Book 4: The Winds of Change
Chapter 1: The Nation of Freedom
Zi-O Liner, Train Bedroom
On one of the beds, Lumine the dimensional traveler is taking a short nap after finishing a short training session with Maria, Tsubasa, Zeo and Akira. The travel time towards the world of Teyvat will take at least 10 minutes or less, so she needed enough rest to be ready for the expedition. "Ngh..." Lumine grunted as she was trying to get a good rest, but it seems that she's having an uncomfortable dream at the moment.
Dreamscape
In her dream, she's remembering the time she traveled across the other worlds along with her twin brother Aether. Aether has gold-yellow eyes, medium cut blonde hair with choppy bangs and a long, braided ponytail, tied with a tasseled band. He wears a dark brown breastplate vest baring his midriff along with a white scarf and a two-tailed cape with golden embroidery and decals; a golden pauldron on his left shoulder and a tasseled earring in his left ear; and lastly dark brown pants, brown gloves and black boots.
The twin travelers are about to depart to the next world, when suddenly, the skies began to distort and a red and black portal appeared in front of them. Then a woman came out of the portal and stared at them. She had long white hair with orange eyes; and wearing a white, black and red robe; a left black glove; gold accessories; and bandaged-like shoes. Plus, there's three large golden stars behind her. "Outlanders, your journey ends here." She spoke to them.
"Who are you?!" Lumine asked.
"The sustainer of heavenly principles. The arrogation of mankind ends now." The woman answered as she summoned a black cube to her hand before enlarging it.
The twins immediately sensed danger and quickly jumped away from where they're standing, just barely evading the appearing cube from below. They summoned their energy wings and their swords before flying towards the women to confront her. With the woman's hand raised, she summoned many cubes in tentacle shapes to chase after the twins as they quickly dodged and weaved the cubes while flying at high speeds. Once they got close to the woman, they delivered an explosive sword strike, only for the woman to block the attacks with her hands effortlessly. The woman to began to summon cubes onto the swords of the twins as they slowly crept up, but Lumine was able to sense the danger and released her sword. Unfortunately, Aether responded too late and was unable to release his sword as the cubes traveled from his hand to his entire body.
"Lumine!" Aether shouted, barely reaching his free hand out.
"No! Aether!" Lumine yelled as she watched her brother get consumed by the cubes until the cubes transformed into a single small yellow cube, now on the woman's hand. In response, Lumine flew towards the woman in a fit of rage with her hand glowing with sparkling yellow energy and unleashed it right onto the woman, causing a massive explosion. When the smoke dispersed, Lumine gasped in shock that not only did the woman blocked the attack with her summoned cubes, but her hand was also caught by the woman's cubes. Lumine tried to break free from the hold, but it was useless as the cubes began to consume her.
"No, wait! Don't go! GIVE ME MY BROTHER BACK!" Lumine yelled as her entire body was consumed by the cubes. She stared at the emotionless woman until her point of view became pitch black.
"AAHH!" Lumine screamed as she woke up from the nightmare, catching her breath with her hand on her chest. "...That dream again... Aether..." She spoke as she looked at her hand with that lingering nightmare on her mind.
"Lumine!/Lumine-chan!" Kiana and Hibiki arrived after hearing Lumine's scream.
"Kiana... Hibiki..." Lumine responded.
"Did you have a bad dream earlier?" Kiana asked, earning a nod from Lumine.
"What was that dream about?" Hibiki asked. "You can talk to us if you want."
"Well..." Lumine spoke. "I wouldn't call that a dream since it already happened to me before I met you guys."
"A dream that already happened..." Kiana repeated, before realization sets in. "Wait a minute. Is this about the time you and your brother Aether were separated by that Unknown God?"
"Yeah..."
"Listen, we made a promise that we'll help you find your brother again, right? Everything's going to be okay, Lumine-chan." Hibiki assured.
"I really hope so, Hibiki." Lumine replied before turning to Kiana. "Though there's something bothering me when I look at you, Kiana."
"Why is that?" Kiana asked.
"The Unknown God that separated me and Aether... she looked-"
"A lot like me when I was the Herrscher of the Void?" Kiana guessed, making Lumine gasp. "Yeah, I figured as much after you mentioned what that god looked like when we first met. You're not afraid of me, are you?"
"Ah, no. That's not it." Lumine shook her head. "I'm your friend, remember? And you would never do something horrible like that."
"...Yeah, of course. Thanks for that, Lumine." Kiana replied before smiling, making Lumine smile back.
"Hmm..." Hibiki pondered with her hand on her chin.
"Is something wrong, Hibiki?" Lumine asked.
"I was wondering about that Unknown God that attacked you and Aether. Why did she chose to separate you instead of killing you?"
"That's..." Lumine spoke, before realization sets in. "Wait, now that you mention it, you're right. Not only that, she captured my brother into a cube instead of killing him. Why did she do that? There has to be a reason why."
"And Kiana-chan." Hibiki spoke to her. "Why did Sirin wanted to possess you?"
"To bring forth the extinction of humankind with her Honkai army." Kiana answered before blinking. "Wait, are you trying to figure out why Sirin acted like that?"
"I was just curious as to why she became a bad person. There has to be a reason why she's like that."
"I see." Kiana noted. "Now that you mention it, I was a little curious about Sirin's past. Maybe I should do some digging into Schicksal's secret files to find some clues."
"Good idea." Hibiki replied. "But for now, we need to explore Teyvat and send Noelle-san and Sucrose-san back to Mondstadt City. The Knights of Favonius are definitely worried about their disappearance ever since that Dimensional Quake."
"Of course." Lumine replied back as she and Kiana nodded.
"Your attention please! This is Naomi speaking. We'll be arriving at our destination shortly. Please rendezvous at the Dining Area immediately. Thank you!" Naomi's voice rang through the train speakers.
"Right then, shall we get going?" Kiana said, earning a nod from Hibiki and Lumine, with the latter getting out of bed. Afterwards, they left the room to meet up with the others waiting at the Dining Area.
"The sustainer of heavenly principles... the arrogation of mankind... what does she mean by those...?" Lumine thought about the Unknown God's words while leaving the room.
Teyvat
Nighttime
On the beach of an unknown location, a warp portal appeared from the sea and out came the Zi-O Liner as it slowed down until it came to a complete stop on the beach while the portal behind it vanished. Afterwards, the train door opened and out came Noelle and Sucrose with the other Team XDR members coming out as they gazed in awe at the world of Tevyat, including the vast ocean.
"Noelle, Sucrose, is this really Teyvat? Your homeworld?" Zeo asked.
"Mhm." Sucrose confirmed as she and Noelle nodded. "This is the place, and I know this area as well. We're now at the coast of Stormbearer Point within the Mondstadt region. I came to this area before for my alchemy research... a-and to also gaze at the ocean during my free time."
"Though I've never expected us to arrive in Teyvat at nighttime." Noelle commented, looking at the night sky. "I guess dimensional travel can be quite random at times when visiting a new world."
"Woah..." The group spoke with awe when gazing at the ocean.
"Wait..." Hibiki noticed something at a distance. "Is that... an island right over there?"
"Oh, you saw it too?" Sucrose responded. "Over there is a secret island that can only be reached by gliding at a very high altitude."
"Did anyone tried to reach that island?" Miku asked.
"Unfortunately, no." Sucrose shook her head. "I-I guess it was too much for them, maybe due to the wind or their own fear of heights or even the cold water."
"Hmm... would be nice to explore that island if we have some free time." Miriam pondered.
"Dess? What's that over there?" Kirika noticed some kind of beacon device with a blue crystal on it.
"Oh, that's a Teleport Waypoint. A Vision bearer can use these to warp to another Waypoint as long as it's activated. There's also a Waypoint within Mondstadt City." Noelle explained. "You'll know that it's active when the crystal glowed blue instead of red."
"Red for offline, blue for online. Got it." Gaius noted.
"Anyway..." Sucrose then pointed at the path leading to the forest up a small cliff. "If we head over that path there, it'll lead us to Starfell Lake, which is where the Statue of the Seven is located."
"And after that, we can reach Mondstadt City?" Maria guessed.
"After you trek through the Whispering Woods, then you can reach the city."
"Understood." Maria nodded.
"Sucrose, Noelle, you two will be our guides since you're familiar with this world." Tsubasa requested.
"Leave it to us, Tsubasa." Noelle bowed while Sucrose nodded. "But we're only familiar to the Mondstadt region, not Liyue or anywhere else. Though, Sucrose has more knowledge about the region than I do since I was busy with knight training and maid duties back at the city."
"That's okay, Noelle. You learn as you go." Akira replied.
"Hold on." Mei (wearing the Valkyrie Bladestrike battlesuit she wore before at Sequin Land) spoke up after noticing a couple of missing people. "Where's Kiana-chan and Kallen-san?"
"Huh, I thought they came out with us earlier." Fu Hua (wearing her Valkyrie Accipiter battlesuit) said. "Are they still inside the Zi-O Liner?"
"Hold on just a minute, guys! We'll be done soon!" Kallen's voice was heard from inside the train.
"Okay, we'll wait for you!" Zeo replied as they wait for the Kaslanas.
A few moments later, Kallen came out of the train with her usual battle nun attire. "Sorry for the wait. I had to help out Einstein for a bit with Kiana's new battlesuit." She told the group. "She should be done by now."
"A new battlesuit?" Gunvolt repeated.
"I'm coming out!" Kiana said as she got out of the train, now wearing a new battlesuit, earning reactions from the group. She has a black cross hairpin on the front along with a black hairband, and her clothes looked like a battle nun outfit with a black and white color scheme along with yellow highlights, a pair of long white and black gloves, her small cape having four white crosses hanging on the edges, and lastly a pair of black and yellow highlighted boots with white thigh-high socks with a blue cross on the side. "So, like my new battesuit?" She smiled with a quick twirl. "This is called the Divine Prayer. It specializes in support skills, such as healing and giving stat boosts to the group."
