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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

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Chapter 4: Witch and Charity

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Her plans were proving to be far from simple and easy as she had hoped those to be.

When La Signora was given orders to acquire the Anemo Archon's source of power, she thought that the reports spoke of an interference from the Abyss Order in regard to the rat's little flying pet. But as she studied the matter some more, the woman was soon scowling over Pantalone's mistaken or horrendously outdated report.

The rat's pet was fine!

Scouts sent to monitor the rat himself have confirmed how he had properly purged the pollution damaging the flying thing. The distraction was no longer viable, and any approach now would only spell doom for the Fatui's plans in Mondstadt. As she wandered the streets, trying to clear her mind, the woman that once loved this city now found it to be nauseating.

The memories of those that perished that day were gone. That rat god had decided to barely lift a finger to spare those that truly deserved to live. Those that fought and died by the bastard's own negligence! Her scowl darkened, but her mindless wandering ultimately led her to something- or someone.

In her many years of existence as a witch, La Signora had never thought she would have turned the corner and faced the closest thing to death she could find in this very place. Nothing had prepared her to face impending doom by just wandering this rotting city's roads!

And yet, she turned the corner, smacked her face on the chest of some tall bald man wandering about and she could sense the pure and utter wrath deep within his soul. And it flared like a barely alive flame that was threatening her by merely existing.

She almost gawked at the perception, but she was outraged when the brute with such a deep fire was just shrugging her away and continuing to carry... several cut-down trees that he was bringing to a familiar face- the old man that owned the hotel Pantalone had paid to accommodate the rest of the agents.

In a sense, he reminded her of the Tsaritsa. Personality-wise, that is. The power was something else- in a strange way of things, she was confident the Tsaritsa would actually struggle with this individual and, yet, La Signora wasn't sure how that match-up would go. There was a strange sense of difference between the two.

The man had that same emptiness, but it wasn't as 'unpleasant' as it was when handling the Tsaritsa. What was going on?

Instead of asking, La Signora just tracked the man going back and forth to carry more wood he had kept by the entry gates of the city. She was confused on why he would need to provide so much wood and... and she was kind of surprised when that old man mentioned using it for charity- why would that be a thing and...

Then La Signora remembered that it was always a struggle to have enough wood for the winter in Mondstadt. She could use Pyro magic- she always could, but some people just couldn't afford it.

That hadn't changed? It's been more than five centuries already!

Another reason to despise this place and its pathetic deity and... La Signora was back to pretty much tag along other people that had stopped to study the peculiar event until the man, whose name she learned was Kratos from some whispering morons, was gone to get more trees chopped.

A peculiar circumstance- a humble task for some deity, and it confused her. It confused her and, to some extent, it made her thoughtful of many things she forgot of her past. For some reason, she just thought this was a fair way to assist people that he wasnt' accustomed with.

He came along with someone that the locals called the 'Traveler', so these two had to be some sort of foreigners. At the very least this stroll gave her more news than the worthless morons back in the hotel could. Returning to her hotel room, La Signora demanded to be left alone for an hour.

Her mind was heavy and she couldn't stop looking at the flame of the candle sitting by her desk. This... why did this make her feel so upset so suddenly? How come this unknown entity, who could have easily killed her, give her this much grievance if she could easily say she couldn't remember him from anywhere in the past.

Why?

-d-d-d-d-

Lumine sat quietly as she observed the meanest and yet most brutal individual in Teyvat exterminate another bunch of Hilichurls camping near the trees Kratos had planned to claim too.

She had finished her commissions just less than a hour ago, and she decided to just tag along and... study what Kratos was doing. To a normal bystander, it looked more like she was skipping on fighting, but the truth was that the bald man was far stronger than anything she had ever met, faced or wished to ever face.

It wasn't just a wild statement born from a lack of evidence- not when Kratos was terrifying by all means and he appeared to have a certain air that stood well-above the Unknown God she faced with her brother. It was just easy for her to tell Kratos could make a mess with that woman within a fight, but there was more than just raw power at play.

Kratos had experience in combat, in life, and seemed to be far older than anyone really.

Was he a god?

That question had played in her mind for a while now, but Lumine had failed to come up with a proper response to this. After all, Kratos was not an Archon. His power wasn't tied to the seven elements despite his Ax and Swords were using powers akin to Cryo and Pyro respectively.

