Chapter 27: Wyrm

As night fell over Dragonspine, all five adventurers were in good cheer as they returned to the main camp. Not even the few hilichurls that came their way would put a damper on their spirits as Subaru would just eliminate them with a prick of Festering Desire. Thereby offloading their burdens onto Subaru, the group coasted through the mountain, easily braving the steadily warmer climate.

Subaru and Paimon were grinning as they felt the damp grass of the plains beneath their boots; yes, Paimon quite literally fell onto the ground to admire it. Cyrus was casually strolling behind them with his hands behind his head, Steven sauntered with his hands in his pockets wearing a slight frown from not having fought as much as he'd hoped, while Paul grinned as he returned his map to his pocket.

"Good job, everyone!" Cyrus called out to them. "Get some rest for today, won't ya? We've gotta do some o' the same tomorrow."

Steven shrugged. "Not like it's so difficult anymore. With Subaru here, I doubt we can lose to anything."

Subaru returned an uneasy smirk. "Y-Yeah, I know." The Festering Desire still worried him despite having used it so frequently, but the benefits still far outweighed the risks. He just had to swallow his concerns and use it as much as possible.

"Oh, you're back," Iris called out from before them, approaching the group. "You're here sooner than we expected."

Paul chuckled. "The path became a lot less treacherous when Subaru started using his spear. With that, I'm not surprised he defeated Stormterror."

Subaru shook his head. "I didn't defeat it, I only drove it away. Also, I didn't have this spear back then. I told you I just got it from Albedo today, right?"

"What spear?" Another voice called out to them, revealing Amber running up to them with Eula slowly tracing her steps.

"Oh, uhh, it's a gift from Albedo," Subaru muttered, feeling oddly bashful about telling it to Amber. "Don't touch it, it'll kill you if you do, but here."

Subaru revealed the spear, earning him a shiver from Amber and Eula. "What… what is that?" Eula muttered, horrified by the presence of the spear, while Amber leaned in with slight curiosity, only to flinch away upon noticing Eula's reaction.

"You should have seen it, really!" Steven cried out. "We were ambushed by a samachurl and its summons, and Subaru just took them all out with ease because of that spear there! Sure, it's a little scary how he can kill people with a scratch, but Subaru's got a handle on it!"

"Killing people?" Amber repeated, turning back to Subaru with horror dawning on her expression.

"Steven here meant hilichurls, but it might work for people too," Cyrus clarified, leaving Subaru to let out a sigh of relief. "Still, tha' spear was a great help. We would'a died if he hadn't used it."

"Really?" Iris muttered, then turned to Subaru and rested a hand on her chest. "Thank you for saving my little brother, then."

Subaru grimaced. "Yeah, it's still a little hard to see you as the older sister here."

Paimon chuckled. "Aww, Stinky Space is being shy!"

"Shut it, fairy loli!"

"Anyway, you're here on time!" Amber said. "Harris is making his signature goulash today! I've heard it's the best thing to eat after a cold day like what he had."

"Goulash? Never heard of that before… sure, why not? If I like it, I might ask him how to make it!"

Paimon shook her head. "Paimon doesn't think it'll be that easy…"

After greeting the rest of the crew and giving a high five to Joel, Subaru and the others sat down for dinner. They enjoyed the warm, spicy bowls of some kind of stew Subaru had never tried before. However, just as they finished up and cleaned their dishes, someone else approached them. "Good evening, Knights," he greeted Amber and Eula.

"Orban!" Amber called out. "Hey! Want some Goulash? You can head to Harris for that!"

"Ah, no, I've eaten already… this is about what you both came to me for earlier today." Orban cast a furtive glance at Subaru and Paimon, pursing his lips.

"Huh? Wait, is this something private?" Paimon wondered out loud.

"Oh no, it's fine!" Amber said, waving away Orban's concern. "Eula and I found something weird in Wyrmvest Valley earlier today right after defeating some Treasure Hoarders that snuck in. There was this weird fang with them, a huge one. Like, something you'll see on some huge monster than a hilichurl or something."

"I believe it came from Durin's bones that still remain in the valley," Eula continued. "However, it carried a substantial amount of power, something I believe would be better off studied to help us in this situation. As such, I've handed it to Stevens and Orban, a researcher and a blacksmith respectively, asking them to unite their skills and find what they can about the fang."

Subaru shook his head. "Getting two people from different fields to work on the same thing… must be tough, huh, Orban?"

Orban chuckled. "Hit the nail on the head there, kid. Anyway, I thought it'd be private, but if you're telling him, then I can continue." Orban folded his arms and lowered his head slightly. "About the fang… Stevens noted that its energy seems to permeate throughout Dragonspine as a whole. I don't know why we'd never noticed this before, but something about these energies seems different after the weather incident. We've studied the fang as much as we could, but we cannot get enough information from the single fang."

"So… you want more?" Amber asked.

"If it isn't too much trouble."

Eula sighed. "We found that one fang by chance. There is no guarantee we'd find more, nor if there are any in the first place."

"But we can keep a lookout, right?" Amber said, resting a hand on Eula's shoulder. "We won't be going out of our way to find any, but if we see one, we'll pick it up for you. Subaru, could you help us out with this too?"

"So… picking up fangs from the snow?" Subaru repeated. "Seems easy enough. I just don't know how to tell if they're the odd ones you've mentioned."

"Well, you can just throw away the ones that aren't right, right?" Paimon supplied, making Subaru shrug.

"Sure, I guess that works. No guarantee, right?"

"Right!" Amber nodded with a grin and turned back to Orban. "Well, you can tell Stevens we'll find you both some. But where is he?"

"Stevens?" Orban chuckled and pointed his thumb behind him. "Albedo stopped by, Stevens hasn't left his side yet."

"Huh? Albedo's here?" Paimon asked, rising higher into the air and looking around. "Oh, there he is!"

Looking at Paimon's pointed direction, sure enough, Albedo was talking to Stevens by the researchers' camp.

"Let's go talk to him!" Paimon turned to Subaru. "We can tell him about that spear of yours!"

Subaru nodded with a smile. "Yeah, it's good that he showed up. Amber, Eula, hope you two don't mind."

"No, go ahead!" Amber waves them off. "And if what I'm hearing about that spear is true, we may see more of that tomorrow after all."

