It was now a few days after the Wisdom Gala took place,
And he was currently on a "Desert Sightseeing" with Samir...
*Or rather, that's how it should have been, but they were currently...
...
"Truthfully, I really want to become friends with Cyno, but after our battle at the Rite of Duels...Trying to hang out with him feels kind of wrong...? I did attack him out of nowhere and our relationship has been pretty tense since then...
...So, well, yeah...I am actually asking two gods for help right now...One an Important Guest and the other also an Important Person to our...
...Seriously, just what am I doing right now...? Acting in such a weird way, as if I don't know how to make friends...But if I try to strike a conversation with Cyno now, he might just find me annoying, right...?
...Indeed, I, the new leader of the Temple of Silence, is in dire need of outside assistance. Lord Rhadames, Lord Barbatos, please guide me with your wisdom!"
...
On "Psychologist Duty"...?
*Not that he really minded,
But this was a little sudden, wasn't it...?
...
...
Even now, after around five minutes have passed...
*And was it just his imagination, or did Samir look a little lost...?
...
"Samir, it's alright. I understand.
... You miss them, don't you...?"
"...Somehow, rather than the lavish lifestyle, I miss all those people way more. Back then, I didn't appreciate them enough."
...
"Same here, minus the comforting part. I am not really good at it. Especially if compared to Nahida..."
...
That's right, his fellow god...
...
"I have to apologize as well, Venti. Most of the plans for the recent welcome were originally my own suggestions. The extent of reverence that I was always shown, I came to believe it was normal.
...Next time, if you still want to do it again, I will be leaving all the event preparations to Nahida. This way, it would surely be less...Overbearing, right...?"
...
...
Was this actually a complete novelty to him...?
*Seems like it's up to him to give Sethos advice.
...
...
Making it into a group meeting, instead of it just being Sethos and Cyno,
That should help both with the tense atmosphere and the feeling of wrongness, right...?
*And as for whom the other members of the group would be,
Those who would be able to help the two desert-dwellers connect...
...
...
...
For some reason, Amber and Collei came to his mind,
As well as...Jeht and Tadhla...?
*And the reason for this must be...
...
For Jeht and Tadhla...
...
"Tadhla, one of the Tanit clan's Falcons, is staying in the Temple of Silence base at the moment.
She was away on a mission when her tribe was massacred by Samail and the Thutmose, only returning way after the slaughter took place. Since the Traveler and their group stayed at the camp last, Tadhla thought that they were the ones who butchered her tribesmen and made it her goal to track the group down in order to enact her revenge. And eventually, she arrived at the entrance of the base."
...
...
"...A lot of time will have to pass before she learns to live for herself, right...? With enough therapy and rehabilitation, hopefully in the end she would be free from her brainwashing.
...Still, thank you for taking her in, Samir. If you didn't vouch for her, suggesting that idea..."
"...Then you would have surely done so yourself, Traveler. Mainly since her situation remind you of your own Twin's, isn't that right...?
...It might have taken a little more time and effort if I didn't "vouch" for her, but I am certain you would have found a way to take her in yourself, so there is no need to thank me.
...Besides, I might have officially "taken her in", but Jeht is the one who is helping her now. And knowing Jeht, sooner or later, she will definitely succeed in opening her new friend's heart."
...
...
And as for Amber and Collei...
...
"P-please, Venti, please do it!" , Amber was the next one to interrupt, as she glanced towards him from her spot by the still "possessed" Collei, her face deep red from crying and full of cuts, "E-even if it doesn't work, I...I will try anything...! A-anything to bring Collei back...!", She yelled out upon crying once more, before proceeding to jump on "Collei" and clutch tightly onto her, even as the vines started to cut through her uniform, "V-Venti, I will hold onto her...S-so plea...!"
T-this was quite enough remembering THAT!
...
...
...
But the situation between Sethos and Cyno truly seemed to be the..."Tamest" so far...
*If that's the case and considering how Cyno is, there is really no need for Sethos to worry so much.
"...Samir, can we visit Apep now...? Since she loves music, as the Traveler admitted, there's a chance we could become friends, right...?
And if not friends, then at least acquaintances that share an interest in music."
"Sure, I will take you there, Venti.
...And while you play her music, it would surely also help rid her of the remaining corruption."
This was his and Samir's small exchange after he gave advice to Sethos,
And not long after, the two gods soon left for the next destination of their "Desert Sightseeing":
A large and mysterious cavern in the northernmost part of the Desert of Hadramaveth, containing a glowing tunnel.
...
'It is said that a friend of King Deshret once built their court in a great cavern beneath the dunes.
Wenut served here as court officials, and flying serpents as companions. But today, both creatures have lost their noble wit and vigor.'
...
This description...
*It's...
...
...
Actually, why can he "read" those descriptions...?
*Similar to how the Traveler is able to do...
...
Was this something he could do from the very start or...?
*Did it even matter at the moment...?
...
-Before we met Apep, can you tell me a little more about her...? -He couldn't help but soon say, just as they entered the tunnel. -...No matter how things turned out, at some point, you two were friends, right...?
He soon asked the other god, who moments later stopped in his tracks in reply,
As Samir's face quickly shifted through different emotions, before stopping on a blank one...
...
