Chapter Text
Two hundred years ago, a terrible war broke out between Celestia and the Abyss Order.
The seemingly suddenness of it had caught all of the seven nations off guard, leading to widespread devastation.
Lives were lost. Entire landscapes were destroyed. In just under a year, the entire landscape of Teyvat had become unrecognizable.
When the war ended, humans did what they always did after a disaster hit: they rebuilt.
The cities that had been nearly wiped out soon returned to their former glories less than a generation after. The fields and earth that had been turned to wastelands were once again cultivated into peaceful landscapes. Soon, life roughly returned to the way it had been before, and it was almost as if that terrible war had never happened.
Almost. Because there was one thing that the war with the Abyss had taken away from the people of Teyvat that could never be replaced: the Archons.
One by one, each of the Archons had fallen in the war, with the final one dying in the very last battle to seal the Abyss Order away. The Seven Nations had each taken massive blows in both moral and functionality as their respective gods died. Some fared better than others, but all of them were devastated to some degree.
The country that had been the least affected was Mondstadt. Once ridiculed as the “Godless City”, it had been that very free willed nature and history of ruling themselves with minimal interference from their god that allowed them to quickly bounce back from the loss. That wasn’t to say that they hadn’t mourned the passing of Barbatos, they did, but they certainly had an easier time recovering than the other nations, giving them essentially two centuries of peace as the other nations recovered from the loss of their gods.
And for that, Jean would truly be grateful, but now, it seemed there was a new battle on the horizon...
“So this is really going to happen?” Jean said as she looked at the strange green gem that appeared in her hands a few days ago.
“So it would seem.” Kaeya said on the other side of her desk, a smirk on his face as usual, his cool blue gem hanging off the side of his hip. “Personally, I find this all to be rather exciting, don’t you think?”
“For once, I find myself agreeing with the Cavalry Captain.” Eula said from where she was seated, to the left of Kaeya, her gem pinned to the cape that was thrown over her right shoulder, its color matching Kaeya’s. “Afterall, I can hardly think of a more fitting chance to take my vengeance against the people of Mondstadt!”
While Jean could only smile at Eula’s… unique mannerisms, she frowned as Kaeya’s eye glinted in a way that it always did when he had a mischievous idea.
“I couldn’t agree more!” Kaeya said, his grin growing slightly as he let out a small laugh. “What better way to get pay back against someone than by quite literally becoming a god and showing your superiority? Quite ingenious if you ask me.”
“Don’t think your sweet talking will save you from my vengeance, Cavalry Captain.” Eula said, though despite her words she mirrored Kaeya’s smirk. “Afterall, with how many slights against me that you have committed, you will be amongst the first I take my vengeance from!”
“Oh my! A direct threat from one gifted with a vision? I can’t think of anything scarier!” Kaeya said in an exaggerated manner, hand going to his chest as he let out a gasp.
Jean could only sigh as the two let out a laugh. Although she was used to Eula’s behavior on her own, whenever Kaeya played along with it like he was now, he became a lot harder for her to handle. After all, even if it was two of the people she trusted, it was still two of the highest ranking knights talking about how they were going to destroy Mondstadt.
“Visions… right, that’s what these gems are called.” Jean thought as she briefly looked back at her own as she remembered the names of these strange gems that contained the power of the elements. Along with the meaning that they held.
Two weeks ago, a strange voice had spoken over the entirety of Tevyat declaring that Celestia had finally decided to replace the Archons of old. Those that were given the visions, which had appeared in midair from seemingly nowhere, would be given the chance to become the new gods. It then individually told each person given a vision that they had two weeks in order to learn how to control the powers of the vision in preparation for the coming trials.
Tomorrow, whatever those trials are that will decide who the next Archons will be shall begin.
That was the reason three of them were currently together like this. They had just finished a meeting with Grand Master Varka about it. They weren’t the only ones in the Knights to be blessed with a vision, but they were highest ranking ones and Varka was entrusting them to make sure that everyone was alright.
It had actually been a fairly stressful meeting.
To convey the direness of the situation, the normally jovial Grand Master of the Knights had maintained a completely serious attitude. As a result, it had surprised the three Knights and made them feel even more anxious than usual. Right now, they were just relaxing together to unwind their nerves a bit before they went to enjoy themselves one last time before whatever happens tomorrow, happens.
“I still can’t believe Grand Master Varka had not received a vision.” Jean said offhandedly as she hung her own vision off the back of her waist where she usually had it. “He’s unmatched in swordsmanship amongst all the Knights of Favonius. It’s odd that we received them, but he did not.”
“Serves him right, hmph!” Eula said, crossing her arms in an angry fashion. “Honestly, having the gall to not
take our sparring sessions seriously when I give them my all.”
“As frustrating as I can see that being-“ Kaeya began, “I would personally take that as all the more evidence that he would have a vision, especially since he was keeping up with you as you were starting to get the hang of using yours.”
“Hmph!” Eula let out as she turned her head away from Kaeya, not verifying Kaeya’s statement with a response.
“As for why he was not blessed with a vision-“ Kaeya continued, before pausing slightly to shrug. “Far be it for me to try and comprehend the thoughts of Celestia, but I can only think that perhaps we all have some quality that they value over raw strength.”
“But could that really be it?” Jean pondered out loud. She agreed with Kaeya that it was the only thing that made sense for her, but what quality would they have that the Grand Master does not possess?
“Like I said, that was the only thing that made sense to me.” Kaeya said with another shrug.
“Hmph, well no matter if that is the reason or not, it does not change the fact that we were given the visions and he was not. It would be no use trying to dwell on it.” Eula said dismissively.
“Yeah, I suppose you're right.” Jean said, though she couldn’t banish the thought completely. She just couldn’t understand why Varka of all people did not receive a vision.
“Of course I am.” Eula said, smirking briefly before she got up from her seat and began to make her way to the door. “Now if you excuse me, I don’t intend to waste anymore time here with the likes of you two. I have vengeance to reap and little time to take it before tomorrow.”
“Oh? If I may ask, who would you be taking it from tonight then?” Kaeya asked in an interested tone as he and Jean watched her go to leave.
“Amber had expressed some nervousness earlier when we last talked before the meeting. I plan to gloat it over her in retaliation for all she’s done against me.” Eula explained, causing Kaeya and Jean to share a look between each other as she opened the door to leave.
“Be sure to hide your vision! Wouldn't want the people of Mondstadt discovering your planned vengeance now would we?” Kaeya called out as she left the room.
Once again, Eula chose not to respond to him as she left, but neither of the two missed how her hand shot up to her vision just before the door shut behind her. She knew that, despite how Kaeya had said it as a joke, it could be potentially bad if the people of Mondstadt found out she had a vision.
