You know, these chapters seem a little shorter than normal...oh well! Let me know if it bothers you. Oh yeah, I gave Keqing a cat. Of course I would! Do you not see her 'ears'? And with the Moonchase festival, Keqing's finally getting a story quest. Hooray! I guess Qiqi's the only one left?

It was a long walk toward the Chasm. "A miner, eh? Miner, miner, miner." Bennet grimaced. This really didn't seem like too good of an idea. But it should be fine! Besides, mining could be fun. "There's no shortage of millers, or bakers, but everyone needs more miners!" Bennet shrugged. At least he was wanted and/or needed.

The ex-adventurer looked down at the mining facility. Ores were being piled up outside the cavern systems, while some were being wheelbarrowed to who-knows-where. Millelith guards were posted around the perimeter, since Liyue sponsored and benefited most from this system. Lava poured out of crevices in small amounts, with people dousing them with water when they got too troublesome. Bennet took a deep breath, and put on his energetic smile, walking into the guard's building.

"Hello! Anyone here?" Bennet looked around, stepping forward and hearing a slight crunch. He had accidentally stepped on a wine bottle. An empty, wine bottle to be exact. "Oh no."

Bennet sighed, spotting the asleep soldier at the end of the room. "Hello? Anyone awake here?"

Bennet frowned. The soldier still slept soundly. Noticing an anvil next to him, Bennet rapped his sword on it a few times. The clanging noise shook the guard awake in a start. "Huh–what?"

"Hi there! I'm here for mining duty, Bennett's the name!" Bennet proclaimed. "I'm looking for my guard, Hongyu."

"Oh, yeah. That's me. Um, hi...welcome to mining! I bought beverages but..." He looked around at the empty bottles sheepishly. "I drank most of them."

"That's fine. My name's Bennett, by the way." Bennett grinned and held his hand out.

"Nice to meet you, Bennett," Instead of shaking his hand, the guard took a nearby pickaxe and placed it into Bennett's outstretched hand. "Let's get started."

Bennett and Honyu entered the mines, and Bennett then realized that this guard was talkative. And also, still drunk. "I've been guarding the Chasm all my life, and let me tell you, I have guarded like you've–hic–you've never seen."

Bennett waved at the other miners (few waved back), not really listening to his guard.

"My father was a guard, my brother was a guard, my sister was a guard–wait, I don't have a sister..."

The sun moved across the sky as Bennett worked to collect ores, crushing and splitting apart rock and digging out more passages. The sound of hammer against stone would be forever ingrained into his mind.

"And I told him, 'no, don't eat the Jueyan Chilii in one bite, it's too spicy for you', but he does it anyway..."

As well as the droning voice of Hongyu.

"And then my uncle took the pig that–"

Bennet froze midswing. "Shh! Did you hear that?"

Hongyu stopped, holding his spear as he listened. Echoing sounds bounced off the walls of the canyon, including crumbling sounds and crushing sounds. "Hmm...meh. You'll get used to strange noises in hear, Bennett. Reminds me of that time my brother and I found this house..." His guard walked into a pre-dug tunnel, and Bennett reluctantly followed. "I don't know about this..."

Inside was the main workplace, an underground cavern filled with miners and guards. This was where the cream of the crop was gathered, and where most miners were. The previous digs were warm-ups. This was the real thing. Perpetual clangs and screeches filled the hall as metal smashed against stone. Carts were filled to the brim with iron, copper, coal, and more.

"We'll be working over there, to our left." Honyu pointed to the right. "I mean, right."

They walked atop of the narrow wooden bridges built in the cavern, traversing to the other side of the cavern. Bennett gulped as he looked down at the ground far, far below. He wasn't so optimistic now. Would the bridge suddenly collapse? He really hoped not.

Then, before they could reach their spot, something was thrown. All Bennett knew that a object suddenly tumbled onto their bridge. Lunging reflexively, Bennett snagged the object before it fell off. "Got it!"

He turned it over, only to realize it was a disc, a white shell with red markings on it. A hilichurl mask. "Uh oh."

"We're under attack!" A voice shouted, and the cavern was filled with clashing. Not the ordinary metal on stone, but steel against steel. Looking below, Bennett saw a scene that almost made him lose grip on the railing.

Dozens of hilichurls, along with a few specters charged into the cavern, attacking anyone and everyone. Hilichurls ambled forward swinging madly. Specters lit up the cave with bright lasers. They held only rudimentary weapons, but weapons nonetheless. The Millelith stood to meet them, striking and bringing down a monster with every attack, but they were sorely outnumbered.

"Monsters!" Hongyu dropped his wine bottle, replacing it with a lance. "Crap! I need to–"

"Look out!"

