Chapter Nine: Force Majeure.
"I'm listening," Alatus states cautiously lowering his weapon. Beside him he feels Ganyu stir but knows that she would always trust his judgment and follow his lead.
"By now you've undoubtedly seen his disruptive influence on your Rex Lapis," the blond intruder states bluntly.
"Spare me the flowery speech and cut to the chase," the Vigilant Yaksha snaps. "What is your plan for destroying this so-called Prince?"
"I need you to lure Morax away from him," the stranger explains. "I will take the Kreideprinz far away and dispose of him personally."
"Wh-what?! N-no!" Ganyu protests instinctively arming her bow.
"Ganyu!" Alatus barks quelling his student's anger for the moment.
"B-but R-Rex L-Lapis charged me with protecting him. He charged me with his life. I cannot allow this—this—person kill him!"
"It is only a matter of time before Liyue's enemies will seize the opportunity to pounce now that its Archon has lost his gnosis."
"H-h-how did you—?!" Ganyu gasps lowering her bow.
"A fair question," Alatus agrees. "Who are you and how did you come by such knowledge?"
"I am Dainslief, the Boughkeeper," the stranger replies. "I come from a kingdom that was destroyed by the Chalk Prince and his master."
"And what kingdom was that?" The Yaksha challenges.
"Khaenri'ah," the Boughkeeper replies.
"You lie!" Ganyu cries out shaking her head in exasperation.
"Then tell me when was the last time you met someone from Khaenri'ah? Surely a traveling merchant or scholar would have graced Liyue's shores if the kingdom was still in existence. Even with the Electro Archon's oppressive regime, plenty of Inazumans have managed to escape and somehow wound up within Liyue's borders."
The adepti blink slowly as the so-called Boughkeeper finally lowers his veined arm.
"You still haven't answered my question about how you came by this knowledge," Alatus barks as he stows his weapon.
"How I came by this information is irrelevant. It matters not if you heed me or not. I will not be deterred from my objective. Your cooperation is ideal but not necessary."
"W-why do you despise this Prince of Chalk?" Ganyu wonders quietly. "He is very kind and is favored by Rex Lapis himself who deigned to personally bestow him with a sacred vision."
"Because he is an abomination who embodies the very hubris that destroyed my homeland!" Dainslief snarls. "He ensnares humans with his beauty and charms ingratiating himself to those who wield immense power, allowing him free reign to pursue his depraved experiments with impunity."
"How will you destroy him?" The Conqueror of Dreams asks with a contemplative frown. "If you leave any trace of him for Morax to discover, he will infuse him with his lifeforce and anchor him to this world."
"I will destroy him as I destroyed his master. My right arm conceals a weapon of divine might," Dainslief explains. "It is capable of dissolving any living being completely leaving no trace of their presence or existence. However, I must wield it discriminately for once it is drawn it will not sheath without claiming a life."
"Forgive me, Boughkeeper," Ganyu says firmly as she arms her bow once more. "But if what you say is true then it is you who is the abomination. I cannot let you destroy one so beloved by Rex Lapis himself."
"Ganyu," the Vigilant Yaksha barks.
"No, Mr. Xiao!" She shoots back turning to give him a withering glare. "We have our orders from Rex Lapis himself! And we must obey them!"
"Can't you see?! Morax will fall if we do not destroy this false prince!" the Conqueror of Demons growls.
"Alatus, Rex Lapis has issued his divine mandate and we—his most trusted lieutenants—are bound by it!"
"Do you remember? During the Archon Wars? That indescribable pain that would almost split through us when we strayed from our contracts?" The half-qilin Archer's arms waver as the trauma of the Geo Archon's brutish might washes over her.
"P-please don't—!"
"Back then you frightened so easily when we first faced the God of Malice. You were crying so badly your icicles kept sticking to your face and your arms wouldn't stop shaking. And yet you stood your ground and let your arrows fly even as the God of Malice charged madly at you with his twenty thrashing heads. For even death at his hand was preferable to the pain that awaited your failure."
"I don't! Rex Lapis has apologized! He did what he had to do! H-he—times have changed! He i-is not like that anymore!" The Archer protests, closing her eyes as she desperately wills her quivering arms to steady themselves.
"Exactly," Alatus agrees. "Times have changed. First he loses his gnosis. Now this. He had no qualms doing what he had to do back then and charged us to protect Liyue and its people. But how can we when our master sheds his own divinity and invites unnecessary danger?"
