Chapter Text
At the exact moment Mc regained consciousness his whole body made sure to send nervous signals that he was very much in pain, the electric output gunning for his brain. Slowly Mc opened his eyelids, batting them to get rid of the dryness. His vision improved only to be greeted by a relative obscurity. In front of him were three seelie courts placed in a triangular formation. Mc closed the distance separating him from the one closest to him by walking on all four. To better focus on his surroundings, Mc took many deep breaths - much appreciated by his lungs. Looking up, there were small sources of lights, but the newly awakened man couldn’t discern many details. To his right was a large opening showcasing terrible wind and snow. Mc concentrated and forced his senses to venture through the opening. A general sense of uneasiness echoed back to him, frost, some kind of large being with a malicious aura, surrounded by smaller ones and further away a large body of water.
His numbed brain assaulted by the joint impact of his body soreness and the disoriented echo produced by his mental sweep of the lower area, decided to jug the memories of his last moment, in all irony. A terrible impact on the mountain which he felt to his core, a change of scenery, the priest leaving to have answers and him leaving for the bottom of the starglow cavern to try to understand the meaning behind the foreign pillar. While he was investigating the ley lines, a glacial orb fell in Starglow Cavern. Before Mc had time to escape, it froze everything in the cavern, Mc included, inducing him into a long sleep. It is a known fact that nymphæ surpass humans when it comes to longevity. Thanks to his constitution and his capacity to enter a deep sleep similar to hibernation, Mc was able to preserve his condition while being frozen in an icy cleft.
Mc tried to fully stand on his feet but regretted the idea as pain ran through his body. Abdicating to the dissent of his bruised members, the nymph decided to project his senses upwards to find where he could be heading. He mentally mapped his surroundings while understanding that the configuration of Starglow Cavern changed while he was stuck, probably due to the cold. He felt the energy emanating from the frost pillar atop of his position and a second beating element outside the cavern.
Aside from those echoes, Mc was unable to tell what was happening outside his glacial sepulcher. Mc concentrated on the ground below him and was surprised to find many active ley lines ready to lend their vitality. The nymph activated his powers to heal himself through the energy grid of Irminsul trees. Did the princess succeed in grafting the tree?
Finally able to stand up and with his eyes accustomed to the dim light, Mc was surprised to see that the landing site of the orb was now cleared of any remnants of the *thing* that descended upon him. Did someone come to his rescue? Maybe they dealt with the orb, but were unable to locate and free him from the cleft in the cave wall he was stuck in? Maybe at this very instant the priest is waiting for his assistance in the resolution of this divine crisis.
Mc followed the rocky ramp on the left side of the cavern, branching paths were then leading higher in the cavern perhaps to an opening to safely exit through. Mc reached some kind of base camp with hillichurls around a small fire. The nymph was surprised to see them there. Worst part is they were blocking the way to the opening he saw behind them. He was not in a state to fight with monsters. He concealed his aura and turned right on the other branching that meandered the cavern further. He passed behind the next hilichurls he saw and was now faced with a choice to make. Either go on the ramp following the cave wall or on the ramp that went in the middle cavern. Mc projected his sense for the second time and was able to find more cave openings. One led to nothing, but another one seemed to resemble a path exiting the cavern naturally. Mc chose the second option - to follow the side of the cave wall.
After going up for a while, the path then went downhill and the nymph could feel the outside world not too far ahead. Passing by some single hillichurls minding their business, he made a run for it still concealing his aura. Out of breath, Mc reached a narrowing tunnel that opened on a small pool. He recognized the ruins around him but wondered how they could be in an advanced state of decrepitude and neglect. Mc kneeled down and cupped water with his hands. The water made its way to his stomach, leaving a cold trail in his throat. Mc closed his eyes in appreciation and stood once again, the soreness of his muscles as his travel companion.
The closer he got to the opening of the cave, the louder he heard different signals from the outside world. The nymph was unsure of the current state of Teyvat, one thing was certain though, it wasn’t the world he knew anymore.
Unable to stay warm, Mc had to quickly choose his next destination. Projecting his senses again he felt a tug from alchemical objects nearby echoing to him. Stumbling as he went, Mc hid his presence from the various monsters he encountered; he didn’t want to show himself to the humans he crossed neither they had greed and violence in their hearts . The trail was garnished with inconsistent wooden bridges and fences. Suddenly, Mc felt a tingly feeling all over his skin.
«Ukko?» Mc whispered with incredulity.
Mc continued straight ahead only to be greeted by a large Frostarm Lawachurl. Mc stood there utterly astounded. Why did his senses recognize this monster as Ukko? In that brief moment of stupor, Mc wasn’t able to keep his aura concealed. He tried to erase his presence once again, but it was too late. The cryo monster growled and charged at the form that appeared out of thin air in front of him. Mc just had time to dodge and reached for the three to his right on the side of the path. Mc concentrated his power and merged with the tree. To a bystander, it would have seemed like Mc tried to go through the tree, but without reappearing on the other side. Mc used the little mental energy he had left to travel through the root system of the sparse trees at the edge of the path. His body protested from the strenuous effort this ability required.
Re-emerging from the trees up ahead, Mc sprinted forward and reached the end of the trail which continued 4-5 meters under him. Without hesitation, Mc jumped toward the coniferous tree to his right, once again merging with it. The pain he felt in doing so was unbearable, each root he traveled through felt like knives raining on him. The pressure in his skull was maddening, but the strains didn’t matter if he was able to reach his safe haven. Mc waited until his limit and exited the last tree dashing forward on shaky legs. Mc realised he succeeded in putting some comfortable distance between him and the hilichurls. The monsters lost interest in him and stopped chasing him. Mc reduced his pace to a light jog and then to a slow walk, wobbling like he could on the ever closer alchemical workshop that called to him. Where there were active alchemical devices, ought to be the station of someone that could help him.
Exhausted, Mc finally reached a small campsite with lit torches, some bookshelves and alchemical apparatus. He curled up beside the woodfire beneath a brewing black cauldron. He didn’t want to sleep again - scared to not wake up, but he didn’t have another choice if he wanted to regain his strength. If this campsite happens to belong to one of those men he passed on the way he would have to be quick on his feet when they came back. That was the last thought the bygone being had before dozing off, curled on himself near the heat source.