A hilichurl lunged out of nowhere at Hongyu, who stabbed it and flung it off the bridge. "I'll hold them off! Bennett, sound the alarm!"

He leveled his lance and charged. "Hongyu, wait!"

The guard stabbed the first hilichurl, but the second tackled him. Hongyu thrust his spear wildly, but he tumbled off the bridge, screaming.

"No!" Bennett rushed to the edge, trying to spot Hongyu, but the cry of hilichurls forced him to move before he met the same fate. Grabbing a discarded blade, Bennett parried the hilichurl's strike and cut it down. He turned and ran for the exit, but it was blocked by hilichurls and specters. Bennett turned around, to find the same outcome.

The cavern was chaos. People were fleeing, fighting, or screaming their heads off. Some were doing all three. There had never been such an attack, so large and so...coordinated. It was like it was planned. Bennett swung wildly, keeping the enemies back, but it wouldn't be long before they rushed him. He remembered legends of in the great war, there were those that could dominate monsters to their will, but at this point, Bennett was just trying to stay alive.

"Could this get any worse?" Bennett muttered to himself, looking up at the ceiling. Don't you dare collapse, cave.

His bad luck struck again.


"What is this thing?" Keqing sheathed her blade and walked cautiously toward the stone. Viola purred nearby, eyeing the strange stone warily. She hissed at Keqing, worried. "Viola, it's fine."

Keqing knelt in front of the stone, and pressed her hand against it. Nothing happened. "See?"

"Come on, let's take it with us." Keqing picked up the rock, grimacing. It was heavier than it look. What was this thing?

She tried to walk with it back home, but it ended up being too heavy, so by the time they arrived to the small house, Keqing was rolling the stone on the ground. Viola walked behind her, deciding not to help.

Cats.

"Whew." Keqing wiped sweat off her brow.

"Keqing? You're back already?" A disapproving voice called. "Didn't I tell you to take a break from working?"

"Mr. Yuheng!" Keqing quickly pushed the stone behind the fence, out of sight from her neighbor. "Well, Viola and I just decided to come back early. I still have a lot to do for today, y'know..."

"Keqing..." Mr. Yuheng sighed, massaging his temples. "You can't keep working 24/7." Keqing tilted her head, as if to say 'try me'. "You're grown up, you have to take care of yourself."

"Yes, I know." Keqing nodded. She heard this hundreds of time. It's not like she didn't want for things to be done, but they had to be done right. The harvest could be missing a spot, or she could have misplaced one of the items, or didn't bring back enough water, or too much water, or a hundred other things.

Some called her a perfectionist. Keqing preferred 'efficient'.

"Well then...did you catch anything?"

"We would have gotten a pig," Keqing raised an eyebrow at her lynx. "If it weren't for someone."

Viola ignored her and went back to grooming herself. "Well, you must be hungry. We just got a new batch from the market, fish, meat, and bread. The harvest is going well too, a whole season ready."

Keqing nodded. "I'm going to go for another sweep, Mr. Yuheng. Maybe I missed something."

"You never make mistakes, Keqing." The man sighed. "Hmm? What's this thing?"

Keqing kicked herself mentally. She had forgotten the stone. "That? Oh, nothing. Just a big, purple...stone."

"'Just a stone'? This is a dragon stone, Keqing!" Mr. Yuheng exclaimed. "Where did you find this?"

Keqing blinked. A dragon stone? Weren't those things extremely valuable. "In the forest, not far from here."

"Well, things like these are beyond you, Keqing." Mr. Yuheng frowned, examining the dragon stone, picking it up. Viola took offense to that, and began screeching at him. "Woah! Keep that animal away from me!"

"Viola!" Keqing scolded. "Cut it out."

The lynx quieted, but Keqing swore it glared at Mr. Yuheng. Keqing just shrugged. Wildcat she was, but sometimes, she acted like a house cat. Returning to her own house, Keqing sat down at her desk and stretched. Another day, another work spree.


"Safe travels to you both." Jean said. "Zhongli, I will await your return so we may have a proper reunion."

Ajax looked around Jean, toward Lumine, and locked eyes with her. Ajax grinned, before waving at her. "And Ajax!"

Said person snapped to attention. "I will expect more of you when you return." Jean reminded him.

"I'll do better, Master Jean. I promise." Ajax nodded.

Zhongli walked to his horse, and gestured to Ajax. "Climb on up, Ajax."

Once they were both on, Zhongli gave the steed a light kick, and he spurred forward. Ajax turned, giving one last smile to Lumine, who returned it with her own heartfelt one. "Come on, Spirit. We ride south with all haste."

