Another swing, another clash, this time shattering the irregular sickle of his opponent, the false Pyro energy it held no match for the fiery steel of his greatsword.

"Gah!" The Fatuus rolled out of the way before jumping back farther. "I'll be back, you hear me!?"

"Very well, present yourself to me whenever you see fit, just know..." Diluc Ragnvindr gently dug the tip of his weapon into the stone.

"You will not prevail." He was sure of this, even moreso than the hatred for the Knights of Favonius the man still held, just at a lesser intensity than before.

Because...

"Anytime?" The smugness returned to their opponent's voice quickly, too fast to not be suspicious.

"How about right now?" Another blade revealed itself underneath the pitch black sleeves of the Fatuus, the smokescreen came immediately after.

Half a second later, and they chose to reveal themselves already, lunging towards Diluc at a speed he'd already seen before, but the agent of the Fatui had a good reason to do so.

Out of the shadows the Darknight Hero himself used came another enemy, bulky and sporting huge gauntlets of Electro, another user of the Mockery that the Delusion was.

"Got you now!" The two yelled, going straight for the killing blow, still, Diluc didn't move, stuck in the same position as earlier with his greatsword embedded into the ground. He had no reason to worry.

A familiar battle cry was heard, and the two cocky Fatui were knocked right off their feet and into the nearest brick wall, hopefully breaking a bone or two along with the terrain.

"The outcome is unchanged." The newcomer stated, pointing her weapon at the neutralized threat who were out cold, the Anemo energy she imbued into the strike the most potent its ever been.

"You took your time." I muttered, playfully staring at Jean Gunnhildr.

"Waiting for me would've been the better choice, sir." Diluc flinched after hearing that one word that had gone unsaid since forever, when did she get better at this game?

Kaeya, of course.

His brain had eagerly supplied the answer for him, the former Knight just shook their head and prepared a rebuttal.

"They were about to destroy the evidence." He pointed out, gesturing towards the pile of alchemical equipment, notes, and blood that Dvalin had shed.

Ever since Dvalin was miraculously cured by intervention by Barbatos himself, according to the Church of Favonius, the Knights of Favonius were cleaning house, scouring every domain they could find for any evildoers that could've taken over the area in their absence from defending the city. This included the Fatui, who were now abandoning the aforementioned domains and retreating into the City, the Harbinger Signora was enough of a deterrent for anyone to act against them.

But the time needed for the word to travel throughout all their hideouts would be more than enough to take a few down. Foolishly, Diluc assumed it would be like all the other raids he'd done in the night, but running into the Anemo Archon himself would definitely change your life, the Ragnvindr just didn't know how.

His elbows pressed firmly against the grainy wood of the balcony, the Angel's Share was finally closed for the night, so back at the Manor, he...

They were alone, the Acting Grand Master was right there alongside him, gaze on the stars and at the faint light of Windrise in the distance, Diluc was observing the night sky too, something so similar, yet the complete opposite of the infinite ocean he drowned in four years ago.

They both wanted to talk, continue what they started at the edge of Old Mondstadt, the promise the two made. But there was still much on their mind, the realization that the source of his agony was now dead, the adrenaline hadn't been fully purged from their systems, either.

Yet at the same time, no words were needed at all, Diluc was just glad that she was there with him, thankful that someone was there to share the pain with, though he felt guilty about having to do so, even if everything would return to normal for the nation, the scars the Ragnvindr got would never heal, they'd live with them forever.

To Jean, she desperately wanted to cut through the silence, to comfort him, but the Knight of Favonius had no answer to such a problem, so the Gunnhildr did what they could do without freezing up, slowly slinging an arm across Diluc and holding him close.

The gesture caught both of them off guard as they looked at eachother, and their faces centimeters from eachother, noses on the verge of contact, but what the duo found the most entrancing was just seeing eachother so clearly, no hatred, no bitterness, a clear look at eachother.

That also meant they could see the blush that burst on the other's cheeks. Diluc began to look away, but Jean was unfazed, only smiling at the reaction, and the man couldn't help but imitate the gesture, feeling a light squeeze from his right in response.

