None of the assembled people have ever heard Venti play his flute like this. Diluc, Kaeya, and Rosaria were overly familiar with his changed playstyle when he was drunk. Everyone had heard Venti perform on the street. But the song he played now had nothing of the beauty Venti's fingers usually produced from any instrument in his hands.
In that singular second that Xiao was rooted to the ground by Rosaria's and Kaeya's Cryo, the shrill notes of Venti's flute filled the air with an intensity that cut in everyone's ears and made them cover them from the screech of Venti's flute with pained shouts. It sounded like the screams of the Abyss.
Two didn't even flinch: Xiao, who broke free from the Cryo nailing him down and flashed forward, point of his spear aimed at Venti; and Childe, who jumped into the way of Xiao's spear with manic glee adorning his face.
His characteristic blades caught the spear tip between them and deflected Xiao's impact toward the ground. But Childe didn't keep this weapon type this time and fluently changed his blades into a polearm as well to match his opponent. At the same time, moving fluently like water, he made use of his opponent being at ground level due to the unexpected direction change and stepped hard onto Xiao's spear's shaft as he swung his own polearm down, forcing Xiao to let go off his weapon and evade backwards to avoid a critical hit.
"You're mine!", Childe shouted triumphantly.
When Xiao's head snapped up with another of his roars, eyes glowing unnaturally, Childe had already changed his polearm into bow and arrow, aiming, and released the arrow at Xiao. As it flew, the Hydro from which the arrow was made froze with the Abyss' cold and changed its trajectory because of this change in weight, giving Xiao just enough time to evade another hit.
Childe cursed out. "Shit, I still need more practice! Hold still, buddy!"
"What are you doing!" Coming back to himself, Aether lowered his arms from his ringing ears and jumped at Childe, grabbing for his elbow that drew back the bow string, "are you trying to kill him?! Stop it! Stop it, Childe!"
"Buying time, comrade!" Despite Aether tugging at his elbow, Childe strung together more arrows seamlessly together at Xiao, who had manifested his spear anew and deflected the attacks easily while staying in constant motion. He was as light and quick on his feet as Rifthounds moved through the air, movement powered by animalic instincts.
By now, Venti's song had lost nothing of its intensity, but his initial panic had died down to a level that it didn't make everyone's ears bleed from the shrill notes anymore. As he adjusted, he was flanked by Rosaria and Kaeya as his bodyguards, who were observing the situation. Since they were both Cryo users, the Abyss' cold affected them less than everyone else, allowing them mobility.
"I don't think your song's working!", Rosaria shouted, trying to remember how Barbara's songs worked on people and simultaneously to not lose Xiao's wildly dashing figure out of sight in any moment. She had never seen any enemy move this fast before. What exactly were they facing? Was this the power of an Archon? Darn, why did she have to ditch practice in favour of fighting so often?
"Attack incoming!" Kaeya had barely finished the warning when Xiao was upon them, manifesting as raging black shadow mid-air after he'd easily slipped past Childe and Aether. Someone shrieked, the sound of Venti's flute broke off as Venti dodged backwards, and the noise of his flute was replaced by the screech of polearm clashing against two overhead raised weapons, lifted just in time to meet the blow.
Both Rosaria's and Kaeya's knees almost gave in under them under the impact of Xiao's attack. At the same time, they snapped up their second hand to hold against the spear pressing down on Kaeya's sword and Rosaria's polearm, joining their efforts to push Xiao's spear back and prevent it from cutting down on and cleanly through them. Xiao definitely had the arm strength to do so.
Xiao landed lightly on his feet, but instead of striking again, with a turn to the side he dodged another arrow coming from behind him - which almost impaled Kaeya because of that.
"Watch where you're aiming, Fatui boy!", Kaeya shouted, enraged, and Aether finally got a good grip on Childe's bow, wrestling him down before he could shoot in direction of allies again.
"Keep playing, Venti!", Diluc roared from the backlines, his voice carrying clearly over to them. In all of this confusion, Diluc had stayed back and observed. He couldn't directly re-join the fight due to his state and as claymore user, he wouldn't be able to find the opening in this neat fight. Diluc knew when he was useless on a battlefield.
He could keep a cool head though. "Play as loudly as you can, bard!"
"Traveller!" Before bringing the flute back to his lips, Venti made sure to establish eye contact with Aether, then stared intently to where he thought he could make out Xiao's eyes through the shadows clouding his figure.
When Venti played on the flute this time, he played a melodious tune that sounded more misplaced in the Abyss than what he'd played before. Infused with Anemo, the song caused a Swirld reaction as it accelarated the effects of Sheer Cold and accumulated Cryo, freezing other elemental users in place (apart from Cryo) and manifesting everyone's breaths into thick, white clouds.
Xiao didn't freeze, but he grabbed for his head, shaking it as he doubled over.
"No!", he shouted. His voice was filled with despair, with pain. His fingers clung to his hair as he swayed. "So dark! Shut it!"
"Xiao!", Aether let go of Childe and moved forward, reaching out in the intention of closing his arms around Xiao from behind. At the same time, Rosaria swung her polearm to threaten Xiao to keep standing still, but the movement only made Xiao stumble backwards blindly.
"Childe, no!", Paimon squeaked as well. It happened too quickly.
A flash of Electro zapped past Aether and Childe's punch connected with Xiao's back, crashing the two of them onto the ground so hard that a crater formed in the tiles beneath Xiao's figure.