"Interesting." Miriam remarked.
"You do realize that you look like a battle nun, kinda like Kallen." Kanade pointed out to Kiana.
"Well Noelle did mention that there's a church in Mondstadt City, so Kallen and I had to look the part." Kiana replied with Kallen nodding.
"You look pretty cool though, Kiana-chan!" Hibiki smiled. "I'm sure Theresa-chan will like it."
"Hehe. Thanks, Hibiki-chan." Kiana smiled back.
"Right then, some of us will have to stay here and guard the Zi-O Liner from any unexpected intruders, especially those Fatui bastards and the Abyss Order." Chris stated, remembering the threats Sucrose and Noelle mentioned earlier before arriving to their destination. "In my case, I'll stay here for the time being. I know that Noelle and Sucrose mentioned that guns, bows, crossbows and even freaking missiles exists in Teyvat, but I wanna be a bit cautious this time by not revealing too much of my arsenal."
"Fair enough." Zeo noted with a nod. "Anyone else needs to stay?"
"You don't mind if I stay here, Hibiki?" Miku requested. "At least I'll be safe with Chris and the others that chose to stay here."
"Sure thing, Miku." Hibiki approved. "But I'll make sure that you get a chance to visit the city later on."
"Of course. I can handle the wait." Miku assured with a smile.
"I'm gonna stay here too." Regina said with a raised hand. "But I do wanna explore this area for a bit. I won't go too far away from the train."
"Go ahead, Regina." Akira approved with a nod. "Just remember to watch your back."
"I think Tsubasa and I will also stay here and guard the train." Kanade declared.
"Wait, we're staying here?" Tsubasa questioned.
"Hey, I don't wanna be reckless and cause too much trouble. That got myself killed in the past, remember?" Kanade mentioned. "So, I think I'll take the cautious approach to wait and see, especially the different types of monsters that appeared in this world. I'm sure we'll get the chance to see the city eventually."
"I see..." Tsubasa noted. "If that's your choice, then I'll stay with you, Kanade. We'll make sure none of the intruders harm this train."
"Don't worry about me, little kouhai. We'll go on an adventure together some other time, okay?" Kanade told her successor.
"No problem, Kanade-san! That's fine." Hibiki replied with a smile. "I can wait for next time."
"Now then, if everyone's finished preparing, we should head out for our excursion to Mondstadt City." Woz declared.
"Right." Sucrose replied. "Follow us, everyone." She and Noelle began to head for the path beside Noelle while everyone else followed behind, leaving the ones staying outside the train to guard while waving goodbye to the departing group.
Starfell Lake
Once the group walked past the Waypoint and climbed up the small cliff, they saw a breathtaking view of the Mondstadt region including the view of Mondstadt City at a distance. The group reacted with awe and amazement when looking at the land.
"Hehe. A beautiful view, isn't it?" Sucrose giggled.
"Oyoyo..." Kirika responded.
"Noelle-san, Sucrose-san, your world looks amazing." Hibiki added.
"Yes, it truly is." Noelle replied.
"I wonder what the other lands of Teyvat looks like? Heh, I can't wait to explore." Gunvolt smirked with excitement.
"Just try not to get lost, GV. It's a brand new world compared to Earth." Joule advised from inside Gunvolt's relic pendant.
"Don't worry, I'll be careful."
"That statue over there." Maria noticed the statue of a hooded man with angel wings, holding a sky green crystal orb with his hands, and on top of a pillar with a crystal on the center. "Is that the Statue of the Seven?"
"Mhm." Sucrose confirmed with a nod. "It acts like a Teleport Waypoint like the others, but unlike those, the Statue of the Seven can replenish our stamina, heal wounds, and even heal fallen allies. But those statues are quite few in between. This statue in particular is the shape of Barbatos, the Anemo Archon."
"Interesting." Miriam mused. "Does Mondstadt City also have a Statue of the Seven?"
"Actually, no." Noelle answered. "We only have the large statue of Barbatos located outside of the Church of Favonius, minus the crystal orb."
"Huh, well that's odd. Usually the city would have that special statue instead of a normal Waypoint." Kallen remarked.
"Yeah, I don't get it either." Sucrose agreed. "Anyway, shall we take a closer look at the statue?"
"That would be nice, but there's one small problem." Gaius pointed at lake surrounding the statue placed on the island. "We're gonna have to swim to that statue. And I'm pretty sure no one wants to get wet at the moment."
"Especially me since I don't like using my Septima when I'm swimming or going underwater." Gunvolt added.
"Maybe we can use our Wind Gliders to fly right over to the statue without touching the water." Lumine suggested.
"Or we can create an ice bridge to simply cross over to the statue." Sucrose added. "I think I remember Kiana and Kallen having Cryo rounds on their guns."
"Tempting, but nah. I'd go with the Wind Glider approach instead. I don't wanna waste too much ammo unless otherwise." Kiana replied with Kallen nodding.
"I think it would be better for a few people to get close to the statue while the rest of us will wait." Noelle suggested.
"Fair enough." Zeo answered while materializing his Wind Glider via his Zikan Phone. "Sucrose, Akira, Kiana, Hibiki, Miriam, Lumine, we're going to the statue."
"Got it." The six nodded while also materializing their own Wind Gliders (or summoning in Miriam and Sucrose's case). Afterwards, they flew towards the Statue of the Seven on the small island while the others waited outside of the lake.
"Gotta admit, it looks pretty amazing up close." Zeo commented as the group gazed at the statue. "So by touching the statue, your stamina will be replenished and your wounds being healed?"
"Correct." Sucrose nodded. "Anyone want to give it a try?"
"I'll do it!" Hibiki volunteered with a raised hand before approaching the statue and touching its pillar. But for some reason, nothing happened. "Eh? Nothing happened?" She blinked in confusion.
"Ah, I-I forgot to mention one more important thing... only Vision Bearers can gain the statue's blessing." Sucrose pointed out. "Sorry, Hibiki."
"Oh, so NOW you mention that." Kiana deadpanned at the alchemist.
"S-Sorry."
"I-It's okay, Sucrose-san! I don't mind!" Hibiki waved her hands in defence. "I'm sure there's a reason why you forgot about that part."
"I-I think I must've been working at the alchemist workshop back in Mondstadt City a bit too much." Sucrose admitted.
"Maybe you should take a break every once or twice in a while." Zeo advised.
"Y-Yes, that would be wise."
"Well, looks like Zeo and I won't feel a thing when we touch the statue." Akira deduced with a sigh.
"Still... I'm gonna try it anyway." Zeo replied as he approached the statue and touched its pillar. But just like Hibiki, nothing happened. "Well, it was worth a try, at least." He sighed before moving his hand away and regrouped.
"Let me try next." Kiana said, approaching the statue and touched its pillar. But nothing happened either. "Well that's disappointing. I thought it'll affect me since I'm a valkyrie." She sighed, moving her hand away and regrouping.
"Good try though, Kiana." Lumine said.
"Hey, Miriam. How about you try and touch the statue next? Maybe something will happen since you're a Shardbinder." Akira requested.
"Are you sure it's safe?" Miriam asked.
"Don't worry, it's perfectly fine." Sucrose assured.
"Okay then..." Miriam replied as she approached the statue and touched its pillar. And to everyone's shock, the statue glowed and the crystal orb created a small sky green energy orb with the Anemo symbol and floated right in front of Miriam. And then the energy orb changed into a crystal shard and plunged right into her chest, making her grunt in pain until the shard was inside her body.
"Miriam, are you okay?" Akira asked.
"I'm fine... I just never expected the statue to summon a shard like that and plunged it right into my body." Miriam replied, now feeling calm.
"How do you feel?" Zeo asked.
"I feel like I can manipulate the wind, just like how I was able to manipulate fire when I bought that fire spell back in Sequin Land."
"You can use the Anemo element, Miriam?!" Sucrose gasped.
Miriam nodded as she moved her hand forward and generated a wind vacuum orb before dispersing it with one swipe. "Hm, not bad. I'm pretty sure that I can do much more than this with some practice." She remarked. "I guess I've gotten blessings from the Anemo Archon."
"Use that power wisely, okay?" Zeo told the Shardbinder, who nodded back and regrouped.
"Right, I guess it's my turn now." Lumine said while stepping forward.
"Hope for the best, Lumine-chan!" Hibiki cheered for support, making her nod back as she approached the statue.
After taking a deep breath, Lumine touched its pillar, causing the statue to glow once more, much to everyone's shock. This time, the statue summoned another wind orb and plunged right into Lumine's body, making her glow sky green for a brief moment along with tiny gusts of wind surrounding her. Once the aura and winds dispersed, she looked at her hands in surprise that she gained the Archon's blessings, just like Miriam.
"D-Did Barbatos gave you his blessings too, Lumine?!" Sucrose gasped.
"I-I guess so." Lumine replied as she lowered her hands. "Maybe I'm special just like Miriam?"
"Considering you used to have powers before meeting that Unknown God, I guess that makes sense why you earned the Archon's blessings." Akira deduced.
"Speaking of powers, do you remember what kind of powers you used to have, Lumine?" Zeo asked.
"Well... I remember having the light element, summoning wings of light and a sword of light. Aether had the same powers as I am." Lumine recalled. "That's all I remember. I can't recall having any other elements besides light."
"I see." Zeo noted. "For now, try testing out your Anemo powers for a bit."
"Okay." Lumine nodded as she moved her hand forward and conjured up a sky green vacuum orb before letting out a wind blast.
"Hm, not a bad first try." Miriam remarked. "You'll get used to that power the more you use it."
"I understand."
"You know, there's also another hidden power for Vision Bearers." Sucrose spoke up. "It's called Elemental Sight. Think of it as a special radar sense that detects hidden footprints, ley lines, breakable objects, and other elements depending on the color. I've used it a bunch of times to help with my alchemy fieldwork."
