"It appears your detainment was an oversight on our end, the Liyue Qixing sincerely apologize."
Those were the only words the Millelith had spoken to Asmodeus, a supposed message from the Qixing of Liyue. Seriously, all they had to add was an ominous "We will be watching." And they'd be closer to replicating Celestia than any other nation that still stood.
Large structure in the sky? Check.
An unnecessarily complicated method to reach said structure? She was on it right now.
Divinity? Immortals such Gods and Illuminated Beasts alike were revered.
Paranoia? Definitely.
The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles had to admit though, the entire tense atmosphere that suffocated the city had a good reason for it. Khaenri'ah, from what she had read from the Abyss Order's records, had been the one to initiate the battle, history was always written by the victors, though, so what did she know about the so-called Cataclysm?
Perhaps she'd ask Aether about it.
Asmodeus shook her head, back to the issue at hand. Rex Lapis, assassinated.
She snorted, yeah, right. The Geo Archon fought gods aplenty back during the Archon War, even if their senses had dulled since then, no way would a force strong enough to kill a God go unnoticed by even humans.
Something like that… Either another God, or the Abyss.
Neither of those had any subtlety in their methods, however.
Asmodeus stepped off the platform that descended from the Jade Chamber and wandered around, no destination in mind, if there was one thing to applaud the Qixing for, it would be using materials already available to them rather than inventing one of their own, no need to reinvent the wheel, or in this case, Plaustrite.
She couldn't help but wonder if there were any of the rare minerals left, though.
As Asmodeus stepped off the platform, a part of her mind complained about the fact that she wasn't given anything to remedy the time the Millelith had wasted. Below her mind, a part complained in a vastly different way, rumbling like a dying tuna would. She confused herself with that comparison, Gods didn't need to eat, and she wasn't sure if the stomach of a fish could protest like that.
The pouch of Mora Aether given her lightly jingled atop the Goddess' soft hands, it was absurd how generous he was, what she had commissioned was far from cheap, and still did some of the common currency remain. Even more absurd was trying to imagine how the Prince had gotten the cash, he certainly wasn't the type to open a business.
Hoarding the treasure of the lands– now that was feasible, considering how long the man has been on Teyvat, but the mental image of Aether grabbing every coin in sight was almost enough to amuse her, almost.
Where to eat…
The fancier restaurants were all above ground, numerous flights of red stairs leading to them. Asmodeus internally cursed, the high heels were a bad idea.
Moving on from those nightmares, the Goddess decided on an establishment called 'Third-Round Knockout'. The name was questionable, but it wasn't annoying to reach, and on top of that, there was someone telling a tale out front, it beat mindlessly picking at her food alone.
With the exaggerated swagger of a white Goddess, Asmodeus made her way to the receptionist. "Table for one."
"Of course!" They gave her a smile. "May I have your name?"
"A-" She stopped herself.
No way in Celestia would using her actual name not result in a few raised eyebrows.
"...Kaslana." The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles was already planning on how to get back at Aether, engraving such a horrible name in her head that she had no choice but to use, did he think she was some Goddess of knowledge?
"Right this way, please." And so did "Kaslana" follow them.
Fortunately, there was a table right outside, saving her the hassle of navigating the inside amidst waiters and customers alike, while also giving her first row seats to the man called Iron Tongue Tian, reminding her of a much simpler time, or knowing Celestia, the Gods still entertained themselves through archaic methods such as this.
Was Asmodeus calling herself old? She pondered on this question as she scanned the menu given to her, the Goddess wasn't well versed in the Culinary world of Liyue, or that of Teyvat for that matter, and she couldn't recall a single time where she actually cooked for herself.
Asmodeus had no idea when Aether was going to return, so she decided on Mora Meat. There was no future where she would work should her pouch of Mora run dry.
Looking around for whoever would take her order, someone caught her eye.
They looked fairly normal, but a strange air lingered around the man, who disregarded the menu on his table, and instead focused entirely on Iron Tongue Tian's story. With the way their eyes glowed like shining Cor Lapis, and their posture as still as stone, there was no way they were a mere citizen.
Was a story about a red panda admitting that they didn't know all the answers all that interesting?
