He felt very sore, his chest stung, his arms and legs ached where the cubes binded him. Opening his eyes, he was met with yet more darkness. A black void wasn't the strangest place he woke up in, but it wasn't all an inky black expanse, there was a set of very ornate looking double doors. The more he looked at the door the more his chest started to throb.
Seeing no other way to go, he slowly lifted himself off the floor, legs protesting in pain. It seems that time would have to heal those wounds, he couldn't find any potions on him, nor could he find his tools after a painstaking search of his person.
Pushing the doors open was a hefty task, even for him. Strange. They made a loud creaking sound when moving, as he pushed. Eventually, he opened them enough to slip through.
Upon entry, he was met with a dark room, the only lit up space being a short… Platform? Hallway? leading to a staircase. He couldn't really tell, nor could he really care right now. As he trudged ahead, the room around him slowly started to brighten up more and more, though a majority of it was still unrecognizable. Turning back to look at the door it was no longer there, replaced with yet more void.
Climbing the staircase was simple, though exhausting. He tried to recall what happened, but all he was getting was missing memory and dull pain. As he reached the top he found the pathway in front of him suddenly stopped in its tracks, the oppressing darkness blocking his sight.
The path wasn't immediately available so he stood there to wait. Seconds turned to minutes as he concluded that the path wouldn't become clear anytime soon, so he took the time to try to think about what happened. Pushing past the dull ache that came from searching his memories he slowly started to piece things together.
That's right! He was at the celebration that they threw for him, but what happened? The ache started to intensify. It felt like his brain took a direct hit from those Martian Tesla Turrets. Grabbing his head in an attempt to ease the pain, he tries to sort out his memories some more.
It hit him all at once like a freight train, first it was the conversation on the balcony being interrupted. Then it was the battle with the one who stole his friends. And finally, his loss and failure. So many emotions swirled within him at that moment. Sadness. Disgust. Anger… Fear.
He could feel a liquid run down his face. Bringing a hand to the liquid, he looked through a clouded vision and found himself crying. How long had it been since he last did that? When he lost his foster family? That damn witch took his new family too. Why is everything taken away from him when he finally gets comfortable again?
Just then he was hit with another memory of Shea. The two of them stood out in a field as she taught some basic Dryad magic to him, how to grow a tree sprout without the use of an acorn.
"Just hold your arms out like I taught you, it helps to channel the energy from your core while interworking it with the natural magic around us. And do remember to breathe and remain calm? Strong negative emotions can corrupt one's core energy. If used with Dryad magic, the result can be twisted and changed… Corrupted." Shea pauses to pat Phineas on the back, grinning. "No pressure."
"Gee, thanks" Phineas retorts. He smiles and shakes his head.
Closing his eyes, he takes a deep breath before slowly holding out his arms in the position Shea taught him. A green glow emanates from the palms of his hands as the soil on the ground in front of him starts to shift and move.
It was a strange feeling having to will your core to manipulate magic like this, compared to the few magic staffs and tools he has used before, it was like having to 'put your back into it.' If he were to put it into words. He heard the ground shift some more, but he wouldn't dare break his focus and ruin the spell. Shea was nice, don't get him wrong, but she could be terrifying when she needed to be.
"Stop." Phineas' concentration broke when he heard Shea tell him to stop.
"Why? I didn't mess up, did I?" He looks down at the ground to see a normal looking tree sapling where there wasn't one before.
"This tree… Somehow you managed to grow a very special sapling, special indeed." Shea said crouched down next to the sapling appraising it.
"Special how? Looks like any normal sapling to me." Phineas replied.
"This sapling has the same genetic code that sets itself apart from all the rest. This sapling will one day grow to become one of the giant hollow trees that you find scattered around Terraria today." Shea explained.
This made Phineas pause, he turned around to look at the gigantic tree he always likes to call 'The World Tree'. "So you're telling me, that this tiny sapling will one day be as large as that tree over there?"
"A little bigger or a little smaller, yes. But it won't happen for a while, those trees are very old, you know." She smiles warmly at Phineas.
No. He refused. He would not take it. She would not want him to. He stood up from the ground, steeling himself, in newfound defiance to the goddess.
"That god is going to pay for what she's done." Phineas concluded.
He heard a loud click sound as the room around him fully lit up. The room he was in was large and open. But even more curious was the large… Chess Piece? In the center of the room suspended with chains and bulky cables.
It was very big and glowed and pulsed rhythmically, like a beating heart. Though the base of it resembled a chess piece, it didn't look like it belonged in a normal set. The top of the piece was an ornate carved Angel Statue made of the same almost Rose Quartz like material as the base of the piece. However the base and statue were also accented with gold plating, making it much more regal looking.
The structure pulsed in tandem with the beat of his own heart, the room glowing brighter and brighter with each pulse. Until he couldn't see anymore...
