Episode 16: Day of Deicide
Far beyond the jagged peaks of Mond, past the lush green and blue of Fontaine… Nestled among the rocky, snow-capped crags… The Eleven Harbingers gathered together again.
Though there were now only ten, their collective strength was more than enough. They had always been meant to ring in a new dawn - even their name reflected that fact. Now, the plans that had been laid carefully for centuries were about to come to fruition.
It was too late to turn back. Today, the gods would tremble.
Opening Theme: Unlucky Morpheus - 夢幻
The Gnoses: seven gifts given to those who were strong enough to be called Archons. Each one was a physical representation of Celestia's power vested in them. To use them for any other purpose was sheer blasphemy, without a doubt.
Unfortunately, the harbingers were experts in that field.
In a world bereft of The Traveler, or anyone else heroic enough to stand against the Harbingers' plans, six of the seven Gnoses had been taken from the Archons already. The seventh was never far away to begin with: it was the one belonging to Snezhnaya's very own Tsaritsa. With the forbidden knowledge Il Dottore had extracted from Irminsul, Pierrot now had all the tools and justification he needed to face Celestia head-on.
"As you all know, some time ago we discovered the lingering power of a god near the coast of Mondstadt. Thanks to the good Doctor, we discovered that the source was most likely a being that could reset time. Only one such god exists - a god whose true name was erased from history - just like our memories were."
Nine faces all watched as the Director of the Harbingers gave his final speech before the mission began in earnest. Like astronauts awaiting their launch, each one held their own anxieties and desires for this long-awaited day. They stood in a small room in Harbinger HQ, where an intricate design had been inlaid in the stone floor. This place hadn't been visited by any of the others before, and they would soon understand why.
"That god's name was Istaroth: God of Moments, and God of Time."
No one noticed, but Columbina's ever-serene expression lost just the tiniest bit of luster when that name was called.
"That god is almost certainly responsible for this travesty. They pilfered our memories and changed our world irreversibly. This is just one of countless infringements by the gods against mankind. They look down upon us from Celestia, caring not for our needs or desires. Our Tsaritsa has long despised this foul arrangement, and indeed, we exist for that very reason."
Childe stifled a yawn, drawing an angry glare from Arlecchino.
"Now, the time has come at last to fulfill the wishes of our supreme ruler. In her name, we shall burn away the old world, and usher in a new millennium of peace. We shall slay Istaroth and any other god who stands in our way."
Reaching into his pocket, The Jester pulled out a handful of small, glowing items that resembled chess pieces. He reached out his right hand and opened it, dropping them. But before they could hit the floor, they began to levitate, matching the unholy pattern on the floor.
Diluc breathed deeply, steadying his emotions as he watched this scene.
Pierrot's masked right eye suddenly began to glow with the golden light of a star. The seven Gnoses found their rightful places at the furthest points of the floor's pattern, and a deep-purple glow began to emanate from the circle in the middle.
"Now, show us the way! Lead us to the land of the gods!" Pierrot raised his voice.
Suddenly, the purple glow at their feet transformed into a floating, rotating portal. It swirled with an eerie light, and within, a blurry view of a distant heavenly realm slowly came into focus.
Countless white pillars rose from a sea of clouds, and here and there, green islands dotted the landscape, connected by ornate bridges. At the very center, a tall tower loomed over everything else. At its tip, a wheel within a wheel slowly rotated, almost resembling a watchful eye.
Diluc couldn't help but notice the similarity of this portal to another one - the one that no longer existed. Apprehension tickled the back of his mind as old feelings rushed back. He still remembered in acute detail the day he entered that portal for the last time. What awaited him this time?
Columbina gave him an almost-unnoticeable glance. She had already told him her plan ahead of time. It was a foolhardy one that had little chance of succeeding, but Diluc had no choice but to at least try and appease her. Still, he questioned why someone like her would ever think something like that would work.
