She missed the sea.
Turbulent and serene, dark and colorful, it was many things, but that was only a part of what she loved about it.
The moon as her witness, the Spindrift knight let emotions usually locked within flow from the heart, an uplifting yet solemn experience, as she knew that as long as the Lawrence name cursed the young lady, loneliness would always follow.
Then Jean came, calm as a breeze, and carried her from that life to one where she could change something. Anything. Even if Eula couldn't save Mondstadt, repair the Lawrence's name, she could change herself.
Did they invite her because of the Vision she was given? Perhaps the Dandelion Knight thought the young royal was different, that this could be a new beginning for the cursed.
The Lawrence family was boisterous, arrogant, too chained to the past to think of the present and future. She thought being the opposite would be better.
Yet there was a fire against the ice she masked herself with, Outrider Amber was energetic, chipper, a smile always adorned on their face. Eula Lawrence didn't know what to do with the joyful wildfire that burned down whatever defence she could muster up at the time. But still, walls remained after the smoke wafted into the endless sky, surprised at the sudden attack, but alive.
Amber would still try, again and again, to bring down the last of Eula's barriers, to make her open up to others.
Should Eula Lawrence have let her done that from the start?
But enough with that, there were more pressing matters to deal with. Dvalin, maddened after so long, Barbatos, who didn't seem to care about who she was, was he too old to remember what her family did?
Snowflakes kissed her bare skin, eliciting goosebumps that ran through her, the pain unpleasant yet satisfying.
Eula's trusty greatsword was hoisted and secured onto her back, the weight letting the Spindrift Knight stand up straight, something she'd never done prior to becoming a defender of the land.
The sun had only begun to rise far off in the horizon, a sinister reminder of what she has to do.
The door was gently shut, and the Lawrence began a steady pace to Windrise, to pay for the sins of family, yet again.
By the time Eula saw the legendary tree, five figures were scattered across its roots, each one trying to kill the time in their own ways.
Jean was kneeling, her eyes closed as she faced the final place of the Lionfang Knight in respect.
Diluc Ragnvindr was sitting on a root, hunched over and eyes shrouded in shadow, trying his best not to look over at the woman on the opposite end of the tree.
Barbatos- Or Venti, as he said, was humming a tune, playing the Holy Lyre de Himmel with the same care she felt whenever the moon watched her on the beach, a silent shout of joy.
Then there was the most elusive of them, the man named Aether, and the silent woman who followed him, Kaslana. The peculiarly dressed traveller was scanning a paper he held in his hands, while the white haired lady laid down in the shade, her otherworldy cerulean eyes closed.
The duo had no reason to be here, they weren't from Mondstadt, had no Visions, yet they still helped a God that wasn't theirs, why was that? Their actions were in the gray area between nobility and stupidity, and Eula found it hard to move them a little closer to either side.
The bard was the first to acknowledge her arrival, casually waving at the Lawrence, bothering the knight again, he was too friendly to be suspicious, all they had was his word that he was actually Barbatos.
The rest soon followed, making a small circle in a clear area to discuss what to do, Aether spread out the scroll he had been reading, revealing its contents to everyone.
A map of Mondstadt was neatly drawn onto it with expert precision, red lines ran along different areas of the nation, but they all converged on a single point.
Old Mondstadt.
"Dvalin's flight patterns." He stated, settling down on the grass as everyone but Kaslana leaned in to take a closer look.
"In less than a day?" Jean voiced her doubts, and Diluc seemed to share that sentiment, something the two could agree on.
"Two weeks." Aether deadpanned.
Another lie, the ink had faded too much in so little time, the paper too pristine to have been recklessly handled, Eula has written many things, but even the letters that she made months ago weren't this worn out.
The Grand Master and former Knight seemed to catch on as well, but said nothing in the end, deciding not to start conflict now.
Three lines were notably longer than the rest, one started at the lake next to dawn winery and headed straight for the ruins of old, another near Springvale along with an odd pattern around wolvendom before returning home, and the last started from Dadaupa Gorge, terrorizing the hilichurl tribes in a zigzag pattern before returning to the same place as the other two.
"We'll need to split up..."
"I'll take Dadaupa Gorge." Aether started, immediately going for the hardest option out of all of them, why was that?