“Honestly, it’s hard for me to understand her sometimes. Do you think she’ll continue to talk like that after tomorrow?” Jean said before letting out an endeared but tired sigh.
Honestly, Jean wasn’t sure why she continued to talk like that when they were on their own with her. Maybe it was to make sure she didn’t get too comfortable around them and slip up when they were in public?
“Maybe, but it sure makes even dull conversations rather interesting don’t you think?” Kaeya mused as he leaned back in his chair and leaned his head against a propped up arm. “Regardless, I have to wonder what you plan on doing on what could possibly be our final night in this mortal realm?”
“... You don’t think that this will be dangerous, will you?” Jean asked, frowning at the way Kaeya phrased that.
“Maybe? Maybe not? All I know is that the last time all seven Archons had to be decided on, a war broke out that lasted centuries.” Kaeya said with another shrug which caused Jean’s frown to deepen as she realized his point. “Either way, that doesn’t answer my question.”
“...Well, Lisa’s work should be finished in a little while, and we agreed to check in on Klee to make sure she’s doing alright tonight. If she’s nervous, we’ll probably have her stay the night with us.” Jean answered after a moment of hesitation.
“Ah, so I see. the two moms will be taking care of their child then?” Kaeya asked teasingly, causing Jean to send a glare his way as a light blush dusted her cheeks.
“W-well what about you then, Kaeya? What do you plan to do tonight?” Jean asked, stuttering slightly, which only caused Kaeya’s smirk to grow in victory.
“If you must know, I first planned on checking in on Albedo and Sucrose to see if they were properly prepared for what tomorrow has in store. After that, me and Rosaria are going to go to Angel’s Share for a drink together one last time.”
“...Is that it?” Jean asked after a second, making sure that Kaeya wasn’t going to say anything else.
“Is there anything else I’m supposed to do?” Kaeya asked in a legitimately confused tone, something that was rare for the Cavalry Captain.
“Well, no, it’s just that-“ Jean answered with uncharacteristic shyness, before pausing to collect herself and restart. “It’s just that, like you said, we don’t know what will happen tomorrow. It could be your last chance to try and reconcile with your brother.”
“Ah. That.” Kaeya said in realization before looking away from Jean. “You know I could say the same with you and Barbara considering your plans for the night don’t feature her.”
“Barbara has a Hydro vision if you recall, so she will be accompanying us, and when we asked her, she said she wanted to be with the rest of the sisters for one more night.”
“Fair, I suppose.” Kaeya admitted before sighing. “Well… even if I did want to do that, that isn’t something I could just do .”
“And what exactly would be stopping you?” Jean said with an unimpressed expression, figuring that Kaeya was just too nervous to try.
“Well for starters, I would kind of need to know where he was so I could talk to him.” Kaeya said before giving an overly dramatic sight, “But alas, everytime I heard that he was back in Mondstadt, he leaves before I can ever go to see him. And I have already gone to check, evidently, not even Elzer and Adeline have heard from him in nearly half a month now.”
While Jean could only frown at that, she noticed how Kaeya’s smirk grew again and his trademark mischievous look.
“You know, interestingly enough, according to various rumors I’ve heard, each time Diluc has returned to Mondstadt, there were reports of the “Darknight Hero” from the same timeframe.”
As she processed what Kaeya said, Jean blinked a couple of times as she briefly wondered whether or not she had misheard him.
“Kaeya, are you trying to suggest what I think you’re-”
“I’m not trying to suggest anything, Jean.” Kaeya interrupted cooly, with his smirk as large as it ever was. “I’m merely stating an odd coincidence that I noticed. And believe me, there is no evidence to support what that coincidence may mean.”
Jean grimaced slightly at the odd way Kaeya phrased it. She wondered what exactly he meant by all of that, but soon realized Kaeya was simply trying to redirect the conversation away from the subject at hand.
“Besides that. With how resourceful you are Kaeya, you cannot seriously expect me to believe you couldn’t find Diluc if you really wanted to.” Jean said, getting the talk back on track. “So what is the real reason you haven’t?”
“...Let’s just say that reconciliation is a two way street and that both parties have to be willing.” Kaeya said finally after a second, his smirk turning into a frown as he realized he wasn’t getting out of this as easily as he thought he was, an expression Jean now mirrored.
“Kaeya… Look, I don’t know what happened, but the two of you are brothers, even if you two aren’t related by blood. Nothing can ever change that” Jean said, trying to shoot Kaeya a comforting smile, but he was once again looking away from her, with the eye covered by the eyepatch facing towards her.
“... I’m not so sure he sees it that way anymore.” Kaeya muttered with an unreadable expression and tone, almost too quiet for Jean to hear, which caused her to frown once again.
Jean wanted to continue, saying how he couldn’t possibly mean that about Diluc, but as she opened her mouth to say it, the door opened.
“Oh, Kaeya, you’re still here?” Lisa said as both him and Jean turned to look at her, just in time to see her frowning as she noticed the odd amount of tension in the room. “Am I interrupting something important?”
“No! In fact, you have perfect timing! We were just finishing up, and I was about to be on my way.” Kaeya said, slipping into his usual persona as if nothing had happened, and once again interrupting Jean as she opened her mouth to say something.
“Well then, it’s a late night and we all have things we have to do, so I shall take my leave.” Kaeya continued as he got up out of his seat and quickly headed out the door before any of them could stop them, walking past Lisa. “I wish both of you lovely ladies a good night, and do tell Klee I say hi.”
It took a few seconds for Lisa and Jean to properly process the Calvary Captain’s abrupt leave, and when they had, Lisa could only send Jean a questioning look.
“What was that about?” Lisa asked in a confused and concerned tone, and Jean could only give her apologetic look in return.
“We were talking about him and Diluc when you walked in.” Jean explained somewhat bashfully.
“Oh Dear.” Lisa said, blinking in mild surprise and realization, causing Jean’s bashfulness to only intensify. “Well that certainly explains why he was so quick to leave.”
“Do you… do you think I made him upset?” Jean asked, a little remorsefully as she fiddled with her hands. “I know it’s something he’s not too comfortable talking about, but… I know what it’s like to have a strained relationship with your sibling and how close they used to be.”
“I know dear.” Lisa said as she walked over to her, going around the desk in the process. “And I know he knows that you’re only trying to help, but it’s still a subject he isn’t very comfortable talking about right now. Just give him some time to himself right now.”
“You’re right…” Jean said after letting out a sigh, just before blushing slightly as Lisa wrapped her arms around her and gently pressed her lips against her cheek.
“I’m always right dear, you should be used to that by now.” Lisa teased slightly as she lightly laid her head atop Jean’s, causing her blush to darken somewhat.
