Chapter 23: Advice From Afar

"Hold him down, we're almost there!"

"My Prince, if the alchemical rot has already reduced him to this state then-"

"Then you obviously need to keep trying!"

Ignoring the nervous and flagging efforts of the Abyss Mages and Heralds surrounding him - friends and allies who had willingly consigned themselves to hell for a fleeting hope of redemption - Aether kept a tight grip on the thrashing and snarling Hilichurl, desperately pleading, "Meny'a, listen to me! It's still a little banged up but your restaurant, the one you took out a loan to build? It's still there and just a bit of refurbishment-"

A growling, crazed response that was half gibberish and half psychopathic howl was the only retort the Traveler received, teeth gritted as even his deceptive strength began to fail, a Herald wordlessly adding his weight to keeping their turned friend from breaking free, one of the Mages releasing a frustrated growl before stating, "My Prince, nothing we do is working. This solution is no better than the last, we-"

"We need to keep trying! And if this doesn't work then something else will!"

The blonde grit his teeth, muscles aching and head pounding as a renewed struggle broke out from beneath him, a man who had made a wicked BLT and looked at the town seamstress like a shy virgin snarling like a rabid beast, so helpless that he likely didn't even know why his life had been ruined.

"If we admit they've won…if we give up then everything-"

SPLAT!

Silence fell as Aether suddenly realized his old drinking buddy had gone limp, warm liquid that could only be blood splattered across his arms.

A disbelieving glance revealed a sharpened spire of rock - just now losing the faintest wisps of Anemo and Geo energy - embedded deep in Meny'a's body, head and neck pulverized as only a few spastic and sporadic jerks jostled him before even that faded.

"My Prince, something is approaching…us…"

The Traveler slowly got up from his former friend's body, numb to the lifeblood staining his form as he followed the Herald's gaze and wary tone-

-and breath caught in his throat, color lighting up the world around him as if he was seeing it for the first time.

Fire and death had consumed Khaenri'ah, yet even that now seemed hauntingly beautiful as his companions also gazed around in wonder. Flickers of red and orange on the horizon seemed as vibrant as any morning sun, what sparse vegetation survived the conflagration hummed with a unyielding vitality, ashen swirls and gales seemed pure as freshest snow while both he and his allies shone with blinding illuminance, even the corrupted darkness that now resided within them flickering with the comfort and reassurance of a clear midnight sky.

The wonder of the moment was lost as he saw the approaching figure, a being so lacking in color and life that it was little more than a gray, blurred outline, as if geometric shapes of featureless planes had taken on the rough approximation of a Human man.

He couldn't remember ever being so completely and utterly terrified in his life, even the Heralds tensing and shifting backwards as the being came to a stop a mere ten steps away, gazing dispassionately at the dead Hilichurl.

"Why…why did you kill him?"

"Because I would rather spare him the trauma of being turned into a slavering monster followed by summary exile for many years to come. He didn't seem to take to the change all that well."

Judgment fell upon Aether like a physical blow, the figure scoffing as it continued with, "I did what you should have done, if your little Abyss charlatans there couldn't reverse the judgment of the heavens."

A dismissive snort left the grayed out male, head turning towards the corpse with an unreadable expression.

"Or maybe that's being too generous to call it the judgment of Celestia. The Sustainer's strength has always been in pilfering the talent of those below. Either way don't feel too bad about the corpse over there, it's in a better place."

Something snapped inside Aether, maybe it was his temper or maybe it was his composure, the result was the same as he manifested his sword, rocketing towards the bastard that treated a tragedy like an afternoon cleanup chore, shadow gathering along the length of the blade as he moved to strike in a motion even trained warrior's had praised-

-and before he'd even made it a quarter of those ten steps a lance of electricity arched from an errant wave of the figure's hand, striking his chest and sending him tumbling as a thousand angry ants burrowed through his flesh, mouth tasting of metal and lungs spasming helplessly for air.

"My Prince-"

A cacophony of noise assailed Aether's ringing ears, eyes widening as every single one of his allies was effortlessly restrained by a myriad of bindings. Some had been frozen by glittering shards of ice, others bound with hardy vine and some encased in glimmering stone, even his Heralds encased so tightly they could barely so much as twitch.