Asmodeus narrowed her eyes on him, trying to look for a Vision, having one certainly had an effect on a person's fashion sense, at least from what she'd seen.
And then-
There was a fire roaring, devouring the air and the abomination from whence it came, flames danced in her eyes as she pressed her back against the wall, black surrounding them on all sides, almost like the five hundred years she'd spent imprisoned by Celestia.
A voice wailed, their tone so defeated like they were questioning life itself, Asmodeus couldn't make out what they were saying, though.
Then the Goddess tried breathing in to calm down, a horrible mistake, alongside the thick smoke, something vile had accompanied it, going straight into her lungs. It wouldn't kill her, since breathing was more of an activity Gods did to pass time, rather than being essential to living, but oh was it doing so some other way.
"In the end…"
Within the flames, someone stood, they turned to meet her, but the concoction of smoke and amalgamation was making her eyes tear up as well, she tried to blink them away–
–And Asmodeus found herself staring blankly at an empty table, the man she had been staring at gone with the wind, and a splitting headache took their place.
Asmodeus stood up, bit down on her lower lip, and left the Third-Round Knockout, cursing whoever first came to mind. Trying to walk off the headache was working to some effect, though it ended up taking her to the most random of places, all while trying to think of what she saw. The only time something else like this had happened was with–
–Barbatos.
An Archon.
Asmodeus ceased her little walking session for a moment, trying to convince herself that it was just a coincidence, it was utterly inconceivable that Rex Lapis would be roaming the streets so soon after his apparent death. If he was this careless, then the assassination was nothing more than a farce, did the Geo Archon just get bored of his responsibilities?
…She needed to stop with all the assumptions, perhaps Barbatos triggering a premonition was mere coincidence, and it just so happened to occur again. In that case, what were the conditions that had to be fulfilled for it to trigger? Was it time? She'd have to wait for another event like that to be sure. Place? Windrise held significance, a restaurant, not so much.
Should Asmodeus tell Aether of this?
She scoffed immediately, without definitive evidence that they were Rex Lapis? He'd just dully shoot her down with something along the lines of "You think too highly of yourself, Goddess."
Asmodeus snapped her fingers, that was it. If he was going to just go off somewhere and leave her in the dark, it stood to some mad reasoning that it was alright that she did the same.
That reassurance did nothing to rid the irritation buzzing around her skull, she had to find something to vent these… butterflies in her head, or so the saying went.
Asmodeus felt eyes on her. Not just the normal gaze, absolutely malicious, gleeful ones, like a lesser, mortal version of the pure evil that choked her own godly abilities back at the Abyss Order's coffin…
…That same amalgam of darkness came from Aether, too, in amounts too small to be harmful, but enough to know the source, that weird bandaged eye of his.
The origin of the gaze she felt right now was… unexpected.
"You there!" Some creep next to a cart waved at her. "Looking absolutely radiant today, young lady, it must be your lucky day!"
How unflattering.
"Want to try your luck betting on jade?"
"Betting?" Asmodeus echoed.
"Oh?" The creep gave her a puzzled look. "Is this your first time at the Jade Mystery? Name's Shitou, just give some Mora, choose a stone, fresh from the mines, and who knows, you might make a fortune!"
Make a fortune…
Well, the pouch of mora that Aether gave to Asmodeus was getting lighter and lighter as the day went on, considering the fact that she also had no clue as to when he would return, why not get some of her own? It wasn't like she could just start working as some sort of peacekeeper fighting some sentient entropy, right?
"Sure." Why not?
A small thrill bounced throughout her body, if this scammer thought he was going to get away with a quick one, they were in for a few surprises, one of those being a bunch of missing Mora, of course, she would never play such mundane games for fun, definitely not.
Shitou's face lit up like the sun. "Excellent decision, madam…"
"Kaslana." She definitely wasn't telling Aether anything now.
"Madam Kaslana! I'm sure you won't regret it!" And K– Asmodeus was definitely not going to regret this.
Shitou spun in a little circle before pointing at the three stones in his cart, a colored cloth highlighting each one individually, with supposed fortunes hidden in at least one of them.