"Whoa... that's so cool!" Hibiki said with awe. "Miriam-san, Lumine-chan, try it out!"
"Just try and concentrate, and you should be able to use the skill."
"Got it." Lumine and Miriam nodded before concentrating until their bodies let out some kind of elemental sonar wave, allowing them to see objects and living beings in different colors.
"How was it?" Zeo asked.
"This ability will be quite useful in the future." Miriam replied with Lumine nodding.
"Right then, let's regroup with the others and tell them what happened." Zeo declared, earning a nod from the group before they materialized their Wind Gliders (this time with Lumine being able to summon her own without using the Zikan Phone) and regrouped with the others waiting on the other side of the lake. Afterwards, they explained to them what had occurred at the Statue of the Seven.
"That's so cool, dess!" Kirika said to Lumine and Miriam with starry eyes. "Now you can unleash wind storms just like me and Hibiki, dess!"
"Well... not quite. It'll take a while before we can perform that skill." Lumine replied with Miriam nodding.
"She's right." Maria agreed. "Just because they obtained a new element, doesn't mean they can use those skills immediately, especially the advanced ones."
"Mhm." Kallen agreed with a nod. "Just focus on mastering the basics for now, just like how Miriam was able to improve with her fire element."
"The same goes for your Elemental Sight abilities. It'll prove useful when performing investigations and locating hidden areas." Fu Hua added.
"Either way, I'm surprised that you and Miriam earned blessings from Barbatos." Noelle remarked to Lumine and Miriam.
"Yeah, we can't believe it either." Miriam replied with Lumine nodding.
"We'll find some time to practice those powers later, but for now, we need to head for Mondstadt City." Kiana declared. "Hope the gates are still open even in this time of night."
"I'm sure the gates are still open. The Knights of Favonius are also guarding the gate in case of intruders." Noelle replied.
"Will they let us through, however?" Mei questioned.
"Just leave it to me and Sucrose. We'll help you gain entry into the city." Noelle assured with Sucrose nodding.
"Thanks, girls." Zeo replied. "Now then, where's the way to the Whispering Woods?"
"Just continue walking on that path to the west and it'll lead you into the woods." Sucrose pointed at said path. "And beyond that, lies the stone bridge that'll lead us to Mondstadt City."
"Got it. Lead the way, ladies." Gaius replied before Noelle and Sucrose lead the group into the Whispering Woods by taking the path.
Several minutes later...
As time passes when the group traveled through the Whispering Woods, they saw plenty of boars and squirrels roaming around the woods, along with some birds flying around. They also saw several glowing blue plants called the Small Lamp Grass, with made them respond with awe. Sucrose and Noelle suggested them to pick some of those plants for cooking ingredients, so they did just that and stored them inside their Zikan Phones before moving on.
Eventually, they got out of the woods and saw the path leading to the stone bridge which will lead them towards Mondstadt City. But then they gasped in shock that the path was surrounded by wooden and spiked barricades, along with some knights guarding the area. "W-What just happened?!" Sucrose exclaimed.
"I think you two may have been missing for a week or so that something must've happened to Mondstadt." Fu Hua told Sucrose and Noelle. "I wonder why though?"
"Well, standing here won't solve anything. Let's proceed towards the city gates and ask the knights about what happened earlier." Gaius declared, earning a nod from the group before moving on.
"Hold it! Stop right there!"
"?" Before the group took a step forward, they heard a voice from somewhere, along with footsteps fast approaching. A girl leaped into the air that earned everyone's attention, landed in front of the group, took out her bow and took aim at them, making them feel tense.
The girl has long, dark brown hair, gold eyes, and fair skin. She wears a jumper-like outfit composed of dark brown leather shorts; a red hoodie-like top; red stockings; and white thigh-high boots embellished with gold linings and symbols. Her accessories include a leather belt with two small bags, with a red orb-shaped crystal attached on the left bag which also has two red feathers attached below it; brown gloves; a small belt on her right thigh; gold-framed goggles around her neck; and lastly a headband with the large red bow that rests on her head, resembling the shape of bunny ears.
"Whoa, easy there! We're not here to cause trouble, so put the bow down." Gaius requested as he and the others raised their hands in defence.
"Then why are you here in the middle of the night?" The girl asked. "Don't you know that it's dangerous out there because of roaming monsters?"
"We just finished praying at the Statue of the Seven within Starfell Lake." Kallen provided a convincing answer. "You see, we were just passing though travelers."
"We were hoping to stay at a nearby inn after traveling for so long." Kiana added before looking at the city. "That's when see saw this large city, which should have an inn for us to stay."
"We didn't run into any monsters, thankfully. But if we do, we can still handle ourselves in a fight quite well." Mei also added. "We just needed to take a break from fighting for a while."
"...I see." The girl responded after pondering about the words of the group, putting away her bow. "Well, at least you were being honest to your words. We were only being cautious because of the attacks from the Abyss Order, the ones responsible for leading those monsters."
"So that explains the barricades and the patrolling knights. Fair enough." Woz noted as the group lowered their hands.
"Anyway, we never got your name yet. Who are you, by the way?" Miriam asked.
"Ah, right. I forgot to introduce myself. Hehe." The girl sheepishly chuckled, rubbing the back of her head. "My name is Amber, Outrider of the Knights of Favonius, and a Pyro Vision Bearer." She introduced with a knightly salute.
"Oh, so you're with the knights? That's nice." Maria replied. "But what's an Outrider?"
"Think of them as scout units, patrolling the areas around the Mondstadt region." Amber answered with her hands on her hips. "And I'm the only one of its kind, which makes me one of the best!"
"Wow... so cool!" Hibiki and Kirika responded with starry eyes.
"Wait? Only one Outrider? Shouldn't there be a platoon of Outriders to make scouting easier?" Zeo questioned.
"Well... the people of Mondstadt mostly wanted to become a knight instead of a scout." Amber admitted. "That's why I'm the only one."
"That's... a questionable choice there." Akira answered. "More scouts can cover more ground instead of just one person. That way, you won't have to overwork too much."
"Yeah, I agree." Amber nodded. "I also wanted to help out Master Jean anyway that I could so that she won't have to shoulder the burden of protecting Mondstadt all by herself."
"Is there anyone else besides you that's keeping an eye out for Jean?" Gunvolt asked.
"There's Kaeya Alberich the Calvary Captain; Lisa Minci the Grand Mage and Librarian; Klee the Spark Knight; and lastly my close friend Eula Lawrence, the Spindrift Knight and Captain of the Reconnaissance Company." Amber answered.
"Wow, that's plenty of trustworthy allies." Gaius commented. "Good to know that she's not alone at maintaining peace to Mondstadt."
"Yep." Amber smiled... before blinking a few times when she saw two familiar faces of the group, making her eyes widen in shock. "I-It can't be...! Noelle?! Sucrose?! Is that really you...?!"
"Hehe, I was hoping you'd notice us." Noelle giggled as she and Sucrose stepped forward.
"Where have you two been?! Me and the knights have been looking endlessly for you ever since your disappearance a week ago!" Amber asked.
"I-It's a long story, Amber." Sucrose answered. "But to make it short, Noelle and I were caught within an unknown quake and fell inside. We thought we were dead, but it sent us to another world instead."
"Another... world...?"
"It's called a Dimensional Quake. It's like going into a warp portal but in an unexpected quake form." Zeo explained. "We found them lying on the ground without food or water, so we helped them out by feeding them and then escorted them back to Mondstadt."
"A warp portal?" Amber repeated. "Like that one Wormhole above Cape Oath?"
"There's a Wormhole there?!" The group exclaimed in shock. A Wormhole in the world of Teyvat?!
"Mhm. Saw one during my Outrider excursions." Amber confirmed with a nod. "Why was that portal there, I have no idea."
"A Wormhole in the world of Teyvat... How mysterious is this world...?" Kiana thought with her hand on her chin.
"But anyway..." Amber began to hug Noelle and Sucrose, surprising the two. "I'm glad you two are safe and sound. Welcome home." She smiled while shedding a small tear.
"It's good to be back, Amber. I missed seeing your energetic and cheerful personality." Noelle smiled back.
"Good to see you two, Amber. I missed working in my workshop along with Timaeus." Sucrose also smiled as they broke off their hug.
"Thanks for escorting Noelle and Sucrose back to Mondstadt safely." Amber bowed to the group with gratitude. "I'll be sure to contact Master Jean about your kind assistance. I'm sure the knights will be relieved about their safe return."
"No big. We're always there to help people in need." Akira smiled with the others nodding and smiling. "Oh, right. Forgot to introduce ourselves. I'm Akira Naotora, and this is my brother Zeo and my close friend Gaius Cornell."
"Hi there./Nice to meet you." Zeo and Gaius greeted.
"My name is Woz, a chronicler. A pleasure to meet you, Outrider Amber." Woz greeted with a bow before gesturing to the others. "And these are our allies; Hibiki Tachibana, Maria Cadenzavna Eve, Gunvolt, Kiana and Kallen Kaslana, Mei Raiden, Fu Hua, Miriam, and lastly Lumine."
"Nice to meet you." The others greeted with a bow.
"Same here! Any friends of Sucrose and Noelle are friends of mine!" Amber greeted back with a smile. But when she glanced at Lumine, she blinked for a moment. "Wait, hold on..." She placed her hand on her chin and took a closer look at the traveler.
"U-Um... is there something wrong?" Lumine asked while slightly flinching.
"Hmm... outlandish clothes... short blonde hair..." Amber whispered while examining her and her outfit before moving away. Then Amber took out a poster from her bag and examined it while also staring at Lumine briefly.
"Amber, what's that poster you're holding?" Fu Hua asked while pointing at said poster.
"Just a moment." Amber replied while looking at Lumine and the poster, before her eyes widened in shock upon realization. "Lumine, right?"
"Y-Yes?"
"Do you happen to have any siblings at the moment?"
"Well... I have a twin brother named Aether. I'm on a journey looking for him after we were separated by a powerful foe. He wears outlandish clothes like I do."