"You haven't eaten yet, right? Let's go in." Her voice was a wondrous performance in the wind, forcing him to dance to the song.

And so they sat down at the dinner table, two plates and their meals of choice already on the table, the chair Diluc used since he was a baby was still there, waiting.

Blinking once, his hands grabbed onto it and delicately lifted it up in the air, praying to the God that was probably listening to make sure that it didn't fall apart.

"Excuse me for a moment." The Ragnvindr's tone was hurried, and the way he went outside so quickly probably didn't help in convincing Jean that everything was okay, yet whether or not she saw what comes next didn't matter.

It didn't take long to find the place, even after all the weapon racks and training dummies were cleared out due to his absence, one still remained, bearing the same scars it wore on that day, the same day it was forgotten.

The chair was set aside for a moment, the witness to another step, it watched as Diluc tugged at a loose stone and pried it from the floor, retrieving a wooden sword from the compartment, rotting and covered in dust that was quickly cleaned off.

Heels clacked against the sone behind him, "You frightened me a little back there, Diluc." Jean sighed after picking up on the gist of the matter.

He thought she was just going to watch, instead the Gunnhildr pulled at a different loose rock, getting her own practice sword.

"You never told me about that." I started, seeing that their weapon was in similar condition to his.

"Neither did you." The Acting Grand Master replied, inspecting the decaying wood carefully.

Their eyes met, and the message was relayed as fast as lightning, as clear as the blue sky of mornings. One last swing, for old times' sake.

Half a second later, the dismembered dummy, rotting practice swords, and the imbalanced chair were all piled up and set ablaze, courtesy of his Pyro Vision, the embers rising to into the night to light a new dawn.

"...There's a domain near the border, hidden in a cave, the messengers haven't reached it yet, I'm planning to strike tomorrow night." A horrible way to break the ice, even a drunk bard would know that.

Jean hummed, eyes still at the fleeting sparks, "If I leave some of my tasks to the other Knights, I'll make it."

The statement surprised Diluc with relief and regret, he didn't want to get her roped up in his battles, despite finally letting others take some of the burden.

But after the man saw the eyes that looked at the ashes of the past with solace and newfound determination, they couldn't find it in themselves to say no.

And not doing so was the best decision Diluc Ragnvindr had ever made, because...

Because he wasn't alone anymore.


Asmodeus' bare feet trembled in the frigid air, barely keeping the God from slipping on the wet stone beneath her, hugging the only source of warmth she had for as long as they lived. It turns out the downside of the deal the Sustainer had with the Prince actually mattered.

The last thing keeping the afterlife away from Asmodeus was this poor little Seele, she'd abused the kindness they offered even in their state of undeath, squeezing out all the heat her quaking fingers could manage.

The condition wherein the Goddess had to be in the Traveller's vicinity at all times really sucked for extraordinarily specific situations like these, the snowy peaks of poison and ice that was Dragonspine.

Right, Asmodeus still had no shoes, which was all his fault, why would she wear some ugly leather boots that were much too large for her? Those same ideas lead to other issues in battling the cold, like refusing to go into the warm tent the Starfarer was in, the personal lab of the Chief Alchemist of the Knights of Favonius, one of the last living remnants of Khaenri'ah, the artificial human.

Speaking of Khaenri'ah, it came to the Former Sustainer's that the rebellious nation was razed to the ground only four years after her defeat, was the last area of Teyvat they had absolutely no control over that large of a threat in the grand scheme of things?

"This is..." Albedo, as the homunculus called himself, had a rather dull tone whenever he spoke, even when the Alchemist was genuinely surprised, like right now, Asmodeus had only one previous encounter with him to go off of, though.

"...Yeah, a jar of Starlight, the same energy I use to travel worlds, think of this as a thank you." Was all the Starfarer with him could say before she heard the chillingly familiar sounds of the Prince's steps.

It wasn't something Asmodeus learned on purpose, the sound was just impossible to get rid of whenever the memory of the Traveller giving everyone in the Domain a heart attack by showing up drenched in the blood of those who betrayed him, just one step was enough to sear it into her mind. One step.