"B-because the contract—The age of adepti has passed. Rex Lapis knows that it is up to Liyue and its people now to forge and defend their future."
"Somethings are beyond human ability," the Yaksha growls through clenched teeth. "When Morax ordered us to retreat from Guili Plains as he desperately fought to contain Guizhong's corruption did we not fly to his side and deal the killing blow when his own spear faltered? What hope would humans have in such matters when even we adepti sometimes falter?"
"B-but—"
"Had she not perished that day Guizhong's blight would have festered and dispersed far and wide poisoning the land and claiming millions of lives. Morax knew this and still he needed us to aid him when sentiment stayed his hand and misery dulled his blade. This prince from Mondstadt is a weakness Morax's enemies will not hesitate to exploit."
"But the Archon Wars are over!" Ganyu protests regaining most of her resolve. "Things are different now. Diplomacy works. I've witnessed it firsthand!"
"Ganyu, you and I both know that diplomacy is a luxury few Archons deign to entertain. After all it was Morax's ruthlessness and Barbatos' transience that preserved them when their contemporaries perished. How long before another rises to challenge Morax head-on and finish what the Eleventh Harbinger could not?"
"I will obey Morax's divine mandate!" the Archer resists turning her bow on the Conqueror of Demons now. "In the name of Rex Lapis, no harm shall befall Mondstadt's Prince while I draw breath!"
"Even if it dooms Rex Lapis?"
"It won't!"
"Search your feelings," Alatus states calmly. "Deep down inside you know what I say is true. You have felt it for some time yourself. Suspected but cast it aside preferring to trust and obey. But you must learn to read between the lines and push yourself to complete any task necessary to uphold your contract with Rex Lapis to protect Liyue and preserve his dominance. No matter how unsavory. Your resolve must never waver even when Morax's does. This is what it means to be an adeptus—an instrument of the mighty God of Contracts."
"Please, Mr. Xiao. I beg you, step aside!" The half-qilin pleads tearfully. "I will smite this demon of deception and free you from his influence."
But Alatus stands his ground, drawing his spear instead as he angles his body to block his student's aim. The Archer's arms tremble violently and her knees begin to buckle as the implications of his decision finally settle in. She lets out a pained cry as her arrow flies to embed itself in a distant tree, cleaving it in half. The Vigilant Yaksha steps forward and catches her as she falls, holding her firmly against his chest.
"Forgive me…R-R-Rex Lapis," she sobs quietly into her teacher's shoulder.
Morax did not suspect that he had been deceived even as he arrives at Guyun Stone Forest to find the mysterious interloper completely unbound. He could not know that the Vigilant Yaksha had misled him for it had never happened before and what reason did he have to mislead him now?
Instead, the Archon hardens his arms at the sight of his adversary infusing them with adeptal energy as he lands, summoning his preferred weapon into his outstretched palm. For this was no ordinary being and this would be no petty skirmish. If he was to smite this being, he would need every ounce of his adeptal might to cleave the interloper where he stood.
"Which of your many titles shall I refer to you by?" The blond asks calmly as the Archon approaches him.
"Rex Lapis will suffice," Morax returns coolly, amber eyes alight as they watch their prey intently. "And you, what name do you go by?"
"I am Dainslief, the Boughkeeper," the being replies with a mocking bow.
"Do not presume that I will tolerate any insults to Rex Lapis!" The Vigilant Yaksha snarls as he summons his own weapon to his waiting hands.
"Peace, Alatus," Rex Lapis commands. "Do not let his impudence trouble you needlessly. His disdainful head will soon part with his body and all will be right once more."
"Do you always greet your enemies so aggressively?" Dainslief sneers.
"In the old days I hardly deigned to greet them," Rex Lapis sighs. "A practice I often regret abandoning. But I must confess myself bemused by your decision to meet me unarmed."
"It only seemed fair since you would be unarmed as well," the Boughkeeper returns.
"What do you mean?" Morax asks narrowing his amber eyes dangerously.
"Your gnosis," Dainslief points out bluntly. "I haven't sensed its presence for some time now. It's funny, initially I wondered how exactly you had misplaced yours but seeing you now, I know its disappearance was of your own volition."
"Blasphemy!" The Conqueror of Demons roars. As he is about to leap, his master throws his hand out to block his path. "M-master?"
"If you will not observe quietly then I shall have to send you away, Alatus," Morax snaps turning to fix the Yaksha with a stern glare. "That will be my final warning."