"Come. For the Tsaritsa!" Pierro boomed.
"For the Tsaritsa!" a rallying cry resounded, and all at once, they stormed the portal.
The first thing that met Diluc's eyes on the other side was bright white light.
After emerging from the portal, he took a moment to make a note of his surroundings and their distance from him. Situational awareness was key, especially now.
He had expected to be met instantly with harsh opposition, but instead, the ten Harbingers were met with utter silence. It was incredibly unnerving.
The Director was undeterred, though. He led them straight ahead down the narrow bridge they had arrived on, which eventually seemed to lead to the central tower of the floating island.
"Remember the plan. If we meet resistance, assume formation and look for a chance to break through. We must reach the central tower at all costs."
Several heads nodded, and the group dashed forward again.
But strangely, no matter how close the tower got, they met no enemies at all.
"Hey, hey, what's going on here?" a carefree voice broke the silence. "Seems like no one's here to greet us."
Diluc cocked an eyebrow in amusement, and several others gave the brown-haired man disapproving looks. But he had put a voice to what they were all thinking: something wasn't right here.
"Don't let your guard down. It could be a trap," The Jester spoke up. "Follow my lead."
He ran ahead, and the others quickly followed him. Soon, they came to the end of the bridge. Ahead was a grassy patch of land, with the tower jutting upwards in the middle of it. They didn't slow down, rushing towards the only obvious entrance at the bottom of the tower with urgency.
"Quickly, inside!" their leader ordered.
Ten figures rushed through the ornate entrance, stopping once they made it in. Pierrot held up a hand, halting them for now.
Ahead was a long, dark hallway. At the end of it, though, there was an obvious source of light.
"That must be it… the hall of the gods," Pulcinella said, staring straight ahead.
"Indeed. To think that we humans would tread upon Heaven's ground… How absurd," Il Dottore smoothly spoke, his mouth twisted into a gleeful smile.
"We are far from finished," Pierrot finished, silencing the others. "Ahead lies our goal. Do not waver, and if we come into contact with them, slay them where they stand."
"Hoaahh!" the others chanted as they rushed forth.
The hallway continued on and on, but the light at the end grew brighter as they went. Soon, they burst out into a massive, circular room. The sheer size of it almost made Diluc's head spin; it looked much bigger inside than it had from a distance.
The walls of the room were lined with small arches and balconies where gods had watched the struggles of mankind for centuries. From here, they had witnessed countless great heroes fall, and Archons make their names. Those lucky (or unlucky) enough to see this place seldom returned to tell the tale, yet legends still abounded of those who had ascended to dwell with the gods forevermore.
But on this day, not a single god was present. The place was barren.
Each archway was empty, and the curved walls of the grand room almost resembled countless open sepulchers lying dormant. The Harbingers' footsteps echoed off the marble walls, as if they were trapped in a giant well.
"Oi, Jester, where are they?" Arlecchino mumbled in a low tone.
Pierrot remained silent as he carefully scanned their surroundings. Meanwhile, Columbina looked concerned. Her mouth was sinking in a small frown, and she appeared to be on alert.
She isn't here…? Why…?
Diluc heard her words resonate in his mind. He raised an eyebrow, wondering if she had meant to broadcast that thought to him or not.
Who isn't here?
It's nothing. Now stay alert. If he tries to attack any of them, we have to stop him.
I still don't understand why you would do this. Risking everything to stop him from killing the gods? It's insane.
Not "the" gods. Just a certain one.
Columbina refused to elaborate further. Pierrot finally spoke up again, his voice carrying a deadly serious tone.
"Something is comi-"
Before he finished his sentence, another entity had already joined them. Looming in the middle of the room, emanating a stifling, choking aura, her orange eyes blazed with fury.
"Mortal men, you have been found guilty."
Diluc immediately took up a battle stance, and the others did so as well. Ten of the strongest 'humans' in Teyvat stood in defiance of the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, refusing to budge an inch.