"I'll take the one near Dawn Winery, then." Diluc was the next, going for the place he was most familiar with.
"That leaves us with Springvale." Barbatos said, fidgeting with his lyre.
"Who's going with who?" Jean and Venti asked simultaneously, giving the other an amused look.
"I can go on my own-" The Ragnvindr offered, but someone else wasn't having it.
"No, you are not." The Acting Grand Master interjected, glaring at him, daring the man to argue. He didn't, accepting his fate.
"Kaslana goes with me." The golden haired Traveller said, eliciting a glare from the woman, but she didn't reject the proposal.
Then...
The Lawrence looked over at their Archon, receiving a smile and a thumbs up in return. The harmless gesture stirred something within her, but she couldn't quite identify it.
"Alright, let's go!"
"Thanks, you really saved me there!" The hunter panted as he found balance by tightly clenching the side of his transport balloon, damaged by a stray hilichurl, but still functional.
"No problem, can your balloon make it?" Venti asked.
"Of course it can, its faced down one of Stormterror's winds and came out alive, a single hilichurl won't take it down!" The man boasted, like he wasn't cowering in fear a minute ago.
"Can I have your names?" It was more out of gratitude than suspicion, but Eula knew that gratitude was about to turn into panic, or even worse, fear.
"I'm Venti, and this is..."
"Eula Lawrence." I announced, she wouldn't hide from something like this.
"Oh..." Their eyes were frozen in a permanent circle, trembling in anger and terror.
"I'll see you around, then." He muttered, starting up the balloon and hurrying to his destination, now that something worse than a hilichurl was upon him.
"He left..." Venti sighed.
"Of course he did." Eula scoffed, following the path the hunter followed, to Springvale.
Even the wild boars and birds fled at her icy presence, enhanced further by the Cryo Vision she made no effort to hide, showing that even the Gods acknowledged her, though it wasn't Eula's God.
It was still strange to her, that this cheerful young bard without anything of interest except a vision was in fact the Anemo Archon. Out of all the beings to remain here, she thought he would avoid her the most, seeing the atrocities the Lawrence clan committed back when the land of freedom looked more like Dragonspine, another relic of the past that should have deeply scarred him. Her short life was full of numbness and resentment for the most part, shouldn't his thousands of years of living brought him down to the same level? Perhaps worse?
"Oof!" A fleshy mass rammed into her, a boar? Eula was already gripping the Song of Broken Pines when said fleshy mass started to cry.
Oh...
Taking one step back, she could see what it was, a young boy, without any nearby guardian, running around the outskirts of Springvale, she could barely make out the the rooftops of their homes from here, what was this kid doing?
"Are you okay?" I stepped closer again, resting my hands on my knees as I brushed off a stray worm that landed and was crawling along his hairline.
"Sorry! It's just... Nobody goes through here at this time, just me..." He mumbled.
"What's your name?"
"Pepe..." Pepe visibly shrunk with each question that pressed down on the poor boy.
"What are you doing here?"
"Running practice!"
"Running practice?"
"My dad went to catch this reaaaaly huge boar, and Uncle Draff says I can help him once I'm big enough!" His eyes were sparkling with the energy and excitement that came with every child, but...
"How long has your father been catching this boar?" It couldn't be that, right?
"Hmmm, for two years now, I think." Pepe innocently answered the question, and Eula hoped he wouldn't know the truth for another two, at the very least. From the sidelines, Barbatos wore a somber smile.
"Oh, race me!" The kid blurted, grabbing one of her hands and staring at the knight with dog-like eyes.
"I'd have to decline." I sternly said, facing their gaze head on with my own.
"Then you won't get this back, whatever it is, see you!" Pepe sped off, clutching something in his hand.
That...
I looked down to see what he had stolen, but couldn't find anything out of place or missing, he didn't actually steal anything, he was probably just holding a rock from the ground.
But he fooled me, even if only for a second, I cannot let this pass.
"Eula, wait-" Venti was trying to appease the Lawrence, extending a hand to her shoulder, but only found the winds he commanded, she was already gone.
Pepe was giggling to himself, not really taking the competition seriously, but one glance from behind revealed an angry Knight of Favonius chasing with the grace of ocean waves, bending around every obstacle in her way like water, it shocked the young boy for a split second, leaving him open to a preying rock on the dirt, blocking he trajectory of his right foot and sending him on a wayward path towards the welcoming arms of earth.
