Chapter 2

Reawoken morals

Three months before the end of the Stormterror crisis

The Seafarer's eyes opened slowly, and he let out a quiet groan. Almost immediately, he saw a strangely familiar face come into view over him.

"Oh my gosh, you're awake! Are you feeling any better? Did you really save Shan from those Tenryou commission officers?" she blurted out quickly. The seafarer didn't respond, stunned by the sudden barrage of questions. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I just have a lot of questions. Of course, you don't have to answer them if you don't want."

Confused, the boy looked around. "Uh, not trying to avoid said questions but… where the heck am I and who are you?" he asked, and the girl giggled.

"Oops, I guess I must've gotten so excited about meeting someone new that I forgot to introduce myself… urgh, again… Well, my name is Yoimiya! Yoimiya Naganohara! …who are you?" The girl replied, brushing her hand through her hair in embarrassment.

"Will. I'm… not from around town…"

Yoimiya nodded. "Yeah I got that impression, based on your clothing. Not many people in Inazuma wear attire that is suited for cold climates. We just don't get weather like that often, if ever."

Will stared off into space when he heard that. "Inazuma? So that's where that storm sent me…"

Yoimiya nodded. "Yep, this is Inazuma. I was really surprised when I saw you lying there unconscious on the beach. Most people don't even want to get into Inazuma because of the Vision hunt decree," she said. "Those that do typically come with a large group, not a single manned raft like yours."

"The Vision hunt decree…" he mused. Suddenly, Will's eyes widened, and he placed a hand on his waist, and then on his chest, panicked. "Wait, where is my Vision? And the… erm, other Vision?"

Yoimiya shook her head. "Don't worry, they're safe. We hid them in a small storage closet that we hide mine in whenever Tenryou comes knocking. They wouldn't dare raid the house though, so it'll be safe. Our store is far too popular with everyone in Inazuma, and the Quixing in Liyue even put in a massive order for their lantern rite in a few months. But I am curious about how you have two Visions. I've never heard of anyone having more than one before."

Will looked down. "It's… a long story… What kind of store does your family run?" he asked, changing the topic and hoping Yoimiya wouldn't notice how hesitant he was about talking about his Visions.

Yoimiya looked surprised. "You mean you haven't heard about the Naganohara Firework business? We make fireworks for Festivals all over Teyvat, even with the Sakuko decree in place!"

Will sighed, knowing he had to reveal the secret at some point. "We… don't have many festivals in Snezhnaya…" he trailed off.

Yoimiya instinctively took a step back. "Wait, you're from Snezhnaya? Don't tell me you're with the Fatui," she said, cautiously, and Will lowered his head.

"Luckily, I'm not a part of the Fatui, nor do I like them much. Heh, I imagine they don't appreciate me much anymore either, because of the story behind that Cryo Vision," Will admitted. "Can I… trust you? You know, with a secret? You don't sound like you're a big fan of the Fatui, or the Tsaritsa either."

After a moment of consideration, Yoimiya nodded. "Ok, what is it?"

"That Cryo vision… well, it isn't actually a Vision. It's a device created by the Tsaritsa, called a Delusion. That one specifically is the original prototype, the first one ever created by the Cryo Archon, and it's said she used it as her own unique Vision. That was, until I stole it in the dead of night, the same night I escaped from Snezhnaya," Will explained.

"A… delusion?" Yoimiya echoed, and Will nodded.

"Yeah. At a glance, it looks just like any normal Vision, but the thing about Delusions is that they're man made. Well, with the help of the Cryo Archon," he said. "The point is, they're not normal, and many members of the Fatui use them either instead of Visions, as the Delusions do seem to be more powerful than regular Visions, or in conjunction with their Visions. But…"

Yoimiya's eyebrows narrowed. "But what?"

Will closed his eyes completely, and sighed. "The Delusions may be more powerful than Visions, but that comes at a terrible cost, one that varies for every Delusion. Even the Fatui Harbingers only use both at once in dire circumstances, and prolonged use of them, especially for non-Vision wielders, can even prove to be deadly."

Yoimiya was stunned. "So… you stole the Delusion prototype? But why would you want anything to do with something so dangerous, especially since you already had an Anemo Vision?"