"H-how?"

Coughing violently as he stared with horror at the effortless elemental manipulation of every variety and school Aether could only listen as the figure growled, "My battle today is with those above, ladies and gentlemen. Not below. Take the fucking hint and consider yourselves lucky that selling your souls to the pits beneath didn't corrupt your original desires…it's what's saving you right now."

Before Aether could even think of a response the sound of running feet and crunching dirt filled the area, almost three dozen figures of every race, gender and weapon choice arriving in a rush of breath, the lead woman grumbling out, "Could you have maybe moved a little slower, Chief?"

"Not today. Where's Rose and Tanner?"

"Stayed behind to divert the homicidal farm equipment. Seriously, this place had a few screws loose when they named those things."

"Feeling's mutual. No matter, we're closer to our target now."

The figure gazed towards the ragged wound in the sky, ominous flames and cubes of a painfully recognizable material drifting around it.

"Maeili's still there. C'mon, let's put an end to this."

"What about them, Chief?"

Aether stiffened even as he finally managed to suck down a ragged breath, warily gazing at the dozens of eyes now appraising them with cool detachment.

"We're just gonna let a bunch of Abyss wander around? Seems like a recipe for future disaster."

"They're wandering this hellscape looking for scraps of hope. They can live out of respect for the fact that even after damning themselves they're trying to reach for it."

"Scraps of hope?"

While it may have been quiet and scratchy Aether's voice nonetheless reached their ears, the figure tilting its head in polite curiosity as he managed to force himself to his feet.

"You just killed one of those very same 'scraps'!"

A scoff of disappointment left the being, as if the punchline of a highly anticipated joke fell flat.

"If that was the extent of your hope then you're better off throwing yourself in the fire. Keep searching…maybe one day you'll be worthy of the chance we're giving you."

With little fanfare the group turned and sprinted away with the grayed out being at the head, all of them left behind with nothing but ashes in their souls.


"Ugh…that damn dream again…Lumine, pass me the-"

Aether bit his lip, forcefully reminded - even centuries later - that his twin was no longer at his side and that their favorite pastime of mutual complaining had been forcefully put on hold for longer than he cared to remember.

Begrudgingly rolling himself upright from the collapsible bedroll he'd taken along for the trip the blonde rubbed his eyes and gazed at the distant and barely visible outline of Liyue, murmuring, "The chance we're given, huh? It's probably not in the way you wanted, Daman…but today we found our hope. Just like you wanted us to."


"Yeah, maybe I was a little too familiar with everyone to start things off."

Lumine paused, tasting and sampling that particular thought before promptly tossing it aside.

"Nah, The day I stop being awkward for other people is the day I settle down and retire. And so far that ain't happening."

Instead the traveler met the baleful stare of the elegant looking bird that seemed intent on dissecting her with the force of its gaze alone, Adopting an innocent expression and tacitly ignoring the fact that she may very well have just pissed off a foreign dignitary.

It wouldn't be the first time.

"Is…is that true? Did you and Alec, well-"

"Perish such meandering and worthless thoughts. There exists no rapport beyond waning tolerance between this one and that uncultured vagrant. Not after the sieges of Guili and our exodus to the lands that would become Liyue."

Ignoring Ganyu's palpable relief at Cloud Retainer's words Lumine instead focused on the scent of blood in the water, idly asking, "Okay but what about those nights before the sieges of Guili? I mean that sounds pretty suggestive…"

The blonde couldn't help but dive deeper into the whole sordid affair, a need to bring to light all the juicy details practically a physical compulsion.

Aether always had called her a pathological meddler, the hypocrite.

"Or am I really reading way too much into the fact that Alec might have a loving relationship with an avian? I mean I'm not one to judge."

Feathers ruffled in a truly impressive display.

"Crude child. What brings you to assume this one is only capable of assuming such a limited set of forms? That the shape of a human is beyond our grasp?"

"Wait? So he got the best of both worlds? Kinky-ow."

Fischl sent a pleading glance her way, one visible eye almost tearing up with a desperate desire for the Traveler to stop making things worse as Lumine subsided, letting go of her antics for the moment in favor of more serious dialogue.

