There were many mysteries and rumours surrounding a sorcerer everyone in Teyvat had heard of and knew something to say about. Parents used one of his many names to scare their kids from leaving the house at night or following random strangers because everybody knew that the sorcerer abducted children to feed on them in his free time. Bards knew to tell the story behind this gruesome detail and sang songs about his tragic backstory: how one day, the sorcerer had set out on an adventure and found himself face to face with a demon, who devoured his soul, took his heart and turned him into a fellow demon thirsting for humanity as well. Young folk – the ones who were tempted by thrill and the lighter rumours – laughed with hushed voices that the sorcerer must be extremely attractive to make people fall for him and have them trust him enough to feed on their souls, but nobody really knew how he looked like or even what his real name was.

To add oil to the fires, the Tsaritsa had issued to put up official Wanted posters all over Teyvat, asking about the sorcerer's whereabouts and inviting the powerful individual to return to her services – and there was no question that the Tsaritsa wasn't mistaken about the existence of this someone, who, if you believed the rumours, had power over every element of Teyvat.

"It's impossible that someone can control every element. You need incredible talent to just get one of the Visions – how could the sorcerer use all seven?" – "But don't you know that he's a demon? He can control the elements as long as he can eat souls and hearts."

Zhongli wished that the voices below his window on his home's second level would finally stop talking and discussing this nonsense. If they continued discussing these baseless mysteries then he would have to close the window and Zhongli was reluctant to do so because of the beautiful weather outside. It was late spring and the weather kindly enough neither too hot nor too cold at this time of day. The air that came in through the window into his room was pleasantly heavy with the smell of rain and once the drops would hit the warm pavements, everyone would breathe more freely again.

The little group of people on the street below his window however had gathered a while ago and disturbed the peaceful image of nature and silence with their chattering, and Zhongli had patiently waited until they finished or at least moved along. He needed his concentration on his handiwork – he couldn't allow himself the slightest mistake after all.

"Wouldn't you love to be his friend though?" – "Does someone like him even have friends?" – "Well, I heard he has an apprentice or something. Sigh, I would love to meet him in person. Just to see if he's really like that, you know?"

Zhongli put down the round emerald in his hands carefully, rose from his chair and pushed the windowpane with one hand in order to close the window and close the sounds from outside out. He could almost bodily feel the regret, let his head droop with a sigh. A knock at his room's door distracted him from his thoughts, however.

"Zhongli-xiong, we're going to get back to the mansion before it starts raining. Won't you join us?"

Albedo. It was remarkable how many bags he could carry on his arms and around his body, fastened with various belts, and how alchemical materials of all kinds poked out not only from there but from his pockets as well. And yet still, Albedo had an ethereal aura to himself that was probably a natural gift, something that Zhongli felt he himself didn't have and would never have. Well, not that he minded standing in Albedo's shadow and do the only work that he in comparison to his chosen brother could do, thanks to his divine patience.

"I have to complete the customer's commission. Go on without me", he answered and observed how Albedo looked as if he wanted to add something but changed his mind. Instead, Albedo pressed his lips into a smile and warned: "Don't stay too long and don't forget to close up the shop too, fine?"

"Of course."

Zhongli watched the door close behind Albedo and turned back to his work, picking up the emerald carefully again. Even with just the light falling in from the window and without any superior knowledge one could tell that it was a precious gem. An amateur in crafting would detect magic emanating from the stone's core and only professionals were able to bring out the gem's full potential.

This gem was what magicians and sorcerers widely called a "Vision". Nobody knew where these gems came from or how some people were able to make use of the slumbering magic and others not. If Zhongli wasn't mistaken, there were entire research facilities dedicated to the Visions, their origins and usage, but he had never seen one anywhere close here. All he needed to know was how to craft accessories from these gems – put them "in clothing", so to say.

This particular emerald, imbued with the power of Anemo, would look best with delicate ornaments that played about the core, like a crown complimented royalty while it was the blood in their veins that defined their status. An extra, not a defining trait.

Zhongli enclosed the emerald in brackets, careful not to leave a single scratch on the even surface and selected pale golden wires to go with the stone. He embedded his work on a cushion of thinly cut expensive sandalwood, wrapped the picked wires with the help of special pliers and pincers and magnifying glass to keep a close eye on his work. Outside, the clouds grew heavier and the atmosphere darker so that Zhongli had to turn on one of those new lights that had come to the market a couple of months ago – a gift for Albedo from an admirer but since he had had no use for it, Zhongli had taken it for himself.

