Signora's Saviour- Chapter 13.

[6 Months Ago-Signora's POV]

"I am here, your Majesty."

I kneel before her Benevolence. I do wonder why she summoned me so suddenly.

"Punctual as always, Signora." She speaks. "I'll get straight to the point. I called you here to discuss Leo, the high ranking operative in your Squadron."

Him? Why has the Tsaritsa taken such an interest in Leo?

"Stand." She commands and I comply. "I know what you're thinking, let me explain."

She stands from her throne and approaches me.

"I, for one, see high potential in him." She says quietly, as if she only wants me to hear. "More specifically, potential to fill the 12th Harbinger seat."

"T-twelth..?"

"Yes, there is a twelth slot." She confirms. "It has been vacant ever since the creation of the Fatui Order. Myself and Pierro have never found anyone with the requirements, but Leo...he could be the one."

"What do you wish for me to do, your Majesty?" I can tell she's going to give me a task.

"You, Signora, will nurture him. Educate him on the way a Harbinger should be. Make him worthy of that opportunity to complete our roster." She explains. "Are you up for this responsibility, Signora?"

This is such an honour... I'd be foolish to let this go to waste.

"I will do it, your Majesty." I agree. "You will not be disappointed."

That is a heavy responsibility, but I can do it. Time to pay extra attention to Leo...

[Present day-Liu's POV]

I woke up early, so I decided to survey the surrounding area, and I found a Treasure Hoarder encampment relatively close to the Eremites'. As per usual, their lack of training made neutralizing them a simple task.

Although, this is a weird place for a camp, so it's likely not permanent. They must've found something that they are planning to raid. Perhaps I'll some clues in the main tent.

With that thought in mind I casually stroll into the tent and begin searching.

Books...more books...tools...

"Aha!" I say to myself. "A map!"

Sure enough, it's a map of this part of Sumeru and the Hoarders have kindly marked a location on it. My suspicions are true, this is a staging area.

Hmmm...it seems that the location that has been marked isn't too far away. I'll go and investigate immediately, just in case the Treasure Hoarders have already dispatched a team there.

[Later...]

I trudge through the shallow water and finally reach the area the mark indicates. Looking around, I spot a not so subtle opening in a the side of the valley.

The way it's formed is almost...too perfect, as if it's manmade. Despite this, there is no sign of light coming from inside the tunnel so the Hoarders probably haven't gotten to raiding it yet.

Still, that means my own visibility is going to be minimal. Oh, how nice it would be to have a Pyro Vision right now. Instead I'll have to rely on the tiny amount of light emitted by the glow of my Cryo Vision.

I take a deep breath, steel my resolve, and begin pressing forward, sticking to the side of the tunnel to use as a guide as I'm plunged into darkness, only having the aid of a small blue light.

What could possibly be the purpose of something like this? Why here of all places? Where does it end?

A million questions swirl around my head, drowning out even my own footsteps.

Suddenly, the edge comes to an end, meaning I've reached a more open part of this network. I slowly creep forward, paying extra attention to the tiny amount of visibilty.

"What...is that?" I mutter, shifting my attention what my arm has bumped into.

It's a lever on top of a mechanism. Very, very, strange.

Even so, my curiosity calls for me to pull it, and so, after a little hesitation, I grasp the lever and turn it.

As soon as I reach the threshold of the lever, the cavern gradually lights up, the source of the light is ahead of me. Gazing upon it, I realize that it's a vault of some kind.

The 'vault' is made up of four segments, each having a set of 8 symbols inscribed upon them. These inscriptions, alongside the centre of the door are glowing, producing the abundant light.

It reacted when I pulled the lever, right? Therefore, the lever has to be connected to the method of opening this 'vault'.

I take in my newly revealed surroundings, and notice that there are three other levers scattered around the cavern plus an extra one directly adjacent to the door.

"Heh..."

I think I'm getting the logic behind this. I need to test something to confirm my theory. I grab the lever closest to me and pull it.

As I thought, the outer segment shifted so that the next symbol in line is now at the top of the door. It is now when I realize that the symbols represent the elements.

Anemo, Geo, Electro, Dendro, Hydro, Pyro, Cryo and...the last symbol is one I don't recognize. It looks like a star and glows a light yellow.

The other levers around this cavern must do the same but for the three other segments. I'll have to get them in the correct order, and then use the lever closest to the 'vault' to open it. At least, in theory.

The problem is working out the correct order. Furthermore, there's only space for four of the eight symbols, meaning half of them will be wasted.

How hard can this be? I'm sure I can work this out in a timely manner.

Okay, so...the order that first comes to mind is the order of the strength of the Archons. But, there's only seven Archons, where would that leave the unknown symbol. There is the possibility that I'm correct, and the enigmatic one is irrelevant.

