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Chapter Text

The God of the Woods and all Nature loved his nation and his people loved him too. His love was so big it even extended to other parts of the world. Everyone in all Teyvat knew about him.

He often visited other nations, but he didn't have a specific reason for doing so: he just loved watching mortals acting as such. With such carefree, unaware of the truth...That's how he himself would have liked to be.

After watching all the mortals living a happy life praying the Gods for themselves and their families, the Archon of Sumeru realized he preferred being the one immortal, if it can spare mortals from knowing the whole truth.

The wars they've been through, the sound of death surrounding them and even the truth behind Celestia...No, no mortal could ever bare the pain.

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The God of Nature was walking through the hallways of the main structure of Khaenri'ah. He particularly liked that nation: the lack of a deity on command was perceived as a heresy by the other Archons, while the Dendro one found it pretty fascinating.

He enjoyed having a good talk with the people of Khaenri'ah. They weren't particularly fond of deities, but still The Dendro Archon was able to make them open to him. Everyone in all Teyvat loved him.

He finally reached the room he was waited in. He entered but found no one. He decided to sit on a couch near the stained glass. 

"Tch, they ask us to come here without notice and they don't even try to meet us in time..."

The man laughed at the loss of temper of his long-life partner. "Do not lose your temper, Dearest. It is us who benefit from this encounter, so it is worth the waiting." 

The snake around his neck had a skeptical look on her face. "If you say so..." She snuggled against his neck. "You know I trust you with all myself." 

The God was about to answer her, but he was interrupted by a door getting opened. 

"Good morning, Sir. Pardon if I made you wait."

"Good morning to you, Dainsleif Dear. It is not a problem, really."

The Knight Captain Dainsleif was the most important figure in Khaenri'ah. Well...of course there were the royals, but they weren't seen as much as the Knight Captain was.

"Would you like some tea? I can ask my subordinate--

The green haired man stopped him. "May you ask them to come in?"

The blonde glanced at him with a surprised look. Then he answered.

"Of course."

He quickly left the room, leaving the God alone for some minutes.

"Forgive me for I have made you wait."

Dainsleif made once again his entrance, immediately followed by a brown haired man. They were wearing the same type of uniform.

The second man immediately introduced himself.

"Good morning, Your...Excellency?" The man remained silent for a while. "...My name is Halfdan and I'm one of Master Dainsleif's subordinates!"

The God involuntarily let out a giggle.

"My my, there is absolutely no need to act with such formality. I am nothing but a visiting foreigner."

Dainsleif took a sit in front of him, then turns to his subordinate. "Halfdan, could you bring us some tea along with two cups?" He quickly nodded.

"Make it three."

The whole room froze as a new, femenine, voice spoke.

"P-Pardon, did you say something?" Halfdan turned to the green haired man. The other quickly swung his hand.

"Excuse her, she's a bit outgoing sometimes..." The God declared, pointing at his neck. He could have sworn to have heard a shriek coming from Halfdan. 

"A...talking snake?!" 

Dainsleif quickly came to his aid. "Relax yourself, Halfdan. It's normal for an Archon to have a familiar which is able to speak." 

Halfdan muttered an "Oh yeah...you're right, haha." 

The God let out another chuckle. That reminded Halfdan of the request. 

"Oh...OH! I'm coming back with the tea!" 

As he said that, he quickly ran away from the room, leaving the three alone.

"Dearest, that was rude of you. You should apologize." The snake tched. 

"It was his fault for not noticing a beautiful woman, such as me." 

The green haired man caressed her head with his index finger. She leaned into the touch almost instantly. 

"You two must be close." 

Dainsleif noted. They both nodded. 

"Me and my dearest met during the slave market, she was being sold as one."

Dainsleif widened his eyes. "The snake...sold as a slave?" 

"No, you nincompoop! This form is just one I've taken to stay closer to my Lord!" 

"I've misunderstood, please forgive me."

Dainsleif rose his head again. 

"That makes me think...Can you really leave your nation alone, even if it's just five minutes?" 

The God smiled. "My people are never alone. With my own powers, I've created two illusions: one resembling me and another resembling my Dearest." 