Chance, huh…
Celestia would sooner rend another nation to the ground rather than let one of their precious pieces on the board of Teyvat go astray. After spending basically her entire life in their reins, she'd been able to pick up a thing or two.
And the extra food Asmodeus could buy was a nice side effect of learning from them.
"That one, on the left." Kaslana said, looking down at her palm.
"Very well, allow us to see…" Shitou gave the Goddess a grin, taking out a chisel.
He let out the most heart wrenching gasp she'd heard since returning to the mortal plane. Looking over his shoulder, she could see that those lessons weren't meaningless in the end, there was jade inside.
"You certainly know treasure when you see it, Madam Kaslana!" Shitou shouted out as enthusiastically a human could, it was almost amusing. "Tell me, what did you see that–"
"Cash."
"Oh– yes, please take this!"
Her rewards reaped, Asmodeus walked away to some other part of Liyue, thinking of how else to make use of the Mora.
"Rex Lapis help me… how could I have missed that?" Shitou muttered dejectedly.
Though he was far away from her now, the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles could still hear him as if he was next to her. A tiny smirk crawled into her face as the tiny tear in reality she made faded, it's job done. Any sorrow from using the last connection she had to it was drowned out by the sense of victory.
Asmodeus really should give a name to these things, though, something short that rolled of the tongue cleanly, combined with the completely pointless finger snapping, and a cold front that matched the Cryo Archon herself, the presence she'd have in the battlefield would be even greater compared to when she was the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
Ignoring the suspicious stares aimed at her way, Asmodeus nodded to herself, satisfied with that premise. A smile she didn't even know was there disappeared once the truth of that possibility sunk in. A battlefield? Did she really want to fight?
Sighing, the Goddess sat down and looked at the sky, the dusk embracing a despondent Liyue Harbor, and by extension, herself. She was here because her knowledge of Celestia eclipsed that of the entire Abyss Order combined, outside of that, she had less use than the collapsing cavern they lived in.
…No, Asmodeus had even less value than that coffin, from what she'd seen of those monsters living inside, they'd rather just kill her and be done with it. The only one that actually saw value in her was…
"So they released you." …Aether.
Wait, Aether? When did he get here? And who was the woman behind him? Asmodeus could now safely assume that he just had an obsession with the color white, alongside the white snack that the woman was eating.
"...You say that as if I'm some rabid beast."
"Depending on your mood, that wouldn't be too far off, take this." A bag of something plopped down next to her on the bench, opening it, the unmistakable, glorious golden glow of Mora spilled out, enough to last the Goddess an entire week. This she didn't mind.
"Show her around Liyue Harbor, I have things to do." Aether pointed at whoever she was, soullessly looking at nothing.
And before Asmodeus could protest, he was already gone.
This she definitely minded.
In exchange for a suspiciously large amount of money, Aether just dumped someone on her. Did he think their matching hair colors would be enough to convince this Goddess to be a tour guide? The nerve.
"That…" Asmodeus seethed.
She had to resist the urge to pull her own hair out, Asmodeus was a Sustainer, someone who kept the status quo, that job involved being a destroyer too, and the only thing that the Goddess had created throughout her long life was destruction. How did Aether take all these facts into consideration and think she was any good for a task such as this was beyond her.
In the end…
Asmodeus' hand curled up into a fist, in the end, she was just another pawn on the board, one that was sentient and aware of the hand that guided her, but unable to do anything about it.
Aside from the metaphorical hand that moved her, there was another that gave her shoulder a fleeting touch, the person Aether thrust into her care. The gesture felt to be out of concern, but their eyes betrayed them, still as cold as before, a perfect copy of she who was once a Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
"Are you okay?" Nevermind, the voice needed some work before she could compare to her.
"Absolutely, this is just peachy, absolutely…" Better than what Asmodeus first had in mind, at least. All she had to do was keep them distracted for…
…How long? The Goddess didn't know at all, There went the likelihood of that idea working.
"Th-" Asmodeus stopped the familiar yet unpleasant words already crashing through her throat at her lips, Aether's actions were always perplexing, but they had a purpose, if whoever this was held any importance whatsoever, antagonizing them would result in futures not so bright for her.