"Tomorrow?" Subaru repeated.

"We will inform you of our plan later," Eula replied. "For now, do what you need to do."

Shrugging, Subaru stood up. "Alright then. Don't be too late, Paimon."

"Hey! Paimon's done eating already!"

"What kind of miracle is this?"

Chuckling at his quip, the two moved to the researchers' tent, where Stevens was showing some of his papers to Albedo.

"And these are some of your most influential works! Well, surely you know, already, but these were the most influential to me at least…"

"I see," said Albedo, rifling through the offered papers. However, he quickly turned to Subaru and Paimon once they entered the tent. "Ah. It's you two."

"Yo, Albedo!" Subaru waved at him. "Didn't know you'd be coming down here."

"I am conducting a study for the sake of personal understanding." Albedo curtly replied. "I wish to interact with everyone at this camp and understand what they think of me."

"What they think of you?" Paimon wondered. "How is that going to help?"

"It helps me gain an understanding of my direction. With this, I can keep track of my most influential work and gain clues on what to do next."

Subaru chuckled. "Or it could be like a five-year-old going through kindergarten asking others to be their friend. But if it's that important to you, then sure. Anything you need from us?"

"If you could tell me what you think of me, it would be appreciated."

"Hmm… Paimon thinks you're a weirdo!" Paimon cheerfully replied, earning her an accusing stare from Subaru. Paimon reeled away upon seeing that. "H-Hey! Don't look at Paimon like that, Stinky Space!"

Subaru sighed. "I don't think he needs that kind of honesty, Paimon."

"No, it is actually appreciated," Albedo replied, turning to Paimon once more. "Could you please elaborate, Paimon?"

"Elaborate? Um, uhh…" Paimon pressed her fingertips together. "Well… when we first met in Mondstadt, Paimon thought you were an awful guy who would say anything bad about Stinky Space here. But when we met you here, Paimon thought you were alright! You make Paimon so confused…"

Albedo hummed. "I see. And what about you, Stinky Space?"

"Wait, you're calling me that too?!" Subaru cried out, before standing up straight and shaking his head, not noticing how Albedo raised a brow. "Well, Paimon pretty much summed it up. Although, I think you're the kind of guy who takes risks for the sake of science. You almost killed me by giving me that spear, after all."

"Oh yeah, there's that too!" Paimon cried out. "Honestly, Albedo, you're such a jerk!"

Albedo frowned. "If I had gone that far, then why are you still speaking to me?"

"Well, it's not like we were hurt in the end, right?" Subaru said. "Besides, that spear sure came in clutch later. You said you wanted a report on the spear, right?"

"The… spear?" Albedo asked, finally noticing the subject of their discussion.

"Yeah! That purple spear you gave me. Don't tell me you forgot about it so quickly!" Subaru wanted to mention the name Festering Desire, but not only would Albedo not recognize it, but he would also be alarmed that Subaru knew such a thing.

Albedo nodded, dawning in understanding. "So you have it… then tell me. What is it like?"

"Well, it's really strong," Subaru grinned. "It kills hilichurls in a single cut! Like, this is a one-shot kill spear! Sure, I need to be careful with it near my teammates, but it's really strong. It's helping me handle my abilities a little better too!"

"Interesting… what about humans? Does it have the same effect?"

"Huh?" Subaru went a little pale at the thought. "Well, I've never had to kill humans with it… not that I'm okay with that."

Paimon gulped as well. "Yeah, that thought is kind of scary. Hilichurls are one thing, but using that spear on other humans can be…" Paimon shivered, retreating to hide behind Subaru.

"So you haven't used it on humans…" Albedo's eyes seemed to gleam. "Consider that your next test, then. There are many disposable humans to practice on within this space. There is no worry of running short."

Subaru frowned. "Look, man, I'm not okay with killing people. Send me against hilichurls, or even the samachurl we fought today, but not people."

Albedo's shoulders slumped. "That is a shame. May I see the spear?"

"Sure!" Subaru summoned the spear into his hand, revealing it to him. Albedo approached the head of the spear, making Subaru slowly back away to keep the tip from pricking him. However, Albedo remained unfazed. He leaned down to look at the jewel on the spearhead. "Yes, this is certainly… May I borrow it for the night? I will need to conduct further studies on it."

"Huh? Now?" Subaru shook his head. "But it's kind of late…"

"Paimon thought you couldn't touch the spear, Albedo?" Paimon questioned him. "How will you study it if you can't touch it?"

"I can't…? I see." Albedo stood up, looking at Subaru. "In that case, you may keep the spear for now. But I'd like to ask you to come with me tomorrow. There's a monster encampment that I know of which would be perfect to test the spear on. It would serve as a good test for your abilities with the spear."

Subaru grinned. "If you asked me that yesterday, I'd have been scared… but I'm totally ready now!" Returning his spear to his inventory, he gripped his bicep. "You can definitely rely on me to defeat those monsters!"

Albedo nodded, even though his expression never changed. "With a weapon like that, I am not surprised."

The rest of the night went as usual in the camp, save for Albedo approaching people and asking them what they thought of him for his experiment. The entire camp had a good night's rest and as the sun rose, so did Eula. Amber got tired rather easily in the cold, which was why Eula had to take her morning mountain run by herself.

As she stretched, she thought of how odd it was for Albedo of all people to ask them such questions the previous night. She'd never heard of a research topic into what other people thought of oneself. If she hadn't known any better, she'd have thought it was a means of fishing for information discreetly. However, Albedo had no reason to do so, being the head of the Investigation Department of the Knights of Favonius.

She skipped over the broken bridge with ease and jogged through the snow. The softness of the snow was such a novelty the first time she'd run there, but she soon came to admire the difficulty of the run.

However, in the distance, she could make out a familiar head of yellow hair and blue clothes. Albedo was walking away from the camp, probably headed back to his quarters. However, Eula could barely notice something slung over his shoulder. Something small and clothed, with a head of brown hair.

She immediately sprinted at Albedo and drew her sword.

"Put the boy down!" She cried, making Albedo turn around in alarm and revolt at the sight of her. In a single motion, he threw the boy down the slope of the hill they were on and he charged the other way.