Will shrugged. "I don't know… I just felt like it might be useful. Either to me, in which it'd be good to have, or to the Tsaritsa, and if it's the latter, then I'm definitely glad I took it, if only to deprive the Fatui of it."

Yoimiya rested her head on her hand. "I see… Well, I'm glad to hear that there are some from that place who still cling to honor, and to doing what they think is right. Fortunately, for all of its faults, the Sakuko Decree has been successful in keeping the Fatui out of Inazuma, so I doubt they'll find you here."

Will let out a sigh of relief. "That's some of the best news I've heard in a long, long time. I can't imagine what they'll do to me if they ever catch up to me," he said, shuddering slightly. "So uh, is there any kind of lodging in Inazuma?"

Yoimiya thought for a second. "Well, for outsiders, there is Ritou, but I wouldn't recommend it. The Kanjou commission is in charge over there, and they have a reputation for extorting foreigners. Besides, something tells me that you won't want people to know you're from Snezhnaya, right?"

"Yeah, that'd be for the best I think. I guess camping it is then," Will replied, standing up. But to his surprise, Yoimiya shook her head.

"Actually, that won't be necessary. Unless you plan on setting up camp waaaay out in the wilderness and barely ever coming into the city, you'll probably end up being seen by someone, and almost every single piece of news, especially that pertaining to strange, undocumented foreigners, with visions no less, rarely ever fails to reach the ears of the Tenryou or Kanjou commissions."

Will looked at her. "Well, you seem to know a lot more about Inazuma than I do. What do you suggest?" he asked, and Yoimiya grinned.

"I'm gonna answer your question with another question. Ever wanted to learn how to make fireworks?"


Three weeks later

Will laid awake in his bed. A glance over at the clock by the candle, in which his Anemo Vision, and the Prototype Cryo Delusion were concealed behind the wooden backboard, revealed that the time was less than an hour before the stroke of midnight. But still, he simply could not fall asleep, even despite how exhausted he was, and the late hour.

His mind wandered back to the incident he'd witnessed in the plaza that afternoon, somehow certain that it was tied to his present insomniatic state.

"You three! By order of the Vision hunt decree, we need to confiscate your Visions," said a Tenryou officer, with four of his subordinates behind him, their spears drawn. Will had been standing in the shade of the General store, buying the more conventional materials for fireworks while Yoimiya was out acquiring raw ingredients at the time. Every instinct, every gut feeling, every muscle twitch, they were all telling him to step in and do something.

But Yoimiya had made him swear not to get involved, for his own safety. If it was discovered that he was an outlander living outside of Ritou, he'd be detained on the spot, and chances were so would Yoimiya and her father too, or at the very least, their work would be placed under intense scrutiny.

The three children, each carrying a shiny new vision in their hands, cowered against a wall, terrified of the commission officer and his demands.

"I will not ask again! In the name of the Shogun, I demand you hand over those visions!"

But then, Will was relieved to see another step in. It was Master Masakatsu.

"Hold on there, noble samurai. These children pose no threat to our almighty Shogun and her rule. I see no reason to take their visions from them now. Let them enjoy them for a time, and when they're old enough to understand the reason behind the Vision hunt Decree, then you can return and have them hand over their visions. Does that sound fair?"

The officer shook his head. "No, Master Masakatsu. The Shogun's orders must be carried out without question," he'd replied as he snatched the visions away from their owners. The children cried out as a glowing light, the same as their vision's elements, was pulled from their bodies with the vision's shells, and they collapsed to the ground. Masakatsu stepped forward and grabbed the arm of the officer, but in his old age, he was no match for the young officer, who threw him to the ground, before walking away with his subordinates, an angry expression on his face.

Standing there and not lifting a finger was the hardest thing Will had ever done, maybe even harder than leaving his friend behind in Snezhnaya. She had been the only family he'd still had when he fled the snowy nation, before being taken in by the Naganoharas, and his heart still ached to see her again.

"I have to do something. There must be something I can do, something that won't incriminate anyone, but will spare every Vision holder the pain of having their vision seized," he thought to himself. It was then that the clock's hands glowed with a faint blue light.

"Hmm... I wonder…" He mused as he carefully removed the backboard and pulled the silver locket containing the Cryo Delusion out of the clock. "Could I… create fake visions… using this delusion as a template?"

