CHAPTER TWO: RECOVERY

The following hours of the destruction of Liyue Harbor had been ones of sorrow and great emotions. Ganyu still couldn't believe what she had seen at the harbor; it was as if the mystery Fatui assailant had struck her once-boss with a force equivalent to a raging meteorite colliding with the surface of Teyvat's soil.

It had seemed otherworldly or even something that only an Adeptus was capable of.

She'd seen the seven gods of her world clash with very violent and bloody methods to attempt dropping one another to their knees in defeat, but this method of murder that had ended the life of her nation's wealthiest individual was unlike anything in comparison. It happened in the blink of an eye, and only until after he had taken extensive amounts of damage that should've killed him.

It was as if he was waiting for the perfect opportunity and received it upon attempting to help Ningguang.

A shiver coursed down her spine at her recollection of the memory of what potentially could've caused the Tianquan's fate and Liyue Harbor's sudden termination, causing the tea cup currently cupped in her hands to slightly spill. She'd been offered it after explaining the truth that would never fail to traumatize her for as long as she continued to live.

After leaving the borders of her once-home, she had gone back to find Baiwen, and had found her exactly where she had left her prior to her infiltration of the city. Out of her two survivors that were in desperate need of medical attention, Keqing had been the worst for wear. Even though she is a half-Adeptus, Ganyu only had the strength of a human and couldn't manage to carry two adult women.

Luckily for her, Baiwen hadn't been injured to the point of being unable to walk and had only received minimal damage from one of the blasts. The overwhelming amount of smoke and ash that had purged her airway was the reason she had been short of breath, so after breathing in some fresh air for a while, she'd gotten back enough strength to tread onward.

Keqing hadn't been as lucky, and Ganyu had resorted to using minimal amounts of her cryo energy to stop the massive gash in Keqing's right shoulder from bleeding. It had worked well enough, and not long after, she had passed out in Ganyu's arms due to exhaustion. Upon arriving at Wangshu Inn, seeing the staff knew the Qixing well, they knew that when they came in looking as if they'd escaped a war by the skin on their backs, it wasn't a good sign.

The first sign was Ningguang's absence, seeing whenever Ganyu or Keqing came unannounced, they usually were accompanied by their leader. It was just a way of keeping everyone up to speed with whatever business was afoot, and the staff of Wangshu Inn knew that very well, so for the two aces of the Qixing to show up unexpectedly without their alpha, it raised red flags instantly.

The second sign was Ganyu's current choice of clothing. A main executive of the Tianquan never dresses this way, and seeing Ganyu was a constantly-booked employee of Ningguang's empire, she usually never had the chance to visit Wangshu Inn outside of work-related matters. Therefore, her current attire of a plain t-shirt and short pajama-like pants didn't really sell her reasoning of arrival as business-oriented.

The other clear signs were an unconscious Keqing with potentially fatal injuries, ripped and burned clothing, and the fact she was being carried; a Yuheng isn't your type to just show up unannounced in another associate's arms.

Baiwen never left the Jade Chamber either, so her presence was also a major red flag to the staff of the inn. Therefore, after seeing many things didn't add up right, Verr Goldet assessed the situation and took action by helping furthermore.

To start, Keqing was given a spare room to rest in until the morning, seeing their main target, Rex Lapis, was not there, so they would have to go to the next best place. Ganyu knew of the Mondstadt Cathedral through her occupation, and knew that it was a perfect solution to Keqing and Baiwen's injures.

The main healer, Barbara Pegg, was well known to have healed anything from animals to knights of the Mondstadt brigade, so she assumed there'd be no trouble in getting assistance from the young soul weaver. After all, the Qixing had worked with and had a great alliance with her sister, Jean, who is also the current Acting Grandmaster of the region.

Right now they needed any amount of help they could get, and the first step was getting back on their feet. After that, they needed to consult the situation with said Acting Grandmaster, then figure out how they would resolve it.

Easier said than done.

A tap to Ganyu's shoulder made her jump and spill a little more of her herbal drink on the wooden floor. Upon looking up, she found her worry to be over nothing, Verr having been the culprit.

"Ah! I'm so sorry, Verr!" she apologized frantically. "Let me clean that up for you!"

Right as Ganyu attempted to grab a napkin to clean up her accidental spill, Verr stopped her by gently holding her wrist down.

"Don't worry about it, Ganyu," Verr assured calmly. "I've picked up far worse spills in my time here, so a few little drops of tea is just like any other day on the job."

Ganyu answered with a long and sorrowful sigh, her emotions in a state of chaos from the previous night.