Eula immediately dove after the child instead, not knowing what Albedo was doing with him. Using her Cryo Vision, as soon as she caught the boy, she slammed her frost-encased sword against the hill and slowed them to a stop. Gaining traction in the loose snow with her Vision, she managed to climb back up to the peak with who she confirmed to be Joel on her shoulders.

Reaching the top, she cursed once she found no trace of anyone there. Impossibly, there were no tracks left behind by Albedo. She chose to set Joel on the snow instead, tapping his cheek in hopes of waking him up.

"Mm…" Joel muttered mid-slumber. "Albedo… blue…"

Blue? The boy must have been talking about Albedo's clothes, then. Poor child, having to dream about his recent kidnapping. Eula hoisted the still-sleeping boy onto her shoulder and made to return to the camp, knowing that the boy's safety took priority over the completion of her run.

And when she got her hands on Albedo, she'd have a few choice words to deliver.

Natsuki Subaru admired the tarp ceiling of the tent he was resting in. He'd been awake for a while, he was just lying down to think. There wasn't much to do in the wee mornings while waiting for breakfast to get ready. Next to him, Paimon was still snoozing over her mini pillow. Chuckling at the sight of her mumbling about sticky honey roast again, Subaru finally got up and got ready to face the day before him. Starting with some radio calisthenics would be great, especially if he could get the rest of the camp in on it as well. Especially Joel, that poor kid had a lot on his plate already.

Upon leaving the tent, however, he immediately noticed a small crowd forming at the center of the camp next to one of the tents. Eula was talking to some of the people who were already awake, while all the recipients of her words were sporting frowns.

"What's going on?" Subaru approached the group and asked.

"Albedo is up to something," Eula suddenly declared, making a shiver run through Subaru's spine. "I just caught him smuggling Joel into the mountain. I don't know what his intentions were, but the boy was knocked out by him. To escape, he threw Joel off a cliff."

"Huh?!" Subaru stepped away, mouth agape. "Is Joel okay?!"

"He's currently being looked after by Iris. Thankfully, I caught him in time; there should be no severe consequences to Albedo's folly."

"But… why would he do that?" Subaru wondered. "Albedo was never that kind of guy. I don't think so, at least."

"We have no choice but to find out. We will have to visit his camp and see what we can find."

"Won't he be there? Why don't we ask him?"

Eula raised a brow. "Would he face the consequences of his actions? No, after what he did with Joel, I surmise he'd run away like a coward. We will not find him in his camp, that is for sure."

"Then… if we meet him on our way?"

Eula clenched her fist. "Then we will have to take him down and interrogate him."

Breakfast was rather quiet for the whole camp, as everyone was fresh off the shock of what had just happened. As such, it became a quick matter, leaving more than enough time for a strategy meeting between the two adventuring groups.

"Alright, let's get this meetin' started." Cyrus declared. "And for those who dunno them already, these're Amber and Eula, Knights of Mondstadt. They're with Bennett, I'm sure ya know of him already."

"Hey, guys!" Bennett cheered. "Sorry, I got caught in a trap yesterday, but I'm here now!"

Paul chuckled. "Sounds like Bennett to get caught in a trap right after Dragonspine went through its worst disaster."

If that was meant to be offensive, Bennett certainly didn't take it as such, seeing the grin on his face. "Ehehe… yeah, I know my luck is bad."

"Paimon certainly knows that!" Paimon cried out from over Subaru. "Paimon still remembers that day Stinky Space entered your room."

"Oh yeah, I found another Ruin core after that, don't worry!" Bennett said, making Subaru sigh a breath of relief. "Although… that one slipped from my fingers and fell off a cliff."

Subaru balled at the admission. "Seriously, man, do you never catch a break?!" Bennett sheepishly grinned.

"Anyway, the reason we're meeting is that we want to work with you this time," Amber said, swiftly changing the topic. "After we heard what Subaru was capable of, we want in on that action!"

Subaru couldn't stop the grin from appearing on his face. Sure enough, he was entering his popular phase with that spear.

"It's not only that," Stevens the researcher supplied. "I had heard from Albedo yesterday that he suspects the final shard to be in the Entombed City Outskirts."

A moment of silence came to be once they heard Albedo's name.

"T-This is before I heard what he did!" Stevens immediately added. "I-I don't know if he's leading us into a trap or something, but this is the only information we've got right now! My sensors can't pick up the location of the last shard with how far it is, only Albedo's can do that!"

"Despite what he's done, we must admit that Albedo has directed us fairly so far," Paul said. "Yes, this last one could be a trap, but if we're all going together…"

"We can beat the shit out of any trap they send our way!" Steven slammed his fist into his palm. "Especially with Subaru around, it'll be a breeze for sure!"

Subaru bowed his head at the group. "I'll need your help too, for sure. You'll get your fair share of combat, Steven."

Steven grinned at him, flashing him a thumbs up.

"The outskirts are accessible only after you pass through Wyrmvest Valley, which is where we are headed," Eula said. "Seeing how we're traveling in the same direction, it would not be an issue for us to team up."

"We can even stop by Albedo's camp on the way," Amber's perpetual smirk waned. "We can find out why he did such a thing."

"Umm.. how is Joel now?" Paimon asked, leaning into Subaru.

"Last I heard, he's still asleep," Subaru replied to her. "But he's getting better. Iris is still watching over him."

"That's so scary though…" Paimon shivered. "Why would Albedo do such a thing?"

Subaru sighed. "That's the question on everyone's mind. We have to find out."

"Mhm! Paimon will help!"

Subaru tugged in his orange scarf as he looked at the rest of the team. He, Paimon, Cyrus, Steven, and Paul were part of the group as always, but now with the addition of Amber, Eula, and Bennett. With that kind of force, especially with Subaru's spear, he imagined they'd be hard-pressed to lose so easily.

With the combination of Steven, Amber, and Bennett heating the group up and with Subaru using Invisible Providence and the Festering Desire to quickly take out incoming hilichurls, the group easily made it through the snow. However, with each and every kill Subaru claimed, he kept on feeling uneasy for some reason. Paimon remained perched on his shoulder sharing his scarf, so she was the only one who could feel him shiver after tugging the spear out of a hilichurl quickly turning to dust.

"Are you feeling cold, Stinky Space?"

Subaru found himself forcing a smile on his face as he patted Paimon on the head, ignoring her grumbles. "No, I'm good. Don't worry."