"There's no mistaking it..." Amber then showed the poster to the group... revealing to have the same face as Lumine, which utterly shocked the group. "You're the missing person Aether is looking for!"
"WHAT?!" The group exclaimed in shock at the reveal.
"My brother... was here in Mondstadt?!" Lumine also exclaimed.
"Yes." Amber confirmed with a nod while putting away the poster. "He arrived here just a few days ago along with his traveling companion, Paimon. They were on a journey to look for his missing sibling, and you must be it."
"Paimon?" Hibiki repeated. "Who's that?"
"Some kind of living and floating mascot." Amber described. " From what she told me when I first met them, she and Aether have been traveling together for two months."
"Two months?!" Lumine gasped, with everyone else feeling the same way.
"Wow, never thought your brother would go looking for you for two months, Lumine." Zeo commented.
"I wonder how he was able to last that long?" Maria pondered.
"He might be a sword user, just like Lumine. He also must've learned some hunting and cooking skills along the way." Miriam guessed.
"Hm, I guess that does make sense if he and Paimon was able to last for so long." Mei replied.
"I see..." Lumine replied back before smiling and closing her eyes, shedding a small tear. "Aether... thank goodness you're alright..." She wiped away her tear and opened her eyes. "Where's my brother at the moment?"
"He and Paimon are planning to leave Mondstadt and head for Liyue after they resolved the Stormterror crisis." Amber informed.
"Wait, the Stormterror crisis has been resolved?!" Noelle gasped. "Since when?!"
"Just yesterday. Aether, Paimon, Master Jean, and even Master Diluc, ventured into Stormterror's Lair to stop it."
"Master Diluc? Who's that?" Kallen asked.
"His name is Diluc Ragnvindr, owner of the Dawn Winery and former member of the Knights of Favonius."
"Dawn Winery, huh? Must be some kind of wine industry." Kiana noted.
"A former member of the Knights of Favonius? I wonder why did he chose to leave them?" Mei questioned.
"No one knows." Amber shrugged. "But he's still very strong even after he left the knights. Anyway, about the Stormterror crisis, Master Jean revealed that Stormterror's real identity is actually Dvalin, one of the Four Winds of Mondstadt."
"What?!" Noelle and Sucrose gasped in shock upon the reveal.
"As for why Dvalin is attacking Mondstadt, you can thank the Abyss Order for that." Amber explained. "Turns out the Abyss corrupted Dvalin's mind, turning it into a war entity." She then gestured her thumb at the barricades. "And while Master Jean, Master Diluc, Paimon and Aether ventured deep into Stormterror's Lair to free Dvalin, the Abyss Order ordered the monsters a coordinated attack to Mondstadt City, which is why you're looking at the barricades right now. It's a good thing I've informed the knights about the attack before it happened."
"Nice job, Outrider." Zeo praised with a thumbs up. "Good to know that the city is safe when you're around."
"Hehe! Thanks, Zeo!" Amber smiled, rubbing the back of her head.
"The Four Winds of Mondstadt, huh?" Gaius pondered. "I wonder who they are?"
"A-Allow me to explain." Sucrose spoke up with a raised hand. "The Four Winds are powerful entities entrusted by the Anemo God Barbatos to protect the Mondstadt region. They consist of the Wolf of the North, the Lion of the South, the Dragon of the East, and the Falcon of the West. As far as I know, Dvalin is the Dragon of the East, while Andrius is the Wolf of the North."
"So those are the Four Winds of Mondstadt. A Wolf, a Lion, a Dragon, and a Falcon. Interesting..." Woz noted with interest.
"Oh my... and I was planning to slay Stormterror without knowing about its real identity..." Noelle said with guilt. "I think I should apologize to Dvalin for the grave misunderstanding."
"It's okay, Noelle. I'm sure everyone in Mondstadt feels the same way." Amber assured. "Anyway, thanks to the efforts of Master Jean, Master Diluc, Paimon and Aether, they were able to free Dvalin from the Abyss Order's control, and peace is now restored to the Mondstadt region."
"I see. I'm glad that my brother made some strong allies to free Dvalin. I'm really proud of him." Lumine smiled.
"Yup." Amber nodded. "Your brother played a key role into restoring Dvalin back to normal. If you want to see him, he and Paimon should be heading for the Favonius Cathedral to meet up with Master Jean by now. I can take you to him, if you want."
"Then what are we waiting for? Lead the way, Amber!" Lumine replied with everyone else nodding.
"Great! Oh, and don't worry about the guards. I'll ask them to allow entry for all of you with my permission." Amber assured before running towards the city. "Try to keep up!"
"O-Oi! Amber-san, wait up!" Hibiki yelled as she and the others quickly ran after the Outrider.
Mondstadt City
Thanks to Amber's help convincing the guards, Lumine and the others were able to enter the City of Mondstadt. Once inside, the group (minus Noelle, Sucrose and Amber) were in awe at the city, even though they're currently at the market district. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the City of Mondstadt!" Amber announced.
"Ah... home sweet home..." Noelle smiled, taking a deep breath of the familiar atmosphere.
"Ah, my alchemy workshop!" Sucrose noticed her own workshop at a distance before smiling. "It's good to see it again after so long."
"So this is where your workshop is." Miriam said while looking at the alchemy workshop, earning a confirmed nod from the alchemist. "It looks nice."
"T-Thank you, Miriam." Sucrose bowed.
"Hm? Where is everyone? The city looks empty at the moment." Kiana asked as the group looked around the market.
"They probably went to sleep or are still hiding inside their homes until the aftermath of the Stormterror incident is fully resolved tomorrow. And most of the knights are guarding the city gates." Amber replied.
"I see." Maria noted. "But... I think you should send some knights to guard the inside of the city, in case some intruders managed to sneak inside."
"Hmm... I think you might be right." Amber agreed. "But we're short on numbers at the moment since some of the knights are resting or healing from their injuries."
"Why am I sensing a red flag at the moment?" Zeo spoke up.
"A red flag?" Amber repeated.
"I don't like this feeling... something bad is about to happen within this city." Zeo narrowed his eyes. "That's what a red flag means."
"I agree. I don't like this feeling either." Akira agreed with her eyes also narrowed.
"Fu Hua, can you use your ki senses to detect any danger from within the city?" Kallen asked.
"Understood." Fu Hua nodded before turning to Hibiki. "Hibiki, time to try out your new skill that I've taught you a few days ago."
"Got it, Fu Hua-san." Hibiki nodded back as she and Fu Hua looked forward, closed their eyes, and used their ki senses around the city. Eventually, they opened their eyes with a serious look. "Looks like you were right, Zeo-san. We've got intruders hiding within the city."
"What?!" Amber exclaimed. "I thought I used my Elemental Sight to detect danger from a distance! How could I miss it?!"
"There are some things that not even your Elemental Sight can detect." Fu Hua stated. "And as for where Hibiki and I are sensing those intruders..." She and Hibiki looked at the large statue at a distance. "It came from over there."
"The Statue Plaza? Why would... wait..." Amber stopped mid-sentence to ponder. "The Statue Plaza is right next to the Favonius Cathedral... which means..." Her eyes began to widen in horrifying realization. "Oh no... Aether and Master Jean are in trouble!"
"WHAT?!" The group exclaimed in shock, especially Lumine.
"But who would go after them at this time of night? Did some of the Abyss Order managed to sneak through?" Noelle questioned.
"I don't think it's them since the monster attacks have slowed down since the Stormterror crisis is being resolved." Amber replied. "But... there's one other organization I can think of that can pull off something like this..."
"And who would that be?" Gaius asked.
"...The Fatui."
"Oh, them. Noelle and Sucrose told us about that infamous organization. How dare they..." Mei scowled with everyone else feeling the same way.
"How were they able to get inside without being detected, dess?" Kirika asked.
"Well the Fatui diplomats are taking residence at a large hotel here. They're always lurking around to scour the city while awaiting orders by the higher-ups." Amber explained.
"The higher-ups, huh? Then that means a Fatui Harbinger is giving them orders." Gaius deduced before asking Fu Hua and Hibiki. "What did your ki senses detect on the intruders?"
"There's at least several of them, including one that let out a dangerous aura." Fu Hua informed.
"Two of them have positive auras while everyone else has the negative ones, especially the one Fu Hua mentioned." Hibiki added.
"Then that means a Fatui Harbinger is nearby." Sucrose deduced.
"Wait, two positive auras?" Lumine repeated. "Could that be my brother and Master Jean?"
"That could be it." Kiana replied. "But we don't know how strong the Harbingers are."
"I've never met a Fatui Harbinger before, but according to Master Jean, they're very strong thanks to their Delusions." Amber said.
"Facing the Fatui and the Harbinger head-on is going to get us in trouble, and informing the other knights is out of the question since they'll be expecting their arrival." Zeo stated. "But... we have something they don't have."
"And that is?" Amber asked.
"The element of surprise. They'll never suspect a group of Outlanders to foil their plans. But in order to do that, we need to do it swiftly without garnering too much attention."
"Well said, Zeo Naotora." Woz agreed. "So what's the plan?"
"We need something to divert their attention away from Aether and Jean." Zeo stated before turning to the Outrider. "Amber, you have something to distract the Fatui?"
"Well... I do have this." Amber replied, summoning a plushie to her arms, which looked like a chibi version of Amber wearing a red and white bunny suit. "This is Baron Bunny, my personal companion."
"Aww... how cute!" Hibiki, Kirika and Kiana gushed at the plushie.
"I know, right?" Amber smiled.
"How is a plushie supposed to act like a distraction?" Maria questioned... while hiding a small blush on her face. "C-Cute...!"
"The monsters will attack the dancing Baron Bunny instead until it explodes. A perfect way to distract them, allowing me to withdraw safely or counterattacking from behind their backs. Trust me, it works." Amber explained.
"Wait, this plushie can dance on its own?! And it explodes?!" Gaius questioned. "It's because of your Vision, isn't it?"