“I know. I guess I’m just worried about tomorrow.” Jean admitted with another sigh, despite the small smile she now had growing on her face as she wrapped one arm around Lisa. “We don’t know what will happen and it could be dangerous.”
“We’ll be fine dear. Afterall, we have the best leader possible to bring us to victory. I’d say Barbatos himself would be awestruck by the way you wield your Vision.” Lisa praised before giggling at the way Jean’s blush turned into a dark scarlet.
“W-well I wouldn’t have learned how to control it without your help!” Jean exclaimed in embarrassment, and it was more than just her trying to deflect the praise to avoid feeling embarrassed.
When all of the Knights were first given their visions, it was a struggle for the first few days of learning how to use them. They all felt the strange energies and powers that the visions had simply by holding them, but none of them could figure out how to bring them out. That was until Lisa discovered how to by the end of the second day.
From there, it was only a matter of teaching the rest of the Knights, Jean included, on how to do it from there. When she was asked how she figured it out, Lisa explained that there had been an older book in the library describing what visions were and how to use them. It was also where they had learned the name “visions” in the first place.
“I have full confidence that you could’ve figured it out on your own.” Lisa said, smirking slightly at the way Jean now squirmed under her grasp as she tightened the hug. “You’re just that good, dear.”
“Uh, Isn’t it about time we go check in on Klee.” Jean said, making a desperate attempt to get out of the Librarian’s hug. They may have been in a relationship for sometime now, but Jean still didn’t not really know how to handle Lisa’s showings of affection when they were in a professional environment like her office.
“Alright, alright. Let's get going then.” Lisa said with a slight giggle as she let her arms fall away from around Jean. Though as Jean stood up from her chair, Lisa made sure to slip her hand around Jean’s, giving it a squeeze as she led Jean out of the room.
Jean could only smile as she was dragged along by her girlfriend.
She didn’t know why, but Lisa always did know how to get her to get her mind off things for just a little while to allow her to calm down. She wondered what she could’ve done to deserve such a wonderful and talented girlfriend, but realized that there was no point dwelling on it. Afterall, they were together.
And as long as they were together, along with the rest of their friends, whatever happens tomorrow, will be okay.
____________________________________________
The feeling of anticipation and nervousness when making a big decision or move in life was something that Ningguang was well accustomed to.
She had felt them when she first began to rise up the ranks of the economic ladder all the way to the top. She had felt them when she had first started laying the groundwork for the Jade Chamber. And she had felt them when she finally decided to actually end up in a relationship with a pirate of all things despite being the Tianquan of the Qixing.
They weren’t anything new by any means, but the sheer intensity she was feeling them in right now, that was something she wasn’t used to.
“Ning? You alright?” Beidou’s familiar voice called out in slight concern, making her jump as she came back to reality, though she managed to hide it as she remembered where she was: in the Jade Chamber talking about what will happen tomorrow.
“... My apologies. I got lost in thought there for a second.” Ningguang apologized as she saw Keqing, Ganyu, and of course Beidou looking at her expectantly, inwardly chastising herself once she realized she had zoned out looking at her Geo Vision, putting the yellow gem down onto the desk she sat at for the time being.
“Being nervous is unlike you Ning.” Beidou said, in a slight teasing tone, but Ningguang didn’t miss the flash of concern in the pirate’s eye.
“I am not nervous. I got lost in thought, like I said.” Ningguang protested, but Beidou simply gave an unconvinced and amused scoff that caused Ningguang to frown.
“Ganyu, could you please repeat what you said?” Ningguang asked the half-adeptus secretary, looking away from Beidou who still silently looked at her.
“Of course Tianquan.” Ganyu said with a nod before taking a breath in. “The Adeptus say that their contracts with Rex Lapis millenia ago will not change or become void simply because a new Archon comes to power. However, none of them gave an answer whether or not they will work or serve under the new Archon. I suspect it will depend on the character of the Archon and how they govern Liyue.”
“They’re response is as I suspected then. Not surprising considering they’ve protected Liyue even two centuries after Rex Lapis’ death.” Ningguang said with a slight hum of thought.
“Is there anything else?” Keqing asked Ganyu off to the side, crossing her arms as she leaned back into the chair she was sitting in.
“Uh, well, when I asked Xiao about it, he said that, despite having a vision, he will not be taking part in what happens tomorrow.” Ganyu answered, causing each of the other women to raise a brow at that.
“Eh? Why on Teyvat not?” Beidou asked, just as confused as Ningguang and Keqing, but was the only one of the three to be blunt enough to ask about it outright, something that caused the two members of the Qixing to send her a sharp look. “If he has one of these Vision things, then he should’ve been chosen for this god-trail tomorrow, right?
“Well, Conquer of Demons is like me in that he did not receive his Vision two weeks ago, but had received them as a blessing from an Archon centuries ago before the war with the Abyss Order.” Ganyu began, her hand going to rub her Cryo vision without thinking about it. “However, unlike me, when that strange voice told me that I had two weeks to prepare, it said that he was not eligible.”
“Curious…” Ningguang mused as she put a hand to her chin in thought. “Do you know why he wasn’t eligible while you were then?”
“I had first assumed that it had been because of the karmic debt that he has as a Yaksha, but he told me that the reason that he had been given was that, unlike me, he wasn’t human or part human.” Ganyu answered before Beidou slapped her knee and let out a loud laugh.
“Hear that Keqing? Seems like Celestia has some similar opinions to you!” Beidou called out to the Yuheng with another laugh, causing Ningguang to send a glare her way as a warning for her to quiet down.
Keqing, meanwhile, simply ignored her, not giving any outward response to the pirate’s prod.
“I’m not overly fond of that Adeptus, but I will say it is a shame he will not be accompanying us.” Keqing said, stating her thoughts on the matter before frowning. “Though I’m still not sure he would’ve gone along with the plan.”
“I’m sure Conquer of Demons would’ve accepted it! Although he… isn’t very social, to say the least, Conquer of Demons is very pragmatic so I have no doubt that he would’ve seen the importance of ensuring that Lady Ningguang is the next Geo Archon!” Ganya exclaimed in defense of the Vigilant Yaksha, causing Keqing to give her an annoyed look.
Making sure she was the next Geo Archon…right, that was the plan wasn’t it.
When Rex Lapis, or Morax, had fallen in battle during the war against the Abyss Order, Liyue, no, all of Tevyat had been shaken to its very core.
The Geo Archon wasn’t just the strongest of all of the Archons, he was also by far the oldest of all of them, with the Anemo Archon being a distant second at only two thousand years. During the war, this had meant that the strongest warrior against the monsters of the Abyss had fallen, bringing the obvious fear and demoralization that came with it. After it, during the time of rebuilding, Liyue realized that it never really could go back to the way it was before.