Instead, another pair of arms caught him, sparing the boy and his baby teeth from a painful end as he had already reached Springvale, allowing a hunter with strange hair to catch him.
"Are you okay, Pepe?!" While the hunter's hair seemed disingenuous, his concern was real.
"Uncle Draff... I'm okay, I was just racing someone..." Eula could just imagine the brat looking to be on the verge of tears as he said those words, expecting a stern lecture.
"Who?" They sounded they wanted to kill someone, their voice ominously deep.
"I found these two people while I was doing my practice, look, there they are now!" Well, at least the kid didn't know who she was.
Venti gulped unhealthy amounts of air, weakly waving at the now approaching hunters.
"...You've got this part, Eula." The Archon patted me on the back, taking one step back, just her luck.
Two men approached them, the same ones who caught Pepe, and they each had a bow slung across their back, nothing special, boars didn't need anything like that. Now that they were closer, the funny hair one of them had were actually ears, accompanied by an equally distasteful mustache.
"Who are you?" They demanded, at least they knew not to trust strangers.
"Tell us yours, first." I retorted, arms crossed at the small standoff they now had.
"I'm Draff, this is Alan." The hunters didn't want to disclose anything else, fine with her.
"I'm Eula Lawrence," They took a step back. "And this is Venti." I gestured to the God, who was plucking at the strings of the Holy Lyre de Himmel, did he not care about getting caught?
"Why bring a bard into this?" Alan questioned, looking at Venti with pity.
"He has a vision, and has agreed to aid us, I see no issue with granting his wishes." The wind seemed to laugh after her words, and Eula felt a chill run down her spine, did she just anger a God?
"Alright, what do you want, Lawrence?" Draff venomously asked, his words slurring at second half of the sentence, was this man drunk?
"I'd like to ask on whether or not Stormterror has shown himself." I ignored their obvious gestures of hatred, trying to be the bigger person, but it was difficult when she was alone.
"And why tell a Lawrence? Why didn't the Knights send someone else for this?" What will you do once you know? Was the unspoken question, and to answer their previous one, they weren't doing this as Knights of Favonius, or Jean didn't have to, at least, Gunnhildrs will always be respected, that didn't change no matter what, the Lawrence clan would never change in their eyes, either.
"Excuse me."
All eyes turned to Barbatos, who had hidden the Lyre away and now looked at Draff and Alan with... dissapointment? These were his people, the descendants of those he gave freedom, it was ludicrous to her that he would stand up for a Lawrence, their family was too caught up scheming any potential rise to power again to prioritize others.
"I get where you're coming from, but there's a much more immediate problem Mondstadt is facing, if you won't tell her at least tell me, please." They were dead serious, bringing a blissful silence to her ears, but of course, nothing good ever lasted.
"...Fine, Stormterror? No, there's only the usual as far as we've seen, and an Eye of the Storm that has appeared recently." Alan rebutted, his hand clenched so tightly Eula wouldn't be surprised if it started bleeding.
"That's all, thank you." I gave a quick bow, though her hands were itching for the greatsword on her back.
"Then leave, Lawrence." The two hunters walked back to Springvale, leaving them as quickly as they came, with much more aggression than before.
"That's it for Springvale, I guess, thanks for that, let's go." She mused nonchalantly, concealing her gratitude the best Eula could while extending it towards Venti.
"Huh?" He even seemed taken aback by that. "Oh, it was nothing, don't worry."
The pair walked through the still forest, passing by a pond with a strange statue, sitting by its lonesome on a small stone situated at the center.
"Spring Fairy..."
Oh, what now?
An old man stood at the water's edge, looking into the clear waters with longing. Venti, bereft of the stern aura he donned mere minutes ago, leapt down behind the elder and introduced himself.
"Hello!" He greeted. "My name's Venti, what are you doing here?"
"Oh?" The stranger turned around, "Hello there, I'm Finch, bit they all call me Old Finch." Finch let out a lifeless chuckle, choosing to set sights on the pond before him once again.
"The others don't believe it, but there was a fairy in this spring, a spring fairy, if you will." Old Finch started, subconsciously drawing me closer to the spring, glistening even more from this angle. It didn't even occur to the Aristocrat that she mistook the spring for a pond.