Paimon grunted once Subaru let go of her head but furrowed further into his scarf. "If you're sure…"

"Alright, everyone, get ready," Cyrus cracked his knuckles. "Our first stop is right 'ere."

The rest of the group nodded. They faced their last hilichurls right after crossing the broken bridge with their gliders, so a little distance down the road would bring them to one of their spots. Albedo's Camp. Subaru took a deep breath, not knowing what to expect from a genius alchemist turned rogue. Sure, they faced far too many hilichurls to be considered normal on the way there, maybe that was one of the traps Albedo set on the way to his camp? Would there be more?

Eula marched to the lead and turned back to the rest of the group, resting a finger over her lips. Catching her meaning, the group tiptoed over the light snow, being ready for anything past the amber glow of Albedo's camp. Nothing was audible from the cave itself, which set everyone's nerves on overdrive. Shushing to the group again, Eula craned towards the opening of the cave and peeked through.

To everyone's surprise, she immediately stepped out into the open and summoned her sword, facing whatever was in the camp. "Albedo! Explain yourself!"

The rest of the group moved into view to see Albedo calmly sitting in the camp, easel in his spare hand while painting something on a canvas. Albedo himself was frozen upon seeing them.

"Looking at your expressions… you suspect me of some kind of crime?" Albedo came to realize, slowly setting his easel to the side and setting his brush into a nearby glass. Standing up, he raised his arms in surrender. "I don't know what you're accusing me of, but I do wish we could discuss this first."

"There's nothing to discuss!" Eula cried out, walking up to him while keeping her sword pointed until it reached his throat. "I saw you threaten Joel's life by throwing him off a cliff today morning! Don't tell me you forgot so easily; you scum!"

Albedo remained inexpressive even as the tip of Eula's sword pricked his diamond-marked neck. "Could you elaborate? Where did you see this?"

"Just outside of the camp," Cyrus replied for her, folding his arms. "We've all heard the story. Joel is still unconscious because of you."

"I have had no reason to move to the main camp today morning," Albedo declared. "Why would you suspect me?"

"I know what I saw!" Eula cried out, tensing her forearm, but not moving her sword any further ahead.

"Um, Paimon and Stinky Space were talking with you last night," Paimon said, emerging from under Subaru's scarf. "You were talking to everyone there for some experiment of yours. You could have just left the camp to come back here, right?"

Albedo frowned. " I was there in the main camp last night? Can I ask what experiment I was conducting?"

Subaru raised a brow. "Don't you remember? You said it's a study of how people saw you with your behavior."

"Of how people see me… or of how to be me?" Albedo muttered, still not moving away from Eula's sword point. "What kind of information had you given him?"

"We told you a bunch of stuff," Subaru replied, frowning at how weird the situation was turning out to be. "Stevens gave you a bunch of your best papers, Paimon here was pretty frank with you in your behavior, and I spoke to you about the spear you gave me yesterday. Sorry, but what is this about?"

Albedo raised his eyes in alarm. "You told him about the spear?!"

Subaru tilted his head. "Yeah… it was you, after all."

"It wasn't," Albedo suddenly declared. "You claim I was in the main camp yesterday; no. I was here, fixing my sensors that were destroyed after this place was raided. You may check the table to find my toolkit still there. I had finished fixing it last night but I needed to bring it out again for a few more tweaks while finding the location of the next shard."

Looking to the side, there certainly was an open toolbox next to some kind of device none of them knew but had seen before in Stevens's tent.

"That doesn't prove anything," Eula muttered, turning back to Albedo while tightening the grip on her sword against his neck. "You could have just come back here and set this up to throw us off. And if you claim so, how did every single one of us see you in the main camp yesterday?!"

"That is my next point," Albedo remained calm under Eula's pressure. "That person you saw… even though he wore my face, he wasn't me. He was some kind of imposter."

"Such a bold and far-fetched claim only proves you guilty, Albedo," Eula insisted. "Tell us the truth. Why did you nearly kill that boy?!"

"Um, Eula…?" Amber muttered from nearby. "I think he has a point."

Eula turned back to Amber to listen to her.

"When I spoke with Albedo yesterday, he seemed a lot more… serious. Like, I was making my standard jokes and I expected Albedo to give me that small smile he always does, but yesterday he only moved on to the next person! Albedo never shrugged me off like that before. Sure, I just thought he was having a bad day, but maybe if this is the case…"

Eula hissed and turned back to Albedo. "I will be keeping my eye on you."

"I would advise that," Albedo replied, somehow keeping any snark out of his tone. "If this imposter could disguise himself as me, then you have all the reason to worry about me."

Pursing her lip, Eula finally recalled her sword into her inventory. Albedo's shoulders sunk in; Subaru was surprised he was tense the whole time under Eula's threat. Subaru paid attention to how Albedo rubbed his throat, lightly spreading his blood across his now better-outlined diamond-shaped mark. Albedo looked and his fingers and frowned, then moved to a nearby wall, opened a sink, and washed his hands and neck.

"So… we've got an imposter Albedo now," Subaru declared, scratching his head. "There's no such thing as normal around here, huh?"

Steven chuckled. "Says the one with the instant kill spear."

"Is that all I am now?!"

Albedo shook his head. "Speaking of the spear…" he began. "Subaru. What is this I hear about 'instant kill'?"

Subaru frowned in confusion for a second but then nodded in understanding. "Right, I was speaking to the imposter yesterday. The spear… it kills hilichurls upon contact."

"Even if it's a light graze?"

"Yes."

"I see… and how many did it kill so far?"

"I didn't really keep track… we fought a samachurl that could summon other hilichurls to help it. I had to defeat all of them. But one thing I can say is that one of my 'Vision's abilities is amplified by it."

Albedo smiled at the mention of Subaru's faux Vision. "Amplified how?"

"Its main ability is to let me summon invisible arms. With this spear, I can create more of those arms without the usual feeling of loss that always comes with it."

Albedo frowned. "What kind of loss did you experience before?"

"I can't really put it into words… it was like my hold over something slipped every time I used it. But that's no longer an issue, though! With this spear, it's all good now."

"Um, Subaru…" Amber muttered. "Knowing your origins in the Abyss Order, that's kinda scary…"

Subaru winced at the connection. He'd never thought of it like that. Thankfully, her fears wouldn't come to be as he was never a member of the Abyss. But after what Venti said… maybe there was something to fear there?