Being sent back to that coffin at the Dark Sea, spending the rest of her immortal days hiding from Celestia, or working, each of these were equally terrifying.
…Enough of that, what could she say that didn't sound condescending?
"...What's your name?"
"Shenhe."
"Shenhe… Is there anything you'd like to do?" Fine, she'd play the caretaker for a little while.
"Over there." Shenhe pointed at the Jade Mystery.
Maybe there was something the Goddess would get out of this silent calamity, after all.
She couldn't outright just reveal her abilities to some she'd just met, but a few hints here and there, and they'd have some more cash to spare for however long she'd have to keep this up.
That weird feeling in her chest bubbled up again.
Asmodeus had eye contact with an antsy Shitou, who despite successfully deceiving someone after his defeat, still couldn't shake off the loss, and the sheer terror that flooded his eyes was already enough to make this entire ordeal worth it, turning them down would stain the Jade Mystery's reputation, and the thought of losing out on more Mora would give the man nightmares for a week, humans such as these were laughably predictable.
Whether or not Asmodeus preferred them over one such as Shenhe, she was uncertain. The Goddess thought she had seen the pinnacle of a cold personality in people such as Aether or the man with red hair from Mondstadt, but Shenhe's frigid demeanor felt absolutely unnatural for any living being.
Maybe that increased Shenhe's chances of getting something good out of this.
"I am deeply sorry, but I cannot allow you to play again, seeing as you've already attempted previously, I hope you can understand." Nothing but a bold lie, the man who'd just walked away from the Jade Mystery had tried to get something good three times, with each go at it replacing the rocks on display.
"It's not me this time." Asmodeus innocently answered, sticking a thumb out to Shenhe, who was watching each rock carefully, her nose twitching strangely. As expected, the rocks Shitou was currently using were good as new, but that reassurance wasn't enough to beat down the man's nerves.
It only served to send the remnants of Shitou's brain into their feeble overdrive when Shenhe silently strolled to the three stones, laid her hands on all of them, and then made her choice.
"Here." No use of the Vision she had, no careful inspection, just a straightforward answer from a straightforward person.
Asmodeus dangled the Mora in front of Shitou, motivating him just enough to begin to crack away at the stone, and…
…The inside was glittering with Noctilucous Jade, emitting its own light that washed over everything in close proximity to the gem.
As Shitou stood there in a deafening silence, Asmodeus was outright impressed, it was getting increasingly difficult to believe that what Shenhe did had been luck.
But first, the Goddess held out her hand. "Pay up."
Begrudgingly and with tears in his eyes, Shitou did as asked and began to gather up the stones and roll up the cloth. The Jade Mystery was closing up shop for the day, the huge losses too much for the fragile human ego.
As for the other human in the vicinity, Shenhe still held her passive expression, even as the two began to walk to… somewhere.
"How'd you do that?" Asmodeus was both in awe and confusion, were they really human?
"It smelled different." Shenhe replied.
She absolutely outclassed a professional in their own field, even if it was through unorthodox methods, the Goddess had to give them credit, it had been a while since a human had caught their eye.
…When was the last time Asmodeus interacted with a human, anyway?
Eh, she probably shouldn't think too hard about it.
"...When I had done as he asked, he appeared frustrated, did I make a mistake?" Their companion's voice came from the left, for the first time since Asmodeus had met her, Shenhe looked confused, though what she was confused on was making the Goddess roll their eyes.
"Shitou?" Asmodeus asked.
Shenhe nodded, was it really that difficult to figure out for others? Or was it instead unnatural for the Goddess to understand the man's distress so easily? She put the blame on the terror in everyone's eyes whenever the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles appeared out of thin air, even Aether had a similar reaction five hundred years ago.
"Ignore him, that entire thing is a scam, you're not supposed to win."
A one-in-a-million chance to hit it big and make life just a little bit easier, it was about as effective as wishing to the stars for something good, an ordinary person's voice wouldn't reach them, and the necessary primordial gems used to communicate with them were few and far between. The more masochistic Gods would painstakingly gather as many as possible and blow through them all in one session, usually ending up with hideous lumps of metal instead of their dreams, what was their drive to do so?