"Don't ever show mercy to a creature of the Abyss!"
Childe dropped down onto Xiao and pressed his knees left and right of his side, nailing him into place. He lifted his Delusion powered arm, claws out, and aimed for Xiao's head - but an Anemo arrow hit against his wrist pushed his arm back violently, and then Childe found himself with the tip of Rosaria's polearm under his chin, joined by the tip of Kaeya's sword.
Childe froze, his facial expression hidden behind his Fatui mask that he had put on to make use of his Delusion. When he looked up to his raised arm, he saw Paimon cling to it, and met Aether's cold gaze just past her too. When facing to the front, he was faced with three weapons: Rosaria's polearm, Kaeya's sword, and Venti's arrow in a drawn bow.
Neither of them looked happy.
"Ah." Childe slowly relaxed his hand and lifted his other arm, showing that he had no intention of continuing his attack. "You disagree?"
"Get off him." The aggression in Venti's voice made everyone but Childe glance at Venti quickly.
Childe obeyed, lowered his arms slowly, and stepped away, followed by the Cryo users like thunder following lightning, their weapons still trained at him. Should he try something funny again that involved Hydro, they'd immobilize him on spot. Nobody had forgotten: He was a Fatui Harbinger. Nobody must trust them.
Paimon detached from Childe's arm and floated away, back to Aether's side, concern for Xiao evident on her face.
"Xiao!", she whimpered and watched how Diluc, who had joined Venti's side in the meantime, helped Aether and Venti turn Xiao onto his back.
The shadows that had coated Xiao's skin like a second skin had disappeared without trace, making all of his injuries visible. Too many of them adorned his arms and chest, and where weapons had clashed with the adeptus, Xiao's clothing was torn and bloody. When Diluc opened one of Xiao's eyes, they were the usual gold, but unconscious.
Venti had dropped down to his knees and lifted Xiao's head onto his lap, brushing over Xiao's cold cheeks with trembling fingers, leaning over him.
"My poor yaksha …", he whispered, and quickly wiped off the hot tears falling from his eyes before they could freeze in here. "I'm so sorry, my brave warrior ..."
Aether watched with closed-off concern, arms crossed in front of his chest.
"Is he okay?", Paimon asked, fumbling with her fingers.
"He needs to be treated", Diluc concluded, hands assessing the damage done professionally. "At once. He seems to have been fighting for some time, considering his condition. The blood from his injuries is freezing in these temperatures. The longer we stay here, the more serious his condition will be." He reached for his side. "As will mine."
Diluc hadn't paid it much attention due to being high on adrenaline, but he should leave this place and heal too. These injuries were nowhere as serious as he'd suffered during when he'd travelled alone through Teyvat to take revenge on those who'd murdered his father. But Diluc didn't want to be bound to bed because of negligence either.
(Adelinde would still make him stay at home anyway, knowing her.)
"Why was he like this?", Aether voiced the question that had been on their collective mind but unspoken. He addressed Venti specifically. Venti had all the answers, but Venti was like the wind: elusive to a fault.
"Hey now. We're in an Abyssal domain. He fell to the Abyss' influence, most likely", Childe made himself known despite two weapon points at his chest and if he noticed how Kaeya narrowed his eye, he didn't credit it. Only the people who could fight and best him could catch Childe's interest - the rest was boring. Too sad that most people in Teyvat were utterly boring.
"Why was he like this, Venti?" Aether pointedly ignored Childe. "Why was Lumine so changed too? What is happening here, Venti?"
"Can we take this outside, Aether? Look, now's not the time to -", Diluc started, but Aether interrupted: "I want to hear it now. The short version. Venti had his chance outside. He decided to come back here."
Venti lifted his head to reciprocate Aether's hard gaze. He pressed his lips into a thin line.
What was colder? The Abyss' cold, Aether's eyes, or the silence between them?
Aether reached for his sword.
"Well, will you look at that." With an easy laugh that roused them, Childe moved away the weapons pointed at his chest, and waltzed closer to Aether. "The Abyss calls to you. You don't even hear that you're not yourself anymore. Trust me, I'd know."
Childe wrapped an arm around Aether's shoulders and dropped most of his weight against him, grinning sideways at Aether's hostility. "Your friend, Master Ragnvindr, is correct. We're in no state to fight you as well if you lose yourself. Let's leave, Traveller. With a clear head, and ways to escape, the world will look a whole deal better."
"I hate to say this, but Tartaglia is right", Paimon joined in hesitantly. She'd never seen Aether consider attacking an ally. "Let's leave this terrible, dark place and get back to the surface, where the sun shines bright. Venti is not going to go anywhere. Xiao and Diluc need medical attention."
Aether was clearly taken aback. He was shivering and felt it harder in Childe's loose embrace thanks to the body warmth he emitted. And if Aether strained his hearing, he could make out the whisperings all around him, telling him that their time was running out and asked them to reset the timer if they wanted to continue on.
How had he not heard this before?
"We just have one problem." Rosaria, who nobody had noticed had left their little group to scout ahead, now returned. "I can't find an exit further ahead. Some ruins of an exit are there, left from Barsitabatos' statue, but we can't go there."
Ah. Right.
Aether straightened up. The only exit had crumbled into nothingness behind them the first time they'd left the domain.
What should they do now?