"I don't know, but in any case, I'm not feeling that anymore," Subaru still responded with a beaming smile. "Seems like this spear is helping me then, right?"

"Ahaha, yeah…" Despite her laughter, Amber still seemed to be nervous about what Subaru just mentioned. For some reason, Eula patted her shoulder and gave her a reassuring nod.

"Understood," Albedo concluded. "In any case, please keep using the spear for now. However, I would advise caution for a short while. I'm sure you are not comfortable with killing other humans?"

Subaru chuckled. "You're right about that, but you're showing one huge difference between you and that imposter. The imposter suggested I kill humans right away."

"It would seem this imposter has a long way to go to mimic me, then," Albedo jibed. "But what I'm trying to say is that the next shard has been traced to the Entombed City outskirts. To get there, you would have to – "

" - cross through Wyrmvest Valley, we know already," Paul reassured him. Upon seeing Albedo's head tilt, he continued. "The imposter definitely gave us the right info, then. Somehow that thing knew this already and told us. Maybe it's setting up a trap of some sort there?"

"The fact that the imposter knew the location without the sensors means that it either has an incredible lay of the land or it personally watched the shards travel to their rest points," Albedo surmised. "Since we do not know its origins, either option would be possible."

"Should we be concerned about the imposter?" Eula asked. "I was considering going back to the camp to protect Joel from further harm."

"No need, I am sure the imposter already knows its folly now," Albedo waved at her. "It seeks to replace me, so I am its only target. Anyone else is secondary. I do believe it won't go back to make another attempt at Joel's life.

"However, what I've been trying to say is that Wyrmvest Valley is currently occupied by Fatui Agents."

"Fatui?" Subaru repeated, rapidly remembering how the Fatui were currently seeking to kill him.

"Yes, you have reason to be wary, Subaru," Albedo confirmed. "Their methods are tricky and they are known to accomplish several objectives at a time. That being said, I don't think they're here for you. I have good reason to believe their experiments on Durin's corpse were the root cause of the recent weather incident here. Nothing clinical so far, only assumptions."

"If it was the Fatui…" Cyrus grumbled. "Do those folk know anythin' other than causin' disaster? I've lost so many good adventurers because o' that incident!"

"Yeah… that is a really scary thought…" Bennett muttered as well.

"Once again, it is only a theory. I haven't gathered enough evidence to support the claim so far," Albedo clarified. "I also believe this imposter took advantage of that situation to raid my camp and steal my papers to fulfill its wish of replacing me."

"So this imposter was the one who stole from you?" Eula clarified. "That… makes more sense than I'd have thought."

"This doesn't change anything, though!" Amber cried out. "Our job is to find those papers of yours, right? We can only do that by seeing what this imposter has in store for us. And since it's the adventurers' job to release that last shard, it looks like we're still headed to the same destination. We just need to avoid the Fatui or, at worst, fight through them. I'm sure Subaru could still fight with those invisible arms, right?"

"Well, yes, but it won't be as effective as the spear."

"That's okay!" Amber smiled. "Seeing how you don't want to kill people reassures me that you'll be fine, you know?

"Just what kind of image do you have of me?!" Subaru exclaimed, but then let out a light chuckle. Amber grinned back at him as well.

With Albedo's reassurance that he was strong enough to look after the camp on his own, the rest of the group spent some time within the camp to make lunch. While eating, Paul and Bennett worked together on the maps, Bennett giving him further insight into the changes in Wyrmvest Valley after the snowstorm. In their venture, Amber and Bennett had melted through a usable path within the Valley that would make it far easier for them to move through. However, Steven countered that by saying that Fatui may have noticed the path and would be occupying it, meaning their work would have gone to waste if they wanted to maintain discretion. Pushing through grumbles from both Bennett and Amber and a similarly chaste expression from Eula, Bennett, and Paul set out a new path for them to follow.

Once they were done, the group finally set off, each member hoping that Albedo would be alright. Bennett chuckled as he jogged to the head of the group.

"Wow, I don't think my bad luck's been this okay in a while!" He chuckled.

"Oi, Bennett…" Subaru muttered, warily turning to him. "Don't raise that flag, man!"

However, Bennett went on. "I don't think we'll get any of my bad luck toda-"

A rumble suddenly filled the crossing they were upon. The Adventurers and Knights immediately braced themselves, spread-eagling to maintain balance from the tremors below. As soon as the land stilled, they chanced a look at each other before yet another vicious tremor filled the cliff. Subaru shook as he watched snow fall from the edge of the cliff.

"Aw, man…" Bennett quivered. "This is-"

"You!"

At Eula's sudden cry, the group turned around to see another group with them. Albedo stood there, only alongside a group of people wearing differently colored winter wear and weapons on their backs while wearing full-face covering masks.

"You would collude with the Fatui, Albedo?!"

Subaru bristled at the mention; it became clear that the other men there were Fatui Agents. However, the situation seemed different from what Eula was thinking.

"I think that's the imposter that Albedo mentioned, Eula," Subaru realized, making Eula turn wide-eyed.

"As expected of Rhinedottir's creation," the imposter spoke, turning to the camp behind them with a haughty smirk. "Unfortunately, I would have to accrue your deaths to accidental circumstances once I return to the Knights of Favonius." The imposter nodded a the Fatui next to him. "You may proceed."

A loud boom filled their eardrums and a shockwave fired through their bodies, leaving the group dazed as they suddenly lost their footing. Subaru felt his eyes roll into his head from the shockwave, rendering him unconscious before the fall. The cliff beneath them collapsed, sending the group down into the depths below.

"Subaru! Subaru, wake up!"

Despite using his name, that shrill voice could only belong to one person.

"No 'Stinky Space' this time?" Subaru muttered, rubbing his head only to wince as something powdery entered his eyes. "Did you catch the plate number of that truck that hit me?"

"What are you talking about?! We fell off a cliff, Subaru!"

Subaru immediately shot up, all of it hitting him at once, only to regret it as a headache threatened to split his head open. Groaning, Subaru laid back on the snow.

"Slowly, slowly…" Paimon muttered, gently rubbing Subaru's forehead.