"Yup!" Amber nodded.
"An... unorthodox way of distracting your enemies..." Gaius sweatdropped before shrugging. "Oh well, that will do." He then turned to Zeo. "After that, what next?"
"While the Fatui are distracted, Hibiki and Fu Hua will swiftly move in, perform silent takedowns on them, and then confiscate their weapons before retreating, and that's when GV will bind them with his chains and pull them away from the Harbinger's sights." Zeo explained the rest of his plan. "After that, Kiana and Kallen will freeze the bound and unconscious Fatui with their Cyro bullets to make sure they stay unconscious. One other thing, leave the Fatui Harbinger alone for the time being."
"Why?" Lumine questioned.
"Because this is where you come in, traveler." Zeo replied. "Once the Harbinger is in a state of confusion with the missing Fatui, you're gonna ambush the Harbinger from behind using your newly acquired Anemo element. Send that bastard flying out of Mondstadt."
"Understood." Lumine noted. "No one harms my brother and his friends, and gets away with it."
"One other thing, when you arrive at the location and before you begin the ambush, make sure to take photos of the Fatui with your camera as evidence to show them to Master Jean later on." Akira said to the traveler.
"Got it." Lumine nodded and smriked. "Let's see those Fatui diplomats try and fix that mess."
"Can I also have a shot at the Harbinger when I get the chance?" Amber requested.
"Sure thing, Amber." Lumine approved. "Consider this a 'thank you' gift since you've helped my brother before. But wait for the signal before you can take the shot."
"Got it!"
"One more thing, Amber." Woz spoke up.
"Yes?"
"May I borrow Baron Bunny for a brief moment?"
"Um... okay, sure. Why though?"
"I'll explain in a moment. Trust me."
"If you say so." Amber replied as she gave her plushie to Woz, who turned to the zipper on the plushie's back and opened it, inserted a small device into the plushie before closing the zipper and then returned it to Amber. "What did you just do?"
"Simple. I've placed a remote flashbang in your doll." Woz replied.
"A remote... flashbang?" Amber repeated. "Is that some kind of new gadget?"
"Yes. It's a small non-lethal bomb that can stun foes with a bright flash and a loud noise." Woz explained. "And since your Baron Bunny will gain attention from the Fatui..."
"It will immediately stun them all in one shot!" Gunvolt finished with realization. "Nice idea, Woz."
"Thank you, Azure Striker." Woz replied before turning to the Outrider and gave her a small detonator. "And as for the remote part, use this to detonate your doll with a simple push of the button. That way, you won't have to worry about missing your timing."
"Got it." Amber nodded.
"Alright, it's decided." Zeo clasped his hands. "Amber, Lumine, Hibiki, Fu Hua, Kiana, Kallen, GV, take your positions quietly and don't get detected by the Fatui. The rest of us will search the market district in case of any more unexpected surprises. And in case we found any other Fatui lurking about, observe them, but do no engage unless necessary."
"Right!" The group complied with a nod.
"Oh and Hibiki, I'm giving you permission to sing your relic chant to distract the Fatui, but do not engage until Baron Bunny detonates." Zeo said.
"Understood, Zeo-san!" Hibiki nodded.
"Time is of the essence, so let's make it count! Begin the operation!" Zeo declared as everyone split up and quickly performed their tasks.
Outside the Favonius Cathedral
Meanwhile outside of the cathedral, an event is taking place where a group of Fatui Skirmishers consisting of two electro female mages wearing dark purple hooded robes and two male pyro agents wearing black and red wearing assassin attires along with masks, lead by a white-haired female Fatui Harbinger with a dark red and black witch's robe, stood in front of the helpless group consisting of a young male bard with dark blue hair with his legs frozen, and a blonde male traveler with outlandish clothes being restrained by the agents.
The smirking Harbinger slowly approached the bard and held his face with her hand. "Scurrying through the streets, looking for leftovers... Mondstadt calls this a god?" She spoke.
"Resident rodent..." The bard retorted. "Beats invasive vermin-"
*SLAP*
"Don't you dare speak back to me, insolent bard." The Harbinger retorted back after slapping him. The bard summoned winds around him to dispel the ice on his legs in order to break free, but it didn't do much as his feet are still frozen. "Barbatos... Absentee Archon of Mondstadt... Hmph, how impotent you have become." She smirked, unfazed by the bard's winds.
"That smirk you wear looks out of place. Did you steal it from your master's face?" The smirking bard named Barbatos insulted the Harbinger.
"...You should have held your tongue." The Harbinger scowled as she dashed in front of Barbatos, shoved her hand right into his chest, and pulled out some kind of glowing object out of him before stopping behind him. "So, this is a Gnosis?" She said, looking at said object on her hand while Barbatos fell to his knees. "Hm, wouldn't be caught dead wearing this ugly thing in public."
"Beauty is a waste... when the beholder has no taste..." Barbatos let out another insult, which resulted with him getting kicked to the floor by the Harbinger, knocking him unconscious.
"Venti...!" The traveler muttered as he was unable to do anything to save the bard.
"Well, we have what we came for." The Harbinger spoke to her Fatui Skirmishers. "Come. Before our dear Favo-"
"Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron..."
Before she could finish her sentence, everyone heard a chant that echoed throughout the area, earning their attention as they looked around. "What in the..." The Harbinger spoke.
"Lady Signora, what is that?" The Fatui Mage asked.
"I don't know." The Harbinger named Signora answered. "But who could be singing in a time like th-"
Suddenly, a dancing plushie in a shape of a girl wearing a red bunny suit landed in front of the group from above and started dancing, earning questionable looks while staring at the doll. "Is that... a dancing doll...?" The Fatui Agent spoke with confusion.
"What the heck?" The Fatui Mage added with confusion.
"Wait... that doll..." The traveler's eyes widen when he looked at the doll as he saw something familiar about it. "Amber?!" He silently gasped and immediately closed his eyes, knowing what the doll can do.
*CLICK!*
*BANG!*
And without warning, the doll exploded, letting out a bright flash of light along with a loud noise, making everyone in the group blind and deaf for several seconds. The traveler was safe from being blind since he closed his eyes on time, but his hearing began to feel deaf from the loud noise.
"Aahh! My eyes!"
"I can't see a thing!"
"What?! I can't hear you!"
"Why can't I see or hear anything?!"
"Ugh! Who in the...?! How did they...?!" Signora muttered, unable to see or hear while covering her ears from the noise.
While the Fatui are being crippled, the transformed Hibiki and Fu Hua quickly engaged the Fatui from behind with Hibiki going after the agents while Fu Hua went after the mages. With a few swift chops and palm strikes to their pressure points, they immediately knocked out the Fatui and confiscated their weapons into their Zikan Phones before retreating. The traveler was shocked after seeing two girls from out of nowhere took out the Fatui in a surprise ambush. On top of the statue, a certain Azure Striker summoned chains from his hand and binds the unconscious Fatui, pulling them into one group. He also noticed the Gnosis on Signora's hand. Thinking that the object might be important, he summoned another chain from his other hand, used it to latch onto the object and pulled it back right onto his hand before keeping it into his pocket to show the group later. As for the bound Fatui, Gunvolt pulled them up with an overhead swing, prompting Kiana and Kallen (who were standing atop the statue's hands with Amber wearing her goggles right beside them) to fire their cryo bullets onto the Fatui to freeze them and were left hanging on the statues hands with the bound chains. With his job done, Gunvolt quickly jumped onto the statue's hands to avoid being detected by Signora.
When Signora finally has her sight and hearing returned, her eyes widened in shock that her Fatui subordinates somehow vanished. Even worse, the Gnosis that was on her possession earlier was also gone, making her grit her teeth and clench her fist in anger before glaring at Barbatos and the traveler. "You...! What did you do to my subordinates?! And where's the Gnosis?!" She demanded as she was about to approach them, only for her shoulder to be tapped with a finger from behind.
"Excuse me."
"What?!" Signora quickly turned around to answer, only for her chest to be met with a vacuum orb, courtesy by another traveler named Lumine, and she's not looking too happy at the moment. Lumine then generated another vacuum orb from her other hand and slammed it right onto Signora's chest alongside the other sphere, making it grow larger. "Who... Who are...?!" She exclaimed in shock, looking at Lumine letting out a death glare of her own and lifted the Harbinger off the ground.
As for the male traveler, his eyes widen in deep shock when he took a look at Lumine attacking Signora in an ambush. "L-Lumine...?!" He whispered her name.
"Aether! Give me a hand!" Lumine shouted to the male traveler, making him snap out of his state of shock and gained attention after finally getting his hearing back. She gave a supporting nod to him, before nodding back with understanding. In response, the male traveler named Aether quickly rushed towards her, generating vacuum orbs from his hands, and slammed them onto Signora's back, making her gasp even further. The vacuum orb became larger due to the combined power of Lumine and Aether, turning it into a large sphere of wind that encased the surprised Signora inside with no hope of escape. "Prepared to be blown away!" Lumine shouted as she and Aether launched the sphere right into the night sky, earning Gunvolt and Amber's attention which signals them to take the final blow.
Once Gunvolt and Amber stood on top of the statue, Amber aimed her bow at the sphere with her Pyro arrow ready while Gunvolt generated electricity from his left hand before reeling it back. "We'll fire on three!" Amber told him. "One... Two... Three!" On the third count, she fired her arrow while Gunvolt thrust his reeled hand forward that unleashed his Luxcaliber Launcher, with both shots landing on the sphere and pushing it further away from the city while turning the sphere into a fire red and lightning blue sphere. Ten seconds later, the sphere detonated into a massive electrical fiery explosion that sent the Harbinger flying away before falling deep into the ocean. "Hehe, I've always wanted to do that to a Fatui Harbinger." Amber smirked while putting away her bow and gave a high-five to Gunvolt. "Thanks for letting me in on this."