"…And just like that, the god took away my brother. Some kind of seal was cast upon me, and I lost my power. So while we used to travel from world to world, we are now trapped here." The girl with blond hair and yellow eyes pulls a small stick out of the sand, a crude drawing of a woman with cubes and stars surrounding her in the beach at her feet. "How many years ago was it? I don't know…" The girl clenches her fist in determination. "But I intend to find out." She looks at the small floating being next to her. "After I awoke, I was all alone- right up until I met you two months ago."
The small floating being who was listening to her tale finally speaks up. "Yeah. Paimon really owes you for that. Otherwise Paimon likely would have drowned… So Paimon will do her best to be a great guide!" Paimon places her hands on her hips confidently. She then starts to float off down the beach. "We should head off. Let's get going!"
Walking up the beach the girl walked up to a mysterious obelisk. It was gray with gold accents holding a red crystal inside. Curious, she held her hand out to it and reacted. The red crystal changed from a red to a royal blue color as the obelisk lifted off the ground and hovered there. She watched it for a bit before Paimon spoke up again.
"Are you coming? Or are you going to make Paimon wait all day?"
She broke away from the obelisk and caught up to Paimon who floated up a small rock wall that she had to scale. Upon reaching the top, Paimon took over as the guide. "Okay, let's take the route we planned! We're off to… a Statue of The Seven!" Paimon then got curious and asked "Which of The Seven are you looking for exactly?"
The blond girl remained quiet as she studied the landscape around her. It was a valley of some sort, gray rocks making up a majority of the terrain with grass growing on the tops of the rocks. Though that wasn't really on her mind. Which of the seven had she actually wanted to speak with? They didn't sound like the one god she and her brother encountered. If they weren't the god, would they even help her look for them? She was interrupted from her thoughts when Paimon seemed to be appreciating the view up ahead.
Running to catch up with her guide, she could finally get to see what she was amazed by. And what a view it was to the small lake with the statue in the middle of it, to the city adorned with windmills in the distance with the towering mountains ever further away. It seems like the way to the city is blocked by a forest, though it looks like just a straight shot to their current objective of the Statue of The Seven, judging by the looks of things it must be the one in the middle of that small lake.
Her guide looked at her and pointed at the statue in the middle of the lake "That's a Statue of The Seven! There are a few of these statues scattered across the land to show The Seven's protection over the world."
Well at least her hunch was correct.
"Among the seven gods, this god controls the wind. Paimon's not sure whether the god you're looking for is the Anemo God, but Paimon'll take you to the Anemo God's place first, and there's a reason why~" Paimon started to float down the hill on the right leading right to the statue. "As we all know, poetry and language flows like the wind. So there'll definitely be someone there who knows about your brother. At least, that's what Paimon thinks! Whether the gods actually answer you is a different story. You never know unless you try. So, let's hop to it!" Huh, that might be a good place to start.
As they get close to the lake Paimon floats right over it beckoning her to swim over as well. While she wasn't the most excited about getting her clothes all wet, though, the chance to speak to one of the supposed gods was promising.
The wind was warm and calm, as she looked at the statue. Deciding to walk up and touch the gold plate at its base, the star-like symbols glow a bright light blue color as a loud heartbeat-like sound can be heard. More parts of the statue light up blue as the wind starts to swirl around the statue's base. Finally, the stone orb in the statue's hands glows the same light blue color as the wind almost collects into it before a translucent orb flies out of the stone and hovers its way down towards her. It merges with her as she feels the wind pick up around her. She can feel a flow of elemental power similar to that of the orb she just collected emanating from the statue's base that travels under the ground and spreads out in all directions, she can feel the obelisk from the beach, the salty air from the ocean, the warm sand of the beach.
"Ooh! Did you just feel the elements of the world? Seems all you had to do was just touch the statue and you got the power of Anemo!" Anemo, huh? It feels so… liberating.
"As much as they may want it, people in this world can never get a hold of powers as easily as you." Paimon revealed.
"I think I know why, it must be because I'm not from here, right?" The girl inquired.
"Ah-ha, that's right, it's because you're not from this world to begin with." Paimon confirmed.
"If we keep heading west from here, we'll eventually reach Mondstadt, the City of Freedom." Paimon says, looking over to the now closer walled city. "Mondstadt is the city of wind, because they worship the God of Anemo. So perhaps, because you got power from the God of Anemo, you can find some clues there." Paimon concluded. "Oh! There are also lots of bards there, so perhaps one of them has heard the news of your brother." she added.
"Sounds like a good place to investigate then." The girl agreed.
"Great, let's move then! The elements of this world responded to your prayers and Paimon thinks that's a lovely sign."
Just as she was about to start moving, she smelled something burning? Turning around, she saw four Pyro Slimes bouncing up and down as they moved closer and closer. Feeling the newfound power coursing through her, she held out her arm as wind gathered at the palm of her hand. When it reached a crescendo of force, she let it go with a shout.
"Windblade!"
The Pyro Slimes were torn apart by the blades of wind, some blades catching fire as they mixed with the Pyro elements of the Slimes. In the end, all that was left of the Slimes was a patch of smoldering grass.
"These are the Anemo powers you got from the Statue of The Seven. Aww, Paimon's so jealous! Why doesn't Paimon get cool fighting powers?!" Paimon said with a pout.