After a few moments, Subaru's headache subsided enough for him to safely stand up. He took the chance to appraise the area. Feeling the ground below them, Subaru was relieved to feel a thick layer of snow padding their descent. However, looking around he was crestfallen to find that he didn't recognize their surroundings. All around them were bones that curved inwards, like a giant's ribcage. Ignoring the sense of being lost, Subaru stood up to proceed to his next thought.

"The others?"

"Paimon didn't see them!" She sank low in despair. "Everything was so blurry… all that snow… Paimon was just trying to go after you, Subaru!"

Subaru couldn't help his smile. "Thanks for having my back, then."

"Mm! Paimon will always be here!"

Chuckling and feeling a little better, Subaru finally looked around some more. "Still, we need to find them. With that imposter back there alongside the Fatui, I'm afraid of what they'd do to Albedo."

"A-Albedo can take care of himself! Paimon is sure of it!"

Still, Subaru couldn't help but worry. The Fatui were waiting for them. They set a trap for them that worked like a charm. At the moment, everything was going in their enemies' favor.

"Then I guess it's time we turn the situation on their heads!" Subaru cried out, summoning the Festering Desire. "At least I can threaten those people with this spear, especially once I use Providence with it."

"Mhm! Paimon can agree to that!"

Wanting to stay out of sight, Subaru moved to the edge of the valley they were in. Looking at the cliff walls on either side and the giant skeleton in the middle once again led him to a terrifying conclusion: they were in Wyrmvest Valley. He'd already heard of how that place held the remains of Durin, which meant the bones around them belonged to a dragon that was vanquished by Dvalin, aka Stormterror. The sight of those giant bones unnerved him once he unearthed that truth, as Stormterror was an enemy that could do something as powerful as leave such a thing behind.

As the two ran alongside the walls, Subaru immediately made out some figures in the distance. Warily getting closer, Subaru immediately fell to the ground once he saw their parkas and masks.

"More Fatui," Paimon muttered, hiding over the snow with Subaru. "What do they want?"

"I don't know," Subaru confessed. "But if they are working with that imposter, then maybe their goals align somehow."

"What did Albedo say… oh yeah! Hmhm…" Paimon deepened her voice to make the worst Albedo impression Subaru had ever heard. "The Fatui are known to accomplish several objectives at once… or something like that!"

"Don't… don't try mimicking people again, Paimon. But yes, you have a point. I don't think they'll be here just for that imposter, after all."

"Okay then… what do we do?"

"First and foremost, we need to find the others. Once we regroup, we can decide what to do after that."

"Any idea where they are, then?"

Subaru stayed silent for a while but then stood up.

"Hey!" Paimon screeched out. "They'll see us!"

"So will the others," Subaru declared, planting the butt end of his spear in the snow. "The best way to get a group together? Be the loudest person in the room. If the others are still looking for us, they'll join in once they see the commotion we're causing."

"Oh yeah! But… can you stay alive for that long?"

Subaru grinned at his spear. "I'd like to think so nowadays."

Paimon rose into the air as well, floating behind Subaru as he approached the group of Fatui. As soon as the members noticed him, he called out to them. "Oi! Who gave you the right to drop us down a cliff like that?!"

The Fatui seemed to remain wary upon seeing him, however, they parted for another person to move closer to them. While this person didn't seem as armed as the others, he still wore a red-and-black sweater with a similar grey eye mask with a red line running down its left eye. The blonde man with a chin goatee smirked upon seeing him.

"We've heard a lot about you, Natsuki Subaru," the man decreed. "And to think you would be the one to wield the Festering Desire… what luck! By defeating you, we can achieve two objectives! I can already see my promotion on the horizon…"

"Don't think it'll be so easy, you fool!" Subaru haughtily pointed the spear at them. "State your name before we engage in battle!"

"Umm… what are you doing, Subaru?"

"Presentation!" Subaru whispered to his flying partner, only to immediately save face and turn against the Fatui.

Meanwhile, chuckles filled the Fatui gang at Subaru's antics, and once the leader held his hand against them, they unanimously stopped. The man turned back to Subaru with a smile. "Why, thank you for asking! My name is Vadim: researcher extraordinaire, all in the name of the Tsaritsa. And your reputation precedes you, Natsuki Subaru. Might I say you are awful for business?"

"Hey! You're the ones who try to bleed Infection victims dry!" Subaru cried out in return, making sure to raise his voice as high as possible while pointing his spear at them. "I could have actually charged some money for my services if it weren't for you!"

Paimon raised a brow. "Didn't Jean say – "

"She said nothing, it's all their fault! All of those people you're exploiting… truly heartless! Do you Fatui have no sense of shame?!" It took everything in Subaru to not let himself laugh at his ridiculously chuuni act.

Vadim only chuckled. "Unfortunately, your reputation is only secondary to what else I see here. That spear you hold, the Festering Desire… that is my life's work. I will not accept it in the hands of some fool without a Delusion."

"The Festering Desire… is your work?" All humor left him as Subaru looked down at the one-shot kill spear in his hand, just wondering how awful it would have been if it were with the Fatui. "What is…"

"As much as I would love to entertain further questions, we are, unfortunately, on the clock. Hand over the spear."

Subaru held onto the spear a little tighter. "It kills anyone it touches, even you."

Vadim only grinned. "I created it. I know just who it will kill, and I am not one of them."

Subaru still stood his ground, holding the spear with both hands against the group.

"So be it." Vadim nodded behind him and one more Fatui Agent emerged from the group. Someone with brown furs and a staff of some kind. With a grunt, the Agent slammed his staff onto the ground, suddenly forming a shield around the group. Feeling a tug, Subaru immediately held onto the spear that was trying to escape from his hand for some reason. A gunshot fired, blasting Subaru's grip over the spear away and sending it away. Still grateful that the gunshot didn't do anything more than char his fingers, Subaru called out Invisible Providence and stopped the spear in its tracks. With other hands, he struck against the shield formed and shattered it with ease while he pulled the spear back to himself.

To his fear, the Fatui weren't fazed by the shattering of the shield. Instead, another crew of Agents scrambled ahead to reach him. Subaru once again braced the spear to his side, only getting ready to run away instead. He wasn't ready to take human lives with the spear, after all.

However, just as a large man in a blue sweater reached him and aimed his gun at him, a fiery arrow pierced through the gun's barrel, bursting it in a wave of frost covering the man completely, sending Subaru to stumble onto his back.

