Chapter 5 – Warriors At Dawn
"Breathe in, breathe out."
In and out. Just like Master said. Controlling her breathing was by far the easiest way to calm down.
Shenhe couldn't calm down. How was she supposed to remain calm when Aether had been injured right in front of her, his body scarred all over?
How was she supposed to remain calm when the only man who treated her as a friend had been falsely accused?
How was she supposed to remain calm when someone she had sworn to protect got hurt while protecting her instead?
The exorcist knelt by his side and offered him a hand. She let out a sigh of relief when his fingers wrapped around hers.
The Traveler slowly staggered to his feet while leaning on his sword, his other hand lumped over Shenhe's shoulder. He was visibly shaken from the sudden attack, but at least he was alive. And not many could boast that feat after sustaining such heavy damage.
The Yuheng's mouth was agape. "How in the world did you survive that? Who exactly are you?"
Aether stretched his aching muscles, while being very careful to not deepen his wounds. "Man, that hurt like hell, I nearly passed out."
That was close. For half a second, the pain in his chest had been unbearable. The Traveler wasn't sure about the amount of damage his body could take, but it was good to know that his sealed form could survive an elemental shower. His muscles were still feeling very sore, though. It would be best to get rid of the marksman before they could pull something else.
"Shenhe, mind taking care of these clowns?" he gestured at the soldiers with his thumb. "I'm going to try and track down their archer with elemental sight. If they can use such a powerful attack, it's bound to leave a mark somewhere."
The adeptus disciple nodded and conjured her polearm, preparing to end several bloodlines in the most gruesome way possible. "It would be my pleasure." she hissed. "If they are willing threaten to you, then I am willing to spill their blood on this sacred mountain."
And a small amount of blood wouldn't do. No, Shenhe craved carnage.
"Well, what are you all standing around for?" Keqing questioned her men. "Apprehend them, now!"
"Understood, Lady Yuheng!"
The soldiers charged them, but Aether simply walked away to scan the area from a safe distance. They had numbers, but Shenhe could subdue a Lawachurl
with her bare hands, she'd be fine. Unknowingly, the Yuheng was sending her brave men to their demise.
They hadn't even managed to close the distance when a Cryo avatar overwhelmed four of them.
In a blur, Shenhe disappeared and five men fell to their knees. With surpisingly swift movements, she swung her polearm and sent three more flying, the sharp edge spraying their blood on the lush grass. Morale was dropping, and so were weapons. A few soldiers tried to run for it, but all they saw was a white blur before they lost consciousness.
Shenhe contemplated the stained tassel with an unhinged smile before moving on to the next batch of unfortunate victims. Unleashing a coordinated attack together with her Cryo spirit, she effortlessly cleared through them, covering the earth in ice and blood.
As she gazed at the bodies with a twisted satisfaction, she felt something sharp poke her side, much like a mosquito. In her rage, she hadn't even noticed a young soldier, less than twenty years of age, who'd managed to sneak up on her. His shaky hands were gripping his spear's shaft with all their might, but the fear sapped his strength and he failed to draw blood.
Flicking his polearm to the side, Shenhe lunged at him. The rookie fell on his back, holding his bleeding nose and cowering in terror as her heel stepped on his rib cage. Slowly, the exorcist brought her spear up to his throat, drawing a thin line of blood as she barely touched it.
"P-please have mercy!" he begged, tears rolling down his cheeks. "I'm not ready to die... I promised my ailing father I would return, and if I don't, he might..."
As if begging had ever stopped her before. Her own father had left her to die, what right did he have to make his own father proud? If anything, that was all the more reason to kill him. Now he would know true pain, just a little sample of what she had been through. Maybe she should punch him some more. She felt a rush of excitement at the thought of pummeling his frail body to death, seeing his face decompose into a pool of blood and brain matter as she let her fists rain down on him. Yes, she would just clench her fists and...
"You're not a monster."