However, I don't believe it's that simple. Instead, I pull the Lever 1 until the unknown symbol is in place. A chime rings out from the door as I do so, cementing my thought process.

I'm on the right track. Now I just need to work out what other three elements fit the spaces. I head over and stand by Lever 2 and ponder for a little while.

...Since I'm in Sumeru, maybe Dendro fits the second placement. Well, there doesn't seem to be any harm in trying, so I pull Lever 2 until the Dendro sigil is in position. The 'vault' emanates another chime, indicating that I'm correct. I'm on a roll!

But, now things get more difficult. There is almost no logic I can use to determine the last two elements, but trial and error will take far too long and I don't want to risk attempting to pull the confirmation lever while not having completed the puzzle.

"Ugh, fine..." I say, my voice reverberating off the walls.

I will have to apply some logic, no matter how loose it may be. Time to fall back on my original thought. The strength of the Archons.

The ones I know for sure to be exceptionally strong are the Raiden Shogun and The Tsaritsa. What's the worst that could happen?

I head over to Lever 3 and pull it until the Cryo sigil is positioned. I hear yet another chime from the door. I'm getting so lucky right now!

Finally, I reach Lever 4 and use it to get the Electro symbol aligned, however, this time, there is no chime. Has my luck ran out?

I try all the other symbols and there is no chime for any of them, so this final stage doesn't give me any help at all. Right, I'll have to take a gamble. I realign the Electro symbol and head over to the confirmation lever.

Please, don't let a security system, of all things, kill me. I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and pull.

The cavern fills with the sound of rumbling and I open my eyes to see that the vault is opening.

"I-I actually did it..." I murmur with bemusement.

Relief washes over me as the fact that I succeeded sinks in. Maybe I'm just gifted at solving these kinds of puzzles.

More importantly, I shift my attention to what lies within. Strangely though, it's dark, despite additional lighting now being active on the sides of the entrance.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained..." I whisper before proceeding onwards.

Before I can start using my the light from my Cryo Vision to navigate again, the interior lights up to reveal-

"...W-what is...this..?"

The far wall is littered with organized pictures. Not just any pictures, but pictures of every influential figure in Teyvat. Every Archon, Grandmaster Varka, Acting Grandmaster Jean, even my mother and others. They are all put here, categorized into the nation they hail from. There are also details of the military forces of each region,referring to the Inazuman comissions and the Liyuen Millelith.

There are even images of some Fatui Harbingers here, listed under her Majesty.

Dottore, the Knave, Columbina, and Sandrone. Those are the only ones that are pictured here.

What is the purpose of all this? C-could this be the work of the Abyss Order? No, they don't have Kameras.

An overwhelming sense of dread fills the air. So much so, I have to remind myself to breathe.

"W-who..."

My train of thought is interrupted by a hastily drawn symbol with scrawny writing underneath on a piece of paper, laying on the ground.

"What?" Is my involuntary reaction.

It's the same symbol as the one I didn't recognize outside, and the word underneath read, after some straining, 'Luxo?'.

Is that the name of this mystery element? Strangely, reading this has amplified my dread. I-I can't stay here anymore. I feel like my life is in danger!

I drop the paper and immediately begin running towards the exit, not bothering to try and close the door again. My only focus is getting out of here.

As I make it back to daylight, the terrible feeling starts to dissipate and I sigh in relief of managing to get out. But I'm not done.

I swiftly locate a nearby explosive barrel and place it, tentatively, in the tunnel entrance, back off and throw a kunai at the barrel. The ensuing explosion does what I'd hoped and caves in the entrance.

As I watch the residual fire, my mind races through everything I saw in there.

The details of the nations, even Mother, and...Luxo...whatever that means.

Who...put that together? It's too organized to be the Abyss Order, even with their so called Princess. Definitely not Treasure Hoarder or Fatui work, obviously. So, WHO?

"...Damnit..." I mutter.

My voice is shaky. What is with that terrible feeling I had back in there? It felt as if...I shouldn't have been there...

I'm strangely glad that I got out alive. That's the extent to which it affected me. There is something seriously wrong behind the scenes of this world, but I'm doubting if I should pursue it.

I slowly sit down on a tree trunk and start to steady myself.

"Okay, okay, okay..." I whisper, trying to relax.

It doesn't seem like I am actually in any danger. Maybe I'm worrying too much...but all that's too serious to ignore.

In any case, I can't return to Signora like this. I need to calm down first, at least enough to be able to hide. But that's easier said than done. For the most part I'm unshakable, but what I saw and felt in that vault thoroughly disturbed me.