Out of all of the seven nations, Liyue had been hit one of the hardest by the loss of its Archon. It had lost its god that had been with it for all of its history, one of Liyue’s greatest prides since it was the only country that could truly make that claim due to Barbatos’ hands off style of rule and how all the other countries had lost their original Archons hundreds of years ago. Not only that, Rex Lapis had been a driving force in the day to day governance of Liyue, and with his sudden death, all of his responsibilities immediately fell onto the Qixing of the time.
Fortunately, Liyue, while it had taken a major blow to its very foundations, had not been the hardest hit country (That would’ve been Inazuma, which had descended into a near endless war between warlords after the loss of the Raiden Shogun that continued to this day). There had been a few silver linings to this very dark cloud.
The first one was the Adepti. Like Ningguang said earlier, the Illuminated Beasts had maintained their end of their contracts with Rex Lapis to defend Liyue, even after the death of their lord. This ensured that, unlike other countries, Liyue was still safe from the threat of monsters and hadn’t had to rely on the assistance of other nations, particularly from the Fatui, like the other nations had.
The second one was the Qixing. Despite only being humans bearing the responsibilities that had once belonged to a god, the mortal leaders of Liyue at the time had proven capable, installing and enforcing many different reforms that had allowed Liyue to avoid falling apart politically. Some of those reforms had even survived her touch ups to all aspects of the law, a testament to the political skill of those at the time.
But there had been one issue that no reform from the Qixing or protection from the Adeptus could fix. One issue that haunted Liyue, along with all of Tevyat, to this very day. One that kept the leaders of all of the nations awake at night.
The complete and utter shut down of the Golden House, and by extension, the production of Mora.
It had been the duty of Morax to create the golden coins that had been named after him, and after his death, no one in all of Tevyat could create them. This simple fact created a looming economic crisis that threatened to drag all of the nation’s economies down to a standstill, if not destroy them outright. What made this matter worse was what Mora truly was.
Mora wasn’t just coins made from gold, they were elemental energy given physical form by a god that were used for a myriad of purposes besides just being currency, such as providing the source of energy for modern alchemy to be possible so easily.
In the past, this had been one of Mora’s greatest strengths. That it, along from being created by the Geo Archon personally, gave the currency an inherent value that allowed people to place their trust in it. Nowadays, however, it has become the biggest problem with Mora.
After a reaction was completed, the Mora that had been used as a catalyst would disappear completely. This meant that, as time went on, and people continued to this function of Mora, vast amounts of deflation would occur. And with no possible way to produce more, all of the economies of Teyvat could grind to a halt as the currency they all used simply no longer existed.
The issue had been mitigated somewhat by a myriad of factors such as the sheer amounts of Mora that there had been to begin with, careful regulation of the prices and placement of fines, and a truly vast amount of economic reforms. An example of the latter that Ningguang herself had implemented was where the wealthier members of Liyue would trade in any excess Mora they had for special material goods that they could later trade in if they needed to make any large scale purposes. That way, their Mora could still circulate through the economy without making anyone lose their hard earned Mora.
None of that solved the core problem, however, it merely delayed the inevitable end that, at some point, Mora would disappear from this world.
Some had tried to offer an actual solution by using an alternate source of currency, one that was used more as a medium of exchange and had no true value other than what the economy needed it to. But those projects had been doomed nearly from the start. Without the inherent value and the literal backing of a god that Mora once had, people found themselves unwilling to put their trust in the new currencies, no matter how much the Qixing or other governments had peddled it.
And all of that led to where they were now, Ningguang mused to herself as she summoned her smoking pipe in a glow of golden light from middair, a handy little trick from the vision that she had figured out while she had been training in how to use it. She briefly wondered how it had come to the point that there was an entire plot centered around ensuring that she becomes the next Geo Archon, even though she already knew the answer to that.
When the visions had been given two weeks ago, one of the first thoughts that had run through each of the minds of the Liyue Qixing was the realization that this could be the key they needed to finally solve the looming financial crisis that had hung over all of Tevyat for centuries now. Afterall, if it was a Geo Archon that was needed for the production of Mora, and a new Geo Archon was going to be selected soon, then of course the Qixing would be the first to see this as a literal god sent.
But, of course, it had only taken a few days for the issues to show themselves.
Having run a quick investigation, the Qixing quickly realized that the actual number of Geo Visions were rather low in comparison to the visions of the other elements, with only Dendro being rarer. On top of that, those that they had found… did not meet the Qixing’s criteria.
Some of them had been criminals that would’ve probably run Liyue into the ground in rampant self interest if they were to become the new Geo Archon. Others were simply average people that had neither the training nor the experience to be incharge of an entire nation. And those were just the ones that they had found within the nation, not that the Qixing had put a vested effort in investigating the vision wielders of other nations with the time constraint of only two weeks.
Besides, the Qixing had a vested effort in ensuring that a foreigner did not become the new Lord of Geo. Afterall, someone from outside their culture could hardly be trusted to ensure that the teachings of Rex Lapis were upheld. And that’s if they were in charge of Liyue instead of their own homeland, which would diminish Liyue’s prominence and importance on the global stage if they didn’t.
So they needed someone who had a Geo Vision, was familiar and experienced with governing, and could be trusted to maintain Liyue’s culture and traditions. The only one that had met all of those qualifications was Ningguang. And that made her, in the Qixing’s eyes at least, the best possible candidate for the Geo Archon.
And that had led all the way to the here and now, with a small conspiracy of people working together to ensure that she was the replacement of Rex Lapis as the Geo Archon.
She saw Beidou frown with concern as she took a long breath in from her pipe before letting out a long stream of smoke as Keqing and Ganyu were still talking between each other over what Xiao would’ve done.
Ningguang wasn’t surprised that she could see that she had something on her mind. Since they had begun their relationship, Beidou had soon been able to read her like an open book unless she had tried her absolute damnedest to hide her feelings. Ningguang still wasn’t really sure how she felt about that.
“By the way, as a heads up, I may or may not have brought some other people in on this.” Beidou declared suddenly after giving the Tianquan one final concerned look, causing everyone to give her a surprised look.
“What do you mean you ‘brought some other people in on this’?” Keqing asked incredulously in an almost irritated manner, causing Beidou to raise her hands in a gesture of surrender.
“Hey, don’t worry! I didn’t tell anyone about the whole, ‘Ning needs to be a god’ thing!” Beidou said, no doubt fighting against the urge to send her another look to see how she reacted. “It’s just that Xiangling and a few of her friends had gotten visions themselves, and I told them that if this thing tomorrow is dangerous, we could help them out.”