And yet, she just couldn't get Aether's warm smile out of her head. Because despite her suffering, one man had been kind to her. One man had given her a brand new outlook on human life. For the first time, Shenhe hesitated to take a life, because she knew how much Aether valued it. She was strong, yet she couldn't pierce this young man's flesh.
She had discovered a new kind of strength that day. Something stronger than fists, steel or even the raw elements.
The driving force that made humans move mountains. Feelings.
And the Yuheng saw the opportunity. A powerful violet arc struck the exorcist in the chest, causing her to tumble over. The second she recovered, she caught a glimpse of lilac hair before numerous Electro cuts appeared all over her body. Taking advantage of her superior speed, Keqing gripped her weapon and unleashed her Starward Sword in a single motion. Phasing in and out of reality, she slashed the exorcist countless times, and the final strike finally got a scream out of its target.
The lingering Electro caused her body to convulse slightly, but in spite of the blood on her skin and the burning scars in her flesh, Shenhe was still standing. The Yuheng appeared behind her in a flash of lightning, but her polearm's shaft locked itself with the oncoming blade, preventing Keqing from blinking away. Repressing a frustrated grunt, Shenhe faked out her opponent with light footwork and kicked her in the stomach.
The momentum sent Keqing flying into a nearby boulder, which shattered instantly upon impact. The swordswoman's legs refused to carry her any further, the recoil from her previous attack finally taking its toll on her body.
She coughed up some blood as she gasped for air, and immediately winced at the pain this simple action caused her. The Yuheng held her stomach as she tried to stand up, silently cursing the exorcist's superhuman strength. With half of the air in her lungs all but gone, she had no other choice but to ask for backup, even if that meant exposing the archer's location.
Her head snapped towards the bushes adjacent to the peak's edge. "Now!" she coughed. "Finish her off!"
Following orders, Ganyu drew her bow and a Frostflake Arrow flew towards Shenhe's head. But just as it was about to hit its target, a jagged boulder surged from the depths and shielded Cloud Retainer's disciple. In the corner of her vision, the half-qilin caught a glimpse of a golden blur heading straight at her, and realized her mistake. As he traced the Cryo energy back to her, Aether's eyes glowed with a dangerous determination akin to a predator about to seize his prey.
"Found you!"
He tilted his head slightly to avoid an oncoming arrow. Rushing forward, Aether managed to close the gap between the archer's hiding spot and himself in an instant, and willed his sword into existence. Just as he swung it through the leaves, a shadow side-stepped out of range and aimed for his head. He ducked and slammed the ground with his free hand, creating a Starfell Sword that knocked the archer back. Only when the full moon revealed her face did he realize who he had been fighting.
"The secretary from the pavilion?" he stared in disbelief. "Ganyu?"
The half-qilin drew her bow. "Stay back. I'm not letting you deceive me a second time."
"Deceive? What are you talking about? Don't tell me you think I'm–"
He took a single step forward and a warning shot sang as it flew over his head. Aether wouldn't claim that he was a master at deciphering women's hints, but he was pretty sure that Ganyu wanted him dead. Even the friendly secretary didn't believe him. He hated pointless arguments, and having to prove his innocence left and right was getting old. The Traveler gritted his teeth.
"Very well, then. No more talking."
Guiding his remaining strength into his legs, Aether dashed faster than the human eye could see. He performed a twin slash at her, but she reached out her hand and two icicles formed in front of him. His blade cut through them easily, but the Cryo attack had bought the half-qilin enough time to dodge.
Her bow emitted a cold flash as she dashed backwards, and five arrows flew in a star shape, homing on him. The Traveler planted his sword into the ground and felt the earth shake. Five Geo crystals sprung from the depths, shielding him from the homing shots. He brute-forced through his own construct with a grunt and switched to Anemo. Ganyu tried to move out of the way, but a sudden windblade sliced through her hip, opening a small gash on her side.
He was doing well, but it was still not enough. In order to prevent Ganyu from firing a decisive shot, he would have to constantly keep up the pressure with fast attacks. But he was already injured, and Shenhe was looking a little worse for wear. He needed to go all out and end this battle as quickly as possible. Aether called forth Barbatos' power into his blade, and swung it as hard as he could.