"I see, if I had my spear, he would've never done such a thing again, a shame."
…Okay?
"...And what happened to your spear?" Last Asmodeus checked, weapons were permitted inside Liyue Harbor.
"Aether broke it."
"Sounds like him alright." Given Shenhe's eagerness to skewer someone so easily, it might be the one time the Prince had justification for his actions.
That brought an even scarier thought, though. If Shenhe still had her spear, and Asmodeus as passive-aggressive to her as they were to Aether, the Goddess would be sporting a few extra holes in their dress.
The next moment, it was as if a mountain roared in agony.
"...Hungry."
Didn't Shenhe just eat something? Asmodeus never got to eat at the Third-Round Knockout, either.
"Fine, let's go eat."
As fate would have it, they had paused near a place called Wangmin Restaurant, its size was inferior to the Third-Round Knockout, but food was food. The Goddess' stomach rumbled in agreement and defiance.
Naturally, Asmodeus took the lead from there and got the two of them seats to the side of the restaurant, giving them the wonderful view of stone bricks and an empty Liyue Harbor, another hour inside the city had not changed the fear of the people.
"Hi! I'm Xiangling, may I take your order?"
The ones who weren't afraid were those who had never been struck by fear in the first place, the Goddess made this conclusion after seeing this tiny midget of a chef, accompanied by an even smaller pet thing that looked soft, could she hug it?
Alas, the tiny animal hid behind Xiangling's slender legs the moment we made eye contact, shaking while it stared at me with enough wariness and terror to cause the temperature in the air to go up a few degrees, a tragedy for those with a heart, perhaps, but Asmodeus didn't have one. It didn't explain why there was a small bump in her throat, though.
"Hello?" The girl in front of them didn't seem to notice, waving her hand in front of our faces.
"...Oh, right." Humans were getting stranger and stranger the longer Asmodeus spent around them. For Mondstadt, she'd talked to Barb– Venti a few times, and Aether was keeping tabs on her at all times whenever he wasn't doing anything, she couldn't help it. Come to think of it, the humans had made her garbs never conversed with her either, perhaps it was because she hit them in the face with a pouch full of heavy Mora, but someone was about to get there first.
With a few nods from Shenhe, they were about to place their order, but reading through the special menu that they were given, lovingly named the Boom-Shaka-Laka version was an interesting experience, to say the least.
The one that stood out the most were dishes made using Slime gel, the elemental energy within was gone, leaving only the dull, icky blandness of slime, it couldn't be that good, right?
"I'll have one of these." Right?
With a smile plastered on Xiangling's face, she retreated into the kitchen, ignoring her little creature still clinging onto her leg. Along with her went all the noise, replaced by a suffocating silence.
Asmodeus shifted in her seat, unsure of what to do next.
Eventually, the Goddess found herself twiddling a spoon in between her fingers, eyeing Shenhe from time to time, the first time they were tapping their feet in anticipation, the second time their eyes frantically darted towards the kitchen, completely missing Asmodeus' own.
Now, Shenhe still looked at the kitchen, but only had nothing more than a twitch of the nose to show that they were interested in the possible witchcraft being used inside.
"Here it is!" Without so much as a sound, Xiangling snuck up on us and gently set down the tray full of food, gesturing towards that little bear of hers, she took the second one it held and did the same, eagerly smiling with a hint of devilishness.
Asmodeus ignored the other dishes and zeroed in on the strange slime dish, expecting some hideous abomination of ingredients that looked more like something from the Dark Sea more than anything, but…
…She had no clue on how to judge a dish properly. Presentation? Taste? Smell?
So, throwing all caution to the wind, Asmodeus took a scoop and nonchalantly shoved it into her mouth. The gooey treat had no taste as it bounced around her teeth and over her tongue, refusing to let itself be eaten, at least until the Goddess managed to get a bite in, and then it exploded. The taste was absolutely overwhelming in a good way, almost, almost getting a reaction out of the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles in one bite alone.
"So, how is it?"
Asmodeus hurriedly turned around towards the voice, where she saw Xiangling looking at her like a mad scientist would to their experiment, it was not an experience she wanted to go through again.