"You're right," Ganyu stated guiltily. "I'm just so…on edge after last night. It all just happened too fast, and my anxiety is through the roof."

"Take your time," Verr advised. "You went from having a home and job to being homeless and lost in a matter of hours. It's natural for you to be so paranoid after something so traumatic."

Ganyu let out another long sigh, attempting to calm herself down. She was safe here and didn't need to fear anything, especially considering she was probably the healthiest of the three survivors of Liyue Harbor's downfall, meaning she needed to be strong for Keqing and Baiwen.

"By the way, I had originally come to inform you of the Yuheng's condition, not to accidentally scare you," Verr confirmed, releasing Ganyu's wrist.

Ganyu nodded in understanding, hoping that her attempt at stopping the bleeding had been enough to prolong her coworker's fate.

"How is she?" Ganyu asked with a ping of worry.

"Right now, she's resting, but after managing to clean up the wound and your effort to stop the bleeding, I'd say she's well enough," Verr assured. "However, she won't be able to walk, due to her right leg being broken, so she'll have stay here until we can get confirmation for an escort from Mondstadt."

"Did you fulfill my request?"

"Yes, we sent out a messenger to the Acting Grandmaster to alert her of your arrival today."

"And the details were kept vague for safety?"

"Yes, Lady Ganyu. We specifically wrote that there had been a matter that required Mondstadt's help, and stated that the full details would be explained in full upon your meeting with the Acting Grandmaster."

Ganyu nodded, having taken this measure to keep the destruction of Liyue Harbor secret from any prying enemy's, shall the messenger be ambushed along the travel.

"Has there been any news of the messenger arriving in Mondstadt?" Ganyu questioned.

"Not yet, but I'd suggest you head to Mondstadt as soon as you can, seeing it's best you discuss last night's events with Mondstadt's officials as soon as possible. There's no telling if the Acting Grandmaster will agree to an escort for the Yuheng, and it is very important that news of Liyue Harbor's destruction and this new threat are heard and relayed to the other archon capitals."

Ganyu nodded in agreement.

"You're right, but I'd like to see the Yuheng before I leave. I just want to assure her that we are safe for the time being, as much as show her that I'm okay."

Verr smiled and nodded in return.

"I feel like that's a good idea. However, if she's still asleep, please let her rest. In fact, if that's the case, I'll have you write her a note to assure her of things, and I'll give it to her as soon as she's awake."

"Very well, Verr. I promise not to disturb her, shall she still be resting," Ganyu finished, getting up from her seat and moving to the higher floors of the inn.

She met Keqing's provided room upon a simple climb up the provided stairs just past the lobby. As quietly as she could manage, Ganyu turned the knob and opened the door just far enough to where she could see the state of her colleague.

Upon eying the bed, she saw Keqing flat on her back with her eyes closed. Her shoulder laceration had been bandaged and wrapped to avoid infection, and she looked like she'd been sleepless for a week. Keeping her promise, Ganyu didn't disturb her, up until something made her stop.

"I'm awake, you can come in," Keqing had confirmed.

Ganyu followed and made her way into the room, closing the door behind her gently.

Keqing opened her puffy and bloodshot eyes, looking up at her fellow colleague with a blank expression.

"Ganyu? I swear, if it weren't for the horns, I wouldn't have even recognized you," Keqing commented, to which Ganyu had no retort.

"Considering we only associate during work hours, I can understand why you wouldn't," Ganyu agreed.

Keqing attempted to sit up, until Ganyu quickly stopped her.

"You need to rest," Ganyu commanded. "You took a bad hit last night, and we're in the process of getting your injuries sorted out. Until then, you just need to let your body rest."

"I know," Keqing responded. "I'm not trying to get out of bed, just sit up more so I can talk better."

Ganyu saw no harm in that and allowed Keqing to continue her struggle.

She didn't even attempt to help her, knowing just how stubborn Keqing was. Therefore, unless she asked for the assistance herself would she even try.

Keqing grunted in pain from her injury, but eventually she was able to settle herself up to where her back was flat against the headboard of the bed.

"I need to tell you exactly how everything went down last night," Keqing inquired. "You need to know what we're up against, seeing I feel that what happened last night isn't the end."

Ganyu could hear a sincerity in her voice, and she was right. If she was going to fight back against whatever killed Ningguang, she was going to need to know everything.

"I'm listening," Ganyu stated, allowing Keqing to continue.