"Go with the wind!"
The thousand winds roared and a raging tornado burst forward, but to his surprise the secretary ran right towards it. Deploying her glider, Ganyu let the winds carry her high into the air, in spite of the many cuts the razor wind inflicted on her body.
For half a second, the pure image of a qilin under the full moon flashed before the Traveler's eyes. He watched in shock as the Guardian of All Living Things adjusted her position while airborne, and divine energy accumulated around the arrowhead...
And as a god's power was fired directly at him.
"AAAAAAGH!"
The deadly arrow flew right into his thigh, forcing him to kneel as he felt the impact spread throughout his entire body. Clenching his teeth, he felt his flesh burn under his skin, and cold Cryo light penetrated his wound to overflowing. Trying his best to ignore the unbearable pain, Aether forcibly pulled the arrow out, causing blood and pure Cryo energy to burst out of the hole. Thankfully, his thigh hadn't been fully pierced, but he still struggled to stand up.
As he was still crouching, the half-qilin landed behind him. His eyes glowed as he channeled Geo into his hand, only one second too late. Ganyu's Frostflake Arrow was fully charged, and if he tried to move, the Cryo explosion would blow him to bits. The Traveler clicked his tongue. Dammit. He only needed a few seconds to recover, but now he was all out time.
"Tell your friend to drop her weapon." Ganyu ordered. "If you value your life, that is."
Aether glanced at the secretary, and then at the exorcist. No wonder Keqing needed backup. Despite her injuries, the Yuheng was fast, blinding fast, even. But it was not enough to win. While she tried to chip down her opponent bit by bit with nimble attacks, Shenhe was going in for the kill.
The adeptus disciple was swinging her polearm with raw, superhuman power, and each time they clashed her strikes threw the lilac-haired woman off-balance. Keqing had impeccable swordmanship but lacked stamina, while her opponent had been trained by the adepti themselves. Shenhe was getting used to her opponent's fighting style, and each blow was more precise and deadly than the previous one.
The winner had already been decided.
"You have five seconds to tell her to stop!" the secretary reiterated.
The cold emitted by the Frostflake Arrow tickled the nape of his neck, but he was still incredibly calm. He merely shrugged, slowly suppressing the pain in his thigh. "Shenhe is going to end the battle in four, though."
As if on cue, a loud shattering sound was heard. Keqing was kneeling, both arms gripping her Lion's Roar outstretched in front of her. But the once-fine weapon was now missing its blade, and only the ornamental golden lion's head remained, baring its metal fangs at the exorcist. The fearsome predator had met its match in a white-haired crane, who elegantly drew nearer.
"The soldiers were just following orders, but you're the one who started all this." Shenhe spoke slowly, raising the Calamity-Queller over her head. The blue tassel shone in the full moon, reflecting the murderous intent in her eyes. "Don't expect a painless death."
"Shenhe. Don't." Aether calmly ordered. The exorcist froze upon hearing his voice. "We talked about this. And besides, killing her will only get us in more trouble."
"She needs to pay." she argued.
"I agree, but not with her life. This is your bloodlust speaking. Not you."
She was still hesitant. She still wanted blood. But Aether wouldn't let her make this mistake.
"Shenhe, what are you?" he asked.
Cloud Retainer's disciple pursed her lips for a few seconds, but her shoulders eventually lowered. "I'm a human. And as such, I must understand the value of human life, the way you do." She reluctantly lowered her weapon. "I get it. I'll let her live."
"Good." he smiled. "I'm proud of you."
"...Thank you."
"How can you be so calm when I could literally kill you right now?" Ganyu interrupted their moment. "Nevermind that, even though the battle ended in a draw you're still at my mercy. Follow me quietly, Traveler."
Shenhe took an offensive stance, but he disapprovingly shook his head.