No… it can't be…
Has she seen her before? Diluc mused to himself after overhearing Columbina's reaction.
You've seen her too? she replied to his thoughts with concern clearly visible in her expression.
Yeah.
This isn't who I thought would…
They had no more time for conversation, though.
"Your insolence shall continue no longer."
"Silence!" Pierrot yelled, stepping forward.
But in a moment that lasted less than 1/100th of a second, the Unknown God launched her attack. Barely able to guard in time, Pierrot was launched backwards down the hallway, rolling and crashing into the walls along the way.
"What?!" Childe yelled out.
I could barely even see her move, Diluc thought to himself in amazement.
"Your misguided attempt will end in failure, just as it always has."
"Damn you! Where are the other gods, you bitch?!" Arlecchino shouted.
In response, the Unknown God merely stood still, her eyes burning like coals.
"Not gonna talk, huh? That's fine!" she continued to antagonize the god.
"Arlecchino, that's enough talk," Childe spat, his face painted with anger.
The next moment, he launched himself at the enemy. His water blades came alive in a flash of blue light, swinging viciously like pincers directly at the god's neck.
Almost instantly, he found himself crashing against the pillars at the base of the room's wall.
"Tartaglia!" Pulcinella yelled in a shaky voice.
Diluc, forget the plan for now!
To the red-haired man's surprise and concern, Columbina herself lunged forward towards the Sustainer. In a flash of light, she disappeared. Before Diluc could comprehend what he had seen, half of the Unknown God's face was missing. Where there should have been blood and brains, only an endless void of red stars glowed from within.
"A Seraph would dare stand against Heaven? Have you forgotten the past that easily?"
In an instant, the Sustainer was whole again, as if she hadn't even taken any damage to begin with. She rose up into the air, her strange cape glowing and flapping as if it was a living being.
Columbina spread her wings, matching the Unknown God's height. Then, the winged woman brought her hand to her face, lifting off the blindfold she had always worn. Two beautiful, glowing, violet eyes saw the world as no other living creature could see it. A sinister, toothy smile spread across her face.
"So that's what you are. I see. Then I shall be the one to slay you, you soulless demon."
Columbina struck again, this time only managing a glancing blow. Again and again the two clashed, moving so quickly that the others couldn't keep up. But within that slowed-down time that those two saw, a fierce battle was raging.
With her sharp dagger, Columbina swung at the Sustainer's face. But all too quickly, the god tilted her head to the side, narrowly avoiding it. The next millisecond, her right hand formed a force field, stopping Columbina in her tracks. For just a second, a flash of fear covered the angel's pretty face.
Still stunned by this whole turn of events, Diluc pulled himself together and prepared to help his comrade fight. Surely the Shade would at least give him a chance.
But before he could make a move, a tremendous, wicked aura flooded the room.
"What the hell?!" Diluc shouted, as a powerful wind threatened to blow them all back.
Purple particles filled the air, and suddenly, several of the pillars at the base of the room's wall exploded. Shards of marble peppered the walls like shotgun pellets, forcing the Sustainer's attention away from her captured prey.
From out of the dust of the explosion, an imposing figure appeared. With a red, horned mask and black and blue armor fit for an ancient warrior, it stepped forward with malicious intent. It held a strangely-shaped double-ended blade over one shoulder, and had a cloak of purple stars.
With a metallic, uncanny voice, it spoke.
"Playtime is over."
"Oh, shit," Diluc heard Arlecchino whisper to his left.
The figure's metallic claw reached out, pointing a finger at the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
"Don't think you can look down on us. I'll show you what a human can do."
Still suspended in midair at the mercy of the Sustainer, Columbina watched as the mysterious being came closer step by step. It twirled the double-ended weapon in its right hand, then charged.
The Sustainer turned to face her new adversary, tossing Columbina aside like yesterday's garbage. The angel barely managed to stop herself before hitting the wall, and soared above the scene of this new standoff.