"When I was a boy, we would talk to eachother, the weather, the water, the fish, and when a kid fell into the waters, she gave them a few stones and sent them on their merry way, just like that, it was fun..."
"It's been... what? Thirty years? Forty? She just left one day." His voice broke, but he just stared at the spring, listless.
"Hmm..." Eula made a noise without her consent, alerting Old Finch, who slowly craned his head to look.
"Oh, you have a friend?"
"I'm Eula Lawrence." These introductions were starting to get on her nerves.
"A Lawrence?" The man was unfazed, returning to the waters. "I wish..."
"What?" I asked.
"...To be young like you again, travelling around the world, hoping I'd see her again, but..." Old Finch sniffled, it was enough to garner some sympathy from her.
"Assisting in enslaving Mondstadt isn't a problem for you?"
"Tell me, did you personally do what they did back then?" Eula couldn't answer that, it was stupid, ignore the past, just like that?"
"The Lawrence Clan didn't do anything to me, why should I act like so?-" This small argument actually had them fired up, pushing their body to the point of coughing and wheezing.
A wisp of wind circled Old Finch, and his coughing fit was immediately no more, courtesy of the grinning Barbatos.
"Sorry for disturbing you, we'll be on our way now!" Venti grabbed Eula by the forearm, taking her from the grieving old bird.
"Take care... Oh, spring fairy..."
What was that for?" Eula glared at the Anemo Archon while dusting off her clothing, ripping a misplaced branch right out of her hair.
"We needed to get a move on, and he needed some space." Venti shrugged, really rich words from the person who greeted Old Finch in the first place.
"That took some time..." The bard moaned as we now wandered through the dense forest of Wolvendom.
"Were you not the one who initiated a conversation with that old man?" I sharply replied, but it was never going to work, trying to cut the wind.
"I enjoy talking to the older people, they focus more on the past than others." Venti swiftly waved off the accusation.
Am I old, then?
"And the young ones?" She asked, hoping that he was oblivious to the true meaning behind her words.
"Pretty simple, I can catch up to the present, it's a lot easier to just ask the questions yourself than listening in on everyone." He explained.
The Spindrift Knight hummed to herself, fully intent in burying the dissapointment she felt at the lackluster answer, not that her question wasn't vague, either.
"And I can tell, the Lawrence clan is in good hands." Venti added, gripping her heart to the very blood that flowed through. "There's one more detour I wanna take, I'll go on ahead!" He quickly said, following the path laid out before them, to the heart of Wolvendom, all while leaving a confused Eula Lawrence in the dust.
What?
Processing his words gave way to confusion, which gave way to anger, in turn molding into fury, God or not, no one surprised her like that and got away unscathed... Except Amber, maybe.
Eula didn't say a thing, only breaking into a sprint like it was her last, while the fire inside still ran hot, fueling the Lawrence to take 'revenge' on this troublesome bard.
"-Some time,-" After an entire minute of running, she was starting to pick up snippets of Venti, completely ignoring the fact that he was talking to thin air, Eula sped up.
"-Things happened." Alright, she might have decided to skid to a complete stop and listen in on whatever was happening.
"-Prince of the Abyss Order-" Hearing those words sent a small chill down her spine? The Abyss Order, having an actual leader? But that fear only intrigued the Spindrift Knight even more, edging closer to him.
"There's someone from the Lawrence clan in the Knights of Favonius, a Lawrence!" Uncertainty filled her mind. "Seems like those words did end up becoming through, she should be almost here."
"Eula, you there?" Damn it, it would be even more suspicious of her to not respond, so she went behind a tall rock, stood up and walked into view.
"Yes." Any panic in her mind stayed in her mind, for now.
"Meet Boreas!" Venti proudly proclaimed, pointing at the faraway wall of what looked like an arena, carved to resemble the face of a wolf.
Eula had read about Boreas and his extended history with Mondstadt, particularly before Vanessa, it amazed her as a child, imagining the power needed to cover the entire land in ice and snow, and upon receiving her Cryo Vision, she giddily thought to herself on whether she could replicate that, too.