"A draw, you say?" he mocked. "Hate to break it to you, but we won. Thanks for buying me enough time, Shenhe."
She noticed it way too late. The Traveler was not just using his hands to stay balanced while crouching. He was pressing against the ground with all of his remaining strength. There were already golden cracks forming underneath him. His body was about to burst with Geo energy.
In a desperate moment, Aether called. And the earth responded.
A golden stone spear erupted from the ground and pierced Ganyu's left hand. The sudden hole in her flesh forced the half-qilin to drop her bow, and she cried in pain. At the same moment, she felt her feet give out from under her. The Traveler swept her legs in a single kick of his unhurt leg, and immediately pinned her down.
One second was all it took for him to turn the tide.
"Checkmate." he announced. "You think I killed a god, and yet you somehow still underestimated me. Are you that overconfident in your abilities, or do you deep down know that I did nothing wrong?"
The secretary tried to push herself up, but his physical strength was too much for her. "Let go of me!" she grunted. "I'm trying to avenge my god! None of this would have happened if I hadn't been so naive."
"You're naive, but for the wrong reason." he replied sharply. "If a single coincidence is enough for you to designate a culprit, then maybe Rex Lapis entrusted his city to the wrong person."
Ganyu witheld tears of rage and frustration. "You're shameless. First you have the audacity to use Rex Lapis' signature move after killing him, and now you dare mock my god's decision?! He always did what was best for his people!"
Aether lost his cool but held her pinned down nonetheless. "For the last time, I didn't kill your stupid Archon! If you people were so competent, then maybe you wouldn't have to find a scapegoat to use as a facade without conducting a proper investigation! Deep down you know that you're making a massive mistake."
Keqing tried to protest, but a quick glare from Shenhe convinced her not to. Perhaps his words struck her heart, because the secretary stopped struggling.
"I dont even know anymore." she sighed. "It's just that... so many things are pointing towards you: your presence at Yujing Terrace the night before, how you desperately tried to escape, the fact that you're an outlander with a strange affinity to the elements..."
"I'm well aware of that, but you still can't prove that I'm guilty. Can't we just leave this in the past? I don't want to be your enemy – I don't want to be treated as a criminal because of such a stupid misunderstanding."
"But you can't prove your innocence either."
Were they seriously having this conversation? His entire journey through Liyue had been a massive headache so far, and he really didn't know if he could take any more. Aether rolled his eyes in frustration, and a bird flew into his field of view.
But that wasn't any bird.
Unfurling her white wings, Cloud Retainer descended majestically upon them, and the Traveler gulped. There was no telling how the adeptus would react to this entire mess right outside of her home. They had technically been brawling on sacred grounds, so needless to say that the plan to get on her good side was now out the window.
She held a rather puzzled expression. "Traveler... care to explain? All of this commotion could be heard from the deepest depths of one's abode." Her tone shifted to surprise when she saw who was under him. "And what is little Ganyu doing here? It has been many moons since your last visit, child."
Realizing that he was pinning down one of the Unfettered's acquaintances, Aether quickly relinquished his grip on the half-qilin. He even helped her up courteously despite his aching thigh, as if they weren't at eachother's throats mere moments ago.
Ganyu dusted herself off before speaking up. "Cloud Retainer, I'm here on official duty to arrest this man. In case you didn't know, he's suspected of having killed Rex Lapis and must be brought to justice."
Tha adeptus didn't seem to care much for the indictment. "Hmm? And why exactly did you bring the least pious of the Qixing to aid you in this affair?"
Keqing dismissed the very obvious jab and cleared her throat. "I brought the manpower needed for the arrest. Ganyu has been helping me since the Geo Archon's passing, and our investigation has led us here. We expect to-"
"Speaking of your soldiers," Retainer cut her off, eyes narrowing dangerously. "you do realize they are not allowed within the Karst under any circumstances, right? The same applies to you, Yuheng."
"Oh! I-I figured it would be fine... y-you know, since I'm a half-qilin and all..." Ganyu stuttered.