Childe, why would you do this?
That's Childe? Diluc interrupted her thoughts.
Yes, but…
She couldn't finish her thought, as a tremendous blast of energy forced them all to retreat for the time being. Childe clashed violently with the Unknown God, and she managed to hold him off with both hands, shielding herself with the same power she had used to stop Columbina. The floor cracked as rifts in time and space opened and closed around them at alarming rates.
"How dare you use this blasphemous power. You shall perish, agent of Khaenri'ah."
"Ha. So you can make mistakes after all. Glad to hear… it!" he growled, slashing aside her force field and slamming into her with his shoulder lowered.
The impact forced her back several dozen feet, and she fell to her hands and knees, ripping up the floor as she ground to a halt. Her blank expression never changed, but as she stood back up, her eyes burned even brighter.
"Fool. You cannot hope to stand against the eternal order of the Heavenly Principles. They shall live on, even should I fall here."
"Who said I cared about any of that?" the robotic voice growled. "I'm finally having some fuckin' fun!"
"Absurd. I will silence you, human."
In a split second, she was only feet away from him. Surrounding her in a circular shape, half a dozen red cubes appeared, spinning lazily in the air.
"Childe, don't let those hit you!" Damselette yelled from above.
"Wasn't planning on it!" he shouted.
The spheres surrounded him, and fired off like rockets aimed directly at him. They moved impossibly fast, but somehow, his speed was even greater. He twisted and leapt high into the air as the cubes crashed together, joining into one that proceeded to melt away a large section of the floor where he once stood.
Up until now, Diluc had been carefully studying the Sustainer. Her fighting style was erratic and absurdly quick, but when her enemy was at a distance, she seemed completely unguarded. A devious idea flashed though his mind, and he prepared to act on it.
As Childe landed, putting some distance between himself and the Sustainer, Diluc moved.
He disappeared in an instant, causing Arlecchino to gasp in surprise.
Inside that quiet, still world, he could grasp everything clearly. The Unknown God's aura was incredibly strong, but Childe's was nearly matching it. Neither was moving, however. Nothing was.
Taking full advantage of that "cheat", he thought over his plan one more time, prepared to act quickly once he resurfaced. Positioning himself as close to the Sustainer's weak side as possible, he slithered out into reality like a snake ready to strike.
The instant he did, his strong hands gripped the shoulders of that white-haired humanoid, which were much slimmer and more feminine than he had anticipated. Using the power of the Shade, he forced himself backwards like some sort of insane carnival ride. Once he reached top speed, he flung her at an absurd velocity towards the marble wall behind them. In what appeared to be an in instant to the onlookers, the Sustainer's body easily quadrupled the speed of sound, shaking the very foundations of the island with a tremendous sonic boom. Shortly thereafter, one of the walls exploded, leaving a huge hole in its dusty wake.
"Fuckin' eh!" Childe yelled out.
"Don't celebrate yet!" Columbina warned them, floating above the cloud of dust.
Soon, a pair of orange flames burned through the dust, and the Sustainer reappeared, looking no worse for wear.
This time, though, Diluc attacked again, leaving her no time to react as his zero-second attack speed caught her off guard again. Black chains sprouted from the floor, tying her down. Diluc felt an immense strain on his body and mind from the rapid-fire use of two Delusions, but he couldn't let that stop him. With every passing second, he forced the chains to squeeze even more violently, until it seemed that The Sustainer's thin body would burst at the seams.
Before it did, though, a loud, metallic screech sounded throughout the hall. Then, the sound of shattering steel assaulted the ears of all present.
"Fuck!" Diluc yelled out in pain.
His chains had been utterly destroyed, along with the Evil Eye inlaid in his right-hand glove. Shards of it pierced his hand, drawing blood instantly. The red liquid stained the pure-white floors as the Sustainer regained her footing.