-...Rather than friends, we were more like acquaintances. I did "scam" her during our contract, after all. -Samir finally answered, same way as his currently blank expression, his voice not giving away his feelings. -As for her story, I do know quite a bit, seeing as she shared it with me...-He admitted, before deeply sighing, as if to prepare himself. -...This tale starts many millennia ago, during what is now known as "the old world", the time when the Seven Sovereigns ruled the world. Apep was one of them, a powerful Dendro Elemental Dragon who contained an entire world inside herself, within which she birthed and protected the first and most ancient elemental lifeforms of Teyvat. That is, until everything changed when the Heavenly Principles arrived in Teyvat. They stole a portion of the Seven Sovereigns' elemental Authorities and remade the world to the way it is now: Fit for human life, yet unstable in more ways than one. -He started the retelling, looking and sounding quite serious now, before there were a few seconds of silence. -...Akin to a "Fool's Paradise", from what we know now. A world which will not survive for much longer on its own means...-He soon added, both his voice and expression quite melancholic now, before a small smile appeared on his face. -...Yet, there's still HOPE, isn't there...? Thanks to HER machinations, there is still a way to save this world's future. But as for actually arriving to that future...
After hearing Samir's explanation...
*One which he decided to think more about later,
Perhaps when the Traveler calls again and shares news with him...
...
Just as they did two days ago...
...
"Venti, remember what Paimon told you about Fontanian reproducing...?
...To tell you the truth, it sounded a little fishy, so I decided to look more into it. And then I found some very "interesting" things!
Apparently, when the Fontanians are about to die, they have to pray at 'the Fountain of Lucine' for their souls to be able to move to the afterlife. After which, their bodies disappear soon afterwards.
Now, this is when things get even more suspicious (and a little unsettling actually, as if something is very wrong): If a couple were to pray for a child after someone had already passed, instead of one child, they could get twins, triplets or even quadruplets!
...From what I learned about this before and what I learned just now, I have a suspicion about what might be going on here, but I have no proof. Hopefully, looking more into this and other "Fontaine weirdness" will get me some much needed answers."
...
...
From what the Traveler told him and from what he remembers hearing from Paimon,
It indeed looked like something was off about the way Fontanians reproduced and died...
*Things were definitely different 500 years ago, before the cataclysm, if he remembers things right...
...
So what changed back then and why...?
Why did it sound like the Fontanians were absorbed into the Fountain when they died...?
*And the way they were born, it sounded even more suspicious,
Especially since...
...
"...I still can't believe how in other nations children don't look exactly like one of their parents..."
The Late Charlotte's words during the Windlbume festival...
...
The Fontanian teen clearly felt weird, though he wasn't sure why...
*She looked like a human and talked like a human,
But there was something about her that felt otherworldly...
What he thought when he saw her back then...
...
"We would have loved to tell you what is going on with the Fontanians, Barbatos, but...
...It's complicated."
And the Winds' words right after that...
...
...
Something definitely happened in Fontaine during the Cataclysm.
*And whatever it was, it must have been really bad...
...
-...Last time when I showed her...Perhaps, this time will be different...-He heard Samir mumble nearby, as his fellow god looked both thoughtful and very serious.
Right, after telling him Apep's story, just as he asked him to,
It must be a little uncomfortable for Samir to meet with her now...
*Especially since his fellow god did seem to feel bad about "scamming" her in the past...
...
And they were now nearing the innermost part of "Apep's Resort"...
...
...
Apep, he could already see her from here...
*She was much bigger than even Durin 500 years ago,
This massive serpentine dragon that could have easily devoured Dragonspine whole...
...
Her large, bright eyes overflowing with Dendro, which he could clearly see from here,
Shining bright through the branch-like appendages going through her whole body...
*If not for those, her eyes would have surely been even brighter.
...
Then her body, which was once Emerald Green, now a dull brown akin to withered leaves,
As two glowing streaks that shine with the same light as her eyes, extended across its length akin to the branch-like appendages.
*But even with all those drastic changes to her appearance, true to her title of Dragon of Verdure, she still looked majestic...
...
If she allows him, he would have loved to take a photo of her graceful form.
*The one which tells you she's one of the Seven Sovereigns the second you see it.
...
...
Not simply a photo of her alone,
But if he could take one with her, Dvalin, Du...
"...Did getting reincarnated make him lose all reason...?", an unfamiliar voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts, one coming from the majestic dragon before him, "This is the second time he does such a...Bizarre thing!"
As Apep currently sounded and looked...Stumped...?
*But why would she suddenly be...?
...
...
Oh, right...
...
"...Oh, and recently he said he was going to leave again in order to "See an old...Friend…~"...While making that "Seductive Pose" of his. I have no idea what he is planning this time...
...Though, that suddenly reminds me...About him wanting to seduce a certain..."Person"...He is not really planning to do that, is he...?"
The Traveler asked in even more suspicion, as well as some weariness now as well,
With their words now reminding Venti of a certain "exchange" he heard before...
...
"Don't tell Paimon that you seduced your enemies wherever you could. This "Apep", you didn't seduce her too, did you...?"
"...Me seducing Apep...? Well, that's quite a weird accusation.
...Can she even be seduced…? If so…"
...
...
Was he actually considering it...?
...
...
...
It's about time he played Apep some music, just as he promised~
*Hopefully, that will make this situation less...Awkward.