"Not in the slightest." the adeptus urged. "Shenhe's friends are granted entry because she vouched for them, and she has a Sigil. But military troops? They need their own Sigils of Permission, every last one of them. So even if human justice labels him an evil-doer, he is allowed to be here while they are not."
Aether held back a snort. Cloud Retainer definitely had a motherly aura to her, reprimanding an official like her own child. His respect for her grew a little.
Ganyu should have prepared for that ahead of time, but the General Secretary didn't exactly have a ton of Sigils of Permission laying around.
Maybe things would have gone differently if she hadn't been so nervous and distressed ever since her god's passing. In her current emotional state, she was way more prone to making mistakes.
"But-" she tried.
"No buts, young lady." the Unfettered cut the secretary off. "If they are not in posession of any Sigils, then they shall either be removed from the premises at once or eliminated."
The Yuheng's eyes widened. "You can't do that! You should know better than to make an enemy of the Liyue Qixing, Cloud Retainer." she warned. "If you touch a single one of these men, the consequences could be..."
"Know your place, mortal." Retainer scowled back. "This is the realm of the adepti, a single slip of the tongue could very well cost you your life."
"Both of you, calm down." Aether interjected. "Retainer, I know it's against the rules, but I request that you let them in for at least one night."
Both Keqing and Ganyu gave him a surprised look, but he looked like he knew what he was doing.
He wouldn't exactly call it a sound plan, but he had an... interesting idea.
"With their injuries, these men won't survive out in the wild." he continued. "And if they do bleed out and die, Shenhe will be charged with their murder. But if you bring them in, I can treat their wounds, and then they'll be on their merry way. What do you say? Would you rather protect the rules, or your disciple?"
The Unfettered mulled over his words for a bit, visibly conflicted. Could she really afford to lose her most skilled disciple at a time like this? Glancing at Shenhe, and her wounds in particular, she made her choice.
"Very well, one shall bend the rules just this once." she sighed. "But once these men have fully recovered, they must depart immediately. One's abode is not some sort of roadside inn where humans can simply come and go as they please."
"You have my thanks." he bowed.
"And one last thing, Traveler."
"What is it?"
The adeptus regarded both him and the secretary with disapproval. "Try to get along, will you? One ignores the details of what has transpired between the two of you, but at least have the decency to sit down and discuss your quarrels before resorting to violence. Understood?"
They both silently nodded like obedient children. Aether wondered why he was getting scolded by a bird, though.
Sitting up on her bed, Ganyu looked out the window. Silky white clouds floated over an endless sky, as far as the eye could see. Though the domain's artificial sun was shining bright, she estimated that they were roughly three hours past midnight. She hadn't visited Baiyun Mansion in several centuries, but next to nothing had changed since her childhood. To think that such a large human-styled estate could fit inside a domain, Subspace Creation really never failed to amaze her.
The mansion was built like a traditional Liyue estate, featuring a wide main hall and corridor flanked by several rooms, similar to the ones that housed nobility. Surprisingly enough, the luxurious residence did not look old-fashioned at all. This was due to Liyue aristocrats keeping the same architectural style spanning several centuries without change. The half-qilin guessed that Cloud Retainer had first constructed it in an attempt to better understand human creativity and building customs, perhaps to integrate it into some machinery of her own. And without dust nor invasive bugs in the Realm Within, the old mansion had kept its pristine condition through the ages. How convenient.
At the Traveler's behest, the groundfloor's most sizable room had been turned into a temporary infirmary, and several rows of beds accomodated the soldiers. The wounded consisted of a squad of thirty men, as well as Keqing and herself. Aether had insisted on taking care of them alone in spite of his own injuries, and had sent his two friends – Paimon and Shenhe, she'd learned – to bed after tending to the latter's wounds.
She was beginning to fathom why Cloud Retainer's mysterious disciple held such high admiration for him. Ganyu glanced at the blond man who was hurrily navigating between the beds, bringing first-aid supplies and potions to whoever needed them.