When working with elements it was important to note that every Vision had its own characteristics; for Anemo Visions this meant that the gems disliked being treated harshly and by default followed the principle of freedom. So, a jeweller's greatest mistake was to enclose Anemo gems completely, which would lead them to malfunction or sometimes – in the worst case – break and cause greater damage. This had happened to Zhongli once, a case that he rather did not remember.

While working, Zhongli had lost all sense of time and thus was surprised that, when he looked up, it seemed to be evening outside the window. Alarmed, he gave the clock on the wall in his back a quick look, and sighed. He really had stayed here long after regular closing time.

His eyes wandered back to the gem in his hands and he furrowed his brows. Something … seemed to be amiss with the Vision. It was aesthetically pleasing work and the Vision itself showed no signs of discomfort, like a distorted flow of the magic in its core. However, the longer Zhongli looked at it, the more he felt that he wasn't finished yet – but he had to close the shop as well.

"I wonder when the customer will return to pick this up?" He clicked his tongue. If sorcerers and magicians had any sort of decorum, they'd listen to his proposed deadlines, but knowing these folks time might as well have ran out by yesterday already. And Zhongli would never sleep well at night anymore if he left the Vision in the state it was right now, assuming the customer came to claim the product tomorrow.

Without further ado, Zhongli left his work desk, rummaged through the pile of cast-off presents for Albedo by admirers and happened to find the perfect pouch to store the Vision in, made from fine burgundy material and insulating magical energy. In this, and with another kerchief wrapped around the wired gem, Zhongli put his handiwork into, fastened it on his belt and turned off the modern light. He was ready to leave.

He left his room, stepped outside and hurried down the street to where his shop was located – a place, where he accepted customers' requests and sold normal accessories and jewellery next to these magical ones that needed his special attention. Obviously, the assistant who was helping him out at the shop while he was busy working at commissions was no longer around and the shop's windows dark. How long did the assistant have to wait this time?

Zhongli stopped by the door with a quiet sigh but was grateful that nothing had happened here during his absence. Usually, this part of town was quiet and peaceful, if one disregarded the recent uproars that stemmed in dissatisfaction with the distribution of magic …

"Fortunately, we don't store magical items here", he finished his thought process. That meant that the uproars didn't reach the shop and thus, small mistakes like forgetting the time weren't much of a problem.

Zhongli pushed open the door and took a look around the interiors to make sure that everything was left as he remembered it, and gave another sigh, this time one of relief. He could lock the store and go back home, where Albedo was probably waiting for him already. Well, that Zhongli was running late wasn't exactly something out of the ordinary anyways.

"Oh really?"

The voice came unexpected from behind and made Zhongli flinch violently. He turned on his heels and saw that there was a lady at the entrance to the shop. A customer? She had scared him. But it was unprofessional to let this get to him and so Zhongli ignored the goosebumps all over his skin and ignored the bad feeling in his stomach. This lady was a potential customer, he simply had to politely explain the situation. His preferred method was politeness anyways.

"I'm sorry, we're closed. I was on my way to lock the door. If there's anything I can help you with, please return tomorrow."

"It won't take long." The tall, elegant figure with light voluminous hair and so many different trinket-like accessories that she had to be a magician, walked over the threshold and deeper into the store. This way, Zhongli could see her two companions, which, in stark contrast to her, looked very much like thieves. Who else would hide their faces behind masks and shroud themselves in threatening dark magic? No, maybe they weren't customers after all.

"Excuse me –"

"Psh." The lady walked closer and simply waved a finger in order to silence Zhongli's repeated attempt to ask them to leave, sealing his lips with a cold gust of wind. She looked around the store with a derogatory facial expression, picked up a bracelet by her side and dropped it back without as much as looking at it. With every second she spent at the shop, the darkness seemed to swallow up the air and made it harder for Zhongli to breathe, filled the surroundings with cold.

"Where do you keep it? The Visions. Hand them over." She turned to Zhongli with another natural swing of her hips and waved her hand at her lackeys, her eyes two pools of coldness that nailed him to the spot. Even if he wanted to look away, it was impossible, just as impossible as screaming out when her companions started rampaging through the shop. He could only watch the chaos unfold from the corners of his eyes in silent horror - why were they doing this?

"Nothing here, Signora."

"Not here either."

"Tch." She averted her eyes and Zhongli stumbled back, free from her magic that had nailed him to the spot, crashed against the far wall and pressed against it, hoping that somebody would see his situation and come to help from the outside. As if to mock him, the first drops of rain started falling, and nobody walked by to help. Most people were home already.