"Then..." The footsteps stopped. "Allow me to return the favor in due time, farewell for now, Aether." That was the most emotion the God felt from the Chief Alchemist, perhaps her initial assessment of him was off.

"Farewell, Albedo." Aether's tone, on the other hand, didn't change at all throughout the entire exchange, even as he lifted the tent flaps and looked dismissive as his arm extended forwards, receiving the same scoff in return as the Goddess laid one finger on the Traveller's gloved palm.

Not having full contact during the teleports never ended well for Asmodeus, as she immediately wanted to throw up once the blood and snow turned into dirt and grass, the flora of Starsnatch Cliff greeting them with a slight twitch. Maybe she'd try holding his hand for real next time.

Having to follow this idiot everywhere he went was proving to be the worst side effect of making a deal with the man, the nauseating teleports aside, (He has other methods of travelling around, use them!) the worst part was how much Aether preferred walking, he can fly, run, teleport, conjure portals made of the tortured souls of a fallen nation, but he chose the worst method of going about?

It didn't help that the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles hadn't been given any opportunity to swap out clothes, the bandages that she wrapped herself in from the knees down were elegant when floating in the sky, down on the ground, not so much. The silky train that silently traced every moment the God made? The reddish orange was gone, faded into black.

Asmodeus' legs were screaming, and they were only halfway up the hill, for crying out loud. Her captor, so to speak meanwhile, just trudged up ahead at a pace as consistent as it was fast, not giving much of a care for his prisoner.

Her hands fell on quivering knees, giving a moment of stillness for the Goddess to ingest all the air around her like she were Barbatos in front of a bar, the heavy panting finally caught his attention, and he looked down on me from the high ground.

"If it's so hard for you, just say it." Aether announced, rubbing her lacking physical prowess right where it hurts, both Asmodeus' ego and half dead body.

"Easy for you to say, what are you gonna do, carry me?" I sneered in return, but was immediately answered by something pushing me off my feet and knocking me flat on my bottom.

"Something like that." He stated, continuing his ascent while a Geo construct carried her in the same direction, she could only look confused and concede to the

earthly whims of tiredness.

I laid down on my back and stared at the night sky, dozens of stars speckled on the veil of darkness, the sight took her breath away after seeing nothing but dull grey walls during her imprisonment.

Even Celestia themselves couldn't accurately estimate how much of this world could support the Gods, and even less the humans that they viewed as below them, much like the Tyrant of Mondstadt himself. These lights on the sky, no more than a particle of dust from her point of view, in truth absolutely eclipsed this world in size, she thought it was absurd when the thought first came to mind.

But the Traveller she struck down back then, now giving her a helping hand of sorts as the two finally reached the peak, he was proof, along with the companion that Asmodeus threw to the lions' den without batting an eye.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?" Aether suddenly asked, causing her face to begin morphing into a look that was equal parts confused and equally annoyed.

"Should I really be who you should be asking?" I muttered, watching the Prince as he fell into the grass, the colors on him fading into grey to prevent any unnecessary elemental reactions.

"You're the only one I can ask, so answer if you want to." He shrugged, nostalgia glazing over his eyes as everything else blurred, only the stars he borrowed strength from could be clearly seen.

No, there was one more thing he could see, Aether looked up to his left, where Asmodeus hugged her knees as she looked to the place above them all, their eyes really did shine like stars.

"They're fine, but why should I care about them?" The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles queried, "It's not like they do anything."

"Across every world I've been to, people always use the stars to find their way, I guess I do the same..." He half-heartedly explained, falling off at the end.

"We have maps." She pointed out.

"Maps turn into dust eventually, the stars are eternal." I insisted, "Liyue is next, the rite of descension is too good an opportunity to pass up, are you using one of your 'debts', Kaslana?"

"Of course I am, that dump you call a home needs to be rebuilt from the ground up for me to ever consider stepping foot inside." Asmodeus gloated, smirking right at me.

"Is it so hard to say you're scared of that place?" He wasn't a hundred percent sure of this, but no better time to test it than now.