“I have no problem with this.” Ningguang said as she let out another puff of smoke before Keqing or Ganyu could say anything. “If the worst comes to worst, and the trials that Celestia has planned to determine the new Archons are more difficult than we anticipated, it would not hurt to have some extra help.”
“Understood. I do not have an issue either so it is fine with me.” Ganyu said, making it clear what her thoughts on the matter were, prompting everyone to look over at Keqing to see what her answer was.
“Fine, I guess that’ll be fine, not that I really have a choice.” Keqing said, grumbling to herself near the end, prompting Ningguang to raise a brow at her.
It had been no secret to anyone that had interacted with her for the past two weeks that the Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing had been in a particularly bad mood. The reason behind it was hardly one either. It of course being that she had been given a vision.
The first couple of days after receiving one, while the rest of the Qixing were looking into the situation and discussing what they should do, Keqing had been trying to destroy her vision, and from what Ningguang had heard, she had gotten creative with it too. Dropping it from the Jade Chamber, leaving it in a burning oven for a whole day, and even running it over with a minecart filled with heavy ores. None of it had worked of course, she wouldn’t have been here otherwise, but what made it all the more frustrating for her was that the vision hadn’t even so much as been scratched.
She had only stopped when Ningguang had sought her help specifically with this whole debacle. Ganyu had served as the messenger, and from what Ningguang had heard from her sources, the two had had a fierce argument of some kind, though what was said specifically and how long it had lasted, her source couldn’t tell. Regardless, it was only then that Keqing had agreed to work together with them, albeit in the form of a contract with one very strict condition: that Ningguang would give her word that the Qixing would continue to govern Liyue with minimum interference from her.
And that condition had made the reason behind her frustration at the situation and her hatred for the Visions clear, even if Ninguang had already known what it was.
Keqing was tremendously proud of what humanity had done by itself these past couple of centuries, and had seen Celestia’s decision to, not only suddenly choose new Archons to rule once again but to also give her a Vision as well, as a personal insult. In between different attempts to destroy her own Vision, Keqing had said that humanity did not need the gods and that if given enough time, they could solve the Mora problem without the need of a new Geo Archon, but none of the Qixing hear here. Finally, after that argument with Ganyu, she realized that while she had no power to stop what was happening, she could at least ensure that the next Archon would be one that would not undo all of humanity’s progress in the last two hundred years.
“So what do you know of our new young allies then?” Ningguang asked Beidou, causing the pirate queen to give her a questioning look.
“Well, what are you asking about specifically?” Beidou said, raising a brow and crossing her arms as she looked back at her girlfriend. “You know I’m not about to give away any personal stuff just because it’s you asking.”
“Just what visions they have and who they are besides Xiangling.” Ningguang specified, letting out a breath of smoke as Beidou scratched her chin before shrugging at the answer.
“Well Xiangling got herself a Pyro Vision alongside two other girls named Hu Tao and Xinyan. There’s also two other boys apparently, one with a Hydro Vision and another with a Cryo one. I think their names are Xingqui and Chongyun?” Beidou answered, causing Ganyu and Keqing to send her looks of surprise.
“That’s…surprising. I didn’t think that the chef of the Wanmin restaurant would be friends with the 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and the heir to the Feiyun Commerce Guild.” Kequing admitted as she thought to herself, causing Beidou’s eye to widen slightly as it was her turn to be surprised at the new information.
“Indeed.” Ningguang mused, not mentioning the fact that she already knew that fact. She did pride herself on knowing everything that happened in Liyue Harbor afterall. “Though it does appear that we will have some… interesting assistance in what is to come.”
“Uh, Lady Ningguang, may I make a request?” Ganyu asked somewhat shyly, surprising Ningguang a bit before the Tianquan made a motion for her to continue. “Well, if we are currently allowing others to assist us, then might I recommend Yanfei as well? She’s received a Pyro Vision as well and I believe she might be willing to help us.”
“The Legal Consultant? I find it slightly surprising she’s received a vision as well, but regardless, I have no problem with her. The assistance from someone who has the blood of the Adeptus will no doubt be valuable.” Ningguang said, musing slightly to herself, before looking back to Ganyu. “Invite her if you can before noon tomorrow and bring her to the Jade Chamber if she accepts.”
“Understood.” Ganyu responded, bowing her head slightly in respect as Ningguang looked out a nearby window to see how late it was before letting out a sigh.
“I believe it will be appropriate if we call it here for tonight.” Ningguang declared as she got up from her seat behind the desk. “There will be a lot that needs to be done tomorrow. I recommend going home now to rest and do what you need to do to prepare for what will happen and to say goodbye to those you need to.”
She then began to turn and walk away, heading to her private chambers aboard the Jade Chamber. She saw Ganyu bow her head in recognition of the command and Keqing already with her back to her as she left, but Beidou stayed where she was with her arms crossed staring intently as Ningguang began to leave. The Ningguang could still feel the weight of Beidou’s eye on her back as she retreated into the room.
When she was finally on her own, Ningguang let out a deep breath to let some of her nerves unwind.
She sent a look over towards her bed, and despite her earlier words about resting while they could, she decided against going to sleep for now.
Instead, she moved over to the window of her room, which had a perfect bird’s eye view of the city of Liyue Harbor. It had always been one of her favorite features of the Jade Chamber, the view always had something of a calming effect on her. Alongside just being a beautiful view, especially during the night when all of the city’s lights were lit, it also allowed Ningguang to sort of put everything into perspective and that allowed her to do what she needed to.
But now, all she could think about when she looked down was wonder if it will be the same sight after everything is over…
“You’re nervous.” Beidou’s voice came from behind Ningguang all of a sudden, nearly making the Tianquan jump in surprise as she turned around to see the pirate woman staring at her with her arms crossed.
“Beidou?” Ningguang asked, startled, having expected her to have gone down to be with the Crux Fleet for the final night. “What are you doing-”
“You’re never nervous Ning.” Beidou interrupted as she continued to look at Ningguang intently, as if she was trying to see what was wrong on her face.
“I’m not nerv-” Ningguang began as she began to reign in her earlier surprise, but was once again interrupted.
“Bullshit. You never zone out in a meeting and you were unusually passive that whole time.” Beidou pointed out, causing Ningguang to wince slightly at realizing how obvious she was being. Beidou’s expression would soften somewhat at the sight before moving closer to the Tianquan. “I know you Ning, and I know you don’t get nervous.”
Ningguang really didn’t know how she felt about Beidou knowing how to read her so easily. On one hand, it showed how much Beidou cared for her. On the other, it made her feel too open despite her best efforts not to be.
“… I’m not nervous.” Ningguang said, her pride not allowing her to admit it, but she failed to meet Beidou’s gaze.