With haste they rode indeed. Spirit galloped past thick forests and along deep rivers, over jagged hills and open plains. They passed travelers and other merchants on foot, stopping only to pick up supplies and sleeping in tents. They journeyed across swamps and marshes, in sun and rain, and stopped for the night.

Zhongli got a fire starting, and they quietly ate their food, tossing Spirit a few apples. Ajax studied the map, trying to determine their location. "It's surprising that we haven't seen monsters very often. Are hilichurls more active at night?"

"Not really. Or perhaps...not anymore. Their presence has diminished rapidly over the few decades, and I've watched as more and more vanish into underground caves and isolated deserts. But, you can never be too careful, of course." Zhongli shrugged, spinning his spear absentmindedly.

Ajax nodded, and took a bite out of his bread. Swallowing, he remembered something. "Zhongli? What brought you back to Monstadt?"

Zhongli stopped his movement, and sighed, sitting down, but still with his back to Ajax. "Events long passed, forgotten to many."

Ajax blinked, tapping his vision. "You mean...the great war."

"Indeed." Zhongli turned around, evidently burdened by something. Ajax remembered he was looking at a man almost 40 years old, a veteran of the great war, one of the few surviving to the present time. "I came back to Monstadt, for...this." He held up a prism-like object, shining with cyan light.

"A gnosis!" Ajax realized. "But...I thought Venti was the Anemo Master."

"Venti left the gnosis with the Knights of Favonius during his travels. In this time..." Zhongli's voice faded into the background as Ajax stared at the magical object, one with near limitless power. He was entranced in it, like it was sucking him in. Ajax quickly shook his head to clear his mind. "...Jean has kept the gnosis secure for that time, for nearly three years now."

Ajax frowned. "Oh...did Venti agree to that?"

Zhongli paused. "Venti is..."


The bard downed his drink in one gulp. He was thoroughly drunk, and he didn't care. "Another!" Venti crowed, bursting into hiccups and slurred laughters, along with the rest of the tavern.

The bard's energy was infectious, and in just a few minutes of arrival, the whole tavern was bursting with drunk energy. The bartender, Diluc Ragnvindr, another veteran of the great war, was not as happy as his customers. Every single time Venti came, it would follow the same pattern: he would promise to be careful and only take a few drinks, Diluc would reluctantly give him the wine, Venti would go wild and stir up the other people, and would leave the tavern trashed. And also would pass out, and Diluc would have to clean up everything.

"Bartender! Another Dandelion Wine!" Venti called, and Diluc nearly shattered the wine bottle he was carrying. Diluc forced himself to calm down, otherwise he would burn down this building. His vision was already glowing red.

Looking up at the ceiling, Diluc half-growled, half-sighed. Why did you leave him with me, Zhongli?


"Venti is fine with this arrangement." Zhongli finished.

Ajax set the map down. "Where...why are we taking it?"

"I have reason to believe that the Fatui...will be returning soon." Zhongli put the gnosis back in his cloak, next to the...other one. "And when they do, they will be hunting down the Gnoses again. I could not let that happen. Not to the people of Monstadt...and not to you. We're moving the Gnosis to a safer place."

Ajax stayed silent, listening to Zhongli carefully. "I see."

"Get some sleep, Ajax. We will arrive to our destination soon."


Qingce Village was bustling. People bought, sold, and traded at shops. Pigeons flew around, scattering as cats chased after them. But soon, all chatter faded as a single figure emerged, staggering toward the village.

Bennett grimaced, trying to walk forward, but his legs gave out beneath him, and he fell on his face...revealing two arrows stuck in his back. A guard sprinted over, checking for a pulse. "Are you alright, sir?"

"This...this is fine." Bennett choked out, trying to smile, but everything went black before he could.

XXX

Bennett was recognized as a miner in the Chasm, and news of his survival spread quickly. They brought him to Liyue Harbor, where a while later, Bennett reported to the Liyue Harbor Qixing, describing what happened in the mines. The council was silent for a moment. "This is grave news you've brought us. Can you explain in detail what happened in the mines?"

Bennett nodded. "First, I saw this." He held up the hilichurl mask. "They came from the tunnels. Hilichurls, in massive rows." He grimaced as he recounted Hongyu's death. He winced at his still-fresh wounds from the hilichurl archers. "We were no match for them."

"There have been rumors of..." The councilman struggled to find the right words. "Teramancers...who have the ability to control monsters and use them as a personal army."

"I've heard similar stories. Monsters attacking strategically and in larger numbers." She pointed at Bennett. "Bennett, you still owe Springvale service. Since you have experience with them already, I am tasking you to investigate this situation."

