Let's go with another chapter added to the list!

First of all, I would like to thank Surfysun, who renewed his membership, and therefore, there will be two consecutive chapters of this story (remember that consecutive chapters are handled within a 3-day window). There is one important thing I want to clarify regarding this topic, and that is that Alciel also renewed his membership, but he did not choose any story to have a double chapter. Since you are recurring in this story, I share this message with you in the hope that you will read it and send me a private message on so that you can choose.

If anyone is interested in my Patre-on, you can search for me as: Jyanzein. Membership costs one dollar and you can request an extra chapter of any story. It's also a place I use a lot to report updates and other things on my stories, so I recommend it even if you don't want to become a paying member.

With nothing more to clarify, it's time to start.

Enjoy!

"Once, the Lady of Dragons ruled…"

"Once, the Fire Lady betrayed her…"

" The world came to see the Lady of Dragon's wrath …"

"And for the last time, a war broke out…"

"Equality, daring, tranquility, stability…"

"All this, the Lady of Fire set out to destroy…"

"Consistency, history, determination, will…"

"All of this, the Lady of Dragons set out to protect…"

"Engaged in an infinite war that will never find an end…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"The story is very similar, but it changes at key points…" Aether thought out loud, receiving a nod from Canek.

The three were still traveling inside the Burticol, which was going at a much more moderate speed compared to earlier.

"The people we have managed to capture always tell us the same thing. But unlike you, they are sure that the Lady of Dragons is the one who is lying." Canek declared, and then observed with slight doubts. "Why do you doubt her?"

"It's always better to be cautious…" Tonalli answered the question instead of Aether, something that caught both of their attention. "After all, you never know if that person is hiding their true self…" Tonalli's fists clenched tightly as the image of blue fire coupled with the screams of men and women echoed in his mind.

Canek just looked at him out of the corner of his eye, deciding not to comment on it.

The next few minutes passed in silence, until they finally reached a distinctive area. The noises of the hammers and the powerful tools resonated everywhere, both Aether and Tonalli watched in amazement as a large number of soldiers were building some really strange machinery that had a certain similarity to the trebuchets, with the difference that they had wheels and some very very mechanisms. strangers in his sling and the supposed part that functioned as a counterweight. In fact, it could not be called a counterweight, since the beam was in a state of suspension thanks to that strange mechanism that emitted a strange aura of attraction over the element.

"What the hell is that?" Tonalli thought with some surprise.

"No matter how you look at it, these things are weapons…" Aether thought seriously, then looked at the bigger picture. "A lot of them." He concluded, since the place was full of those half-finished machinery.

The passage between the buildings, the shouts of the foremen and the tense atmosphere completely dominated them.

"It's like we're in the middle of a war." Tonalli and Aether thought at the same time, seriousness and sweat began to appear on their faces.

"Welcome to Grutheka." Canek's words made them come out of their moment of tension, and at that moment Aether looked completely shocked at the enormous Aztec pyramid that stood above them, since the previous machinery and the forest had covered his entire vision.

Outside the site there were not many people and there were no more buildings, except for those things that were behind. There was just this imposing pyramid, and right in front of its grand entrance, there was a rather tall woman who was waiting for them.

Her appearance consisted of long light blue hair that adorned the contours of her face perfectly. A type of crown adorned her head that had a large amount of green feathers along with a golden necklace that was held on her forehead. Her eyes were also a powerful light blue color even more striking than her hair, and the scales on her body were a strong blue color interspersed with golden pigments. The scales covered only his arms and the sides of his torso. Speaking of which, much of her body was visible, her chest being only covered by a fairly normal cloth and with a large necklace that looked quite luxurious. Her waist had a decoration of feathers and golden scales that reached her knees. And as expected, she was without shoes.

Tonalli looked at the woman with a serious look, something that Aether did not miss, so he soon brought his gaze back to her.