“Ning…” Beidou said gently as Ningguang felt one of her hands wrap around one of her’s, giving a gentle squeeze. “If you’re worried about what’s going to happen tomorrow-”
“It’s not.” Ningguang said suddenly, interrupting Beidou this time, looking back out the window towards Liyue Harbor as Beidou gave her a confused look. “Tell me Beidou, can you see me being a god?”
“Yeah, I guess.” Beidou answered uncertainty, not quite certain where Ningguang was going with this. “I mean, Celestia knows you already have the attitude for it-”
“But would that really be me?” Ningguang interrupted, still not looking at Beidou. “A god is something that is fundamentally different from a human. Could I still be considered the same person if something so fundamental as that? And if I did, for how long before I inevitably changed?”
“…Huh. Never really thought about it.” Beidou said as she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall of the room. “But I guess, you’ve thought about it more than a little, all things considered.”
“… I suppose you could say that.” Ningguang responded with a humorless chuckle.
“Man, and here I was thinking I had to give you a pep talk thinking that you were just worried about being worthy or some shit like this.” Beidou said as she scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. “None of this philosophical debate stuff that’s out of my depth.”
“Please, I have enough confidence in myself to not be worried about matters of worthiness.” Ningguang said with a small snort, glancing at Beidou as the Crux Captain let out a chuckle.
“Guess you have a point there. Like I said, you already have the right attitude to be a god.” Beidou said before a short silence fell over the two as Beidou looked up in thought. “Though if I had to give an actual answer, I can’t say for certain if you really would be the same person, but I don’t think it would be a really big deal if you did change.”
Ningguang could only give her girlfriend a surprised look at Beidou due to her answer. She would raise a curious brow as she gave Beidou a small, thoughtful frown. Clearly, the Tianquan had not been expecting that answer.
“And how did you come to that sort of conclusion?”
“Well, you’re hardly the same person from when you were a kid. Hell, I don't even think you’re the same person as you were before you and I started dating, and neither am I, really.” Beidou said with a shrug, and when Ningguang still gave her a questioning look as to what she meant, she would continue. “I think it’s normal for us to change depending on the new things we encounter and experience, call it human nature to change I guess. I don’t really see how godhood would be any different.”
“… Are you sure that this was, “out of your depth”, as you put it?” Ningguang asked after a second, making Beidou let out a loud laugh.
“I met a kid while I was over in Inazuma a few months back, who practically had flower pelts falling out of his mouth half the time he opened it. Guess he rubbed off on me alittle.” Beidou answered with a bit of a shrug.
“Hm.” Ningguang hummed in response as she looked back out over Liyue in thought.
She knew that Beidou had a point. Afterall, there was a stark difference between the child her who barely had enough Mora to pay for her next meal and the here of the here and now that had more Mora than she could ever know what to do with. And on top of that, even a few years ago, she never would’ve seen herself on friendly terms with a known pirate, let alone date one.
But those changes she had experienced over the years were small in comparison to what she was going to experience soon.
Her drive to collect Mora had been a core trait of her’s for as long as she could remember, even when she had long since lost count of how much she had already. But soon, if all went well, she would be the very source of it. What need or want will she have to obtain Mora when she could have as much as she wants with a mere wave of her hand?
And what will she be without it?
“You know, it’s actually funny.” Bediou said, a small chuckle, making Ningguang look back at her in a curious fashion. “Like I said, I came here thinking that I was going to have to give you some kind of pep talk about how you were worthy to be an Archon or something like that. But I should've known you had a enough head for that to not be an issue.”
“...If that was supposed to be a compliment or insult, I’m afraid I’m having a hard time telling which it is.”
“It’s neither, I’m just stating a fact and my thoughts about it.” Beidou said with a laugh as Ningguang sent her an irritated look. “Though I guess I can say I prefer it this way. I don’t know why, but I think its because it’s more ‘you’, if that makes any kind of sense?”
Ningguang was legitimately caught off guard by that. A blush would dust her cheeks a light shade of red in the moonlight despite her best effort to stop it. She had to look away from Beidou to prevent the pirate from seeing it. Missing the smirk that Beidou now wore from seeing it in the process.
The Tianquan would let out a deep sigh as she looked back over the lights of Liyue. For once, she had to admit that Beidou was right. Not that the admission would ever be something she said out loud.
People changed radically over the course of their lives, so even if she did change after turning into the Geo Archon, it would hardly be any different than how she grew up. Not that it mattered much in the end anyways. There wasn’t much that she wouldn’t sacrifice in order to keep Liyue, including the Jade Chamber, the dream she had as a young child and had spent her whole life working as hard as she could to make it come true.
If it meant that she could make sure those lights below her remained the same, she would change herself as much as necessary to ensure it.
“Now if you, excuse me-” Beidou began as she pushed herself off the wall and began to walk to Ningguang’s bed. “I’m tired after talking so much, so I’m going to sleep.”
“Excuse me?” Ningguang asked with a modicum of surprise as she gave Beidou a questioning look.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m asking. It means-”
“I know what it means.” Ningguang snapped. “I thought you were going to go back to spend the night with your men?”
“Eh, tempting, but I have a bit of nerves and there’s no better way to relax than to cuddle with your hot girlfriend. Preferably when there’s no clothes-”
“Archons, you’re insufferable.”
“Doesn’t that mean you’re swearing to your future self all things considering?”
“ Beidou! ”
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The sounds of explosions and battle echoed throughout the otherwise silent halls of the ruins.
Two Abyss mages, one a Hydro and the other a Pyro, stared at the door in apprehension as the sounds grew louder and more intense. They awaited the coming threat with a tense atmosphere as they put up their elemental shields in preparation. Soon though, the sounds of fighting would grow quiet, and neither of the Abyss Mages knew if the ensuing silence was good or bad.
Suddenly, the door to the room would be blown open as a torrent of flames flew through the now open entrance towards the two mages. Even with their Elemental Shields up, the two Abyssal creatures found themselves bracing against the force of the flames blowing past them, especially the Hydro Abyss Mage, whose shield already began to steam.
Before either of them could recover from the sudden onslaught of flames, a dark figure would leap out of the flames above the Hydro Abyss Mage, a massive Claymore covered in flames in hand. The figure would then swing the giant blade downward, slamming it against the already weakening Hydro Shield, shattering it completely while hardly slowing it. Left with no protection, the Hydro Abyss Mage was cleaved completely in two by the Claymore before it even had time to process the figure attacking it.
The Pyro Abyss Mage would let out a cry of shock at the sudden and brutal death of its ally at the hands of the figure. Recovering quickly, the mage would throw its hand out at the figure as a dragon-like head appeared beside it before opening its mouth, firing a small torrent of fire at the figure.