"Subaru!" Amber called out to him with Paimon waving to him over her shoulder. "Let's go!"

Nodding, Subaru scrambled up to a stand and ran after Amber, briefly noting that Eula wordlessly stood in his stead to keep the Fatui at bay.

"You won't get far!" Vadim called out from behind them. "We have more Agents up ahead! They will catch you and we will fulfil our objectives!"

"That's bad… that's bad…" Amber hissed as they sprinted away. "I can't fight the Fatui so easily, we need some way to avoid them! And Subaru, what were you thinking, facing them like that?!"

"I was trying to attract you all!" Subaru confessed. "And why was Paimon with you?"

"Paimon ran away when the fighting started! Paimon thought she'd be useful finding the others instead and pointing them to you!"

"Why didn't you suggest that earlier, you damn pixie loli?!"

"Hey! You're the one with the brains here!"

"Look, can we just find a way out of here?!" Amber cried out, calling their attention to her. "… thank you. We can't be detected by the Fatui, alright? I don't think I can fight them all off."

"Uhh… Paimon thinks it's a little too late for that."

The sound of clicking guns came from where Paimon was looking, making the other two look to see more Fatui with weapons standing across them.

"And that's our path to the outskirts…" Amber cursed, immediately nocking an arrow onto her summoned bow. "Run! I'll hold them off!"

Before Subaru could say anything, Amber fired an arrow at the group, only for it to uselessly deflect against the Geo Shield formed by one of their members. Another shot of Pyro shot out from within the shield, immediately piercing Amber's shoulder. Amber cried in agony as she clutched her cauterized shoulder, wincing as she looked up at them.

Subaru immediately pulled out his spear and charged into the shield, ignoring Paimon's cry of worry. Subaru immediately shot out waves of Providence, crashing through the shield and immediately cutting through the Geo Fatui Agent in the center.

The Agent staggered in place from what turned out to be a light scratch that managed to draw blood despite their thick fur armor, and yet he only stood tall against Subaru yet again.

"It doesn't kill…" Subaru realized, immediately bracing his pose yet again. The rest of the Fatui Agents fired their guns at him, only for him to shield waves of fire, frost, and water with his Invisible Providence arms. If one could see them, one would only see a swarm of black arms flooding around Subaru's body, barely managing to swat away incoming attacks.

However, Subaru could see those arms. With all that black filling his vision, Subaru found himself fixed in darkness. And yet, there was safety there. He knew the arms would take care of all his troubles, so he just closed his eyes and embraced the darkness around him.

"… Subaru!"

A faint whisper of Paimon's cry managed to reach him through the wave of black. Thinking it was a sign that the Fatui had retreated, Subaru finally retracted the arms, only to find a very different sight than what he'd expected.

The white snow beneath him was marred red. There were bits and pieces of people and fur scattered across the snowy plain, each leaking the same crimson shade onto the snow. Subaru gasped at the sight of the massacre before him. He looked down to see the evidence of who did such a thing: the once purple now bloodstained Festering Desire glowing almost contentedly. A moment too late, Subaru discovered that while he was within that mask of Providence, he didn't have his spear in his actual hands. No, the spear was used to attack the entire time. Even upon finally picking up the spear, he could feel how happy it felt after having killed so many people.

It was him. Natsuki Subaru brutally murdered every single Fatui Agent that ambushed them.

Subaru looked to the side to find Amber and Paimon gawking at him, stricken by what he'd just done.

"This… T-This isn't…" Subaru stammered, stumbling away from their accusing gazes. Using the Festering Desire as support, Subaru found himself scampering away from the two as fast as he could go, ignoring any cry of alarm from the two.

As his feet rolled against the snow, he felt the weight of every person he'd just killed on his shoulders. He couldn't associate such a thing to the spear anymore. It was him. Natsuki Subaru killed those people because it was the easy way out.

Subaru clawed through a gap in the valley only to frantically chew at his nails. Those hands that spilled so much blood… Subaru couldn't even feel how his teeth pierced skin and splashed more blood into his mouth. All he could see was red. Feeling as though he was finally going psychotic, Subaru ignored the metallic tang in his mouth and held himself against his spear.

Taking the moment to check where he ended up, he was surprised. The most surprising thing was that it was warm. The freezing cold of Dragonspine had not reached where Subaru currently rested. With a little more bearing, Subaru could also tell that the red surrounding him was not from any kind of psychosis, but rather because the cave itself was illuminated by a red glow.

But what was most present was the sound.

"lub-Dub… lub-Dub…"

Looking at the end of the cave, Subaru froze upon seeing a large crimson heart pumping nothing. Purple lines surrounded the heart, resembling veins in those classic diagrams where veins were blue. In his hand, the Festering Desire made its Desire known. Subaru could not find anything left inside him to disagree.

Teeth jittering despite the warmth, Subaru limped closer to the heart. Holding up the spear, he rested the blade onto the pumping flesh, the point only pushing through the mass without piercing so far. The heart seemed to pump faster, as if aware of its fate.

"Subaru! There you are!"

Without wasting another moment, Subaru drove the spear into the heart. To his surprise, no blood came out. However, the heart deflated like a popped balloon. Purple miasma emanated from the heart and was pulled in by the spear, making it even stronger than Subaru could even imagine. So strong that even he couldn't handle it anymore.

"Why…" Subaru muttered, pulling at his hair with his spare hand. "Why? Why? Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?!"

"Stop, Subaru!" Paimon appeared next to him and pulled his hand away from his ripped hair, sending him stumbling away from the two yet again. However, upon looking at him again, Amber and Paimon gasped.

"Hahaha!" Subaru roared in laughter, hugging the Festering Desire close. "To think to think to think to think! Salvation… was so close at hand…"

Something tremored from within him. An eternal unrest. A long-sustained guilt. His Invisible Hand. His utter contempt for himself and his Sloth.

"My brain…" Subaru gripped his head despite maniacally cackling. "It trembles…"

The cave around them rumbled. The red glow illuminating the cave vanished once Subaru had struck the heart, and for some reason, the cave could no longer sustain itself because of it.

"Subaru, we need to get out!" Amber called out in alarm, inching closer to him. "I know you're hurt, but it's okay! You just had to do what you had to!"