Upon breaking, the Evil Eye released its terrible contents. The souls within wailed and gnashed as they were forcibly escorted to the afterlife, no longer bound to the prison inside of that fake Vision.
Diluc fell to his knees, physically suffering from the horrible consequence of overusing the Delusion. Violent chills wracked his body, and his bones ached from the inside out as they resonated with the loathsome sounds of lost souls departing.
"Worthless."
The Sustainer's voice of judgement rang out at that moment, and suddenly, she disappeared into a golden portal shaped like a four-pointed star.
Diluc desperately regained his footing and backed off, hoping to avoid any incoming attack, but she hadn't set her sights on him. Instead, she reappeared in front of Childe, who desperately tried to leap away. Something caught him, though. Innumerable red cubes appeared around him, as if to consume him whole. He struggled mightily, managing to wriggle free from most of them. His right arm remained trapped, though, completely enveloped inside a cube.
Suddenly, the Sustainer snapped her fingers loudly, and the red cubes disappeared. They popped like giant, disgusting bubbles, leaving Childe standing alone in the middle of the room.
And with the cubes' disappearance, his right arm was gone as well.
His eyes wide behind his mask, he stared down at the fresh wound. Diluc looked on in shock at the disgusting spectacle. Where his arm should have been, there was only a cross-section of the inside of a human shoulder. Skin, meat, muscle, and bone were all clearly exposed.
Finally realizing its dire situation, the wound began to seep blood like butchered meat being squeezed.
"RRRAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHH!" Childe roared at the top of his lungs as sharp pain assailed him.
The other Harbingers looked on in shock. No one else had bothered to attack the Sustainer, perhaps assessing that such an action would be meaningless. Still, even Il Dottore seemed to be taken aback by the brutality of Childe's injury.
Swooping down, Columbina grabbed Childe, who was still standing shell-shocked like a sitting duck. As she flew away, a trail of his blood spilled across the floor.
"Run if you wish. Your defeat is inevitable."
For the first time, Diluc started to believe what the Sustainer was saying. Even after throwing some of their strongest attacks at her, she just kept getting back up - regenerating almost instantaneously. In the bottom of his heart, he began to lament the possibility of dying here on this floating island, miles away from the one he loved.
Landing next to Diluc, Columbina dropped Childe off with him.
"Take care of him for now. I'll end this," she hissed, then flew away again.
Diluc supported Childe on his shoulder as he continued to bleed profusely. However, there was no opening to try and staunch his wound just yet. Such an action would be suicidal as long as that thing was still there.
"Guess that's what I get for trying to show off," Childe chuckled softly, his voice sounding tired and resigned.
"Don't give up on me just yet, comrade."
Removing his mask, Childe looked over at the red-haired man and cracked a small smile.
"Roger that."
Meanwhile, Columbina took to the skies again. Aligning herself with the Sustainer, an aura so strong it was visible to the naked eye began to emanate from the angelic being. A huge ring appeared behind her, lined with countless eyes. Each one opened, glancing around before resting their terrible gaze upon the Sustainer.
"I'll never forgive you for what you did to us," she whispered.
The ring began to glow with an otherworldly magenta light. That absurdly bright glow overwrote the surroundings until nothing else could be seen. Diluc dragged Childe back desperately, sensing an unfathomable amount of energy building up. The other Harbingers fled as well, anticipating the end of this battle.
However, before the god-like power could be fully unleashed, a bloodcurdling scream rang out from behind the fleeing Harbingers, causing Diluc to turn around. What he saw there was incomprehensible.
That terrifying ring was shattered, lying on the ground in a bloody mass of metal and flesh. The source of that overwhelming power had been eliminated in an instant. The Sustainer still stood tall, and her right hand gripped the neck of the Seraph who had dared oppose her.
Columbina struggled, choking and gagging as the violet glow slowly left her eyes.
"NO!" Childe yelled out, suddenly regaining his strength and running back towards the central hall.