Judging by her smirk flying away faster than Dvalin, he was correct. She crossed her arms and became interested in a small pebble next to her feet.

"And why haven't you done anything if you knew about that? You're utterly irrational, helping someone you hate." The snow haired woman spat.

"Being irrational was never limited to mortals in the first place, Dvalin, and the Abyss Order itself is proof enough." She just looked at me like I had gone insane, and there was some merit to her reaction.

Aether was their Prince of Darkness, the Puppeteer of Corpses, someone who had been wronged just like the Order was during the Cataclysm, and he actually had the power to solidify himself as a leader.

"They're empty husks of what they once were, only driven by hatred, it's what's made them so difficult to lead when I took control through force..."

He nonchalantly rushed through his thoughts, honesty was never his specialty.

"...And I never really hated you."

"..." Asmodeus didn't have anything to say to that, she was probably trying to decipher if Aether was being truthful or not. To be honest to himself, even the Prince had no clue if he was speaking the truth.

So the two just stood there, looking at the stars, the man who once travelled among them regretting every choice he had made for the past five hundred years, and the Goddess who damned him for all this time wondering...

What were they like? The worlds you've travelled, the stars that guided you...

Was the Goddess seriously considering if those big balls of flame could match her own home? Still, even if those twinkles in the night were inferior, they were impressive enough to keep him as stable as he was for living in the purgatory that was the Dark Sea for so long.

"Let's go, you're actually going someplace public, so go get clothes that won't make you stand out like a sore thumb." He dangled a bag in front of her, the mora quietly jingling was enough to break me from my thoughts, allowing me enough control to abruptly snatch the currency from him.

"Sure."

Aether said nothing, she hoped he didn't see through the wet paper of a facade the Goddess currently covered herself in, ready to be torn apart with just one touch.

The Prince of the Abyss reached out a hand towards her, but was promptly ignored as she just stomped down Galesong Hill, making a beeline for a city like her exhaustion was never a problem in the first place.

Pretty irrational of me, too, huh?

The former Sustainer tried to distract herself with thoughts of what she would do once arriving in the city, though the inclusion of an unpredictable blonde Traveller made her options limited.

Meanwhile, Aether just stood there for a good second, before silently following after Asmodeus, the stars shined just a tiny bit brighter, and the path ahead was clearer.

...I never hated you, huh?

He didn't process what those words really meant in the moment, Aether just felt like getting it off his chest, and it wasn't like he lied, either.

Maybe Aether did lie, even if it was only indirectly, there was no star to guide him, no wings to soar free, just his sword, and...

The Idealist that shone just as brightly as any star the Starfarer witnessed, her gentle violet glow a warm embrace to help anyone move forward.

...Another thing to thank you for, Makoto.

...Is thank you enough?

The question was foolish, Aether already knew the answer.

If only the answer was as easy as it was simple.

Oh well, one down, six to go. Rex Lapis better give him an answer this time, he'd waited long enough.

Following the path of trampled grass dirt left behind by Asmodeus, the Traveller spotted an irregularity amongst the greenage, Elemental Sight proved it was harmless, so he took a closer look. Dark, blocky, and unnatural, it almost didn't occur to him that what he was seeing had been a book, or that they had completely forgotten about the mysterious third book that had disappeared from the library.

A quick read of the title left a sinking feeling in Aether's gut, but he turned the pages, quickly skimming through them all, before letting out a sound that the Prince hadn't made in a while, it wasn't bad by any means, just... unfamiliar, the absurdity of this being a topic the Sustainer actually took an interest in, and somehow hiding from him all this time, it was amusing, to say the most.

Sighing, Aether tucked the When Day became Night under an arm and continued moving forwards, it didn't matter what they saw him as. Traveller, Prince, the Chasm's Light, a Golden Nara, or the Midnight Lost Star in this story, the Abyss is in all of them now.


"Hmm..." The winds carried tales of everything, gossip and disputes, affection and hatred, humans and gods, even the dragon that was the last of the original Four Winds of Mondstadt could hear them, so it was no surprise that he, Barbatos, God of the wind, the Anemo Archon, could do the same.