"It's good…" Shenhe answered in her stead, ravenously scooping up the slime concoction that they did not order, but made up for the disrespect by giving an answer that the Goddess would never say to anyone in her entire life.
"Aren't there other people with orders?" Something like this, she could say with ease.
"There aren't any, so I kill time by talking to customers." The little chef answered, unoffended.
"Anyways, where are you from? I've never seen either of you before." Had to lead with that question…
"Mondstadt." Shenhe looked at me hesitantly.
"Wangshu Inn."
"Mondstadt? I've never been to the city itself before, how is it there?"
"Not so different from here…"
"Oh, right! There was that dragon!"
Shenhe scooped up another chunk of slime into her mouth. "Was there any reason for you to leave the restaurant?" Miraculously, nothing came out as she talked.
"I needed something super cold, so I went to where one of those big ice flowers lived, just my luck, there was also this guy frozen in ice…" Xiangling went on to talk everyone's ears off on an unbelievable tale of single handedly slaying a Cryo Regisvine…
…All for the sake of food.
"It wasn't on my own!" Xiangling pouted. "I had Guoba with me." Because a tiny bear with intelligence above the norm was enough to turn the tides against a force of nature. The Pyro Vision she held raised the chances of victory dramatically, but channeling said energy through a spear, a melee weapon…
…Asmodeus wasn't buying the story one bit. The Goddess' own powers were flexible, but not powerful; without the little tools that Celestia gave her for use against those they deemed dangerous, she was only as dangerous as the opponent she was up against, usually resorting to redirecting their attacks back at them.
Shenhe leaned forward with mild interest. "Is food enough to warrant something so dangerous?"
"It's not necessarily for the sake of food…" Xiangling looked up to the sky, in deep thought.
"In fact, when I first started cooking, I didn't care about taste and all that stuff, everything just seemed… boring."
"...So I tried everything, the slime you're eating right now came from all those failures. Dad was really encouraging about it all, even if he was weirded out." The chef chuckled a little, looking down at "Guoba".
"And how could I forget, I have Guoba too!" She picked the little animal up and placed it on her lap, stretching the poor thing's cheeks a little, though it didn't seem to mind.
Out of nowhere, Guoba pulled out a jalapeño and bit down on it before blowing, spewing small flames into the air for dramatic effect. "Then I served my dishes to a customer for the first time."
"Judging from Guoba and dad's reactions, I didn't have a lot of faith, but I gave it my all… And they liked it!" Another, larger burst of fire.
"I felt relieved, but above anything else, seeing them smile because of me, tell me that all those failures weren't for nothing, it was awesome!" Guoba tried to blow a little more, but the fiery fruit flew far away into the horizon instead.
"Xiangling!" A gruff voice called out from the kitchen.
"Coming, dad!" Xiangling gave us a little wave before rushing back, Guoba in tow.
That was… Interesting. And surprisingly enlightening.
How was she supposed to eat after a sappy conversation like that? The slime looked more appealing than it had ever been, yet Asmodeus' own appetite was at its absolute lowest. A quick glance at Shenhe showed the same result.
"What do you think of her?" If the Goddess couldn't eat, she might as well do something else for now.
Shenhe hummed to herself as she poked at an empty plate. "...I'm not sure, but she was terrifying."
She tilted her head upwards before looking down again. "...Chaotic but orderly, in a way, I envy her and pity her." Asmodeus nervously eyed the fork that was now being bent out of shape in a death grip.
"Why is that?"
"Horribly naive, reckless, perhaps even gullible…" Shenhe listed these off as the fork finally had enough and went to the afterlife of utensils.
"Gullible?" So Asmodeus wasn't the only one lying to the Xiangling girl, a bit relieving.
The mostly emotionless woman actually looked taken aback at her own slip of the tongue, an internal war ongoing on how to proceed forward, it was an all too common expression that opponents of the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles regularly wore when face to face with their end.
"...I'm actually from Jueyun Karst." The territory of the Illuminated Beasts of Liyue, so...
"...An Adeptus raised you?"
"Yes…" The silence grew to unbearable levels right after.