"If you don't mind me asking, why are you healing the same men who tried to arrest you?"
Aether did not turn around, and wrapped another bandage around a soldier's chest. "I already explained. If a single one of these idiots dies on me, Shenhe will end up in jail. Same reason why I didn't kill the soldiers back at the Rite."
The secretary raised a suspicious brow. "So you were holding back on purpose. Why do I feel like there's another reason?"
Aether stopped treating the man and glanced back at her. "To prove that I'm not a monster, I guess? I don't kill without a good reason, that's just how I roll."
"I see. And now, how are you feeling?" It felt awkward to ask this after shooting him, but she still inquired about his health. They needed him alive, of course, but that didn't even cross her mind.
"I'll be fine. I drank a potion to heighten my Cryo resistance and applied a special ointment to my thigh; I've already stopped limping, so that's good. It'll be faster for the hole in your hand to regenerate, since you're an adeptus." He pointed at the white cloth he'd wrapped around her hand. "Just don't take off the dressing I gave you, okay?"
Keqing, who was sitting on the bed next to hers, joined in on the interrogation. "You seem to know a lot about medicine. Did you attend med school?"
Aether looked her in the eye for the first time. "No, I attended war school. During my travels, I've seen more battlefields than I can count. How to identify a wound and how to treat it – I learned it all from personal experience. Any further questions?"
"What's your story?" Keqing asked.
The Traveler immediately flinched at the personal question. Wordlessly, he helped the soldier he had been treating lie back down and slowly turned around.
Nostalgia, sorrow, regret, rage and grief flashed behind his golden orbits all at once. His breathing was ragged, like he was experiencing some very deep trauma.
Painful memories he'd kept sealed within his mind burst forth. The flames. The screams. The blood. It all caught up to him.
His senses alerted him that he was on the verge of tears, but he knew they were wrong. He had run out of tears to shed on his homeland long ago.
Forcing himself to snap out of it, he regained his self-control and his eyes went back to normal.
"I... don't like to talk about my past." he trailed off, his hand covering his eyes. "It's nothing you need to worry about anyway. I'm just a traveler who's looking for his sister, and that's my only reason for coming to Liyue."
"You've lost a lot of people too, huh." Ganyu muttered. "I can relate. You never really get used to it. I was lucky enough to be on the winning side of the Archon War, but... it brands your soul like a burning hot iron. I still have some nightmares that manage to crawl back up to the surface from time to time."
Aether grimace turned into a forced smile. "Yeah. There are a few memories I wish I could forget too. A-Anyway..." He scratched the back of his head, suddenly eager to change the topic. After fumbling a bit through his first-aid kit, he pulled out a lime green potion. "You should drink this, Keqing. For your stomach. It will also numb the pain from your wounds and allow them to close faster."
He tossed a yellow one at Ganyu. "This should cleanse the lingering Geo energy from my stone spear attack – which was not intentionally stolen from Rex Lapis, by the way. Your regeneration process should be more effective without any elements interfering."
Seeing as they were still a bit doubtful, he sighed. "Look I know I can't prove my goodwill to you, but as Cloud Retainer said, we need to at least tolerate each other's presence. If you don't want to drink them, fine, but at least give me the benefit of the doubt."
Keqing's head turned towards the secretary. "What do you think? There are a lot of clues pointing towards him, but he said it himself: he can't poison us. If he's lying, then he's a really good actor."
Ganyu examined the potion pensively. "I don't sense any malice in his words. All I know is that we definitely took the wrong approach with him. According to the Law of Liyue, a suspect is to be deemed innocent until proven guilty beyond doubt." She pursed her lips. "Rex Lapis would be ashamed of us."
She was well aware of what she'd done, because she had been warned beforehand. Her strange dream at Wangshu Inn should have alerted her, but she ignored it. And now, she had misused both her bow and her Vision by harming him. The one thing she swore she would never do.
Keqing slowly realized what Ganyu was implying. "Wait, surely you don't mean..."