"You're welcome, by the way." Gunvolt smirked back. "Though you should really be thanking Zeo for ordering this ambush."
"I'll do that." Amber nodded while pulling down her goggles. "With this, the Fatui will definitely think twice about dealing with Mondstadt."
"Yep, since we have captured the culprits to use as evidence." Gunvolt replied as he and Amber stared at the twin travelers. "Not only that, Lumine was able to take photos of the incident too. Those gacking diplomats won't be able to lie their way out of this one."
"Yeah. Hopefully Master Jean will finally give the Fatui the boot and exile them from Mondstadt. For now though, should we go down there and greet the travelers?"
"Nah. Give them their reunion moment for now. In the meantime, you go and inform the knights to take the Fatui to jail. But don't let them unfreeze the Fatui yet until it's safe."
"Got it." Amber complied before turning around. "See ya later, Gunvolt!" She smiled before flying off towards the Knight of Favonius HQ.
"Take care! And just call me GV instead!" Gunvolt replied, took one more look at the reunited travelers with a smile and regrouped with the Kaslanas to assist them with getting the bound and frozen Fatui to ground level.
Back with the traveling twins, Lumine and Aether stared at each other in silence for a few brief moments, not expecting their reunion to happen so soon. Eventually, Lumine broke the silence with a simple greeting. "Hello, Aether."
"Hi, Lumine." Aether greeted back.
"So... I heard from Amber that you assisted the Knights of Favonius with resolving the Stormterror crisis. Glad to know you're doing well."
"Yeah, despite losing most of my powers thanks to that Unknown God. At least I was given Anemo powers thanks to touching the Statue of the Seven."
"I see. I've got Anemo powers too ever since I touched that same statue."
"Where were you, anyway? I've been searching around the region for you for two months."
"Yeah, Amber told me about that part too. Sorry I took so long." Lumine apologized. "After we were separated from that Unknown God, I woke up in the Sands of Time, which is an endless desert where time stood still. Eventually, I met some new friends who were also stranded in the desert, and then we met even more friends that saved us from being stranded in that desert, and they accepted my help to find you along with looking for a way to get my powers back."
"So that's were you landed." Aether noted. "For me though after the separation, I woke up in Teyvat all alone, until eventually I found Paimon while I was fishing at the beach. Paimon's a familiar, by the way."
"Fishing, huh? Does this mean that you caught Paimon instead of fish?"
"I... uh... never expected that to happen." Aether rubbed the back of his head. "Anyway, we became fast friends as we journeyed around Teyvat for around two months to look for you while also finding a way to get my powers back."
"I see. And then when you reached Mondstadt, you were involved with resolving the Stormterror crisis alongside the Knights of Favonius."
"Mhm." Aether nodded. "They made me into an Honorary Knight."
"An Honorary Knight, huh? Well lucky you." Lumine smirked with her arms crossed. "Why do I get the feeling that you're becoming stronger than I am?"
"I'm not that strong since I'm still learning new skills as I go."
"Good to know." Lumine replied as the two stood in silence once more, until she ran up to Aether and hugged him, making him surprised. "I'm glad you're alright, my brother... I've missed you so much..." She smiled while shedding some tears.
"Yeah..." Aether smiled and hugged back while also shedding tears. "It's good to see you feeling okay, my sister..."
"What's going on outside?! I heard an explosion!"
"Hm?" The twin travelers responded when the cathedral doors opened, interrupting their reunion moment and gained their attention to the one who opened the doors.
"Jean? Barbara?" Aether answered, recognizing the two people who opened the doors.
One of them was a tall woman with grey-blue eyes and medium-length gold-blonde hair tied back into a ponytail with a black bow. She also wears a pair of gold cross earrings on her ears. Her outfit consists of a white, blue, black, and red strapless shirt with gold symbol and linings along with a long blue tailcoat attached to it; a pair of separate white sleeves along with blue gauntlets; a short blue and gold cloak with a light blue inner lining attached to a white separate collar with black linings; white tights embroidered with gold diamond-dot pattern; and lastly pair of white high-heeled knee-high boots with gold patterns and black heels. She also has a sky Anemo Vision hanging on the back of her belt. This is Jean Gunhildr, Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius.
The other one was a young girl with blue eyes and ash-blonde hair tied in pigtails. Her outfit consists of a white frock that's open at the shoulders with blue frills, gold lining, and a large white and blue bow with a gold cross in the front along with white tights, white ankle boots with black bottoms and blue ankle cuffs, and a blue and white cap resembling a nurse's cap with a gold cross on its front. Her white tights have a faint flower polka-dot pattern. A blue orb-shaped crystal is attached to a gold-adorned spell-book with a light blue cover and a small cross charm hangs at her side, attached to a black strap held together with a gold hoop. This is Barbara Pegg, deaconess of the Favonius Church.
"A-Aether? Why are you still here? Weren't you supposed to chase after Venti?" Jean questioned before noticing the one hugging him. "Also, who is this?"
"Huh?" The twin travelers blinked before starting at each other, making them gasp in shock before releasing their embrace and clearing their throats before turning to Jean and Barbara.
"Oh... um... this is... uh..." Aether struggled to answer.
"I think you better let me do the talking, Aether." Lumine spoke up before answering Jean. "Hello there, my name is Lumine, Aether's brother. I saw the posters Amber posted around the city."
"Wait... you're Aether's brother?!" Jean gasped. "He managed to find you?"
"Actually, I found him." Lumine corrected. "You see-"
"Aahh!" Barbara screamed, earning everyone's attention. "What happened to the bard?!" She pointed at the unconscious bard, making them look before gasping in shock.
"Venti!" Jean exclaimed before she and the others quickly approached him to take a closer look. "What just happened to him?! He looked like he was attacked by an assassin!"
"That's because... he and I were attacked by assassins from the Fatui." Aether answered.
"What?! The Fatui?!" Jean gasped. "But I didn't hear anything from inside the cathedral! ...Except for that recent explosion that we've heard earlier."
"Well... there's a reason for that explosion." Lumine replied. "But for now, we need to give Venti some medical attention immediately."
"Barbara, take him to the cathedral infirmary and heal him however you can." Jean requested.
"Of course, big sis." Barbara nodded before turning to the twins. "Can one of you help me carry him there?"
"I'll do it." Aether stepped forward and carried Venti. "You coming, sis?"
"Let me contact the rest of my companions to come here first. I'll join you in a moment." Lumine replied.
"Okay." Aether nodded before he was escorted by Barbara into the cathedral.
"You should go first as well, Jean. It won't take long." Lumine said.
"Very well. I'll see you inside." Jean replied before entering the cathedral.
Once everyone is gone, Lumine turned around, took out her Zikan Phone and contacted Zeo, Akira and Gaius via voice call. "Lumine here; how's the situation going on your end?"
"Well nothing much. Though that explosion you and the others caused made the knights scramble all over the market district to locate any intruders." Zeo informed.
"But that also means the ambush was a complete success." Akira added.
"Yup, and it worked flawlessly." Lumine confirmed. "My brother Aether and Venti are safe from the Fatui and the Harbinger. Plus, I've gotten enough photos to use as evidence against the Fatui."
"Nicely done, Lumine." Gaius praised. "...Wait. Venti? I thought it was Master Jean."
"Actually it was a young bard named Venti instead. Jean was still inside the cathedral alongside her sister Barbara." Lumine informed. "I'm surprised that they didn't hear the ambush outside, until the explosion happened."
"I see." Zeo noted.
"Not only that, I also saw some kind of object that the Harbinger took from Venti. It's with GV at the moment."
"Must be something important." Gaius deduced. "We'll let GV hold onto it for the time being."
"Good idea. That way, the Fatui won't go after Venti anymore."
"So, how's the reunion with your brother?" Akira asked.
"It felt really great to reunite with my brother again." Lumine smiled. "Though that moment was cut short when Jean and Barbara arrived. I'm heading inside the cathedral to meet up with Jean and explain about what happened earlier."
"Understood." Zeo noted. "You go on ahead and meet up with her. Akira, myself, Hibiki, Kiana, Noelle and Sucrose will join you in a moment."
"I'll round up the others and meet up with Amber to help escort the frozen Fatui to jail." Gaius added. "No need to wait for us, we'll be busy for quite a while."
"Okay, Gaius. Zeo, Akira, see you and the others inside the cathedral." Lumine replied, ending the call and putting away her phone before heading for the cathedral to meet up with Jean.
Unknown to everyone however, someone witnessed the entire thing from atop a windmill at a distance. It was a tall man with red eyes and bright red hair, worn in a low ponytail that extends to his mid-back. His outfit consists of a black dress shirt, a long white vest, and a black ascot with a red gem. Over it, he wears a dark brown coat with golden trimmings and tassels, ending with black fur-trims. He wears black pants which are embellished with chains on his right thigh, while his Pyro Vision, attached to a belt, is settled upon his left thigh. Lastly, he wears cuffed, dark brown boots held by multiple buckles, and a pair of black gloves with their palm sides all red while the backs are black with a matching red diamond pattern. The man let out an amused smirk with his arms crossed before heading back inside the windmill.
Favonius Cathedral
"Ah, Lumine. You're here." Jean greeted the arriving female traveler who approached her at the center of the main hall. "Have you finished contacting with your friends?"
"Yes." Lumine nodded. "Zeo, Akira, and a few others will be here in a moment, while everyone else will assist with the city patrol alongside Amber. So, is my brother still inside the infirmary with Venti and Barbara?"
"Actually it's just Venti and Barbara now." Replied the arriving Aether before standing beside Lumine. "Barbara should be tending to Venti's wounds by now. He'll be fine by tomorrow morning."
"That's good to hear." Lumine replied back. "Guess we were so caught up by our reunion that we forgot about him."
"Yeah. Still, I'm sure he'll be just fine." Aether assured.
"Now then Lumine, allow me to properly introduce myself." Jean said with her hand on her chest and bowed. "My name is Jean Gunhildr, Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius. Welcome to Mondstadt, traveler."