But the target of the attack would quickly and smoothly dodge the flames, moving with a grace and a mobility that contrasted the size and weight of their weapon. As the attack blew past them, the figure would shoot forward, closing the distance between them and the Abyss Mage before it could react. Now that they were close enough, they grabbed the handle of the claymore with both hands and slammed it into the Abyss Mages’ shield in a horizontal slash.
Unlike with the earlier Hydro Abyss Mage’s shield, the Pyro Abyss Mage’s shield hadn’t been weakened by the earlier burst of fire at the start of the fight and was immune to the fire covering the claymore, so it managed to survive the hit. But, the sheer physical force of it and the strength behind it sent the Pyro mage flying off to the side.
The Mage let out a yell in its high pitched voice as the shield that protected it rolled and bounced off the ground like a ball. It would then growl in irritation as it forced itself to a stop with its magic before quickly preparing its magic to attack the figure in retaliation. But right before it unleashed the flames, it noticed that the intended target was missing.
It would then notice the shadow that fell from above, but the mage would barely have the time to look up before the claymore would once again slam into its shield. The force of the falling attack would slam the bottom of the shield down into the ground, destroying some of the stone, and once again rattling the Abyss Mage from the impact. But the thing that made its heart stop was when it saw a large crack form in the shield from the impact.
The mage’s opponent was also quick to notice it, as they swerved around in midair, bringing their massive claymore around to slam into where the crack in the shield was and send the mage flying back again. The mage let out a shriek as it was forcibly made air born once again, almost covering up the cracking sound as the crack in its elemental shield grew larger. It clearly wasn’t going to take a whole lot more if the mage didn’t recast the spell that created the shield to reinforce and repair it.
But it wasn’t going to be given the opportunity to do so, as the figure would quickly leap after the mage, bringing their claymore up in one last devastating slash, aimed directly at the large crack in the shield. The sound of the shield breaking echoed throughout the room as the massive claymore hit its target dead on with enough force to shatter the elemental barrier. The Pyro mage would let out a cry as it landed against the stone floor, it would soon try to get up, but that effort was ruined when the figure slammed its foot onto its chest, keeping it pinned and knocking the air out of its lungs.
“Where are the prisoners?” The figure asked, speaking for the first time to the Mage
From the deep voice, there was no mistaking that the figure who now stood over the mage was a man, and looking up at him, the mage would see that the man was dressed in fine clothing. But there were only three things about the man that really stood out about the man. The first was the head of long, bold red hair that reached past his shoulder, and a pair of bright red eyes that was locked onto the mage with a heated glare. The final thing was the bright red gem that hung off of a chain from his hip, the elemental energy it gave off revealing its nature as a vision.
“Hehe, I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about, Darkni-AHH!” The mage began with a low laugh, but interrupted itself when Diluc swung his claymore, taking the Abyss Mage’s arm, causing it to scream in pain.
“Don’t play dumb.” Diluc demanded, putting the bloodied edge of his claymore against the side of the Abyss Mage’s neck. “I know the Abyss order has been kidnapping people from nearby villages and holding them prisoner here. I doubt a low ranking mage like you could tell me why, but the least you can do is tell me where they’re being held.”
The Abyss Mage didn’t respond immediately, still very clearly in shock over having lost its arm so suddenly. It could only breathe heavily for several seconds and it wasn’t even clear if the Mage had heard what Diluc had said. Diluc, however, wasn’t in the most patient of moods to wait.
“I wouldn’t recommend making me repeat myself again.” Diluc threatened as he put more of his weight on the Mage’s chest, making it grunt in pain as it came back to reality.
“Ugh! Even if I did know where they are, you’re a fool for thinking I would tell you anything!” The Abyss Mage responded in defiance as its, now only, arm grabbed onto Diluc’s cuffed boot on its chest and tried to push it off.
“…Well then, if that’s the case, you might be useful in another way.” Diluc said ominously as he raised his arm that wasn’t holding the claymore’s blade against the mage’s throat. “I’ve only had this Vision for about two weeks now. I haven’t gotten a very good grasp of how to handle fine control of it yet. Would you mind helping me out?”
The Abyss mage barely had any time to process and realize what Diluc was saying just before flames shot out from his gloved hand. Although the Abyss Mage was a pyro one, without its elemental shield, it was just as susceptible to fire as anyone else. Meaning that, as the flames briefly covered its body, the mage was unable to do anything else but scream as its clothing was singed and the flames licked at its flesh underneath.
“Huh, so you’re still conscious.” Diluc said as the flames ceased coming from his hand and died out. “Either you’re pretty tough for a mage or I’ve got more control than I thought.”
“…P-pl-please… don't do that again…” the Mage begged in between heavy breaths, the pain of having been briefly covered in flames and screaming leaving it breathless.
“Only if you tell me what I want to know.” Diluc said in a dead serious tone, glaring down at the Mage as minor flames came off the gloved hand.
When the Mage didn’t say anything for a few seconds, now hesitant to try taunting Diluc again but still unwilling to give him the necessary information, Diluc clicked his tongue in shape irritation before firing off another wave of fire at the mage, causing the mage to once again scream in pain and agony.
Diluc didn’t have time for this. He didn’t know why the Abyss Order had kidnapped those people but it couldn’t have been for anything good. Plus, he didn’t know if any of them were in critical condition depending on what had been done with them, so time was of the essence for them.
Alongside that, Diluc didn’t exactly have a whole lot of time on his hands considering what the red gem that hung off of his hip meant for him.
Ever since receiving it, Diluc had been running all of Teyvat like a chicken with its head cut off, searching for and immediately clamping down on any leads he could find for Abyss bases. He was normally a lot more careful and particular, wanting to make sure everything went right lest he or some one who didn’t deserve it got hurt or killed. But two weeks wasn’t a whole lot of time to clear them all out on his own, and considering he didn’t know when or if he was going to get a chance to deal with them after tomorrow, he needed to take care of them now.
And he needed to be the one to take care of them. Without the ability to use elemental powers, it was near suicide for most people to fight the Abyss’ magic. And Diluc had been the only person outside of the Fatui, who he didn’t trust as far as he could throw one of their Legionnaires or Vanguards, that he knew of for as long as he could remember. Of course, that had changed within the past two weeks, but most of those people had been busy focusing on the trail tomorrow or simply weren’t able to deal with what a fight against the Abyss Order entailed yet.
Besides, most people these days thought that the Abyss Order had been wiped out after their war with Celestia. After all, how could the order survive the war that had killed the Archons? But they were all wrong thinking that.
Although they had been devastated in that war, the Abyss Order had survived it, and had spent the past few centuries rebuilding. It was only within a few decades ago that they had once again begun to make their moves. If nothing was done about them while they still hadn’t fully recovered, it could lead to a disaster even greater than the ones that killed the Archons. After all, the Archons weren’t exactly here any more to mitigate the damage.