"Well, if that is not what I'm searching for." Signora's eyes had focused on the pouch Zhongli had fastened to his belt and his hand immediately reached down in the futile attempt to hide it from her. The only effect his reaction had was to annoy her even more. "You had it all along and decided to hide it from me, hah."

"It's not yours. You're not an Anemo wielder." He used the wall as support and slowly straightened up with its help, still shaking from the tense, cold air in here. The temperature seemed to drop even more when Signora threw her head to the side and laughed with a hand in front of her mouth, her voice crystal clear when she asked: "You dare to talk back to me? Do you not know who I am?"

She closed the distance to him, crossed her arms loosely in front of her chest and leaned forward, her face caught between amusement, somewhat like disbelief and annoyance, "I am one of the Tsaritsa's Harbingers, fool. When I say that you give me the Vision, then you either comply or die."

Zhongli didn't doubt for a single second that she might not be exaggerating. Her proximity hurt him physically, the air so cold that he could see his own breath in front of his face, his skin so numb that he had no sense of body anymore. His lips didn't move for an answer and he had no means to fight back.

"Oh, but I know something better than death for you. Take this as a parting gift and remember my name, foolish boy." Her hand closed around his chin with the speed of a serpent's attack, her skin colder than he would ever have the words to describe it. Zhongli's world blurred out into the white of pure snow and when she let go off him, he fell to his knees with violent coughs, both hands on the ground, shaking.

He heard the thieves leave the store, would hear the sounds of Signora's heels on the wooden floor deep in his dreams at night, and with pained exhales to get the cold out of his lungs reached for the pouch on his belt – but it was gone. She had taken the Vision with her!

Zhongli clenched his hand to a fist and beat down, shaking and feeling thousand needles on his skin where warmth and sense slowly came back into his body. He couldn't move yet, was alone with his thoughts. How would he explain this loss to his customer? Visions were extremely valuable, as was his customers' trust. What would this thievery do to his reputation, would he really have to move out of the city again because of one mistake that would leave his good reputation in scatters?

No, please. Not again.

Zhongli could take deeper breaths the longer he knelt on the floor, upper body stretched over the wood among the chaos of his shop. He realized that with the speed he felt the warmth return it might not be too late for him yet. He had to – he had to get up and either follow Signora on his own, or ask Albedo to help him out! Yes, he could do that. He could still get the Vision back before the customer returned to claim his commission. Just, move.

"Urgh!" Zhongli's knees gave in under him several times while he tried to get up, but finally he managed to stand upright and felt well enough to go on and find his way over the scattered works all over the floor. He reached the door, tore it open and stumbled into the rain, stumbled back to the shop and looked around if there was something to protect himself from the worst weather – and had to settle with one of the display boxes since the assistant seemed to have taken their only umbrella with them.

Holding the box over his head, Zhongli stumbled along the street, in the direction of his house where Albedo was surely waiting for him. Since it was raining rather heavily, almost nobody was walking on the side streets but for a handful of fools like him, who ran to find shelter from the rain. On the main street though, there were as many people as always, using umbrellas to keep the rain away.

Zhongli mixed with those people and tried to not bump into them as best as he could, apologized for every time he failed. He ran faster to avoid the mad gazes he got from the random people he ran into. Oh why did there have to be such masses on the main street but not there where he had been robbed? Why had there been no one to help him? Magic? Or had Signora attacked other people too?

"Hey there. Stop." Suddenly, an arm outstretched to the side right in front of him stopped Zhongli, who hadn't paid much attention where he was going, and made him look up. Two city guards, standing underneath a protruding roof at the side of the main street where Zhongli had been walking. Smiling at him, but in that polite way that wasn't meant seriously.

"Why are you running into the people? Are you a pick pocket?" The taller guard, a handsome guy with headgear that was several sizes too big for him, straightened up threateningly in front of Zhongli, but the smaller blonde one at his side laughed and asked: "With both his hands over his head? Come on, stand with us here, your shoulders are getting wet from the rain."

"Officer, I was – " ambushed, a lady named Signora has rampaged through my shop and taken a customer's Vision, please issue a search order immediately!

Zhongli knew exactly what he wanted to say. The guards could help him, the plea was on the tip of his tongue, he just needed to say it, just had to report the attack, but – but ! – Zhongli couldn't. He physically couldn't force his lips open or his tongue to say the words that were clear in his mind. His eyes widened and he dropped the box he was holding over his head to reach for his mouth. His lips were like glued shut!