The woman only responded by placing a hand on her waist, and then flashing a somewhat wild smile due to her notorious fangs.

_ CHAPTER 19: TALES OF WAR AND FLAMES 2 _

"When Canek told me you wanted to visit me, I couldn't believe it." The dragon commented with a half smile on her face, her gaze fixed on Tonalli. "Look at you, you haven't changed a bit!" The woman exclaimed, giving a slightly friendlier smile.

"I can say the same…" Tonalli commented, his tone sounding somewhat cautious, something that made the woman laugh.

"There is no need to be so tense! Remember that this was your home! Furthermore…" The dragoness's appearance changed drastically as a sharp smile emerged from her face along with the heaviest atmosphere. "You do realize that if I wanted you dead then you wouldn't be able to stand right now." Those words made Tonalli even more serious than before.

"Excuse me…" Aether joined the conversation, easing the tension. "You are Gruthecoatl, right?" A toothy smile emerged on the woman's face upon hearing her name.

"That's how it is. From the descriptions that Canek gave me, I assume that you are that traveler that is talked about so much these days." Gruthecoatl looked at him more closely, becoming a little serious. "Now that I think about it, you look a lot like a girl who was around here several centuries ago." Those words caught Aether's attention immediately, who soon became elated.

"Did you meet my sister?!" More than a question, Aether seemed to demand an answer.

"I do not know." The woman's response completely threw him off. "I only remember it because it was different from my inhabitants. I also didn't let her stay for long, so we didn't talk about anything important. At least, nothing I remember." Those words disappointed Aether, who lowered his head.

"I see…" He declared in a somber tone, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Canek and Tonalli.

"Anyway, I guess you didn't come here just to talk about the past, or am I wrong?" The trademark smile returned to her face, her fangs seemed to intimidate Tonalli a little, but Aether seemed perfectly fine.

"In fact, we came here to talk about the war." Aether's immediate response made Canek and Gruthecoatl look serious. "To be more specific, we are looking for information. We want to help, but it is difficult to do so when it comes to two sides with so many differences and so established…"

"Are you basically asking me to share my experiences to decide which side you are going to help?" The dragoness asked, returning to her usual smile.

"Something-something like that…" Tonalli commented, not being able to hold his gaze.

"Wow, that surprises me!" Gruthecoatl exclaimed with a great laugh at the end.

"Why are you so surprised? I thought you already got information about me and how I do things." Aether commented, crossing his arms.

"No, that's not what surprises me." The dragon responded.

"I understand what you mean." Canek thought, then fixed his gaze on Tonalli. "What really surprises him is that he is here. In fact, I must admit that I was surprised too…" He concluded, frowning a little.

"Canek, go see how the work is going. I will give my guests a little tour." The woman declared, turning around.

"Are you sure?" Canek asked, somewhat unsure of the request.

"Don't worry!" She exclaimed, raising one of her hands energetically in farewell.

Canek just watched her, then gave a small sigh and left.

Tonalli and Aether looked at each other seriously. They both nodded and soon followed Gruthecoatl, who was already several steps ahead of them.

_LINE BREAK_

Grutheka

One hour later…

Gruthecoatl was in charge of guiding the two guests into the truly spacious interior of the pyramid. Although the constitution of it made him curious because it had a much more sophisticated infrastructure than what Aether had seen in the region, but among them what certainly caught his attention the most was the distribution. That was because all the merchants were in the lowest area of the pyramid, and a huge door, probably the largest that Aether had seen in his travels, was responsible for separating the commercial area from the civil area, since there were all the families living in different sectors. The middle area of the pyramid was divided again, although this time the entrance was not as voluminous. Once they went outside, Aether was able to get a good view from the top of the pyramid. He was not too distracted by the landscape and resumed his walk with the dragon and the dragon.

"And this is the place where I live." Gruthecoatl opened the door, revealing a small room that had the basic needs.