WIth a light chuckle, she made her way to the edge of the island and swam back across the lake, making her way west at a light jog, she slid down a small ledge before stumbling when the wind around her picked up and a loud roar was heard. A large shadow was cast onto them as a large creature flew overhead and landed in the nearby forest separating them from Mondstadt.
"Woah! What was that?! It landed in the forest we needed to cut through! Paimon thinks we should be extra careful!" she suggested.
Making their way slowly through the forest, they hear a growling sound get louder and louder as they eventually round a corner to see the creature, hiding behind a tree they see that it's a large blue dragon with large feathers and fur in the palace of scales atypical of dragons. However, standing out was this vile looking purple spike protruding out of the back of its neck.
There was a person standing in front of the dragon, dressed in seafoam green with black hair highlighted with blue. "Don't be afraid. It's alright now, I'm back."
Paimon stared in confusion at the scene. "Is he talking… to the dragon?"
Before she could answer her, the elemental energy inside her seemed to act up and puff out into the air. Almost like an elemental sneeze. This startled the dragon as it roared angrily and attempted to swipe at the person in green with its claws.
"Who's there?!" The person in green shouted.
The dragon roared angrily at the two as the mysterious character slowly backed up and disappeared in a flash of blue. The dragon then started flying away before giving one last angry growl to the duo.
"That was close! Paimon almost got blown away." she said in between heavy breaths. "Luckily Paimon managed to grab hold of your hair! Thanks."
"It's a good thing you didn't pull my hair out then." responded the girl.
"Just what was that? Paimon thought we were gonna get eaten. It definitely has something to do with that weirdo who was walking to the dragon."
"Is talking to dragons normal here?" asked the girl as she thought about the person who was there with the dragon before they arrived.
"Of course not!" Paimon huffed as she crossed her arms. She looked over to where the dragon was once sitting before noticing something out of place. "Oh? What's that? There's some kind of shiny red thingy on the big rock over there. Let's go take a closer look."
Paimon hovered over to the object. "Paimon doesn't have a good feeling about this. Be careful."
Climbing up the rock, she could get a better look at what it is. It almost looks like a teardrop in shape glowing a malicious red.
"Paimon's never seen a stone like this before, so Paimon can't tell what it is. All Paimon knows is that it looks dangerous. We should take it so it doesn't end up in the wrong hands accidentally." She concluded before speaking one last time. "Mondstadt's just around the corner now, it shouldn't be too much longer!"
The two continued to walk out of the forest together before being stopped by a new voice.
"Hey you! Stop right there!" The voice shouted as a girl in all red jumped off the ledge into a roll right in front of them. She caught herself from going any further and turned to face them. "May the Anemo God protect you, stranger. I am Amber, Outrider for the Knights of Favonius." She stated as she posed in a knightly manner. "You don't look like citizens of Mondstadt. Explain yourselves!"
"We're not looking for trouble." Paimon said in a hurry.
"That's what all the troublemakers say."
"Hello I'm Lumine." the girl finally spoke up.
"Doesn't sound like a local name to me. And this… mascot, what's the deal with it?" Amber inquired.
"We're friends." Lumine confirms.
"We've only been traveling partners for a few weeks, but we've already become the very best of friends!" Paimon states.
"So to sum it all up, you're traveling partners, right? Well look, there's been a large dragon sighted around Mondstadt recently. In fact you may have seen it. Best you get inside the city as soon as possible. It's not far from here, I'll escort you there." Amber offered.
"Oh? Aren't you out here for some other reason?" Piamon asked curiously.
"I am." Amber confirmed. "But not to worry, I can keep you both safe while doing that too. Besides… I'm still not sure if I can trust you two just yet!"
"That's a rather rude way to speak to guests." Lumine chimes in.
Amber gets flustered when she realizes her mistake. "Oh, ahh... I'm sorry. Probably not something I should say as a knight. I give you my apologies, uh… strange yet… respectable travelers."
"That sounded so fake!" Paimon accused
"Do you have something against the type of language usage prescribed by the Knights of Favonius Handbook?!" The two would go on to bicker for a little while Lumine mostly tuned it out. The city was right there, then they could take a bit of a break.
"So, suspicious travelers, what are you doing in Mondstadt?"
"Lumine got separated from her brother during a really, really long journey. Paimon is her travel buddy, helping her to find her brother." Paimion puffed her chest out.
"Oh, looking for your family..? Huh." Amber replied in a sadder tone to what they ever heard her say prior. "Ah…" Amber stuttered in the awkward silence. "Okay! Let me finish some other stuff first, and then I can help you put up posters around the city."
"What exactly is it you need to finish doing first?" Lumine asked curiously.
"It's simple. You'll understand in a bit." Amber said as she started to walk down the path towards the bridge that connects Mondstadt City with the mainland.
AN:
The first chapter took maybe 5-6 months of off and on writing compared to this chapter's 3 days.
God I can't wait for the Ultrakill update tomorrow.
Big thanks to iDrmzlt for being my Editor + Genshin Lore Consultant.