Bennett started upright, wincing as his back straightened. "Me?! Why? I mean, I just got lucky down there," A sentence Bennett never thought he would say before. "i can't fight these...teramancers!"

"Investigate, not fight." The man chided. "You will report back with your findings."

Bennett sighed, staring down at the hilichurl mask. While Bennett always thought himself as a pretty optimistic guy, that experience traumatized him. He never wanted to fight a horde of hilichurls again, much less the people controlling them.

"You are an adventurer, are you not?" The mayor reminded. "This is your forte."

Bennett pondered on that. How long had it been since he went on an exciting adventure? Dangerous, but exciting. No risk, no reward. Isn't that the story of my life. Every day I risk everything on my horrible luck.

"Alright. I'll do it."


Keqing yawned, as the morning sun rose and shone through her window. Walking out the door, Viola brought her the sickle, which Keqing took gratefully. It was time to harvest. The sun shone bright, the weather was clear...what a great day.

She walked down the rows of wheat, barely, and and other plants, cutting them down and piling them up. Each one cut at the perfect height, and perfect angle. Yes, the angle did matter as well. Keqing wasn't about to ruin this day by starting it off with a ruined harvest.

Ruined being a relative term.

She cut down the wheat and stockpiled them into bales, carrying these hay bales and organizing them into neat piles. Then, she took the seeds and planted them perfectly parallel and perpendicular. By the evening, Keqing was tired but felt accomplished. A pure work-day. The field was organized, with budding seeds in the dirt and harvested crops to the side.

As the sun set, Keqing relaxed, leaning across the fence, as Viola gnawed on a dead fish. Keqing breathed in the cooling air. Things were going well. She had a good feeling about this harvest.

Naturally, that's when things started going wrong.

Viola suddenly sprang to her feet and hissed. Keqing frowned, following her gaze. A sketchily-dressed woman was riding on horseback toward the farm. They usually never got visitors, unless they were travelers passing through. And this person did not have the air, or the clothes, of a traveler. In fact, she was dressed in armor. A knight?

"Excuse me sir!" The knight said to Mr. Yuheng. "We're on the lookout for two thieves, last seen heading this way. Have you seen them?"

"Haven't seen anyone in these parts except you." The man replied. "What did they steal?"

"A relic from Mondstadt, the dragon stone." The knight answered. "As you can tell, this is very serious. It's one of the few left in Teyvat."

Keqing gasped quietly, dropping the sickle. She immediately jogged toward Mr. Yuheng's house. "Hmm, sounds valuable. It's been quiet here, as usual. I'll be sure to let you know if I see anything."

Viola, who was staring at the horse this time, turned around to see Keqing running into Mr. Yuheng's house. Meanwhile, Keqing searched the room, looking for the stone. And she found it. Picking up the stone, Keqing took a deep breath, and–

"Keqing? What are you doing?"

She whirled around, caught red handed. "Well...they were coming for the stone, so–!"

"I know." Mr. Yuheng smirked. "You think I would just hand it over like that? I can sell it for a lot more than they can offer. Now...hand me the stone."

Keqing flinched at his sudden change of tone, but didn't move. She felt a strange urge to keep the stone...no, to protect it. But why? It was just an artifact.

"Keqing..."

Slowly, reluctantly, Keqing handed the stone to Mr. Yuheng, but her at a moment of indecision, Keqing accidentally dropped it, and hit the ground with a dull thud. "Keqing, be careful with that!" Mr. Yuheng scowled. "Everything was fine until you came in and messed with it. You know, it was this reckless action that got your parents killed!"

A few moments later, Keqing stormed out of the house and slammed the door, Viola curiously following her owner. Keqing stomped into her own house and room, sitting on the bed and watching the fireplace. Your parents got themselves killed. She never knew her parents well. She wished she did. Telling herself not to cry, Keqing started as her faithful lynx climbed up and lied on her lap. Smiling in spite of herself, Keqing petted her cat in between her ears. She knew Viola liked that.

In Mr. Yuheng's house, the elderly man placed the dragon stone back on the pedestal. As he turned away though, he didn't notice the stone pulsing with violet energy. It pulsed consistently, up and down...like a heartbeat.

There it is. By the way, I have pre-written several chapters, so I'll do some consistent updates until they run out, every Wednesday. Tera is monsters in greek, so their monster-controllers. I always felt like the Abyss Mages controlling hilichurls felt weird, and some people say that hilichurls are past Khaenr'iahns. I personally don't think so, because Khaenri'ah was destroyed 500 years ago, and hilichurls had been recorded for over a thousand years.

So as always, review if you have questions, and read on next week.