When he listened in on the words of the world were a different story, it required him to be alone, preferably Windrise, Galesong Hill, and Starsnatch Cliff, to name a few. The combined experiences of everyone in Teyvat (Except the land where the wind does not blow, obviously.) could easily overwhelm his Godly senses, so one day, back when Khaenri'ah was still alive, he took a sip of the Osmanthus Wine that Rex Lapis constantly brought up.

A broken table, a missing mountain, and one irritated Geo Archon later, it awakened something inside of him.

Which was why he now found himself about to pass out from the Dandelion Wine his new friend had acquired for Venti as a thanks of sorts, being drunk washed the surroundings away, allowing him to focus on the world on an even deeper level, ironically.

Rivals finding common ground at last! Gunnhildr and Ragnvindr, Outlander and Sustainer, he would watch their stories until the last page was filled, may the wind lead them to the future! The possibilities made him a little emotional, resulting in a small drop of joy travelling down his cheek and onto the wooden table he rested a painfully throbbing head on.

This, of course, was unknown to Eula and Amber, the latter just eyeing the Bard in amusement while also tilting her head in confusion, while the former just sighed at the Anemo Archon's obsession.

"Who is this again?" The Outrider asked the Reconnaissance Captain, receiving a small smile in return, seeing Eula with a smile so genuine internally had her imaginary Baron Bunny jumping for joy.

"A friend I made recently." Eula really didn't seem like the type to get along with people like the bard drooling all over the table, the chances of them getting back in the Angel's Share again after this didn't favor the trio, that was for sure, not that she drank alot.

"What'd he do? Sing a song for you?" Amber prodded at her friend's recent journey, what had happened still remained vague to most of the Knights of Favonius, even her.

"No, not that..." Eula waved the accusation off, staring into the clear skies above them, the sun never bothering her as she spoke.

"...He helped me gain insight into my current lifestyle, so..." They trailed off, unable to find the proper words, luckily for Eula, Amber was here.

"You'll move in?!" The Outrider leaned forward in a flash, scaring whoever was unfortunate enough to be in shouting range, which was at least half of Mondstadt, even so, Eula's friend wasn't affected at all, an upside of being drunk.

Ever since they, as Eula put it, "officially" became friends, the Outrider constantly pestered the Lawrence on whether she was going to ditch the cave she probably lived in back at Dragonspine, only receiving a haughty retort that Eula would never be so undignified to do so.

Now? The Reconnaissance Captain was actually considering doing it! Her new friend, as single minded he seemed to be whenever alcohol was involved, had done the herculean task of convincing this stubborn noble to touch grass instead of snow, a feat worthy of the gods themselves.

"I guess so..." Eula murmured, looking to her right at the wonderful, interesting air. "Where I'm going is one issue, I'd probably be killed in my sleep if I'm careless."

"Leave that to me!" I grinned, "Though, speaking of insight..." There was a strange man who requested her of something.

"Hm?" The Spindrift Knight looked at me with a mouth stuffed with Sticky Honey Roast, if Amber had one of those Kameras made in Fontaine, she would have taken a picture in a heartbeat.

"I was out on a patrol around last week," She raised her fingers as the event slowly came back to memory.

"Just out there in the woods, with a bunch of paper just strewn about, was a boy." About her height, if not smaller, the teenager wasn't doing himself any favors for the Knight of Favonius watching him, either, looking like he hadn't showered in weeks.

"I ask if he's okay, and he doesn't even recognize me! I've been pretty much everywhere, seen pretty much everyone in Mondstadt, but I didn't know this kid, and he didn't know me either, it weirded us both out..." I unknowingly ranted, pouting afterwards and crossing my arms as I closed my eyes, it was just as annoying to remember what he even said, his accent akin to most foreigners she's met.

"Then I said I was a member of the Knights of Favonius, and then he looks like he was just granted a vision or something-"

"Did he have one?" Eula asked.

"-No, he asked me to go look for the scary purple librarian-" I continued, but stopped after hearing something, could it be?

A sound carried by the winds of Barbatos himself, as refined as ever, even when it was something her friend had never done in Amber's presence before. Eula was... laughing!