"What he had to…? No, he has all the choice in the world." Subaru stood up straight and looked at Amber, making her shiver and back away at how wrong his expression seemed. "How Slothful of you, Natsuki Subaru. You are blessed with love, and you squander it all in such a way."

"Subaru!" Paimon screeched, tugging at Subaru's shirt. "Come back to us already!"

Looking down at Paimon, Subaru grinned. "Unseen Hand."

As the walls began to collapse, Amber and Paimon were forced onto the ground by some unseen force. Amber groaned at the weight of the invisible hand on her back, craning her neck up to see Subaru leaning over her.

"You seem to mistake me for my former self, so let me reintroduce myself to you." Subaru pulled his feet together and bent down in short, jerky motions.

"I am the Archbishop of the Witch's Cult representing Sloth…"

Subaru slowly stood back up revealing his wide grin as he trapped his best friends to die.

"… Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti. Yes!"

The entire cave collapsed over their heads, and Petelgeuse allowed every single one of them to be crushed by the rubble.

A/N: And here we have the core feature of Arc 3. Even before I started writing this story, I knew I needed a moment when Subaru's old ghosts come back to haunt him in some way other than Rem. After everything Sirius said about Subaru being Petelgeuse in Arc 5 of the WN, I suspected he was just hiding inside Subaru the whole time. Once I decided to use Dragonspine for Arc 3, I realized that the influence of the Festering Desire would be the greatest personification of Sloth that would trigger Petelgeuse's awakening.

Also, we're finally seeing the convergence of all the quests I'd mentioned before. Albedo's imposter - Fellflower is what I call him - is here and is playing a crucial role in the story. Might I say how odd it was for Fellflower to kidnap Joel out of the blue in the OG quest? Here, I changed it to Joel having seen Fellflower shifting forms. Outside of Shadows amidst Snowstorms, we've even got mention of the Fangs and the Fatui. And yes, Subaru is finally meeting the Fatui for the first time. Now, while I don't know the true origins of the Festering Desire, what I got from the wiki was that it was built with Durin's remains. The only group I would think would do such a thing is the Fatui, so I turned Vadim into a mad scientist that takes a little too much after Dottore.

Uploading this chapter a day early because I'll be busy tomorrow. Sure, I could upload on 2nd instead, but I thought this'd be better appreciated.

Also, Re Teyvat chapter instead of Red Star. With Red Star being just fighting and nothing else at the moment, it's drawing quite a bit on my patience to carry through with it. In any case, expect it for next month.

Speaking of other stories, Persona XX did just as well as I thought it would. A whole month since I uploaded it and not even a single favorite or follow on FF and 3 kudos on AO3. The whole reason why I set the 100 limit for the next chapter in that is because I knew this would happen. It's a mostly original story, something people don't want to see in a fanfiction site. So, I wasn't really surprised by the turnout. Such a shame. I really enjoyed writing that. Maybe on a whim, I'll write it for myself some day, even though I won't upload new chapters for PXX any more.

In this month, I woke up one fine Saturday morning and found a comment on AO3 with a Reddit link attached. Opening it sent literal shivers down my spine. Ladies and Gents, we've got fanart.

I've said it to him before and I'll say it again, thank you, u/Json25 for making that artwork. With his permission, I've also put it as the cover art for this story on FF. Please take the time to check out his other work if you can.

Genshin is now in 5.0. I am playing through the story quest even though I've quit the rest of the game. It's honestly ridiculous to think that Genshin is at its second last region. And here lies Re Teyvat, stuck within Dragonspine with the third arc only entering its Act 2 and a whole arc left after this. But hey, at least I'll have enough information on Khanreiah by the time the Mondstadt book comes to an end. It could serve as a strong basis for the Liyue Book.

I totally forgot to reply to reviews last time, so I'll cover last chapter's ones now too.

Arekuruu Oni: Yeah, honestly, Ningguang being a glorified rock thrower in the game felt like a disservice. I did read the manga, but I guess I hadn't paid attention to Amber making a shield. And the Ruin Grader will come soon, but I'm not expecting it to get much fanfare. The other adventurers deal with it pretty normally, as depicted by Bennett, after all.

The Aranara would definitely put things into a different perspective for Subaru. When you say it like that, it's giving me quite the few ideas to fashion an arc with the Aranara playing a more key role in the story and Subaru's development.

kharlsonn123: Just the same VA isn't enough to earn a crush from Subaru. If anything, I feel like Subaru would be initially furious at Hu Tao's coffin sale tactics, and would only remain unnerved around her later since she heads a funeral parlor. He identifies that he's supposed to be dead, after all. And while I'll remain on the lookout for characters fitting Emilia's description, I don't see anyone that fits all of it outside of Ayaka (light blue is close enough to silver) and Furina. Shenhe has the most accurate hair, but the body type is definitely off. In the end, I hate overthinking things, so I'll just keep to the script as I build it in the end.

Eldevero: Well, it's not actually Subaru absorbing the heart in this chapter; it's the spear. And while it was absorbed, I can tell you that I wouldn't consider giving him something that useful even if it's self-harming. I'm already getting enough flak about Subaru being too strong in this story.

ExoticIdiot: I am considering a Ganyu ship like you suggested, but I can't conclude anything until I reach that point in the story.

Also, you've given me quite a bit to think about with the Invisible Providence comment. I get what both sides of the argument are saying and I'm trying to find a happy middle: not so strong to be powerful enough to defeat enemies and not so weak that RbD becomes a crutch. I have been considering different ideas and possible 'prompts' for lack of a better idea: possibilities for the future of the story. In the end, I write out of circumstance. I cannot properly define what these characters will do in the future until I have them reach that point. I have many ideas; only time will tell which ones actually appear in the script. Whatever plans I have set as sure either serves as a guide for these characters to reach over time or become roadblocks I need to remove in the future.

General Anakin22: Thank you for the compliments. I have plans for Cor Leonis, but I'd rather not spoil them, if you don't mind. I do fully intend to capture the difficulty of Dragonspine, even though I haven't mentioned the Sheer Cold. As for the later chapters, there's a lot that I've forgotten so I'd have to rely on the wiki quite a bit for those. Even though it's tedious, I imagine it'd be worth it.

And that's all from me! I'll see you next chapter.