At that moment, most of the Harbingers already knew that Columbina's death had been sealed. In a matter of seconds, her head would likely be unceremoniously removed, and her body consumed by the red cubes, leaving no trace of that beautiful angel - the last of her kind.
But before the Sustainer could finish the job, the ground shook so hard that they were all hoisted a few feet into the air.
Childe fell to the ground before he could make it back into the grand hall, and the others yelled and shouted in surprise as shards of marble and dust rained down on them.
"The hell was that?!" Arlecchino yelled out.
"We should leave this place. Hurry!" Il Dottore commanded, taking the place of their absent Director.
Yes, The Jester had been missing for a while now. Though no one had said it aloud, some had noticed. In the fray of their furious battle, though, it had quickly slipped their minds.
That fact would turn out to be the most important one of all, though.
"I'm not leaving her behind!" Childe yelled, scrambling back to his feet and running the opposite direction as the others.
"Damn it!" Diluc cursed as he noticed him.
The red-haired man turned around as the others continued on. He ran back, following Childe into the grand hall, where a most curious sight awaited them.
Columbina sat on her knees, holding her throat, gasping for breath. Surrounded by the pathetic remains of the angelic being she had summoned, she still seemed alive and well in contrast.
The Sustainer, however, was writhing in pain. Flashes of red, starry void showed through her body in various places, and her eyes looked panicked.
"No, this cannot be!"
Completely unaware of what had happened somewhere within the central island, Diluc and Childe could only watch in shock as piece by piece… the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles crumbled away.
Like a glitched character, she faded in and out of existence as her arms and legs vanished one cubic section at a time.
"Come on, let's get out of here!" Diluc yelled at his companion as he opened a portal to that void world beyond time.
The only thing Diluc was sure of was this: they had to escape. There was no telling what had happened, but a nagging feeling ate at the back of his mind as he pulled his two comrades into the safety of infinity.
Because of that, no one was left to hear the Unknown God's final words as the final shreds of her existence were erased forever.
"I'm sorry, Master. I failed."
Three figures floated in an endless black void. Suspended in time, nothing could hurt them here.
"Where are we…?" Columbina whispered through her crushed vocal chords as she finally caught her breath.
"This is the world that the Shade of Evernight showed me," Diluc answered in a low voice.
Her pretty violet eyes opened again, and she stared at Diluc with a surprising amount of emotion.
"This is… her world…?"
Diluc didn't understand the meaning of Columbina's response. But before he could grill her about it, the angelic woman spoke up again.
"Wait, Pierrot is still there?"
"What?!"
Diluc strained his senses, and indeed discovered that Pierrot's aura was still nearby - within Celestia.
"What the hell is that guy doing?" Childe grumbled tiredly, his eyes threatening to drift shut.
"He's… underneath the island?" Diluc muttered in confusion.
He quickly grabbed the other two, pulling them along as he shot through voidspace towards the safety of Snezhnaya. After pushing them out into reality again back at HQ, he quickly rushed back towards Celestia. When he drew near, he discovered that there was no longer a barrier surrounding it. That alone gave him a terrible feeling of premonition.
As he reappeared in reality, the scene before him left him amazed.
Somewhere within the guts of the main island, there stood a door. It was massive and imposing, with intricate details carved into it. That door hung open, knocked halfway off its hinges, revealing the interior of a room that had clearly been decimated by a massive explosion.
And outside, propped against the door, was The Director of the Eleven Harbingers, gripping his bloody side with a grimace on his face. He heard Diluc's approach, and looked up at him with his one good eye.
"Young man, you shouldn't have come here."
Ending Theme: ゆよゆっぺ - Melody
Diluc immediately understood why he had said that.
The island shook mightily, as if its very foundations were crumbling. In a rough voice, Pierrot mumbled words of victory and sacrilege.
"It is done."
Next:
Episode 17: The Grave of the Old World