"It's a pretty unique and somewhat rusty place." Aether declared as he looked at the dragon's home. "But don't get me wrong, this is what I expected from a nation that is constantly at war." He concluded, turning his gaze to give the woman a toothy smile.

"Now that you say it, I'm a little curious to know how the other nations have progressed..." Gruthecoatl closed the door, then looked at her two guests. "Anyway, we didn't meet to talk about that." The dragon's relaxed smile changed to a much more intimidating one.

Aether watched as the tension in Tonalli increased again, something recurring since they met with the second Archon.

"Now that we're alone, can you explain your side of the story to me? Canek already told me the basics, but I want to know everything that's important." Aether sat down in one of the chairs at the small table, practically forcing Tonalli to sit next to him because he wasn't reacting appropriately.

"Don't you want some tea first?" The dragon's question was never answered, but the silence and seriousness that Aether gave off made things clear. "Alright, let's get straight to the point then." Gruthecoatl sat on her bed, watching as the blonde became a little nervous.

"Not that I mean to be rude, but we don't have much time..."

"I can imagine, you don't need to explain." The dragoness interrupted him, earning a slight nod in response. "The problem is that the story is too long, where should I start?" She put a hand to her chin as she thought carefully.

"The story talks about betrayal. I think it's a good place to start." The blonde commented, earning a nod from the woman.

Her typical carefree expression changed to a much more serious one as he began to recount her past.

And thus, her story began...

"My name is Murata, it's a pleasure to meet you." A slightly younger looking Murata extended her hand to Gruthecoatl, who looked the same as she did in the present.

"Are you a Goddess? The Celestial Order wants to bother me again? Didn't they have enough of imprisoning my progenitor and locking me in my own pyramid?" The dragon looked at her with a frown, something that made the future Archon's smile falter.

"Firstly, the imprisonment of the True Primordial Sovereign was many millennia ago. Secondly, I am extremely offended to be put in the same bag as those fools." The Goddess responded, somewhat offended.

"Oh? Then why does a Goddess decide to come down from Celestia to talk to me?" The dragon asked, now more interested in her special guest.

"I understand that you lost the war to keep your territory. But the Primordial Sovereign died a couple of decades ago, the Celestial Order is collapsing as a result, and the current Pyro Archon is weakened..."

"Get to the point." Gruthecoatl interrupted her, causing the Goddess's smile to tremble again.

"I just want to offer you my help so we can rule together!" Murata exclaimed, somewhat exasperated by the dragon's cutting attitude, who could not help but be surprised by the proposal.

"You are strong?" The sudden question made Murata's anger turn into surprise.

"More than you imagine." She responded decisively, breaking into a half smile.

"Usurp the usurper, do you like the sound of that? I like it." Gruthecoatl finally shook hands with Murata, who only deepened her smile at the gesture.

"Let us become the best Archons Teyvat has ever seen!"

Several years later...

"Champagne!" Both women clinked their glasses happily in the room at the top of the pyramid.

"Do you think the Celestial Order will move against us at some point?" Asked Murata, who tasted the wine with his lips once he finished the question.

"I don't think so. It's been more than two decades since we took control of Natlan. Apparently they are much more busy with the great disorder in the other regions." Gruthecoatl made his point as he swirled his glass delicately.

"Heh..." Murata couldn't help but laugh at the statement. "Who knew the War Nation would become the most prosperous territory in Teyvat?" Murata's smile changed to a somewhat dark expression. "How boring..."

"Don't you like this moment of peace we're going through?" The dragon asked with some amazement after hearing those words.

"That's not what I meant, I just think it's boring to do nothing." Murata returned to her usual smile, leaving Gruthecoatl to analyze her response.

"It's not that we have nothing to do..." The dragon's comment gained the Goddess's attention. "It's been many years since we brought the dragons back. They unified with the humans, but it still doesn't seem like the races can reach an armistice..."