"You want me to grovel at your feet or something? Unfortunately, I don't care about who you grew up with." Even Asmodeus saw the role of the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles as nothing more than a job that she could free herself from one day. She just didn't know how.
"That… is one reason, but I also lied to you."
Asmodeus dismissed the apology with a wave. "We just met each other, I lied to you a while ago too."
"Also… there's a lot more that you aren't telling me, right? I haven't revealed all my cards, either, we both have no reason to, so let's move on from this."
Shenhe looked a little relieved, and her voice reflected it, too. "Very well…"
"Do you have a reason?"
"What?"
"A reason."
"As to why I…" Why I…
"As to why you do what you do." Shenhe stated.
"...Care to explain?"
"Very well." The exorcist nodded. "Adepti such as Cloud Retainer safeguard Liyue through their own methods because it is their duty." The Goddess nodded, made sense.
"That man earlier, as underhanded his actions may be, did it for a reason that I could not fully understand."
"Mora." If Shenhe had been serious about living in Jueyun Karst with the Adepti since she was little, then issues that plagued those of "normal" citizens baffled her greatly.
"Exactly, and the chef– Xiangling from earlier had said that she cooked for… Sorry, I couldn't understand everything she'd said."
Asmodeus could. Xiangling had done so at first because no dish had suited her unique tastes, yet in time, had also gained a desire to see people smile because of her food. The selfish desire didn't eradicate the selfless one, they just went hand in hand to an imaginary sunset of cooking.
"I certainly wasn't expecting you to ask questions such as these…"
"Irritating, but understandable. That friend of yours… Aether." Of course it had to be him, he had a knack for making everyone's life harder. Wait, friend?
"He simply wanted to know more about me, but the more he asked, the less answers I had."
"...So you hoped to find those answers in Liyue Harbor, huh."
"Indeed."
It was silent for a while, not the type that suffocated Asmodeus' soul and brought agony to her body, instead one that cleared the mind, allowed thoughts to flow freely, untainted by the rest of the psyche.
Those answers Shenhe wants…
…Asmodeus didn't have them, either.
"Is there anything you want to do?" Who would've known that a mere mortal would make her reflect so.
"...To see the world I should've been in." Shenhe's head drooped. "Yet my wishes go against those of my master, and likely those of other Adepti as well…" Having spent her entire life amongst them, she holds them in high regard.
Archons, how was Asmodeus supposed to answer any of these?
Tell her the truth? Asmodeus didn't even know what it was.
Should she just outright lie to her face? The Goddess rarely showed such attention to anyone, let alone humans, there was always another God to kill, a nation to suppress.
…Oh.
It wasn't that Asmodeus had high standards for who to interact with, she just… rarely did it in general. Any beings, God or mortal that she had to interact with was probably marked by Celestia for eradication or imprisonment, considering what being at their beck and call entailed for the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, being seen as an active threat by the heavens was a hell in it of itself.
Heh.
"It seems that…" An alien noise beat through the heartless Sustainer's chest, where the bastards of Celestia started their "contract" with her, one that she had no say in. To feel something again from that area, the Goddess had never seen that as a possibility.
"...Neither do I."
…In the end, even the world didn't have an answer.
…How convenient.
Tartaglia had grown bored of the stalemate ongoing within Liyue Harbor, and instead of waiting with bated breath, wanted to stir things up again. Not something Aether agreed with, but the Harbinger's theory on the Gnosis being stored away by the Liyue Qixing held some merit.
Now, though? The Prince had lost the biggest reason he'd went along with the Fatui.
The Traveller would've felt something positive from this revelation if it hadn't come from his curse.
Aether's eye was screaming out ecstatically in the presence of him.
The man named Zhongli stared him down with the authority befitting of their true identity, understanding lacing striking amber eyes, alongside a silent plea.
The contract will be seen through to the end.
Aether gave them the slightest of nods, the Geo Archon was not finished yet.
.
…You will see petals fly…
.
AN: This Chapter could've been out weeks ago, but I'm not really sorry for delaying it. As for the chapter itself, how is it? I wanted to put less focus on Aether since events mostly play out in the same manner on his end, and I'm still unsure of the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles/Asmodeus as a standalone character. (Would she count as an OC?)