Daisleif audibly gasped. "So you're making people believe you're always there with them, when you're actually gone wandering?" 

The God laughed once again. "I believe you've misunderstood, once again." He began.

"My illusion resembles my aspect, but it is not me. It does not even have any power. While her illusion is often seen as my assistant." 

Dainsleif closed his eyes, not answering. 

"Here I come with the tea!" The door suddenly opened, revealing Halfdan carrying a whole tea set. 

"My, thank you, Halfdan Dear." 

"Did I...interrupt something?" Halfdan thought to himself, not having the guts to say it out loud. 

"So, have you finally decided to tell why you've called us here without any notice?" The snake, visibly frustrated, complained. 

Dainsleif put down his cup of tea. "Yes. It's about something concerning the Royals..."

The affirmation piqued the curiosity of the God and his familiar. 

"It's about the Divine, or more actually... 

...Celestia."

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The kingdom of Khaenri'ah was completely destroyed. Its people were turned into monsters who brought their own fate and even death amongst the other seven nations. 

Mondstadt was wrapped in a cycle of death and its citizens fell in despair too. 

People in Liyue were completely disoriented, although their Archon was the oldest and approximately the wisest. 

Inazumans got completely defeated before and after their own Archon's death. 

Sumeru's people were left alone, without anyone to their side in that moment of despair.

Fontaine's beautiful bodies of water were filled with all the blood shed during the time. 

Natlan's Archon, despite being the God of War, was utterly defeated by the enormous amount of people killed during the whole war. 

The cold of Snezhnaya was nothing compared to the frost of its inhabitants' hearts. Not even the God of Love could warm them up. 

------------

The God of Woods and his familiar were still in Khaenri'ah. They were trying to find where and how this Cataclysm started.

"My Lord, staying here is way too dangerous for you!" A young girl, white hair and magenta eyes, shouted. The man didn't respond.

"Why is this happening?!" The man thought to himself. "Why here, in Khaenri'ah?!"

The woman shouted again, this time her tone was filled with anger.

"Do you have a death wish?! I won't let you die here, all alone!"

But the man didn't stop. On the contrary, he continued blabbering something.

At that moment, a small figure reached them both.

"Devi...Deva...! I've finally found you!" 

The woman got surprised. "What are you doing here, it's dangerous!" 

But the girl didn't stop running. "Stop...go away, Nahida!" 

Nahida stopped in front of her and started panting. "Why are you two here?! The people are worried about The Greater Lord! And the Illusion is nowhere to be found! 

"Wait, what?!" The little girl nodded. 

"Deva...please, let's return to Sumeru City..."

"Khaenri'ah...a nation without a God to lead it..." The albino nymph tried to reach him, but she stopped at the moment she saw his face completely paled.

"...It's because of Celestia...they've put a curse on this nation to...eliminate it..."

The three of them froze on the spot.

"...Wha--?"

Suddenly, the God felt an excruciating pain in the chest. He let out a scream.

"MY LORD!!"

"DEVA!!"

The God fell to the ground with a loud thud. The two girls rushed to his side.

The older girl picked his head up and put it in her lap. The other girl took his hands into hers.

"How the fuck has this...WHO?!"

"Wait...Forgive me, Deva..."

Nahida lifted up his shirt, revealing a slash wound in the middle of his chest. They both widened their eyes.

"...Damn." Nahida got out. She tried to disinfect the wound with her powers, while the other woman tried to stop her tears.

After some time, Nahida finally spoke again.

"He's fine, but I believe he's not in the condition to rule a nation."

"W-What?!" The snake managed to say between the tears. "W-What do you mean by that?!"

Nahida lowered her eyes. "Devi...I need you to take Deva somewhere else, where he can recover."

She reluctantly nodded, knowing there's no other option.

"Where could you go? Which nation is the closest to Sumeru?"

"The closest? It's...Liyue, I believe."

"Well..." Nahida got up. "You and Deva must go to Liyue and ask Morax for protection. When Deva's conditions recover, you both will return to Sumeru and he'll get back his title."

"You're saying we...make a contract with Morax?" The little girl nodded.