"It is natural that there is resentment. The dragons were expelled from their land by the humans and the previous Archon. You were the one who dealt the final blow to your usurper and surely that makes the humans feel threatened too, regardless that you seek unification." Murata commented with slight disinterest, since political matters were never very interesting to her.

"I will most likely never be able to reach their hearts if I continue this way..." The dragon commented while looking at the ceiling of her room. "Couldn't you take care of that?" The sudden question made Murata look at her with utmost surprise.

"Do you want me to instruct the humans on my own?"

"You are a Goddess, just like their previous Archon. Besides, you weren't the last thing they saw before their leader ended up with his head charred." Gruthecoatl lowered his gaze, flashing a fang-covered smile. "I know you don't really like getting involved in these things and you prefer to take charge of the militia, but I think you're the best one to do this." Murata set the cup aside, her serious face indicating that she was debating all the possibilities.

After several seconds of silence, the Goddess raised her face with her typical friendly smile.

"I think this may be less boring than it seems." Murata declared, widening her smile a little more.

"Are you serious?" Gruthecoatl rose from her seat to show her excitement.

"Of course, trust me!" The Goddess exclaimed with complete confidence, earning a smile in response.

"Heh, you don't need to ask me to trust you." The dragon returned to her seat, causing a radiant smile to decorate her beautiful face.

"After all, you are my best friend."

Back to the present...

"And what happened next?" Aether asked, very interested in the story.

"Instead of helping me, she turned all the humans against me. She became their leader and it didn't take long for us to start the war." Gruthecoatl left Aether thinking after the response he received.

"So, she betrayed you for power..."

"You're not as smart as you seem." The dragoness interrupted him, earning a confused look from the blonde. "Murata is not interested in power. All she seeks is to start wars. She was even willing to betray our great friendship in order to continue having fun." Gruthecoatl paused briefly, her gaze becoming more serious than normal. "In short, she's a sick warmonger who doesn't care about anything but her crazy twisted games."

All Aether did was stay silent, not knowing what to do or say. It seemed extremely impossible for him to draw a correct deduction from the two different versions, since neither seemed to have any gap.

"What do you think?" The blonde looked at Tonalli, who jumped a little when he heard his name.

"Well I..."

"You don't need to be so nervous. No one is going to eat you." The dragon decided to speak to break the great suffocation that was befalling on Tonalli, something that seemed to work.

"To be honest, I knew the story told through the poems, but I never got so many details..." Tonalli lowered his head, his gaze looking completely serious. "I still don't know who I should believe..."

"That is the quest you decided to take. I have always respected it." Gruthecoatl commented calmly.

Tonalli didn't answer her, all he did was look at her in silence.

"So..." Aether resumed the conversation. "Can I start asking questions now?" He asked carefully, earning a rather characteristic smile from the woman.

"I haven't talked about a specific part of my home yet." The unexpected response surprised Aether.

"But didn't you already show me the whole pyramid?"

"The most interesting part is still missing." Gruthecoatl fixed his gaze on Tonalli. "Isn't that right, Tonalli?" The young man's scales stood on end after hearing her.

"Sorry, I need to get some air." Tonalli got up and left without saying anything else, something that left Aether very confused.

"Have you ever heard the word dungeon?" Aether turned his attention to her, becoming quite serious.

"Of course."

"That saves me explanations. The dungeons are located under the pyramid." The dragoness's eyes flashed with great danger at what she was about to say. "Although more than dungeons, they are catacombs."

"Catacombs?" A confused Aether asked.

"That's right. Since that place ends up being the graves of all the humans who break the rules." The dragon's comment surprised Aether.

"So, it's true that you treat all humans like trash..."

"I don't know what that woman told you..." Gruthecoatl interrupted him again. "It's true that I kill all humans, but I only do it because they are criminals. Remember? I said I've done it to those who break the rules." Gruthecoatl raised one of her scaly fingers to emphasize her words. "These humans come to my lands and seek to steal my resources, how do you want me to react? You know quite well who is ordering them to steal me, right?" Aether just looked down, his eyes reflecting what he was feeling at the moment.