Ganyu uncorked the glass bottle with a serious look. "We have commited a moral fault, Lady Keqing. It is not a punishable crime per se, but it goes against one of our nation's core principles." She downed the potion before dropping the bomb. "If word spreads about this, you could very well lose your seat in the Qixing."
Aether raised a brow. "What? She could get kicked out of the Qixing over something like this?"
"The Yuheng is the second most important political title in Liyue, and I acted on my own." Keqing explained, taking a sip of the medicine. "I'm not very popular – especially after my speech at last year's Rite of Descension; should the other Stars decide to follow the current trend of trying to take me down at our next vote, even a minor fault like this could cost me my seat."
The gears were slowly beginning to click in his brain. "And the only ones who know of your little investigation are in this room." the Traveler muttered.
This could be good. He had been branded a murderer for so long, and now he finally had a chance to turn the tables on them. He wasn't really one to take advantage of someone else's predicament, but if he could lift all the suspicions about him at once, it would make searching for Lumine much easier. By being able to walk freely in the harbor, a massive hub of trade and intel, he would definitely learn something.
The Guardian of All Living Things saw the dangerous glimmer in his eyes and immediately tempered. "On behalf of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Qixing, please accept my most sincere apologies for the treatment that you have unjustly been put through. However, you're not out of the woods just yet."
"Oh, great." he groaned. Things were just beginning to look good. "What now?"
Keqing bit her thumb. "Even though you can shatter my reputation at any given moment, you'll still have to face justice. Maybe you didn't kill Rex Lapis, but you did defeat several soldiers during your escape. Someone in the know could utilize this one crime to create the ideal scapegoat – you."
"Define 'someone'." he urged. "I don't want to get roped into your political games. I've probably never seen a politician not lie and deceive his way to power."
"The Qixing are righteous and hard-working merchants." The Yuheng shot back, taking sllight offense. "However, I've caught wind of a faction in Heji Hall, the Communications Office and one of the Eight Trades, who is getting bolder by the day. Given their position on the judicial scene, they probably know about this, and they might try to fill the current power vacuum by claiming to have caught the killer."
"The Fatui might also be plotting something." Ganyu added. "Not only do they have a lot to gain from our current predicament, two of their Harbingers have been sighted in the harbor recently."
"And let me guess, the Qixing are the only ones who can come up with an effective countermeasure to their schemes." Aether summed up, slowly getting used to things never going his way. "So I need your support and you need mine. I don't really want to work with you guys, but I can't afford to be petty right now. If I have to cooperate for a while, then so be it''
The half-qilin's face lit up. "You will?"
"Well, I don't really have a choice, do I?" he looked away. "I might still get incriminated, there's two Fatui Harbingers on the loose... I don't like to take sides, but yours seems like the safest option for now."
"Then in that case..."
Slightly taken aback by the sudden seriousness in her voice, he glanced at her once more. Ganyu had reached out her unhurt hand, offering him a firm handshake. On her face, there was no distress, no doubt, not a hint of sadness. Just an undying will to protect her home. The same look he once had.
He could almost hear the regal voice of an old god he'd never met when she spoke up.
"In Liyue, our word is our bond."
"Let us put our differences aside and forge a contract, Traveler."
It's about time I uploaded a new chapter, right? (especially after that cliffhanger lol) Sorry, this one was a bit difficult to write, especially towards the end. Hope I managed to make the alliance between the two parties not seem like a complete ass-pull. The focus is going to shift a bit from them anyway. Proving Aether's complete innocence is soon!
But DAYUM the Harbingers look sick! So glad their designs weren't leaked. The fact that hoyo reveals them now might be a hint at the story getting darker in Sumeru. Can't wait to see the scrumptious lore (and potential fics) 3.0 will bring, but I digress...
I've been experimenting with a different kind of story lately, the first chapter should come out soon so stay tuned. And as always, your constructive criticism is more than welcome.
By the way, I have an ao3 account now. I'll put the link in my profile once its ready. My stories will always be available here first though :)