He laid there, holding the Delusion prototype in his hand as he considered the feasibility of such a plot. As long as it looked like a genuine Vision of Inazuma, surely the Tenryou commission wouldn't think twice, right? After all, only the one to whom a vision was bestowed could channel it's elemental energies.

After a while, he got out of the bed, his mind made up. This was how he'd atone for his choosing to not intervene. He quietly made his way down to the forge, where Yoimiya and he would assemble the fireworks every day. He laid out a piece of paper and drew up some designs, eventually settling on a bronzite shell identical in shape to the Inazuman Vision casings. Fortunately, bronzite was a relatively common material, and he and Yoimiya had been planning to experiment with grinding it into dust and using it as an additive in firework powder.

The tricky part would be the gems. In order to make them look genuine, he'd have to not only find a reliable way to acquire the gemstones of the correct colors, but also find some way to inscribe the symbol of an element into the gems without causing visible damage to them. Merely painting the symbol onto the gem wasn't an option, as the symbols inside of Visions would rotate so that it was visible from any direction.

But still, he toiled away for hours, thinking up dozens of ideas until he finally settled on one: faceted Crystal Chunks dyed with concentrated ascendant gemstone powder and ink would form the Vision gem, and Slime secretions mixed with mist grass pollen and Crystal Prisms would, in theory, create an illusory image of whatever the person applying it desired. All that was left was to acquired the materials and-

"What are you doing?"

Will spun around in fright, before catching his breath when he saw it was Yoimiya standing behind him, stifling a yawn. "Oh, sorry Yoimiya. I'm just working on something. I didn't wake you up did I?" he asked.

Yoimiya giggled. "No, the sun did that," she replied, gesturing with her head to the window. To Will's shock, the sun was just emerging over the mountainous peaks of Ritou. He'd been so engrossed in his work, he hadn't even noticed the arrival of dawn. "So, what are you working on?"

Will yawned, realizing just how tired he really was, before waving Yoimiya over. "I wanted to see if it was possible to create counterfeit Visions. I just- I can't stand sitting by while people are suffering by having their visions taken. But like you said, I can't afford to get caught," he explained, as Yoimiya marveled at the many, many detailed drawings of possible ways to forge a fake vision.

"But if we could manufacture and distribute these fake visions in secret, it would allow us to help people keep their visions without incriminating the Naganohara business, would it not?" He suggested, and Yoimiya couldn't help but agree that he had a point. And after examining each of the intricately designed sketches, what he said didn't seem so far-fetched after all.

"Ok, say that this sketch you have circled here works. We can get the materials from the general store and from scavenging the remote parts of Narukami, but how would we distribute them? Just leave them in mailboxes with a note?" she asked, and Will shook his head.

"I don't have an answer for that yet. I just want to make one of these counterfeit visions and see if it works as well as I think. Once it does, and we're sure it can fool the Tenryou commission, then we can worry about how to distribute them. Sound like a plan?" He replied, and Yoimiya nodded with an excited grin on her face.

"Well, I'll go get started looking for materials," she said, and Will was about to interject that he could help when she held up a hand. "Uh uh, you've got some serious bags under your eyes, so you're going to help by getting some sleep, got it?"

Will sighed. "All right, I am feeling rather exhausted after thinking up these plans all night. Take care out there, okay?"

Yoimiya nodded. "Don't I always?"


A/N: And here's chapter two! I was always curious about how the fake visions Yoimiya distributed in the game were made, and after not being able to find anything about how they were made, or who originally had the idea for them, I decided to come up with both of those details myself! I gotta admit, the irony of Will using a Delusion, an item created and used by the Fatui, to unknowingly thwart a Fatui plot to control the Raiden Shogun, and by extention, all of Inazuma, is quite hilarious to me, especially since when writing this, it was completely accidental. Well, until I realized what I'd done, and that I rather liked it, "ehe..."

Regardless, let me know what you think of this chapter in a review, but before I go, I've got a Question of the Day for all of you Travelers. How lucky have you been pulling for Yae Miko in the game? (I didn't bother, I have terrible luck, so I'm saving up the Freemogems to be able to guarantee I pull Venti or Childe next time they come around, whichever one returns first.)

See you all next time!