“Alright! Alright! I’ll tell you!” The Abyss Mage yelled out, no longer able to handle the pain of the fire washing over it. “T-there three floors down! Hidden behind a fake wall next to a bookshelf with only red books!”
“Now was that so hard?” Diluc asked rhetorically as he clicked his tongue, suddenly glad he had taken the chance to interrogate rather than searching on his own. Who knows how long it would’ve taken him to find them all on his own if he had. And he still had another base to clear out before tonight was over.
“RAGH!” a roar from a wooden shield Mitachurl suddenly came from the side, grabbing Diluc’s attention as he saw the giant Hilichurl already charging him.
Unimpressed and unafraid, Diluc would point his left hand at it as what looked to be a small black flame peaked out from under the hem of the glove he wore. Just then, a barbed chain covered in dark flames would shoot out from the ground behind Diluc. The head of the chain would easily puncture through the Mitachurl’s shield and its mask to impale its skull with a spurt of blood. The chain would then constrict and roughly slam the already dead Mitachurl’s head into the ground with enough force to break the stone and shatter its mask.
The Abyss mage would yelp in terror at the brutality of the Mitachurl’s death, even as the dark flame of the chain and the chain itself dissipated and even disappear.
“I’ve told you what you want! Now let me go!” The Abyss mage demanded, bringing Diluc’s attention back to it.
“…Funny.” Diluc began as he pulled some of the weight off of his foot and removed the claymore’s blade from pressing against the neck of the Mage. But whatever happiness that the Mage had felt at this development had been a short-lived one when it saw that Diluc had raised his claymore up and Diluc glaring down at hok intently. “I don’t believe I ever gave the impression that I was going to let scum like you go.”
“N-no! Plea-” the Mage cried out, beginning to try and beg for its life before being interrupted as Diluc lowered his massive blade and decapitated the Mage in a single swing.
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“The time has come, chosen mortals of Teyvat. Your preparations are at an end.”
The voice that had spoken all over Teyvat two weeks ago echoed across the seven different countries once again. Everyone looked up towards the sky where they could see the floating island of Celestia.
In Mondstadt, Jean and Lisa, along with all of the Knights of Favonius, Adventurers Guild, and the Favonius Church that had received a vision, stood in the training yard of the knights. Jean’s hand was tightly gripping Lisa’s, who squeezed back as the two women both fought against their rising nerves. Looking away from Celestia as the voice continued talking Jean would look back to where Klee was standing next to Varka, waving her and everyone off, as she had also not received a Vision and wouldn’t be accompanying them.
Jean would smile back at the energetic girl as she used the hand that wasn’t holding Lisa’s to return the wave.
Just as she did, a bright light would seem to cover all of the vision users. The light would become blinding to everyone that was watching, and they would have to look away. When they looked back after the light was gone, all of those that had been standing there was also gone.
_____________________________________________
“Two centuries after the Seven were lost, Celestia had deemed that nigh is the time to choose their replacements.”
Ningguang and her allies listened, looking from their place on the Jade Chamber. Ganyu and Keqing had completed their respective tasks for a couple of hours, Ganyu inviting and bringing Yanfei to the Jade Chamber along with Xiangling and her friend's at Beidou's request to save time, before the voice had begun talking. Keqing mostly trying to keep to herself while Ganyu was spent most of her time talking to Yanfei and making sure their younger allies behaved themselves. More specifically Hu Tao, who's eyes seemed to gleam with mischief after having been invited to the richest person in all of Tevyat, and already attempted to pull some sort of prank on Ningguang's three handmaids, each.
Beidou, of course, never left the Jade Chamber, and had been there all day. Though unlike Ningguang, Ganyu, and Keqing, she had already settled everything she needed to with her crew before coming to the Jade Chamber and had nothing to do while waiting for things to begin. So, to Ninguang's mild annoyance, she had slept in as much as she could, even as everyone else began to arrive. It had taken Ningguang threatening to hit her with one of her stone projectiles to get her to finally wakeup, but even then, she made sure to make it as difficult as possible for Ningguang.
Right now though, she simply waited in silence next to Ningguang looking up at Celestia with everyone else, while the Tianquan herself was looking at her various allies, assessing their nerves their nerves. Beidou, Keqing, and Ganyu were perfectly calm, which were to be expected of them, so Ningguang's greater focus was on the younger ones. The two males of the group were perfectly calm, with the heir to the Feiyun Commerce Guild even looking away from Celestia continue reading his book as the exorcist ate some sort of ice treat and looking almost serene. Xiangling and the local rockstar, Xinyan, seemed to be showing some nerves, fidgeting a little, but they were doing their best to hide it.
Hu Tao, meanwhile, was an exception to everyone, as she looked positively brimming with energy and excitement that things were about to begin. Even as the strange light began to emit from their visions and cover their bodies, Hu Tao seemed to be enamored with it as everyone else grew serious. Beidou even gave Ningguang one last glance as she was engulfed, though she smirked just before disappearing, showing her fearless nature. Ningguang only took in a deep breath to compose herself before being covered by the light and being transported to where ever they were going, prepared for anything to happen.
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“Your trials will not be easy and will be long, and will challenge both you and your faith. Your reward for beating them will be godhood, but failure could mean your death.”
Diluc stirred from his sleep, opening his eyes as the voice began its announcement to the denizens of Teyvat.
Pushing himself up off of the trunk of the tree he had been sleeping under, Diluc would dust himself off from whatever dirt that clung to his fine clothes or leaves that had fallen onto him in his sleep. After his busy night of raiding bases of the Abyss and doing as much damage as he could, Diluc had tried to get as much rest as he was able to. It wouldn’t have a whole lot, but whatever was about to happen, he couldn’t afford to be lacking just because he was tired.
Once he was done, Diluc was quick to check that the Pyro vision was still attached to his hip to make sure nothing had happened while he was asleep. It was still there, of course, but something interesting was happening with it. It was emitting some kind of strange light, one that was spreading out from the gem to slowly envelop his body.
As it did so, Diluc would breath in and out, mentally preparing for whatever was going to happen. And, out of a strong sense of habit, he would use his right hand to pull on the hem of his left glove, tightening it. The light would then cover his entire body and he would soon disappear.
____________________________________
“So do not fail.”
Trail 1
Objective: Survive
Description: All Allogenes are to survive against other Allogenes, in a subspace creation for three days or until the necessary amount of Allogenes remain. Each night, Allogenes will be given the option to give up and forfeit their right to try and become an Archon.
Duration: Three Days
Reward: 1000 points, 160 Resin, and ability to continue with trials.
Failure: Will not be able to continue with trials.
Required Amount: 32 Allogenes
Status: 10,000 Allogenes remain.