"Nice to meet you, Master Jean." Lumine replied with the same gesture. "And thank you for taking care of my brother during his stay in Mondstadt."
"It's my pleasure, Lumine. And please, just call me Jean." Jean smiled back. "Now then, when did you arrive here in Mondstadt?"
"Just a few hours ago while I was traveling with some of my new friends. You'll meet them eventually." Lumine replied.
"You know, sis, I think I saw some of them earlier dealing with the Fatui assassins." Aether recalled. "Are they with you?"
"Yup." Lumine confirmed with a nod. "And they're pretty strong considering the hard battles they've been through in the past."
"I see." Aether noted. "Guess I'm not the only one making new friends during my journey."
"Speaking of the Fatui assassins, what happened, Aether?" Jean asked.
"They attacked without warning the moment Venti, Paimon and I left the cathedral earlier." Aether explained. "Paimon was blown away by the cold winds, and then the Fatui agents restrained me from helping Venti who was being abused by a woman in a witch's outfit. I was able to hear one of the agents speak out her name; Signora."
"Signora... So that's the name of that Fatui Harbinger." Lumine noted with her hand on her chin.
"A Fatui Harbinger was here?!" Jean exclaimed. "Why?"
"She seems to be going after something important to Venti as she pulled out some kind of object out of his chest. She calls it a Gnosis, I think." Aether recalled. "Do you know what it is, Jean?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't even know what a Gnosis is." Jean replied. "Maybe you should ask Venti since that Gnosis was originally his."
"Fair enough." Aether nodded.
"Anyway, was Signora successful with stealing that Gnosis?" Jean asked.
"She failed, thanks to me and the others performing an ambush of our own planned out by Zeo." Lumine replied. "Amber even helped out with the ambush thanks to her Baron Bunny providing the distraction."
"So Zeo was the one who planned that ambush against the Fatui..." Aether noted before smiling. "I should thank him when I get the chance to meet him."
"You'll get that chance soon, brother." Lumine assured.
"Never expected Amber to follow along that ambush." Jean commented.
"She was a great help. As expected from an Outrider." Lumine smiled.
"Hey Lumine! We're here as promised!" Said the arriving Akira, with Zeo right beside her, along with Hibiki (now back in her civilian attire), Kiana, Sucrose and Noelle right behind them.
Also, there's a familiar floating right between Zeo and Akira. She has dark purple eyes along with thick white hair cropped just above her shoulders. She also has a dark blue hairpin, almost black, and a rose-gold crown that levitates above her head like a halo from an angel. Her outfit consists of a long-sleeved white jumper and a night-blue cape flecked with stars; and white stockings with white boots. Lastly, rose-gold embroidery and shapes are attached to her jumper, boots, and sleeves.
"Ah, Aether! Paimon's glad that you're alright!" The familiar spoke, gaining their attention.
"Paimon!" Aether smiled as his companion. "Good to know you're okay after seeing you being flown away by that cold wind."
"Paimon would still be a popsicle until these kind people showed up and unfroze Paimon." Paimon gestured to Zeo and the others.
"You're welcome, by the way." Kiana replied.
"But why did it have to be a kick, Kiana?! Shouldn't you use some fire to safely unfroze Paimon?! What if you accidently broke Paimon in half?!"
"It's either that or Hibiki's fist."
"...Paimon will just stick with fire instead. No kicking or punching necessary!"
"Sorry, Paimon-chan." Hibiki apologized.
"So... this is your companion?" Lumine asked her brother while pointing at the familiar.
"Yep, that's Paimon alright." Aether confirmed before noticing the others. "And these are your companions, sis?"
"Mhm." Lumine nodded. "These are my friends; Zeo, Akira, Kiana and Hibiki."
"So you must be Aether, Lumine's long lost twin brother. Nice to finally meet you." Zeo greeted.
"Likewise, Zeo. And thanks for taking care of my sister." Aether greeted back, before noticing the maid knight and the spectacled alchemist. "Wait, who are these two, Lumine?"
"I think her look speaks for itself." Akira answered, pointing at a shocked Jean who's looking at the two familiar faces.
"Noelle?! Sucrose?!" Jean exclaimed.
"Good to see you doing well, Master Jean." Noelle greeted with a bow.
"Sorry for our long absence, but we're finally back in Mondstadt, safe and sound." Sucrose also bowed.
"Where have you two been?!" Jean asked. "Me and the knights have been looking all over for you ever since your disappearance!"
"Well... there's a reason for that, and it's quite the long story." Noelle answered.
"We've been through quite a lot while traveling alongside Lumine, Zeo and the others." Sucrose added.
"Zeo, you're gonna tell Jean and my brother about our mission, correct?" Lumine asked, earning a nod from him.
"What kind of mission?" Jean asked.
"Take a seat, everyone. This is gonna take a while." Zeo said.
Several minutes later...
And so, our heroes explain to Jean, Aether and Paimon about the events that occurred so far in their journey starting with Lumine, Noelle and Sucrose being stranded in the Sands of Time after being teleported by the Dimensional Quakes before Akira's group saved them, though Lumine was not sure if the quake sent her to that desert after being separated from her brother; the existence of Gjallarhorn which is now split into numerous fragments and scattered throughout the multiverse; the dangerous group called the Neo Time Jackers; and the formation of a multiversal team called Team XDR or Xross Drive Rebellion, which consist of heroes from multiple worlds and founded by Zeo, Akira and Gaius. Also, they explained how they arrived in the world of Teyvat thanks to the Zi-O Liner. Once the explanations are finished, Aether, Paimon and Jean were completely speechless about it.
"Wow... you guys have been thought a lot compared to Aether and Paimon." Paimon remarked.
"Mhm." Lumine nodded. "That's why I decided to join the team to look for my brother and to get my powers back along with learning new ones."
"So that's why." Aether noted. "Well, at least you're able to find me thanks to their help."
"Once again, you're welcome." Akira replied.
"To think that there's an even more dangerous organization besides the Fatui and the Abyss Order, not to mention the existence of other worlds beyond Teyvat." Jean remarked. "I can see why Team XDR is formed to fight against the Neo Time Jackers and to locate the Gjallarhorn fragments. I wonder if there's a fragment somewhere within Teyvat?"
"We're not entirely sure unless the fragment detector started making a signal to know that it's active." Hibiki replied. "The least we can do now is to wait and see."
"I see. If me and the knights discover any of the fragments, you'll be the first to know."
"Thanks Jean, more help is appreciated." Zeo replied.
"Oh, and if you're wondering about that explosion earlier, that was me and Aether sending Signora flying out of Mondstadt with our Anemo powers, while Gunvolt and Amber followed up using their Pyro and Electro powers, causing the explosion." Lumine explained.
"An Overload and Swirl reaction. So that's how." Jean noted. "I'm just glad Aether and Venti are safe thanks to you and your friends, Lumine."
"No problem, Jean." Lumine replied with a smile. "No one hurts my brother or his friends and gets away with it."
"Hehe, Paimon can imagine the look on that Harbinger's face after that." Paimon smirked.
"One more thing, I've even taken photos of the Fatui ambush before we performed our own ambush." Lumine said. "You can use them on those Fatui diplomats as evidence. I'll give you the photos tomorrow."
"I see. That way, the Fatui will run out of excuses to defend themselves. Nicely done, Lumine." Jean praised.
"Thanks. But it was actually Zeo's idea from the start." Lumine gestured to him.
"Noelle and I already told them about how corrupted the Fatui were, and they will not hesitate to stop their plans." Sucrose said.
"We're gonna make them lose their morale one step at a time, until they finally decide to withdraw from the region." Akira stated. "And we'll start with Mondstadt."
"Wait, here?" Jean questioned.
"Yup." Zeo nodded. "But we're gonna need your permission to do so since you're in charge of the city, Jean." He then offered a hand to her. "Will you accept our assistance?"
"Well..."
"I'd suggest you accept their help, Master Jean." Noelle suggested. "We can trust them wholeheartedly after Sucrose and I witnessed what they could do together."
"I..." Jean looked at the determined faces of the group, especially Sucrose, Noelle and Lumine. Even Aether and Paimon supported them. She always had rely on herself and the knights to defend Mondstadt from the Fatui and the Abyss Order, but maybe with their help, she'll be able to release some of her stress away along with having less problems since they're willing to form an alliance with Mondstadt. With that in mind, she smiled and shook Zeo's hand. "Very well, I accept your offer, Zeo."
"Thanks for making the right choice." Zeo smiled back with everyone else feeling the same way.
"By the way, Aether, Paimon, are the both of you going to join Team XDR alongside your sister?" Kiana asked.
"Wherever she goes, then me and Paimon will go as well. Count us in." Aether replied, with Paimon nodding. "We'll definitely help with their mission."
"Welcome to the team, you two." Lumine smiled as she did a fist-bump with her brother and Paimon. "Hope you two are ready for the many worlds we're about to travel in the future."
"Oh, you bet! Paimon's ready for anything!" Paimon proclaimed.
"Besides being called an emergency food supply?" Aether teased.
"Hey! Not funny, Aether!" Paimon retorted, making everyone else laugh. "Anyway, what next?"
"Well, since my sister and I are now reunited, I'm not really sure at the moment. And I was planning head for Liyue after the Stormterror crisis." Aether replied.
"Liyue... that's the nation of the Geo Archon, Morax." Noelle said. "I'd love to visit there when I have the chance."
"If I recall, Aether and Lumine got their Anemo powers by touching Barbatos' statue." Akira recalled. "So maybe you'll get Geo powers when you touch Morax's statue?"
"Hmm... I guess it's worth a shot." Lumine replied.
"Huh... I've just realized that Aether and Lumine are about to follow the path of the Avatar." Zeo said.
"The Avatar?" Aether, Lumine and Paimon repeated.
"It's a story of a young boy named Aang, an airbender from the Air Nomads, who must become the new Avatar by traveling to the three other nations and master the elements, which is water, earth, and fire." Zeo explained.