So, Lumine studied Kratos with intrigue, aware that a very bored Paimon was just looking at her and then the man in action, huffing for the lack of activity from Lumine.

"Why are we just watching?"

"Why do you always watching when I fight?" Lumine asked back and Paimon shrugged.

"I can't fight."

"And-"

"ORYAAA!" Kratos' loud battle cry saw him slam his ax on the ground, causing a widespread cryo-like blast to freeze up the Hydro Slimes that were attacking him mid tree-chopping. Another swing from that mighty weapon was all the ferocious warrior needed to destroy the frozen foes.

"That is why. I am not going to try my hand at not getting hit," Lumine remarked. "I am good for now. I did my commission, I got my Mora and I need a break."

...

Paimon slowly nodded at this logic, but she didn't seem that pleased by it. For the next two hours, Kratos did this a few more times and, after clearing up that section of the forest, he decided to end it there. By the time he was done, it was time to catch some rest. The local inn would do and Lumine was glad she didn't have to share the room with the grumpy man.

Yet, she couldn't help but wonder... does a man as angry as Kratos ever go to sleep?


AN

Kratos is not an Adventurer, but that doesn't stop him from helping others and... also use this chance to check a few things tied to his powers. His trials have yielded some positive results, with next time seeing Kratos facing the lingering presence of the Abyss as he had gained their attention.

Also, dropping a mega-theory I have over the endgame of Genshin Impact:

So, I may have cracked the main plot of Genshin Impact and it all stems from a theory which provides a bit of a base on what I am about to say: EXPOSING The True Identity of The HEAVENLY PRINCIPLES by Wei.

To make it short for anyone not interested in watching it, Neuvillette referred to the current state of affairs in the world to an opera piece he recently saw... that actually exists in RL. The opera piece is the novel Rebecca, and it ties to the tale of the second wife to a noble man ending up discovering that the manor is 'kept under control of the dead wife' by her authority alone. In the end, it is discovered that one of the maids is actually the one that has been pressuring people around to follow the former lady's orders even though the first wife died by an accident caused by her husband who then buried her by the sea.

To explain the proper 'representation' between Genshin plot and this novel: Second Wife (Traveler/Traveler's Sibling), Husband (Teyvat/? Primordial God), First Wife (Heavenly Principles), Loyal Maid (Sustainer of the Heavenly Principles).

Now, here's my theory: The Traveler's sibling ended up exploring Teyvat, making their acquaintance to the various regions and yet failing to fully discover the full truth of Teyvat's many stories. At the end of the journey, they are to face again against the Sustainer, failing to win against them, but refusing to 'play the role' once more as he is cast away into the Abyss to try and break the cycles. Yes, there is a Cycle, and this is where things get interesting. The Traveler ends up finding Paimon 'in the sea' and, as mentioned in the plot of the novel, the First Wife (Heavenly Principles) 'dies' by the sea. It is heavily shown that Paimon's design is directly connected to Celestia and that she acts as the 'ever-watching presence' over our path. She is very familiar with Teyvat despite no one having ever seen her before the Traveler and her ending up in those regions. The Melusine also have a particular view of Paimon as an entity saying she looks like a rainbow balloon that is 'tied to something in the sky'. Another major element is something brought up in the second Hangout with Nahida where Paimon seems aware of the 'Power behind the truth of 'Growth''. To put it simply: Nahida is confident that she will eventually gain the same potential as Rukkhadevata- where she could muster impressive amount of power at the expense of 'reverting' her growth and deaging herself. And Paimon seems aware that such a process will 'make you forget your feelings, your memories, everything'.

In conclusion: Paimon is the Heavenly Principles (she doesn't remember but has some lingering memories of knowledge she should not have) and she 'perished' around the period of Calamity- hence triggering an alarmed rally for the Archons against the Abyss. In the end, the thing that may have killed the Heavenly Principles (as they are said to have gone quiet after the calamity by Nahida herself) may have been the Sustainer herself. Her powers seem to be directly related to the calamity, and it is possible that something related to the abyss or plain evil may have corrupted her. The end goal of the Sustainer is to turn either the Traveler or the Traveler's sibling into her new 'sustainer' so she can take over as the new Heavenly Principles. The true foe is the Unknown God herself.