This was definitely not what she expected to see. "That's... a very intricate wall." Ideas of how to respond to this in a better way popped into her head, but Eula couldn't freeze time, much less reverse it. Besides, it wouldn't be befitting of her to say those words out loud.
"What? No, this is actually him." Venti protested, offended on behalf of this wall.
Said wall begun to glow a light blue, a lot like the Statues of the Seven dotted about the land. Alright, the wall might actually be the one who was offended.
?!
"Oh, don't say that!" Barbatos argued with the not so wall-like wall. "She's not that far off."
A thick, navy blue fog engulfed their surroundings, leaving only the glowing blue eyes on the opposite side of the area visible, she could've sworn it moved?
Then a huge paw came to view, about the size of her head, connected to legs about as long as a lamp post, attached to an insanely large body of a wolf, they matched the vague descriptions of Boreas that she read, in the size department at least, who thought depicting him with a crown was a good idea?
"Then... Would this do?" His voice was grating, like someone was dragging an icicle across the revered Starsilver of dragonspine, but his tone held an ancient wisdom, of sorts.
"...I suppose." Was all she could answer with, her body was going haywire at the thought of angering multiple gods in a single day, has anyone else ever done that?
"See?" The bard in the middle said. "It's easier if you just come out in every conversation, Boreas."
"So it seems..." The wolf shrugged, snow trickling down his pearl white fur, contrasted with blue as dark as the deep sea.
"A Lawrence." The God snorted, creating snowflakes that melted as fast as they were created.
"That I am." Eula wasn't proud of it, but hiding was never her forte, and she'd already decided when she first stepped through the gates of Mondstadt, they'd know who she was, and deal with it, consequences be damned.
"Has the clan changed in any meaningful way?" His eyes were ethereal, piercing through any lies Eula Lawrence could think of.
"If living closer to Mondstadt is meaningful, then yes."
"How close?"
"Dragonspine."
At first, Boreas made a sound she mistook for as coughing, his sudden chest spasms further strengthened that notion, but after ten seconds of the awkward motion, the sound seemed to become what the wolf God intended, he was laughing.
"...That means you won, Barbatos." His voice shifted to a more respectful tone, earning him a nod from the Archon in return.
"We've got to go now, you owe me one!" Venti loudly reminded them as he and a confused Eula continued their path, without anything to show for it.
The sunlight assaulted her delicate eyes as she brought up a hand to shield them, Eula was still confused, about Boreas, about Barbatos, about Dvalin, about Venti.
They were discussing something before she arrived, what was it again? If she forgot so quickly, it mustn't have been too important. She just wanted to know, and Eula Lawrence could finally think straight enough to ask.
"Why?"
"What?"
"Why." It was less of a question and more of a demand now, driven by emotion, how pathetic of her.
This... Barbatos... Venti, has been nothing but friendly to her this entire expedition, and Eula Lawrence couldn't understand why, wasn't the Lawrence family the same one that oppressed the people, the ones the Spindrift Knight was supposed to protect? How does he not see the irony, the futility of trying to make up for something a curse they will never break?
"...Are you okay? You haven't been saying anything." The Anemo Archon was perplexed, concern in his eyes older than the nation itself.
Archons, she was fuming. I forced myself to take a deep breath, the cold air loosening the iron grip in her throat, giving enough leeway to begin a rant.
"You... have been nothing but kind to me, and I can appreciate that, but why? Did you forget what we did back at Old Mondstadt? Are you just so detached from humans, you can't understand? No matter what I... No matter what Eula Lawrence does, she will never break free, so just be like the others, it's easier for both of us."
She imagined much more shouting involved when she recited those words in her head, but the Spindrift Knight was calm as can be, even if it was like a tornado inside.
Despite the pain, she felt lighter, lighter than she has ever been, even whenever Eula was just at home, something always clung to her, and now, it had just left.
A glance at the bard showed... That he was smiling, like a proud father after their child joined the Knights of Favonius, there wasn't any negativity in his face, even after what she said. Eula felt... relieved?
"I guess I should've expected that..." Venti said, still maintaining his smile.
"Yeah, you are a Lawrence, nothing the Spindrift Knight can do will change that, but there's other things you can change." Eula internally snorted upon hearing that, like she hadn't tried, like she hasn't been trying since being inducted into the Knights of Favonius.
