
They soon gave it to the now confused Archon,
Who when looking upon the message got even more confused and a little surprised...
-"Not as if my destructive self were made to be the lyre of Barbatos", did I get it right...? They knew about me and my music back then...? And it's the only sentence that is not blurred out and illegible...? -Venti couldn't help wondering aloud, as he soon skimmed through the sentence again. -...So in this timeline, I...-...Wait, what was he even saying...? -...Traveler, I...I am not sure what this is all about. But I might have an idea of what is going on here. -He admitted, before putting his right hand out and making the familiar "chess Piece" appear floating above it. -Look at my Anemo Gnosis, Traveler.
-The Gnosis! There's Anemo, but there is also...Huh? -Paimon couldn't help yelling out in shock, before suddenly pausing, as her expression turned confused. -...Paimon is, why does it feel so...Sad and hollow...?
The Pixie suddenly got quiet, seemingly deep in thought about something,
Leaving everyone else to wonder about her earlier words, which made them return to studying the Gnosis...
-After using my Time powers so much, the Gnosis...It started to change. -Venti decided to continue, as he was thoughtfully looking at the "mystery element" swirling around the Anemo one, as if protecting it from harm. For some reason it made him feel guilty…-...Not only that but (And I feel like it's safe to tell you this, Traveler), it feels as if someone is using it as a medium to "hack" Celestia's system. Though as to who it is, I have no...
-I have an idea of who it might be, but I am not sure if I should tell you about it, Venti. It might be part of the Forbidden Knowledge. -The Traveler interrupted him, sounding dead serious, before their expression turned slightly guilt stricken. -Sorry for hiding it from you, when it seems to involve you so much, but...
-It's alright, I understand. -The Archon interrupted them, before turning to glance at the sky. -Those guys in Celestia, they did something when the truth was found out, didn't they...? Just like Dragonspine, they surely, to anyone who knew something they wanted to keep secret...-He deeply sighed, before turning to look back towards his friend. -It's high time I tell you about my "experiences" during these last few weeks, Traveler. After you left for Liyue, I kept thinking about Makoto returning, even if for a while and kept wishing that my friend could also come back...-He soon started retelling about what happened back then and until now, the whole tale taking a few minutes. -With my people's help, I was able to keep him here for a whole day, making it that much longer, no less. And as a backlash, seeing as this power was not originally mine, everyone who has some link to me had their ages shifted. -The Archon said after the retelling, soon starting to look dead serious and thoughtful. -...My memory is weird, Traveler. It feels like most of it is actually sealed, which I realized only recently, right before using my Time power again. It really seems that the more I use this power, the more I can actually remember. It's as if using this Time power somehow offsets the cost of remembering. -He paused for a few seconds, as if trying to make the reveal that more dramatic. -...But, why is there a cost to begin with...? What is with my memory that requires...?
-Wait, Venti, wait! -His words were suddenly interrupted, a shocked looking Vennessa soon almost walked into him. -Your memory being sealed for some reason, some kind of cost for remembering and that Time power that you apparently got from someone else (who is seemingly trying to "invade" Celestia) and was using a lot recently, somehow helping you out...I never heard of any of this before! HOW LONG WERE YOU PLANNING TO KEEP THIS SECRET FROM EVERYONE?!
She couldn't help emotionally yell out, pretty much voicing what everyone else were now thinking,
As they were now in different states of confusion, shock and/or concern...
*Reactions that Venti soon noticed, grateful that in their own way, they all cared for him so much...
...
But he should probably answer Vennessa's question now...
-I theorized that it might be dangerous to tell anyone of this for the time being, knowing how these guys at Celestia actually are. If anything, the only one who would be in danger that way would be...-The Archon started, before suddenly pausing as he saw everyone's changing reactions. -...Anyway, it's not just my memory seemingly being sealed, but the way I suddenly remember things...It's unusually convenient and also weird. As if I don't need to remember until it's the right time. But then I suddenly do and it doesn't feel wrong at all...I am not sure how to explain this, but it really feels as if...Someone is pulling the strings from the shadows. -He sighed, as his expression soon turned thoughtful again. -Before the Traveler left for Inazuma, I...I didn't quite remember anything about Ei and her situation and the Winds, who are linked to me, didn't either. It's as if someone wanted this information to be kept in the dark, so it wouldn't be told ahead of time, as if that would turn it into Forbidden Knowledge. -He admitted, now wondering why that was and for what reason. Whom would this information possibly spoil...? -And then there are also memories that are still apparently sealed, as if they are already part of the Forbidden Knowledge and remembering it all now would mean…-He sadly sighed, realizing how anguished everyone would be in that situation. -...So it's safer to remember those little by little, the more I use my Time power. And now, after I used it so much and that whole issue with the Anemo Gnosis, it should be a lot safer for me to share this information, right...? -Still no one from Celestia came down to punish him, so this really should be the case. -...Something or someone is making sure our current discussion goes unseen to THEM, which is why I waited until now to share it with you all, Vennessa. -He turned to look towards the Traveler again. -You know who this person might be, right...? And it really looks like they are watching out for me, even though I don't know (Or remember), who they even are...
The Archon couldn't help sadly adding, feeling so guilt stricken now,
Especially when he realized that it must have been someone close to him...
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And yet he didn't even remember them...
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For someone who was just an ordinary and weak Wind Spirit like him,
Who would go through so much trouble just to...?
-It's alright, Venti, you will surely reunite in the end. Just like me and my sibling definitely will. -The Traveler interrupted his sad thoughts, sounding both reassuring and hopeful, before their expression turned to that of amusement. -Well, now that we talked everything through, do you want to see some photos I took of the extremely Adorable "Toddler Xiao"...? There's quite a lot of good ones I managed to capture, ones who will surely heal anyone's weary heart, right...?~
They suggested and before waiting for anyone's reply, summoned the photos from their "Hammerspace",
To the horror of a certain Yaksha, Venti's growing amusement and the shock of everyone else...
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The Traveler knew what they were doing, deciding on having this "distraction" themselves,
Both to help Venti feel better after that talk and for themselves not to dwell on the possibility that their Twin...
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No, it was definitely not the time to think about that,
Sharing the adorable joy that is "Toddler Xiao" was a lot more important!
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And they could definitely share some amusing stories, as well~