"Huh? Are you fine? What's with your look? Wait, is that a magical aura that I feel from you? Are you a sorcerer?" The guards, who have been bickering with each other in the meantime, lost all traces of smiles on their faces and frowned at the strange behaviour that unfolded before their eyes.

"I can't – it's impossible for me to – I think that – " Zhongli tried to get the words out, but the harder he tried, the more impossible it got. He noticed how the two guards exchanged another look and moved apart to stand slightly left and right of him. He shook his hands in front of him. Not this too! "Oh no no, I swear I'm fine, I was on my way home, my brother is waiting for me! You surely know him too -"

"You will explain this to us in detail under a roof where we can talk to each other undisturbed and without getting wet." The oversized hat reached out for him and made Zhongli back away.

No!

In a split second, Zhongli considered running away. If he couldn't get hold of Signora, then he would need to leave the city no matter what, so being on bad footing or wanted by the city guards didn't make a difference to his situation anymore. He couldn't fight in any case – he always picked the peaceful option –, but at the same time he didn't trust the strength in his legs to carry him all the way to his house before the guards caught up to him. Screaming or resisting wouldn't help either. But if he got caught here, it was over! He had to at least try running.

That exact moment when he had all of these thoughts, someone put a warm arm around his shoulder and startled Zhongli. His head shot to the side to see who the person standing next to him was, but he didn't know this young man, had never even seen him before. Zhongli was sure he would remember such a handsome side profile with its prominent jawline, and the orange flaming hair was hardly common among the city folk that was mostly dark-haired. This young man didn't show any sort of discomfort though.

"I finally found you!", he spoke up with melodic voice and met eyes with Zhongli, eyes of clear blue that made it impossible for Zhongli to voice his confusion in any way. "Are they bothering you, my friend?"

He waved his pointing finger of the hand that was loosely wrapped around Zhongli's shoulders – the guards' legs hit together under their protesting shouts. Magic! The officers even saluted at the guy's mocking smile against their will, turned around and walked into the opposite direction in lockstep.

"What?" Zhongli finally found his voice. No question, this man was a sorcerer. But contrary to others, it wasn't evident from first sight what his element was. Zhongli couldn't feel the slightest bit of elemental magic come from him. But judging by the bright red ruby hanging as earring from his ear, this man must be a Pyro user. Since when did Pyro users know how to control other people?

"Hm." The sorcerer's smile that had been broadly on his face while watching the guards get dragged away by magic died away and he gave Zhongli an apologetic look. "Sorry to drag you into this mess. Let's go. We don't have any time to waste."

With that, the young man, who still had an arm around Zhongli's shoulders casually, pulled him with him from underneath the protruding roof into the pouring rain. "Wait -!" Zhongli had braced himself against the drops and getting even wetter than he already was, but to his great surprise the sorcerer guided him with unchanged pace and more importantly: without that the two of them got wet at all.

Huh?

Zhongli could feel the power of Hydro coming from the man walking beside him. Yes, magic repelled the rain drops before they could hit the two of them and even better, Zhongli could feel how the wet parts of his clothing had magically dried under the touch of the sorcerer. So, not a Pyro but Hydro Vision user? But how was that possible?

"Hold on tightly. They're persistent today."

Who?

Zhongli caught glimpse of familiar darkness among the people walking on the main street by accident, probably just because the person that the dark cold aura came from didn't move while everybody else avoided them by instinct.

The next moment, Zhongli and his companion took a sharp corner into a side alley, where suddenly no people were walking at all. The most curious part was that they sped up even more, basically ran from a threat that Zhongli couldn't exactly see but feel because the cold darkness seemed to be closing in again –

"It's a dead end!", Zhongli realized when he looked where they were running to. And indeed, the street ended in houses, but the sorcerer showed no sign of slowing down. Would he run the door down? But also, the threatening darkness was creeping from underneath the doorways left and right and if Zhongli wasn't mistaken, then from in front of them as well!

"I know!" With unexpected laughter, the youth bent his knees and jumped before they could crash against the house, and ran along the wall with ease, up, holding Zhongli as loosely as if they were still walking horizontally. Zhongli, on the other hand, forgot how to breathe, didn't know if he should press his eyes close or have them wide open to not miss anything, and suddenly, the two of them were up in the air all by themselves, the darkness somewhere deep down below where Zhongli couldn't see it anymore. He felt its lingering touch at his heels.

These were Anemo powers, were they not? They were floating ... but … how? Who was this man?