"Alright. I was monitoring the city as I usually do every night before retiring from my duties, and at first, everything was fine, up until something caught my attention; a band of oddly dressed people. I carefully watched them, and found that they were entering places that were populated with large numbers of citizens one by one, and that struck me as irregular behavior.

I had decided to investigate further, but right as I was about to enter one of the buildings, I heard a massive explosion in the distance. However, after the first came another that was closer, followed by another, and another. That was when I realized the explosions were eventually leading to my position, and before I could back away in time, the doors of the building I was set to enter blew off their hinges.

Luckily, the majority of the force from the explosion was blocked by my sword, but I still ended up getting hit back pretty hard. My injuries were the least of my worries though, and I focused on moving fast to save any of the people who had been involved in the explosions.

I searched every building and called out for them desperately, but no answers ever came. It was apparent that whatever damage these explosions had caused from the inside had been enough to kill anyone in its path. The only person I ever ended up finding was our once-boss, and upon seeing me, she knew that there was no survivors to speak of.

She had ordered me to go after you, knowing we were the only two besides her that could seek out help if the worse case scenario were to come to pass. Ningguang had planned to go after whoever had caused the mayhem, while I seek you out to help. I reluctantly agreed, and set out towards your home, but along the way, ran into one of the culprits of the bombings.

He seemed like nothing I'd fought before, so I took him on, hoping to detain him and get information on his cohorts. However, upon the moment I attempted to land the first strike, I was quickly brought to realization that this threat wasn't just another casual enemy.

He used some smaller bombs to stun me, and that's what led to my right arm nearly being severed, but I managed to block his attack with my sword and avoided the full damage of the blow. However, he still had managed to deal me a great amount of damage, and knowing I couldn't win, manifested some mimics to distract him.

I managed to retreat and hide long enough to avoid being killed, and by the time I came out of hiding, that's when I ran into you. If you hadn't found me a second sooner, I feel that the overwhelming heat and smoke would've done me in."

Ganyu shivered at the explanation. If there was more than one of the things that she saw kill her boss in two blows, she wasn't sure if there was any chance of victory. She decided to test her theory.

"Did you notice anything particular about your enemy's methods?" Ganyu asked.

"Like what?" Keqing responded.

"Did he absorb your elemental energy from your attacks?"

"No. He was just too quick for my eyes to follow. Had I not seen just the slightest glint of his blade, my arm would've been cut clean off."

Ganyu let out a long breath of relief, but wasn't any less intimidated by their new enemy of a different breed and caliber.

"Why would you think he could absorb my energy?" Keqing followed up.

"Because it's how our leader was murdered," Ganyu answered directly.

Keqing's face went as pale as a ghost, unsure if what she had just heard had been real or a trick of her mind.

"Murdered?! Surely, you're not serious…

Ganyu gave an expression of sorrow that made Keqing clearly see that she wasn't joking.

"He absorbed the energy from my arrows that I had attempted to kill or subdue him with and used it to freeze and shatter Lady Ningguang to pieces," Ganyu confessed. "He did so in two blows at speeds my own eyes couldn't track. It was like a strike of lightning, and he only let me go out of respect for giving him what he needed to finish the job."

Keqing was silent for a long moment, absorbing all the new and grim information at a slow pace. Her calm demeanor had changed to a more fearful one, as if she were a child scared of the dark.

"We need to figure out who attacked and destroyed our home," Ganyu inquired. "You said these people were "oddly dressed;" were there any specific details about them that could give a better idea to narrowing down whoever our enemy may be?"

Keqing nodded.

"They wore black cloaks with the symbol of an eye on the back of their hoods that was drawn in red ink, and the one I fought also wore a mask."

"What kind of mask?" Ganyu pushed.

"A masquerade style one that resembled the face of a raven," Keqing confirmed. "Another thing to note as well is that their main weapon of choice is bombs of all kinds."

Ganyu nodded.

"I'll be sure to relay all of this to the Acting Grandmaster of Mondstadt, and pray that the answer to who our foe is is given without struggle."

Keqing nodded in agreement, and Ganyu took that as her cue to start preparing for her journey to Mondstadt.

She turned to leave, but before she began to turn the knob, Keqing spoke out one more time.

"Ganyu?"

Ganyu turned at the request.

"Yes?"

"Thank you for saving my life. I'll never forget that."

Ganyu nodded with a smile, then turned the knob with ease. She had no idea what was to come in the road ahead of her, but as one of the only things left of Liyue Harbor's existence, she knew she had to make sure her survival hadn't been for nothing.

Upon closing the door, she started for her own room to prepare for her long trip to the anemo archon's capital beyond the mountains of Liyue.