"Interesting..." Jean noted. "So what is an Avatar?"
"The Avatar is a master of the four elements; Air, Water, Earth and Fire. In the words of Teyvat; it's Anemo, Hydro, Geo and Pyro." Akira explained. "He's also an international arbiter whose duty is to maintain harmony among the nations, and acts as a mediator between humans and spirits."
"So basically, the Avatar is not only a master of the elements, but also a peacemaker and mediator?" Paimon guessed.
"Something like that."
"In the world of Teyvat, there's seven elements and seven nations..." Sucrose said. "Then that means..."
"Aether and I must travel to the seven nations of Teyvat and obtain their elements by touching each Statue of the Seven from the corresponding nations." Lumine stated in realization.
"Seems like that's your next course of action." Zeo said to Lumine and Aether. "Maybe by obtaining the seven elements, you'll be able to get your old powers back."
"You really think so?" Aether asked.
"Won't know until you two try in for yourselves." Zeo replied.
"Wait a minute." Kiana interrupted with a raised hand. "I've just realized that the nation of the Cryo Archon is in Snezhnaya, which is also where the Fatui lives."
"Oh... that's gonna be a problem for us." Hibiki cringed. "And that's also where Aether-san and Lumine-chan will obtain the Cryo element."
"Maybe we should save Snezhnaya for last. We're not ready to deal with that nation just yet." Noelle suggested, earning a nod of agreement from the group, especially Aether and Lumine.
"When did you became more cautious, Noelle?" Jean asked.
"Let's just say that I've been learning quite a lot when I'm working alongside Team XDR." Noelle replied. "They even told me about my flaws and how to improve upon them, and I took note of them wholeheartedly. It's no wonder I didn't pass the Knights of Favonius exams seven times."
"You failed seven times?!" Hibiki exclaimed. "No way... At least I was able to pass my exams despite being a bit lazy at times!"
"I feel your pain, Hibiki-chan." Kiana cringed. "I passed my practical exams, but failed my written ones, all because I was too focused on going head over heels with Mei and ignoring the important stuff. I really need to improve upon that."
"Yeah, you should, Kiana-chan. You told me about your promise last time." Hibiki replied.
"Glad to see you three choosing to never giving up and to improve upon yourselves. Keep up with that mindset, and you'll be able to reach your goals someday." Zeo said to Kiana, Hibiki and Noelle.
"We will!" The three nodded.
"I'll look forward to see your improvements, Noelle." Jean smiled.
"Thank you, Master Jean." Noelle bowed and smiled. "I promise to keep on improving myself."
"Well then..." Jean began to yawn. "I think we'll have to end this conversation for today. It's getting late and I need to get some rest for tomorrow."
"Ah, right. Your Acting Grand Master duties." Zeo noted before nodding. "I understand. But thank you for your time."
"You're welcome, Zeo." Jean nodded back. "And again, thank you for protecting Aether and Venti from the Fatui earlier, and for escorting Noelle and Sucrose back to Mondstadt safely. I'll be sure to repay your kindness someday."
"We'll look forward to that, Master Jean. Until then..." Akira replied with her hand on her chest and bowed, with everyone else doing the same gesture. "Sleep well."
"Goodnight, Xross Drive Rebellion." Jean replied back with the same gesture. "And Aether, Lumine and Paimon? Safe travels."
"Thanks, Jean!" Aether, Lumine and Paimon replied back before the group left the cathedral, leaving behind Jean with a smile on her face.
Once the group left the cathedral, they head back to the market district where Gaius and the others are waiting for them. Even Amber was there awaiting their arrival. "Ah, welcome back, you guys!" Amber greeted the arrivals. "So, how'd it go?"
"It went pretty smoothly." Zeo replied. "And don't worry about Venti, he'll be just fine by tomorrow morning thanks to Barbara's assistance."
"Glad to hear it. Did you tell her about my part?"
"We told her about it too. She was surprised about you assisting in our ambush against the Fatui, but was very impressed." Akira replied.
"That's good to know." Amber smiled before turning to Aether and Lumine. "And how did your reunion go?"
"Well, it felt great to reunite with my sister after so long." Aether replied. "And now, Paimon and I will be joining her on her next journey."
"We were planning to head for Liyue next, but we're gonna stay in the Mondstadt region to help out the locals for a while." Lumine added before turning to Aether and Paimon and gestured to her friends. "These are my other friends, brother. This is Maria, Kirika, Miriam, Mei, Kallen, Fu Hua, Gunvolt, Gaius and Woz."
"Nice to meet you guys." Aether greeted them.
"Likewise, Aether." Fu Hua greeted back as she and the others nodded. "Hello again, Paimon."
"Hi, Fu Hua!" Paimon waved.
"Wait, you met them already?" Aether questioned his familiar.
"Yup." Paimon nodded. "They're quite nice too."
"You're pretty cute though, Paimon-chan." Mei smiled, making Paimon giggle.
"I agree, dess!" Kirika also smiled.
"So I'm guessing you'll be staying at our inn for tonight?" Amber asked.
"Thanks, but we're gonna head back to our camp outside to meet up with the others and calling it a day." Zeo replied. "But we'll come back here tomorrow morning to check up on Venti."
"I understand."
"As much as I want to go back with you guys, I'll have to stay here for tonight to help out the knights with their patrol, along with cleaning up their headquarters." Noelle said.
"Are you sure you can handle it all by yourself?" Maria asked.
"I'll be just fine, Maria." Noelle assured. "But, I'll be sure to ask the others for help if needed. Besides, you taught me to take a break every once in a while so that I can continue my work when I'm ready. It does count as training, after all."
"Good for you, Noelle." Maria nodded and smiled. "Always remember that."
"I'm sure that you'll be a great knight someday, Noelle." Kallen smiled.
"Thank you for the encouragement, Kallen, Maria." Noelle bowed.
"U-Um..." Sucrose raised her hand, gaining everyone's attention. "I'll also have to stay here. I need to check up on the alchemy workshop to see how everything's doing during my absence. I just hope Timaeus is not working too hard taking care of the workshop. Speaking of which, Amber, did you see Master Albedo earlier?"
"Well... he was here before Aether returned to the city to help with the aftermath of the Stormterror crisis, until he returned back to Dragonspine to continue his alchemy research once he was no longer needed." Amber replied.
"Oh... guess I just missed him. Oh well, maybe next time."
"Dragonspine? What's that?" Gunvolt asked.
"It's a large icy mountain on the southeastern part of Mondstadt. You can see it at a distance, you won't miss it." Amber replied. "But, I'd be careful about stepping foot on that mountain since it's very cold over there, not to mention the dangerous ice monsters you'll encounter there."
"N-Noted, dess..." Kirika gulped.
"Everyone, is it alright if I stay with Sucrose for the night?" Miriam requested, surprising the group. "I know you guys will come back here tomorrow, but I wanted to make sure she doesn't overwork herself to the point that she'll stay awake without sleeping."
"O-Oh... you remembered about that part... Sorry." Sucrose apologized.
"It's okay. But it's important to get enough rest first so that you'll be able to focus on your alchemy research properly, just like how Noelle needs to rest before performing her duties."
"Miriam has a point there, Sucrose." Noelle agreed.
"You don't mind letting Miriam stay in your workshop, Sucrose?" Gaius asked.
"Hmm..." Sucrose pondered with her hand on her chin, before accepting with a nod. "Alright then, Miriam will stay with me for the night."
"There you have it, Miriam. Permission granted." Zeo approved.
"Thank you, Zeo, Sucrose." Miriam nodded and smiled.
"I'll stay here as well, everyone." Woz said, surprising the group at his decision.
"Wait, you're staying here for tonight? Is there a reason for that?" Akira questioned.
"I've taken interest in this city. Not only that, I wanted to take a look at their library for knowledge about Teyvat." Woz answered.
"Ah, I see. Fair enough." Fu Hua noted. "Just remember to take a break as well."
"Duly noted, Fu Hua."
"Well then, time for us to go." Lumine declared. "Thanks again for the help, Amber."
"No problem, traveler! Outrider Amber's always here to help!" Amber smiled.
"Hehe! Would be nice if you could come along with us in our adventures." Hibiki smiled.
"Yeah, that would be nice." Amber agreed. "Have a safe trip!"
"We will! Amber, Woz, Noelle, Sucrose, Miriam, see you all tomorrow!" Aether said as he and the others waved goodbye to them as they left the city and on their way back to the Zi-O Liner waiting at the coast of Stormbearer Point.
Woz let out a small amused smile as he watched the others leave while pondering at his thoughts. "I wonder what would happen if we didn't stop the Fatui in time? Either way, we managed to stop them before they could cause anymore trouble, and reunited the travelers a lot sooner than expected. I wonder what will happen next? Well..." He then looked at the night sky. "Only time... will tell..."
Chapter 1: The Nation of Freedom
END
Author's Note: Well, it's official. I'm going to involve both Aether and Lumine into the Archon Quests instead of just one of the siblings. This could lead to some interesting changes to the Genshin storyline in the future. And speaking of the Archon Quests, I have plans for that one particular quest that involves Dainsleif, but that will have to wait until the Liyue arc is completed.
Now about that Mondstadt chapter, it took place after the battle with Stormterror, but this time, thanks to Team XDR's involvement, the Fatui ambush has been foiled, the Anemo Gnosis is safe in Team XDR's possession, Lumine and Aether are finally reunited in a positive note, and they crippled Signora. She should be okay by the Liyue arc, but that humiliating scar is going to be there for a long time. And besides, why wait for her defeat in Inazuma, when I can humiliate her in Mondstadt instead? Plus, Team XDR formed an alliance with Jean and her knights. Oh, and speaking of the other Mondstadt heroes, they'll show up in the chapters to come, though I did let out a small hint of one of them in this chapter. Take a wild guess as to who he is from his description.
With that said, stay safe and see you next chapter!