"You were on your way somewhere, right? Where should I bring you?" The sorcerer moved his arm from around Zhongli's shoulders along Zhongli's arms, took his hands into his own and added with a murmur: "Don't be scared, just float, like me. See? It's easy."

Zhongli clung to the hands holding him tightly, too afraid to think about what would happen if he let go, but at the same time completely overwhelmed by the feeling of flying. Normal people like himself could only dream of this. It might have been even enjoyable if Zhongli wasn't so overwhelmed by everything that had happened to him since he set out from his workplace today.

"You're a natural!"

Zhongli took the compliment without comment and instead used the opportunity to study the man by his side one more time as he saw the opportunity to do so. There was no question that the sorcerer was using both Anemo to keep them up in the air, and Hydro to keep the rain from soaking them. At the same time, Zhongli didn't feel any traces of magic coming from the man, not even as underlying as it had been with Signora. However, the sorcerer had several obviously handcrafted accessories on himself: A Pyro ruby earring that was dangling from his left ear; an Electro amethyst embedded in a black slim necklet around his throat; a Geo topaz shoulder plate – and these were the only ones Zhongli was able to see from his position.

"My house. The Chalk Khemia", he answered absentmindedly and lifted his wandering gaze to meet the clear blue eyes that had been smiling like crescent moons at him, aware that he was being studied.

"Hah." The sorcerer shifted his weight, changing their floating direction, and to Zhongli's greatest trouble yet loosened his grip around his hand, leaning closer and lowering his voice to a tone that felt too intimate even though it was only whispers. "Do you want to risk getting spotted by the people down below? They rarely look up, but I must say, I missed out on the thrill of battle because of you."

From the corners of his eyes Zhongli saw an Opal ring on Childe's left hand radiate green light and felt it take effect immediately. Another element …

"You're shielding us."

His observation made the sorcerer retract and change his smile once again. He had an attractive smile that made him look years younger but judging by the goosebumps taking hold of Zhongli's skin there had to be threat in there somewhere. How else could he explain his reaction? It must've been subconscious warning signs, definitely. "Who are you?"

They sank lower and lower and Zhongli lowered his head to look over the sea of umbrellas underneath their feet. In some distance, he recognized the loggia of his home - where the sorcerer headed and landed on the railings with light feet. He held Zhongli's hand until he had solid ground under his feet again and only then let go, breaking some sort of connection between the two of them. The absence of magic when he let go took Zhongli by surprise.

"You can call me Gongzi if you want to." He winked and gave a bow while still standing on the railing, hand on his chest. Before they could exchange another word, Gongzi waved his arm around and jumped off backwards, disappearing below – Zhongli plunged, grabbed the railing and looked over the edge into the mass, but the sorcerer was nowhere to be seen anymore. There were no remnants of magic left in the air either, as if this had all been part of Zhongli's imagination.

"Wait!", he shouted, "come back!"

"Zhongli ge?" A different, timid voice called out to him instead. "I heard the ruckus h-here and thought that a customer might've tried to sneak into Albedo gege's room … But praised be Barbatos, it's only you. I'm relieved."

Zhongli turned and saw his sister-by-choice, Sucrose, standing at the staircase that led one level lower, lowering an axe in her hands that he had obviously been ready to use. She pushed her glasses up her nose with one gloved hand and approached Zhongli. "You look a little bit pale. Did something happen?"

"I … yes." Zhongli let go of the railing and struggled to change his troubled facial expression, sort his thoughts somewhat. So much had happened, he didn't even know where to begin. "Is Albedo here?"

"Yes, he's still working. You know how it is. Closing hours don't mean much here, do they? Haha." Sucrose held the weapon in her hands tightly against her chest but jumped when she realized that it was the axe she was still holding onto. With reddening cheeks, she crouched and put the weapon down against the wall, then hid her hands behind her back.

"Yes. Indeed. I … Can you ask him to come here? I think I …"

"Zhongli ge, are you not feeling well? Your head is so red. Did you forget to bring an umbrella and caught a fever? H-huh, but you're not wet at all." Sucrose tip-toed and put a hand on Zhongli's forehead, focussing his attention on her for a moment before he lost his train of thought again. "Don't mind! I'll go get Albedo!"

With these words, Sucrose turned around on spot and hurried back to the staircase, down to where Albedo was surrounded by groups of people as usually – and Zhongli used the opportunity to sink against the next wall, press both hands left and right of his face, and try to comprehend the entirety of what had happened to him in the span of such short time.