"Perhaps it was because of who I said it to, maybe it's because it wasn't the usual way I spoke, but I had one last chat with Barca and his father, before they were exiled." Her eyes grew as wide as the moon, there was nothing in the Lawrence library that mentioned something like this, another lie?
"When the time comes, where you can turn your chains into ribbons, and shackles to flowers. When that day comes, the missing cornerstone of New Mondstadt will reappear, and the three clans shall be united." Barbatos recited, his eyes closed as he reminisced of the days before.
"I said that to them before they were banished. You are proof that the day is nearing, even if it takes another generation or a hundred more, time will get its way eventually."
Damn it.
It sounded stupid, was what she initially thought, and it was what she wanted enforce in her head, but there was still a part of Eula's heart that caught a spark because of these foolish words, the fragile hopes and dreams of someone who could never stand, were in some ways the most steadfast wishes she ever knew, uttered by someone who had been there from the beginning of it all.
The wind blew, wiping the burning sensation clean off her face, instilling within her not the freedom it represented, but elation, that what little things Eula did, what she will do, would do something, even if she never sees the result herself.
"You're closer than you think, there has been less hatred in the people that I hear, it usually only resurfaces when you're around, as weird that might sound."
The grass in front of her rustled, distracting Eula from their turbulent heart enough to look up, seeing Barbatos reaching out to her, that same smile still standing.
"So, hang on a little longer, Eula."
In between all the joyful chaos, a smile found its way in as she grabbed his hand, pulling herself up, and only letting go once they regained their balance.
The air began to howl, the grass trembled in fear, and the earth shook, almost bringing her back down again.
In Eula's peripheral vision, an alien orb of Anemo energy loomed over them, watching, waiting for the first move.
"An eye of the storm..." A mutter came from her right, determined.
But...
"Let me." It wasn't an offer, it was an order.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
The Spindrift Knight didn't wait for what he had to say next, instead brandishing her greatsword and taking a deep breath, the world seemed to slow down.
The pure beast of Anemo took that as a sign to make the next move, lowering to the ground and winding itself up like a top, the crystallized Anemo that hovered around it glimmered like light as it spun.
Eyes of the storm can move as fast an arrow at full speed, I can't dodge.
Her Cryo Vision came to life, a chill wandering through the air, obeying every command the knight gave, ready at a moment's notice.
She had mixed feelings about the gift the Gods gave her, it gave the power the Spindrift Knight needed to uphold her duty, but it also represented the same Goddess and her minions that were now breathing down the city's neck, she thought it was fitting for a Lawrence.
But it was useful, saving her more times than she could count, that was good enough for Eula.
The elemental being began their assault, rushing forward in a blur of green, blowing dandelions into the air, tearing up the grass unlucky enough to cross paths with the threat.
Now.
A multitude of Cryo barriers formed, intent on stopping the rampaging storm's trajectory, but it wasn't enough, one shattered after the other as the Eye continued, but the constructs served their purpose.
Eye for an eye!
Focusing as much Cryo as she could manage, Eula Lawrence swung with all they could muster as the final wall broke, making contact with the creature.
The world turned white for half a second as the combatants were blown back, snow now sprinkled the ground around them. To the average fighter, this would've been a disadvantage, to Eula, who regularly spent time at the icy grave named Dragonspine, it was her home ground.
She ran, the slippery terrain always made it difficult at first, but it was only the first step, anyways.
The Eye of the Storm released a pulse of Anemo, the intention being to trip her up, or simply remove Eula of her feet.
With a battle cry, I hopped over the attack, letting the momentum of my run carry me forward as her blade steadied, time stopped as she got within striking distance.
Freeze to the core!
The blade sang as it soared right for the main body, but was thwarted by another chunk of anemo, creating an explosion thst blew the Spindrift Knight back, arms screaming at the last exchange.
The Eye of the Storm was on their last leg, too. All the excess Anemo it used as a shield was gone, leaving nothing but a defenseless ball of wind.
More speed.
Adrenaline numbed the agony bouncing around within her, letting Eula break into another run for one final strike.
Seeing its end approaching, the immobile Eye felt fear for the first time, and let everything loose in a panic. A barrier of razor sharp wind locked them both in, and a steady stream of Anemo began flowing through the ground, strong enough to shatter bone.