Even more than Amber herself, the citizens were looking at the trio in confusion and awe, not sure whether to be furious at the Lawrence for laughing, or to be amazed that she could laugh.

It took the longest ten seconds she had ever felt for the laughter to subside, and the awkwardness quickly rushed in to meet the empty space, leaving Eula flustered at her slip of the tongue and Amber unsure of what do in the unknown territory they found themselves in.

"A-Apologies..." Eula regained her composure, a faint blush dusting her cheeks, "Anyways, what did he want with the s-scary purple librarian?" She downed her drink in one gulp after, Amber hoped it wasn't alcohol...

"Well, he wanted tips on how to correct something..." I answered, my mouth just a bit too fast for my brain to keep up with, the benefits of being an Outrider, or was it the other way around?

"He said a lot of things, like, alot, so much I had to write them all down, It's best if you just see for yourself." Amber sighed, pulling out a comically large notebook out of her pocket...

And gave it to Eula, who carefully lifted the cover and devoured the contents of the book, she'd been taught a thing or two about writing by her good-for-nothing family, would it be fine to answer in Lisa's place?

One look at the first sentence in the absolute wall she was looking at made her tilt her head, not out of interest, malice, dissapointment, or wonder... Just absolute confusion.

Wrote the Second chapter first, did the prologue after everything else was done, and had to rewrite the First as a result, is this bad?

That's not a bad idea, it is an absolutely vile concept to even consider, who was the buffoon that wrote this? She wanted to find him, read whatever garbage he jotted down and destroy this mongrel's nonexistent pride.

Eula's frustrated mind was getting out of hand, with a quick shake, she reset all the thoughts bouncing around inside and moved on.

I have no idea what terms are used when describing clothing, nor what different types are called.

This felt a little more reasonable than the pure idiocy before it, but still, is he living under a rock? Anyone who's approached a tailor- no, literally anyone who sold clothes would pick up a thing or two. If this person was the bookworm Eula was shaping them up to be, surely they'd have found words like those in any materials he had? Whatever, just move on.

Pronouns feel too repetitive.

This was starting to spiral out of Eula's limited knowledge on writing, so she just handed it back to Amber, sighing.

"Do you know his name?" Information was the key to everything, even trivial matters such as these were no exception.

"No, the kid said he went by a pen name, but didn't give it either..." The crimson Outrider answered, taking a quick sip of her drink.

Is Lisa constantly dealing with requests like these? I'd deal with Fatui any day over this...

"Doesn't seem like he's coming back any time soon, let's just forget about this..." Eula piped up, standing up from her chair...

...And slumped right back, as she finally remembered the drunken presence of Venti, did he have a house? Would dragging the Anemo Archon through the streets be considered disrespectful?

Eula just looked to the sky, and let out a weak chuckle, despite the problems the bard would be giving her from now on, to say that she wasn't grateful after what he'd done would guarantee a frozen corpse shattered into tiny pieces a few seconds later.

So Eula, the Spindrift Knight of Mondstadt just looked at Amber, the best (And only) Outrider Mondstadt had at the moment, would the ruby archer mind if the Lawrence took a bit more of her time?

"...It appears that I am moving, can you assist me in doing so?" It seems old habits still die hard, Amber never liked it when Eula geared towards formality, but today, she just grinned at the woman with hair as blue as ice, and in doing so, finally thawed her heart.

"Sure, let's go!"

Hearing those words, even a drunk Barbatos could only smile, Boreas would have to pay up his side of the debt by letting Venti ride the great wolf's somewhat corporeal back.

But even more so, the Lawrence clan could finally begin reintegration into Mondstadt society, although it only applied to one of them right now, maybe others would see sense?

As Venti looked at the two Knights of Favonius stand up and leave the table, he couldn't help but look back to the past one last time, before the future came.

Kreuzlied...


AN:

Should I publish each chapter seperately once they're ready, let them all out at the same time? I did so with Mondstadt since I didn't want to publish an unfinished story (I'll consider each nation as their own story for my sanity, thank you.), but at the rate I'm going, Liyue is gonna take a year.

Thoughts?