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Re:Prologue Act I Preview:
[The Travelers who caught the wind once more]
In his entire existence of living, never had the Archon of Freedom felt the utter uncertainty of his fate as he faced the beings before him, whom exuded an aura similar to the heavenly principles.
The blond haired boy whose unique dark attire that immediately caught his eye, and a young girl, with unparalleled beauty and grace, along with smooth silvery white hair barely extending past her neck and a off the shoulder dress that reached just above her knees, floating closely right beside him.
Barbatos, or rather Venti as the name he currently goes by, cursed himself to no end for being so careless.
He shouldn't have let such a deceiving pair of deities that came from Celestia disguised as random travelers approach him, and now he was paying for it dearly with his lax attitude.
Just an hour prior, the Anemo Archon had decided to let out some steam, he thought that passing by the forest after his attempt in getting in contact with Dvalin, who was still far too hurt and unwilling to listen to him, would've hopefully soothe his nerves at his failure to communicate with his centuries old friend.
Imagine his surprise when he felt the familiar Celestial Aura in his immediate area, and him finding that the owners of those signatures were actually headed his way.
The realization didn't come sooner until he saw that it were the same people who stumbled upon him earlier while he was interacting with his friend.
It caused numerous warning bells in his head to blare at him.
It didn't take him long to understand that they were not to be underestimated nor trifled with, and the revelation that they came from the sacred palace above left him feeling both confused and scared.
Of course, he tried to subtly evade them when in actuality he was leading them, a tactical decision on his part as he wanted to be as far away from the city as possible in the event that a fight does break out between them.
To him, he wondered why the Authorities of Celestia sent out these two, he obediently followed the laws of the heavenly principles, so it boggled him as to why their own denizens were out to get him.
He needed to know their motives, because he knew that they wanted to seek him out personally.
Like at present, where they persistently followed after him all the way to Cape Oath, their intentions still unknown.
He couldn't even recognize either them, and despite of him not wanting to step foot into Celestia ever again, he was fairly certain that their ranks remained relatively the same throughout the centuries, so he speculated that they were either newly accepted into the revered thrones, or they're somehow a much higher ranked deity that he didn't know about.
That last line of thought absolutely terrified him.
In the end, it didn't matter to him, he was still a God, too, if he couldn't defeat them if they ever reveal that they were manevolent, he'll die trying before they could even dare lay a finger on his quaint city.
"So, what do the Rulers of Celestia want with this humble, drunken bard?" He asked coyly, yet at the same time, subtly mocking and aggressive, to mask his anxiety and unease.
He didn't even bother going with his usual rhyming and almost sing song speech, given how dire the situation could get, making quips was sure fire way to know whether the people in front of him are a threat or not.
Despite of his attempt at a mischievous initiation, they seemed relatively unaffected, in fact, he could only see confusion and even a small tinge of amusement in their eyes.
They didn't answer him, which was odd, the two just stared at each other silently after he spoke, both their golden and blue orbs shining and moving around, as if they were exchanging a wordless communication only they were capable of.
Venti tried his best not to show how unnerved he was with how weird they were currently being.
So he decided to conjure a strong gust of winds in their direction, serving as a passive warning of sorts that he will not hesitate to fight if they ever choose to strike first.
Though it appeared that he didn't have to wait as he tensed up when the blond haired "boy" decided to take a step forward.
Immediately, he gestured to the side, his hand quick on summoning his bow at a moment's notice.
Just when he anticipated an impending fight against them, to a battle that would surely end with his inevitable demise, the "person" in front of him did the unexpected that it caught him off guard.
The blond haired "boy" offered him a kind, friendly smile, his strange female companion floating beside him following suit.
It was a smile filled with familiarity, nostalgia, and even melancholy, as if they were seeing an old friend they haven't seen for years.
It was a sentiment that he couldn't share since to his recollection, he hasn't met any of them, so it just left him confused as to why they seemed to know him.
"I apologize for having to follow you around like this, to start things off on a better note, my name's Aether, a wandering traveler." he said pleasantly, placing a hand on his chest.
The person known as Aether then gestured to the floating girl beside him.
"She's my emerg- er, my traveling friend, Paimon."
Said person being addressed then gave the blond the nastiest glare, and Venti swore that he felt the massive Celestial Magic she was channeling at that moment.
Whether unconscious or not, the sheer pressure of it was simply staggering, it was a wonder that he wasn't left overwhelmed.
He also realized that the girl in front of him, whose name was Paimon, was as strong if not stronger than the proclaimed traveler based on the energy she was currently outputting.
The bard resisted the urge to shiver at her passive show of strength.
Aether on the other hand, seemed unfazed at his female companion's assertion of dominance and continued.
"We just needed to talk to you," pausing again, his expression then became serious.
"We're not here to start a conflict or anything, Barbatos, it's about your dragon friend earlier."
And just like that, the bard's cautious stance went up a notch while at the same time, even more questions began piling in.
There was still no confirmation that they are indeed from Celestia based on the "traveler" Aether's response, though by contrast they didn't seem hostile like he expected, except maybe the show of annoyance from his petite companion that prompted her to leak her suffocating heavenly powers.
The girl with silver hair for sure was a part of the heavenly principles based on her celestial demeanor alone, but the blond on the other hand, was mixed with something else, something otherworldly.
Shaking his head, he internally chided himself for being sidetracked.
At the moment, he would give them the benefit of the doubt, not that he had a choice to begin with.
So far, they were amicable and even friendly, which was surprising if they really did come from that prison in the sky.
Though it also confirmed some of his suspicions, they know who he is while he didn't even know they existed, and it made him worry as well on what they wanted to do with his friend Dvalin.
But again, he would have to go along with them for now until he found the answers.
He was basically forced to entertain them, he knew that his strength alone, while mighty in its own right, wouldn't be enough to best them both let alone one of them, so if it meant to protect his city and save his friend, he would listen to what they would have to say.
One thing though was for certain in his mind.
Who are these people, really?
And thus, began the tale of the unusual travelers with the God of Freedom, forever changing the predestined course that was the fate of Teyvat.