"Understood." She got up too. "But what are you going to do, Nahida?"

"I'm going to return to Sumeru and take the place of the Archon. When he will get better, I will abandon the title."

The older woman nodded as she began to walk towards Liyue.

"...Nahida?"

"Yes, Devi?"

"Stay safe."

Nahida softly smiled and mumbled a 'yes'. And so, they parted ways.

-------------

Nahida found her away back to Sumeru. Almost instantly The Sages, the most important figures in Sumeru besides the Archon, surrounded her.

"So, have you found our Lord?" One of them asked.

Initially, she didn't respond. A single tear ran down her puffy cheek. Her naturally green eyes filled with energy were now dark and thin. She brought a hand to her ponytail, loosing it. Her long, white and green hair were now down her shoulders and back. 

"The Greater Lord...has perished."

-------------

The albino woman ran as fast as her legs could. She was carrying the Dendro Archon in her arms, he wasn't as heavy as she thought.

Thanks to the crater created by the Lord of Geo, the distance between Sumeru and Liyue was just a small road.

"Where the hell is Morax?!"

She surely did not imagine that the Geo Archon was sitting on a rock, all alone, with the head between his hands.

"There he is!" She noticed after a while he was sitting on a rock, on top of a mountain. She carefully leaned the God of Woods near some bushes in a cave as she started climbing the mountain.

---------

"Morax, My Lord needs your help!"

Morax jumped in shock. He thinned his eyes as he saw an unknown figure.

"Who are you, and who is this 'Lord' you're talking about?"

As she realized the fact he doesn't recognize her, she regained her composure. 

She lowered her head. "I apologize, but it is better if you follow me."

Morax still had his suspicions, but he followed her in the cave. He wasn't expecting what he saw.

What he saw was the Archon of Sumeru laying down, slowly dying. He widened his eyes.

"What...?! I thought he had perished in Khaenri'ah--

The woman interrupted him. "I will explain everything after, but first..." She fell to her knees, head on the ground. "I beg you, Morax. Spare My Lord from this agony by making a contract with us."

After coming to know the truth, Morax decided to agree to make a contract with them. 

He guaranteed safety and shelter for the Archon of Sumeru and, in exchange, he would have granted good health to the people of Liyue.

--------------

"Mr. Zhongli, did you really explain the whole life of a goat to a child just to say that coconut milk doesn't come out of it?!" 

Zhongli shook his head. "I was simply educating her so things like that never happen again." 

The floating child shrugged. The blonde next to her giggled. 

"N-No, impossible..." 

The zombie really thought that the mythical beast 'Cocogoat' existed. 

"Seems like someone learned a valuable lesson, right, Dear Qiqi?" 

A green haired man came out from behind, patting the zombie's head. Zhongli didn't recognize that man. He immediately got suspicious. 

"Might I ask, who--

The other man got surprised, but he quickly regained his composure as he answered. 

"Oh, how rude of me. I'm Baizhu, the owner of this fine establishment named 'Bubu Pharmacy'." 

The Geo Archon calmed down. 

---------

"May I talk to you...in private?" 

Chapter Text

"Ugh, seriously?!" A floating child said, frustrated. "We're in Sumeru but no one knows where to find the Dendro Archon!?"

The blonde next to her was reflecting. The Lesser Lord Kusanali took the title of the Archon 500 years ago. It coincides with the befall of Khaenri'ah...

So the previous Dendro Archon, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, was probably connected with the people of Khaenri'ah.

Come to think of it...Why has nobody outside Sumeru ever mentioned the previous Dendro Archon, if they're still the most worshipped God here? 

"Next time I'll see Zhongli, I'll have to ask him...just in case." The blonde traveler thought.

"Hey, are you listening to Paimon!?"

The blonde jumped. "Sorry, I wasn't listening..."

Paimon pouted. "So Lesser Lord Kusanali is kind of a shut-in? I wouldn't know how to explain it." She put her hands on her head. "Aargh, this is too much for Paimon!"

The blonde didn't answer. They just stood there thinking. "Something is weird about this nation..." 

--------------

"Our Archon...perished!?" 