"Moving the conversation along, then! What we actually came here to inform you of as well as the rest of the Adepti is, well…"

What had been an eager and frantic attempt to switch subjects quickly faltered and petered off into quiet moroseness, Ganyu quietly saying, "We believe Rex lapis has perished, killed during the Rite of Descent."

You could have heard a cotton ball drop in the ensuing silence, no one hardly daring to so much as breath as the words hit the Adepti like a slap to the face, body completely still and eyes unblinking in failed comprehension.

"...What?"


"This one had long advised Rex Lapis that maintaining such a predictable schedule would invite inevitable retaliation from foes not yet vanquished, to strike down and bring low what he endeavored so hard to create…but THIS?!"

Lumine grimaced and made sure she was as small as humanly possible in comparison to her companions, wondering why she thought making fun and egging on this suddenly extremely scary avian woman was a good idea.

"To have failed so miserably in repaying your sovereign for all that he has sacrificed by allowing him to perish on the eve of the most sacred of traditions! Has Liyue fallen so far that they would fail even the most basic of covenants?! And what of your vaunted Qixing? Do they merely grow fat on the spoils of Rex Lapis' efforts, indolent upon their thrones crafted by those far greater than them?!"

The Traveler would freely admit that the way Keqing found her nerve despite the tirade was actually quite impressive. Especially since Cloud Retainer's anger seemed to incense the very land they stood on, wind whipping about as if to complement her fury while the distant waves and vibrant grass shuddered and pulsed in agitation.

"To answer your question, Adeptus, there was nothing the Qixing could do. Rex Lapis remains distant and sequestered whenever the Rite is not underway and we could no more assign guards to his position day and night than we can fly by waving our arms."

The younger woman allowed a sneer to adorn her features.

"Assuming that mere security could adequately guard the God of War himself, as you seem to be implying. I imagine the gesture would be more ceremonial than anything else."

"You would cite a lack of preparation and knowledge as an excuse? This one offers her most sincere condolences, perhaps you should apologize to the corpse of your god and state that you were merely unprepared."

"You seem rather keen on pushing the blame to someone else, what were the Adepti doing during this-"

"If I may intervene?"

Ganyu's hesitant but nonetheless strong words caused the swiftly escalating argument to peter out, Fischl and Paimon peeking out from Lumine's back in the process as the Adeptus stated, "While Rex lapis may have ostensibly perished it is not an entirely certain thing that he is dead and gone beyond the point of no return or observation."

"...Explain."

Cloud Retainer's cool and dispassionate words had Ganyu briefly swallowing in nervousness before she stated, "Rex Lapis' physical manifestation may be gone, yes, but it does not feel as if the rest of the land has followed suit, as if the Geo energy that constituted his domain has lost its potency."

She pulled out a handful of Mora, observing, "The coins feel no different than they did several days, months and years ago…Alec spoke the truth when he said that Rex Lapis still lives on in some capacity, even if he may not be able to commune and speak with the same clarity he once did."

For a moment the air was tense, neither Keqing nor Cloud Retainer seeming willing to entertain such notions…and the Adeptus was the first to react, ruffling her feathers in agitation before dourly remarking, "Even now Daman speaks poisoned rationality into this one's ears. And what of this revelation, Little Ganyu?"

"Obviously we need to settle the question of what will become of Liyue's leadership. The city cannot exist in a vacuum, who shall lead and how must be quickly settled now that our guiding light has left us."

The horned woman shrugged, sadly stating, "Or will our legacy be that of tearing ourselves to shreds the moment Rex Lapis was not there to lead? Would we ever be able to face the Lord of Geo if we were to destroy millennia of prosperity mere days after his departure, simply because we sought to fight with each other more than the one who brought low our god?"

Yet another tender moment of silence, Lumine impressed by the eloquent yet pointed reminder…and Cloud Retainer huffed out a breath, quietly murmuring, "Not so little anymore, it seems…" before standing tall, stating, "You speak the truth. Return to Liyue and inform the Qixing that the Adepti shall convene with them before long."

Avian eyes narrowed in thinly veiled threat.