"To be direct," Dainslief continues narrowing his eyes slightly. "I was hoping to negotiate a new contract with—"
"I have no desire to enter into a contract with the likes of you, Boughkeeper," the Geo Archon states frostily.
"Is it in your nature to refuse a contract without first discerning the other party's terms?" Dainslief chuckles dryly.
"It is when I know that the other side has nothing of value to offer," the God of Contracts states matter-of-factly.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," the Boughkeeper replies with a pleasant smile.
Before his opponent can respond he senses a familiar presence suddenly appear behind him and turns in time to see a golden floral-shaped geo construct descending slowly behind him. The Archon's breath hitches as his blond lover blinks quietly at him before turning to stare at his opponent.
"What are you—?!" The God of War begins but is cut off abruptly as the Chief Alchemist lifts a trembling hand to point at the tall fiend glaring directly at him.
"You!" Albedo gasps. "I know you."
"What do you mean?" Morax asks, throwing a protective arm to block his lover's path. "Who is he and how do you know him?"
"I don't—I'm not sure," the Knight confesses, furrowing his eyebrows slightly. "But I remember him because he followed my master and I some years ago and attacked us when we tried to confront him."
"He claims you and your master destroyed his homeland," the Conqueror of Dreams informs him. "Is that true?"
The Knight's arm falls and he sways slightly on his feet, clutching the side of his head as a pained grimace twists his delicate features. Morax catches him and presses his slight frame to his side watching him with a mix of despair and exasperation.
"Albedo," he calls out shaking the smaller man slightly. "What's wrong?"
"My head," the Alchemist groans. "It hurts—like something's splitting it in—you!" He snarls suddenly pointing at the Boughkeeper once more as deep purple begins to bleed into the whites of his eyes, creating an alarming contrast against his teal irises.
"Morax!" Alatus cries out as a foul aura of poisonous purple oozes out of the Kreideprinz, enveloping the God of Contracts.
"Stay back, Alatus!" Morax roars not daring to take his eyes off his transforming lover.
The braids binding his flaxen hair fly loose causing his hair to fall to his shoulders as deep purple veins begin to creep from his eyes to the rest of his body. The aura begins to concentrate around the Alchemist's left arm transforming the once blemishless skin to an expanse of deep purple with glowing red veins, reminiscent of the Boughkeeper's right arm. Giant purple wings sprout from his back ripping through the fabric of his robes and eliciting a pained howl of anguish from the now trembling blond.
Rex Lapis barely flinches as the Vigilant Yaksha tackles him suddenly knocking him away from the Chief Alchemist.
"At last!" Dainslief bellows, crouching into a defensive stance as the Kreideprinz's corrupted form leaps high into the air. "The Heart of Naberius!"
The Chief Alchemist dives from his vantage point and slashes at the Boughkeeper who barely manages to lift his veined arm to absorb the brunt of the blow. The Alchemist bats his mighty wings stirring a gust of dust and rocks around his opponent, blinding him. In one fluid motion Albedo grabs Dainslief by his arm and hurls him towards the nearest mountain with all his might shattering it to a million pieces. When the Boughkeeper leaps back to his feet, the Kreideprinz leaps high into the air once more and prepares to lunge down yet again.
But Morax notices the steady flow of blackened blood seeping from the corners of his lover's mouth and flies to embrace him, staying his afflicted hand.
"My Lord!" Alatus cries out from below as he leaps after his Archon.
"Stop, Albedo! You'll kill yourself!"
"HE KILLED HER!"
Before the Lord of War can respond, the Boughkeeper leaps between them and slashes across Albedo's body, severing his left wing and knocking him out of the sky.
"NOOOO!" Morax screams as he falls to catch his lover in time. His heart drops as he discovers a deep gash running through his lover's slender torso where the Boughkeeper had slashed him. Blood oozes from the Knight's parted lips as he manages a weak rasping gurgle.
Dainslief lands beside them and reaches out to stab at the smaller man's chest with his veined hand. Rex Lapis seizes his spear spins it until it is pointed directly at the fiend's throat.
"Touch him and I will smite you where you stand."
"The heart," the interloper says with a heavy sigh. "I just want the heart."
"You can't have it!" The Geo Archon snarls hugging the Knight to his chest protectively.
To his surprise Dainslief lowers his arm and steps away moving to lean against a nearby rock as he watches them calmly.
"My lord!" The Conqueror of Dreams cries out in alarm as the purple veins in his lover's skins begin to spread to the Archon's arms.