Nahida looked away. "Yes, they've both perished in Khaenri'ah. Both the God of Wisdom and the Goddess of Flowers." 

One of the Sages walked towards her. On his face a smile was visible , but his words hit worse than having to fake her creators' death. 

"Nahida dear, weren't you supposed to find and bring them both back here?" The little girl didn't answer. "Why haven't you done anything?" 

She didn't have the courage to look at him in the eyes. Another Sage stepped in. 

"It is useless getting angry with a kid, they never learn the lesson anyways." 

"But the kid is technically...the new Archon!?" Another one spoke. 

"Not even in a thousand years will I accept this brat as my ruler." Another one spoke. 

"How about we make her the Archon but we leave her somewhere, while we have all the nation in our hands?" Another one spoke. 

"Sound like a good idea. No one is ever going to find this child and say 'Oh, poor girl...where are your parents?" Another One Spoke. 

Three of the six Sages were reflecting on what do to next, while the other three began laughing and laughing and laughing. 

"NO!" 

The sudden shout of the albino nymph brought everyone's attention to her. 

"I...I've actually lied to you all!" She started sweating as she spoke those words. "T-The Greater Lord is alive, both of them! They've just...ran away somewhere!" 

Why was she telling them the truth? The Sages were always acting weirdly around Deva and Devi, that's why she couldn't bring herself to trust them.

Silence followed. She almost didn't dare to breathe.

"And you...let them run away?" 

Nahida widened her eyes. "N-No, I didn't! Deva was--

"Wait..." The third of the Sages interrupted. "First you say they've perished but now you say they've ran away and you couldn't do anything!?" 

"N-No, it's not what I've--

"Was this your plan all along?" 

Everyone turned to him. "You wanted to get rid of them so you could become OUR Archon!?" 

A murmur spread among the Sages. She didn't know how the man got this conclusion, but one thing was clear: Unlike her creators, she wasn't trusted. 

She was nothing but an illusion projected by the Goddess of Flowers. 

"Listen, kid." The first of the Sages walked towards her. "You will take the position of the Greater Lord: you are now the Lesser Lord." He cleared his throat. 

"But we cannot allow our nation to be ruled by a little girl, moreover a murderer." 

...Murderer...?

"We will use the energy left to us by the Greater Lord to build a system connected to the Irminsul." He took a small pause. "And neither you nor your actions will appear in it."

The Sages started leaving the room of the Akademiya in which they were discussing. Just one, the sixth, remained with Nahida. He got down to her level and whispered into her ear. 

"Your idea was to completely annihilate this nation, but we are the ones who are going to make sure that nothing remains of you in this world." 

--------

Nahida was left alone. Her legs couldn't remain stable and so she fell to the ground. She doesn't remember the last time she broke down in tears.

She was able to avoid crying for Deva's condition, but now her vision was completely blurred with tears. 

"Deva wouldn't approve this..." She thought to herself, still sobbing. "He would have been able to explain the situation to those mortals..." 

"Devi would have used violence to forcefully make them realize they've been complete assholes..." 

"What would I have done? What did I do?" 

The little elf stood there, knees to the ground and head in the hands. 

"I am nothing compared to them."

---------------

"What is it, Morax?"

The brown haired man lowered his gaze. "Forgive me for what happened before, I haven't recognized you."

"You haven't?" Zhongli shook his head.

"Well, of course you didn't, My Lord just shapeshifted!"

"I've figured it out much."

Silence fell into the room. Morax wasn't particularly good at conversation, neither the previous Dendro Archon was...

"I'm--

"So--

They both spoke at the same moment. After an awkward giggle, the pharmacist spoke.

"After you, Morax."

"Thank you." Then he started speaking. "Are you aware that the Fatui are keeping an eye on this pharmacy?"

"Well, duh...!"

"Changsheng...!" Baizhu held her up by the neck. She faked a respiratory blockage.

"You're acting rudely lately, especially in front of Morax!" He scolded her.

Zhongli cleared his throat. Both the previous Dendro Archons turned their gaze to him.

"That guy who's always following me...Tartaglia. He's one of the Fatui Harbingers."

Baizhu looked at him. "Pardon me, but what's your point? You surely have something else in mind."