"We have much to discuss. This one shall gather her comrades."

"Agreed. Have no fear, the Qixing will have a great many plans and alternatives prepared for your careful review when you do elect to grace us with your presence."

Cloud Retainer gave Keqing and Lumine sidelong glares, shaking her head while murmuring, "Youth these days…this one has truly outlived her spritely years."

"Hey I'm a couple hundred-"

The Adeptus took flight before Lumine could finish her thought, the traveler huffing out an annoyed breath as she turned to address the group…and Ganyu almost doubled over as she took a large gulp of air, frantically fanning her face and stammering, "W-what madness has taken over me?! I spoke so bluntly and disrespectfully to her! Ooh, I'm never going to hear the end of it…"

"Really? I thought you did amazing, you kept everyone on track and even defused a brewing argument."

Lumine idly spun a lock of her hair around a finger.

"Sort of the opposite of what I was doing. Heh heh?"

"Yeah, that's about the nicest way Paimon would have put it…"

Keqing merely shook her head, giving Ganyu a considering look before a brief smile pulled at her lips.

"It's quite easy to overlook your long and storied past given your mild temperament, Lady Ganyu, but you always choose the most critical moments to come through for us. I apologize for acting unbecoming and childish, I should have represented the Qixing better."

The most adorable of blushes adorned the half-Adepti's cheeks, hands frantically waving as she protested, "N-nonsense, I was just doing my duty and in the spirit of honesty I was terrified the entire time I was speaking, so, well…"

Lumine felt a surge of second hand annoyance at Alec's refusal to put a ring on the woman's finger or whatever other custom they had in this world. Seriously, what was his mental malfunction? She was too damn precious.

"While that's all well and good and all warm and fuzzy there's something that's been bugging me about this whole scenario…"

All eyes turned to Lumine, the Traveler explaining, "Well we don't really have a motive or suspect of who actually did this, do we?"

Keqing arched an eyebrow, dryly commenting, "I would say that we have a surplus of potential foes, not a deficit."

"Not what I meant. Sure, a lot of people would want to see Morax dead and all that but it's how they did it. Would any of these old enemies have quietly got to him in the middle of a big Liyue tradition without anyone noticing? And been able to actually kill him? It seems kinda weird when I hear about all the crazy stuff this guy has done."

Her words seemed to sink in, Fischl flipping open her notebook and swiftly turning through the pages before distractedly musing, "The most obvious suspects with both means and motive to carry out such complicated actions are the Fatui and the Abyss, both parties being belligerent while also possessing a noticeable presence around Liyue…"

"I suppose it is rather strange that these groups do not seem particularly interested in capitalizing on the chaos and uncertainty they may have caused…"

Ganyu's murmur had Keqing frowning in agreement, stating, "Passivity or disinterest seems to be the name of the game. The Fatui even went so far as to send all of you to negotiate with the Adepti, a move that - considering your past strife with them - would almost assuredly backfire as their stake in the game was revealed or reacted to."

Not finding the situation to be making any more sense Lumine scratched her head in frustration, Paimon groaning as the sprite grumbled, "All this backstabbing and sneaking around stinks! Can't we just take a page from that tone deaf bard's book and go for drinks or something?"

"Wait, that's it! Paimon, nice job!"

"Huh? What did Paimon do?"

Turning to the rest of the group the Traveler stated, "It was brief and I didn't think much of it at the time but Alec mentioned something about a Gnosis that all god's have, something that the Fatui tried to take from Barbatos?"

She desperately tried to recall what the old guy had said when he was telling her about his travels, what had seemed like a mildly intriguing tale at the time now taking on greater importance.

"A Gnosis? While the older Adepti may know more than I on the subject I do remember Rex Lapis possessing one, some manner of contract that he entered that he wished not to impart the details of…"

Ganyu's eyes suddenly widened as soon as she finished speaking, hurriedly turning to Keqing as she inquired, "Was Rex Lapis' body properly interred within the Golden House?"

"As soon as we could properly move it, yes. Why?"

The Adeptus and Lumine exchanged knowing looks of mutual understanding, the blonde stating, "We might want to go through his metaphorical pockets. Just in case."