"Stay with me!" Morax pleads tearfully as he strokes his lover's cheeks. "Please. I can't lose you. Not here. Not now. Not like this!"
But Albedo's eyelids begin to droop and Rex Lapis knows that he is mere moments from death now. He closes his eyes desperately trying to channel his divine vitality into his lover's fading form. But the Knight's condition does not improve as the veins on his skin begin to fade and recede.
"Alatus, fly! Bring Fortune Preserver here at once!" Morax commands prompting the Vigilant Yaksha to take flight as he disappears into the morning sky.
"He will die soon," Dainslief informs the Archon dryly. "Unless I heal him."
"Was this what you meant?" The Geo Archon asks, his voice a deep and deathly murmur as he turns to glance at the Boughkeeper from over his shoulder. "When you offered to enter a contract earlier?"
The Boughkeeper watches him silently, a slight flicker of concern evident in his bright blue eyes.
"What shall it be, Rex Lapis?" He asks at length.
"Before we discuss terms," the Archon says as he turns to face his adversary fully. "I need to know why Alatus deceived me."
"Is it really not obvious?" Dainslief asks blinking blankly. When the Archon does not reply, he lets out a heavy sigh before explaining. "The Conqueror of Demons is no fool. He has an eye for spotting danger well before it even becomes an issue. With your gnosis gone and your being tethered to this mortal coil your vitality is not as limitless as it once was. Which can only mean that your divine status has expired creating yet another vacancy amongst the Seven.
"When you archons bless mortals with your elemental powers you transform them into divine allogenes capable of ascending to Celestia or even taking your place amongst the Seven. It might have been millennia ago but even you remember how your counterpart in Mondstadt attained his position."
"And your point is?!" Morax snaps not bothering to conceal the steadily rising rage within.
"We both knew that it was only a matter of time before the Kreideprinz discovered your true nature and murdered you out of misplaced curiosity."
"I see. So, the possibility of Albedo succeeding me as the Geo Archon was the straw that broke Alatus' back," Rex Lapis chuckles bitterly. "Interesting. And what of Ganyu—the cryo-wielding archer. That she did not try to stop him from following or otherwise try to warn me shows that she approves of this plan."
"For her it was simply because she could not bear to kill a friend," the Boughkeeper replies.
"I see," Morax chuckles once more, his tone his softer now but still bitter as his gaze lingers on his lover's fading form. "How very like children those two are. So earnest but close-minded."
"He's fading fast," Dainslief notes bluntly. "If he dies then I'm afraid that even I cannot save him. The time for negotiations is at hand. So, what will it be?"
"Then I propose two contracts," the God of War replies as he finally stows his weapon. "The second shall follow the first and will only be entered once we both fulfill the first contract."
"Very well then," the Boughkeeper assents after some consideration.
"First, you will give me his master's memories—every single one of them."
"What makes you think I have it?"
"Because it is the only thing of value you could offer me. Besides you wouldn't confidently destroy someone that knowledgeable if you did not have a way of extracting and preserving their knowledge somehow for later use."
"And what of his life?"
"That is of more value to you than it is to me," Morax states crossing his arms matter-of-factly.
"Wait…that doesn't—you wanted to save his life—!"
"And I still do," the God of War admits. "However, I do not trust you to lay a hand on him even if it is to heal him. At this moment, his body possesses two things you desire—his life and this so-called Heart of Naberius. You supposedly unsheathed a weapon that can never be sheathed without claiming its target's life and got close enough to land a killing blow but did not and promptly turned around offering to save his life."
"What good will his master's memories do you?"
"Let me worry about that," the Archon counters extending his arm expectantly. "And you, what would you ask of me in exchange for his master's memories?"
"The Heart of Naberius," the Boughkeeper states without hesitation. "I thought it lost but now that I know that he has it I cannot leave it be. It must be destroyed."
"Very well," the God of Contracts assents. "Do we have terms?"
"Just so we're clear you do know about his true nature, don't you?"
"I do."
"The Heart of Naberius is probably the only thing keeping him alive right now."
"I'd deduced as much," Morax sighs in response pinching the bridge of his nose.
"He'll die, you know?"
"Yes, he'll die." The Archon repeats listlessly.
"You don't fool me Morax," the Boughkeeper blurts scowling deeply. "Homunculus or not. You love this creature. You cherish and adore him more than you've ever cherished another being in several millennia. Him dying is the last thing you want to happen right now."
"Yes, but it is what he needs," Rex Lapis admits closing his eyes. "After all, how else would I remake him?"