Zhongli softly smiled. "You know me well, don't you?" Baizhu smiled in return.

"It's about another Harbinger, the one who's established here in Liyue."

Baizhu inclined his head. "I've sent Xiao to investigate and...the similarities between the two of you are enormous. Are you familiar with the name 'Regrator'?"

Silence.

"My Lord...Do you think it's--

"Pfft...ahahaha! What a twist of events!" Zhongli looked at him, intrigued.

"Who would have guessed that stupid excuse of a puppet would have turned against its own creator!?"

The Geo Archon arched his eyebrows. He's never heard of this story, well...no one has.

"Will you listen to a story of mine, Morax? I promise it'll be short..."

----------------

"Being the Archon sure is tough..." The snake, in her human form, whined. Her partner smiled.

"Sometimes it is." He turned his gaze to her. "How about we take a break from it?"

She widened her eyes. "What? We cannot!"

The God of Wisdom giggled. "Of course we can, Dearest. The important is that the people of Sumeru do not notice it."

She got even more confused. The snake was about to speak again, but got interrupted.

"Follow me and see for yourself." 

---------------

They got to a room that emanated a strange aura. 

The God of Woods stayed still. A green ray of light enveloped him as little sprouts began to grow at his feet. It was an incredible spectacle.

The sprouts grew more and more, until one of them became a big tree. A body was carved on its wood: it looked awfully familiar.

The figure slowly came out of the wood and it gained color. It was identical to its creator, except for the fact it had black hair and not green. It symbolized its lack of effective power.

"M-My Lord...It's identical to you!" The woman shouted. He giggled once again.

"See? If we present this puppet to the people, they would definitely confuse it with myself."

"Yes, but..." She started. "It has black hair, so it's not completely 'you'."

The God let out another giggle. This one was forced.

"I do not think I have to remind you the people of Sumeru are a bunch of ignorants, or have you forgotten?" The last part was remarked. "You haven't, have you...?"

She quickly dismissed him with her hand and a skeptical look on her face.

Silence fell into the room.

"So...are you going to create a puppet of me too?"

The God regained his typical smile. "Of course, Dearest."

-----------------

"Your puppet...is surely popular here." The albino woman noted. Her partner wasn't so happy about that.

"Come to think of it, have you thought of a name for it?" She asked him. "I named mine Nahida because I find this name pretty cute for a nymph of flowers!"

For the first time in her life, which was not short, she heard her counterpart 'tching'. Saying she was surprised was an understatement.

"It is only a puppet, a mere illusion created by myself. It cannot afford such frivolities."

She didn't know how to answer him. She just remained silent. 

------------------

"I see how it is."

Zhongli listened to the entire story. He wasn't expecting a God of his caliber to use such methods.

"It even gave itself a name..." He let out a 'tch'. "What a laugh."

Morax tried to change topic, given the drop of atmosphere.

"That traveler...They should have reached Sumeru by now."

Baizhu turned to him, surprised. "I wasn't been told."

Zhongli closed his eyes. "I've tried to delay their arrival to Sumeru by sending them to Inazuma, even if it probably wasn't the best of the ideas."

The snake rised her head. "And why is that?"

Zhongli sighed. "Their goal is to find every Archon and ask them about their lost sibling." He opened his eyes again, looking at Baizhu.

"I've avoided sending them to Sumeru, since I believe the Lesser Lord isn't capable of helping them in that field."

Baizhu smiled.

"..." 

"I really hope them and their sibling do not lose themselves once again."

"Yes, I hope so too."

-------------

"You're the Lesser Lord Kusanali!?" Paimon shouted at top of her lungs. "We've finally found you!"

The nymph giggled. "Yo, how is it going?"

The traveler got taken aback by her attitude, while Paimon was too busy sighing in relief.

After regaining their composure, the blonde spoke. "Are you the Dendro Archon...?"

She didn't say anything. She just smiled.

"I heard you're the traveler who has saved huge nations such as Mondstadt, Liyue and soothed the Raiden Shogun's pursuit for Eternity."

She took a pause before speaking again.

"I wonder...

...will you be able to save us and our nation too?"