"Still, killing them..."

"This is Grutheka." Gruthecoatl interrupted him again. "If you don't agree with my rules, then you can leave without any problems." The blonde was left speechless at the statement that left no room for discussion. The woman's harsh tone made it more than clear.

"So, did you want to ask me some questions?" Gruthecoatl resumed the conversation, her usual relaxed tone slowing down the tones between them not to become tense.

"To be honest, you've answered a lot of them with your last answer..." Aether commented with some seriousness. "But, I would like to know how you plan to end this war."

"That's kind of obvious, isn't it? The only way to end this is for Murata to die. If not, the war will continue even if I die." The woman declared with complete seriousness, although her expression relaxed noticeably because of what she was about to say. "But the reality is that it could hardly kill her, since we are on the same level. In the worst case, we would both live." She concluded while shaking her hand disdainfully.

"Wait, why would it be bad for both of them to live? Wouldn't you look for the exact opposite?" Aether asked somewhat confused, making the dragon look serious.

"You don't understand..." Gruthecoatl brought her gaze to the nearest window, her face holding a solemn look. "She can't kill me without dying, I can't kill her without dying. The best case scenario would be that we both die. That's the only way out of this problem." Aether watched her silently, and seeing the determination and seriousness in her eyes convinced him.

Not that he believed in her now.

He was just sure that that last part wasn't a lie.

"What if I helped you?" Aether's sudden question brought a surprise to Gruthecoatl.

"Are you proposing an alliance to me?" The dragon asked, the smile returning to her face.

"I still don't know very well what I should do, but believe me, you will know my decision sooner or later." Aether commented, returning the smile.

"In that case, I'm all ears." Gruthecoatl responded with emotion.

_LINE BREAK_

Grutheka

Several minutes later...

Tonalli and Canek were outside Grutheka. The two of them were somewhat distanced as they used the stepped wall of the pyramid as a seat. The silence between the two individuals meant much more than that.

The ultra-heavy and uncomfortable tension between them was more than evident that they couldn't even look at each other's faces.

That heavy moment finally came to an end when Aether emerged along with Gruthecoatl. The blonde and the dragon were talking calmly, something that caught their attention, so they quickly stood up.

"It was very interesting talking to you! Next time you come, I hope we can have a more casual chat!" The woman exclaimed between laughs, and then gave Aether a strong blow on the back, who couldn't help but laugh with some nervousness.

"They already finished?" Tonalli's question made both of them aware of his presence.

"I would like to continue discussing certain things, but we don't have more time." Aether fixed his gaze on Gruthecoatl after his words. "I promise to come back in a couple of days."

"Okay, you know you're welcome." The dragon nodded, then fixed her gaze on Canek. "I leave them in your hands."

"Yeah!" Canek responded with a firm pose.

Gruthecoatl crossed her arms and watched silently as the trio walked away. A lopsided smile emerged from her lips after fixing her gaze on Tonalli.

"You don't seem as cowardly as you were before..." The woman thought, remembering the old days.

Her eyes closed as one last thought crossed her mind:

"But it's still not enough."

_LINE BREAK_

Natlan

Some time later...

It was no problem returning to the fortress. Canek let everyone know that no one was to talk about Aether and Tonalli's visit. After that they went to the other side of the bridge and shared all the information with Itto. It didn't help much either, since the Oni didn't specialize in deduction, and, in fact, he even got excited about the impressive story, something that brought out a nervous drop of sweat from both the blonde and the dragon.

It didn't take long for the human soldiers to return to the fort. Everyone looked confused and even impressed, and it didn't take them long to narrate everything that had happened.