What remained of her ice barriers ended up saving Eula again, forcing the Anemo they made contact with to go up, allowing use of the wind glider, to which she gladly unfurled, two striking diamonds met at the center where the individual wings met, resembling a bird of prey in the chaotic sky of a tundra.
In response, the wind returned the shards the Eye of the Storm had lost, spinning up again. But rather than charging ahead, they were propelled straight to her, similar to a falcon swooping in for the kill.
She had been anticipating an attack, so her greatsword was already out, but didn't anticipate something like this, blood, her blood drizzled down their forearm, but it didn't inhibit any motion, Eula was fine.
The wind wall was getting too close for comfort, another barrage like that, and the Spindrift Knight would turn into minced meat. A plan formed in their head, reckless, stupid, something even a beast like the Eye of the Storm would never expect.
The fragments sped up, the intent to kill obvious to anyone watching.
The Eye fired.
And Eula Lawrence swung.
Straight into the wall behind her, steel and storm clashed, and the force sent Eula flying in the opposite direction, right where the disarmed elemental being was.
The Song of Broken Pines hummed a tune as her trump card revealed itself.
All kinetic energy Eula's Cryo vision felt, it absorbed into itself and stored for potential use in the future, and that future was now. Dark spots began to blur the edges of her vision, barely allowing the Lawrence focus enough energy into containing the explosive force behind it, creating a fragile sword of ice, barely enough to contain it, plummeting down like a boulder off a cliff, straight into the Eye of the Storm.
The power behind every attack the two of them had done so far came crashing down on the unsuspecting monster, killing whatever life it had before she even reached the ground.
"Good job, Eula Lawrence." Her crash landing was cushioned by an invisible force, letting Eula take in the grass that never felt so comfortable to sleep in before.
That day, huh.
I'm such a fool, aren't I, Amber?
"They were successful, seems we'll have enough for the Lyre and Dvalin, of the other pair finds more." Aether observed the duo, receiving a snort
"Sure, sure, like I care, what I do care about, is how you'll talk us out when they spot us, Dadaupa Gorge is quite far from here, even a child would be suspicious." Asmodeus berated him, but he just shrugged.
Was Barbatos aware of them? If he was, they made no move to confirm.
"That's what the waypoints are for." He'd singlehandedly made each one over the years as he travelled the world, it would be a waste of the gift they made together, before things went from bad to worse.
"You're way too reliant on those, what are you gonna do if they break?" She pointed out.
"It's impossible for them to all break at once, I'll just repair them once they do. Why are you so concerned about this, anyways?" I flipped the question to her.
"I have the right to be concerned when my guide across this blasted continent is making stupid decisions." The Sustainer stated, doubling own on her reasoning with a stomp.
"Making a stupid decision is different from adapting to unknown variables." That Ragnvindr in particular was quite the surprise, and ended up snagging two more people, who were very much not aware of his true self to this battle.
"Also, a guide? You say that like I'm going to let you go at this forever." Once the words left his mouth, the Prince realized that she could do that.
"Oh? So you don't need all the information I have?"
"It's been five hundred years, your knowledge has a good chance at being outdated." He wasn't about to admit that, though.
"I was a Sustainer for three thousand years, the only changes I've seen in that eyesore were the Gods that still lingered around." When she says it like that...
Still, there was a gap in her metaphorical armor, a slight twitch of the hand whenever the Abyss Order's not so humble abode was brought up.
...Was she scared?
"...Fair point, and there's nothing else you'll ask of me, right, Kaslana?"
"Not at all, and you already owe me one, so too bad."
Beyond the two of them, Eula and Venti resumed their pace towards Old Mondstadt with the remains of the fallen Eye of the Storm.
"They're moving, let's go."
Search all the way up until the next waypoint at the Gorge, then...
We check on those two.
The rebels haven't made a move yet, surely they want to stop us...?
It would be nice if the Ragnvindr just killed them. He's close to losing it, though.
He's seen this before, someone breaking down, he'd seen that person rise from their lowest point, too.
There was no Raiden Makoto for Diluc Ragnvindr, though.
.
...I will always...
.
AN:
I could've written this with a keyboard, pen, or a meat cleaver, and it wouldn't have changed how hard I butchered everyone's characters in this story...