In short, there were lots of unconscious Hilichurls arranged in a large pile, they counted there were more than thirty. What was surprising was not the number, but the fact that they had already been knocked down when they got there, added to the fact that they were arranged in a very strange way. At that moment, Aether said that it had most likely been the work of his companions, since they had also gone out to explore a little, and therefore it was not necessary to communicate anything to Murata, something that he managed to convince the men.

Obviously this plan had been carried out since they separated at the volcano, and the three members were glad that Sara's group had managed to accomplish their secret objective without attracting much attention.

At this moment, Itto was racing himself with the help of Burticol, going at an extraordinary speed. Not far behind him were Aether and Tonalli. The traveler was not stupid, and he noticed that the dragon had been acting strange since they spoke with Gruthecoatl.

"You feel good?" The sudden question made Tonalli look at him with slight surprise, so the speed of the Burticol was greatly reduced.

"Uh, is it that noticeable?" The young man responded with another question, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Don't worry, they're just things of the past..." Tonalli turned his gaze forward, and this time he looked much more serious.

"Does it have anything to do with Gruthecoatl?" Aether's question made Tonalli's lips purse.

"When I was much younger, she put me in the subway..." Tonalli's teeth clenched tightly as screams of despair, and people covered in flames were everywhere. "Let's just say... it wasn't very nice." He concludes, sketching a somewhat forced smile.

"It sure was a nightmare." The blonde nodded to himself, and then observed the dragon carefully. "But why did she make you watch all that?" He asked with interest.

"I guess she did it to make me strong." The blonde looked at him with some confusion after his statement. "Not only did she do it because she wanted me to be her general, but also because I am her son." Those words surprised Aether quite a bit, but he decided not to comment on it.

After all, Tonalli didn't seem very comfortable talking about his past.

_LINE BREAK_

Natlan

A few minutes later...

"We're all here?" Ayato asked, seeing Aether's group finally join them.

"Diluc is still missing." Aether commented, noticing the redhead's absence.

"Did you manage to find anything interesting?" Sara asked with her typical seriousness.

"Not really. From what I managed to deduce, Murata was hiding something from us, but it's not big enough to draw any conclusions. Besides, I can't even ask her, otherwise she'd know we were on the other side." Commented Aether, who crossed his arms.

"But what are you saying?! She told them a great story!" Itto exclaimed excitedly, something that made both Tonalli and Aether roll their eyes.

"A story?" Gorou asked with slight interest.

"It was about the past. And as we expected, both versions clashed with each other." Aether responded, gesturing with his hands to emphasize his words.

"In short, one of them is lying to us." Sara added as an afterthought, making many hang their heads.

"The problem is that we have already done everything possible and we are at a stalemate..." Ayaka commented, somewhat discouraged.

The others felt the same, since they couldn't find a way to progress.

"Are they going to give up so quickly?" Everyone looked up, seeing how Diluc made an appearance.

"Diluc! I'm glad you're okay." Itto commented with a toothy smile that quickly changed to a rather worried expression. "But what happened to your hands?" The Oni asked the question on everyone's mind, as the man's gloves were covered in blood.

"Don't worry, it's not my blood." Diluc answered naturally.

"I don't know if that should reassure me..." Kokomi commented with a hesitant smile.

"So what happened?" Sara asked the question on everyone's mind, causing the man's usual seriousness to transform into a deep frown.

"I finally won a round!" Murata stood up from her seat to show her joy.

Paimon didn't seem too happy to lose, while Venti and Ei were playing cards with each other. It was interesting to see that they had not even paid attention to her cry of victory, since they were too focused on their own crossroads.

"PUM!"

But that moment came to nothing when the door suddenly opened.

"Oh? Are you done exploring?" Murata asked, although her smile changed instantly after noticing the penetrating look that Aether was giving him.

"What the hell are the Fatui doing in this place?"

END OF THE CHAPTER!

I hope you enjoyed it!

Some varied content will come in the next chapter. There will probably be more plot advancement along with some romantic moments from the main couple (maybe there will be lemon, but I'm not sure).

See you in three days for the next chapter!