Chapter Text
In a void of silence, the faraway echo of footsteps rang loudly across his mind. The indigo-haired male stood inside of the upper half of a mechanical vessel, suspended by multiple illuminated cords. His eyes were closed and he remained unmoved, though he couldn’t help but notice the sound was growing closer. He knew that someone was coming towards him, and decided to wait for their arrival.
As the sound finally stops in front of him, Scaramouche rises from his slumber with his lavender eyes peering downwards. The figure of Lumine and her little companion was before him. Next to her, he saw Nahida with her arm extended in his direction and her glimmering green powers creeping towards him.
"Hard to manipulate someone’s dreams when they’re awake, isn’t it, Buer?" he huffs under his breath.
When the white-haired female hears his voice, she looks up in a panic. Their gazes meet and her eyes widen, as if she was shocked to see him awake. She quickly retracts her hand and stops her powers.
By a very lucky chance, Scaramouche had awakened from his semi-conscious state before Lumine and Nahida found him. This rendered Nahida unable to use her powers to control his dreams.
"You dare to tamper with my mind?" Scaramouche questions. He was furious with their actions. In a rage, he swings down his robotic arm to crush them. Lumine catches it with her raw strength and manages to push him back, much to his amusement.
He draws back his mechanical arm and assesses the subjects below him. Dealing with Nahida would be lightwork. She wasn't the type of god to be equipped with the best fighting capabilities after all. It was Lumine who would give him trouble.
The male knows that the blonde traveler is not a normal person, nor is she truly human to begin with. She's a soul from another world—from far beyond the skies and stars. She's garnered a reputation in Teyvat for her potentials rivaling the power of gods. During their past run-ins, he's carefully analyzed her abilities. She harbors no Vision, yet she could call upon multiple elements to aid her in battle. Subduing someone like her would require more effort than this.
Scaramouche knocks down the platform, causing Lumine, Nahida, and Paimon to fall as the floor concaves beneath them. He then assembles the upper half of the mechanical vessel to its lower half, creating a full body. With full mobility now, he launches an all-out attack on them.
The lavender-eyed god wasn't infused with any Knowledge Capsules yet, but his brute power from the electro gnosis and mechanical form was more than enough to overwhelm them. He’s injured Nahida to the point where she couldn’t properly utilize her powers at will anymore. Lumine, on the other hand, had to be careful so she could protect both the wounded Archon and her companion. She was constantly on the defensive, with little opportunity to attack him back.
It wasn’t long before he had them cornered and powerless in exhaustion, yet Lumine continues to hold up her sword. Nahida also stands up again after catching her footing. All of this indicated that they were still fighting and unwilling to give up.
Scaramouche clicked his tongue. That annoyed him. They were bruised and battered. They had no moves left on the table. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and no way of winning. He was clearly the triumphant one, but they refused to back down. Were they actually asking for death?
He didn't understand it, but he smiles. His smile turns into a grin. And the grin morphs into maniacal laughter. “I may as well put you out of your misery and end this all in one go.” Scaramouche stands back and raises both of his arms out.
Lumine, Paimon and Nahida watch as a whirling orb forms above him. It was rapidly growing in size. There was no time to devise a plan and no route of escape either. The blonde-haired female searches Nahida's expression for any sign of what they should do. The Archon mouths a quiet and sorrowful "I’m sorry," to her.
“Setsuna Shoumetsu cometh…!” the new god yells as he hurls the enormous meteor of energy down at them. Lumine holds onto Nahida and Paimon’s hands as they accept their fate. They saw only a flash of purple—then everything went dark.
Lumine slowly opens her eyes. She was laying on the ground amongst the debris. Her vision is blurry and her body is too weak to get up, but she scans around for Nahida and Paimon and spots them across the room. She's relieved to see that they were still alive, just unconscious.
Immediately, Lumine's eyes widen at the sight of the massive crater. She realizes that the meteor did not hit them directly. In fact, it seems that Scaramouche had missed on purpose—but why? What actually hit them was the force of the meteor landing besides them instead. The size of the crater made her not want to think about what would have happened to them if it didn’t miss.
Scaramouche, who was no longer in his mechanical vessel, walks up to her and lifts her in his arms. She was too exhausted to muster the strength to stop him. Her head was dizzy too. Her sight grows dim, and she falls asleep.
After Scaramouche won against them in battle, he began to track down the 168 Knowledge Capsules that the Sages had originally prepared for him. He infused himself with the 167 data capsules that he located, missing only one. With this newfound power, wisdom, and status, he ruled over Sumeru as the Everlasting Lord of Arcane Wisdom. He took on the name 'Shouki no Kami' and tossed away the identities of 'Scaramouche' and 'Kabukimono' out of spite. His past and the Fatui were now nothing to him.
Shouki no Kami reformed the entirety of Sumeru. He reconstructed the Sanctuary of Surasthana into his own personal palace high above Sumeru City, where nothing could escape his eyes. He also immediately disposed of the Sages because their desires were to control him after erecting him as a god. How foolish of them to assume that he would let them have their way.
Once he came into rule, Lumine’s friends banded together and defined themselves a resistance group. Their aim was to reject Shouki no Kami and reinstate their Dendro Archon, but their movement gained very little traction. The common people of Sumeru were comfortable choosing the stronger god with higher knowledge. As a result, Shouki no Kami stood as the superior god. He relentlessly chased after each and every one of her friends to the very borders of Sumeru, knowing well that they also held the last of the 168th Knowledge Capsule he needed.
To him, it'd be a nuisance if either Buer or Paimon woke up, especially with the 'resistance group' around. He decided to seal the two of them into a deep slumber within the isolated depths of the Joururi Workshop, much like how his creator also sealed him away to sleep forever. The male also knew that Lumine would try every night to make contact with Nahida, the same way she did when Azar locked them up, but he wasn’t dumb enough to let it happen again. Utilizing his divine powers, the seals on Buer and Paimon can only be broken by him, or if the Electro Gnosis falls out of his possession. The latter wasn't likely, however.
During this time, he also forced Lumine into a marriage with him, in exchange for the favor of no longer hurting anyone she cared for. Although he had acquired her for himself, he still felt the need to keep her away, locking her in her bedroom everyday where no one could get close enough to help her. And many months have already passed.
As the indigo-haired male steps down from his mechanical throne, several amethyst-colored cords detach from his back. Dottore had designed the robotic vessel to remain permanently intact with him, but becoming a god somehow granted him the ability to attach and detach himself whenever he pleases. He usually opts between both. Even though he often utilized the robot, it wasn’t the source of his powers—it was merely an extension of his body. Therefore, staying connected to it overnight was unnecessary to him.
His servants and maids rushed forward the moment his feet touched the floor. They drape his evening attire over his body and dress him for bed. They notice that the small gaps between his joints were parting like a doll’s, but dare not to speak of it. They have accepted him as their new god and devoted their loyalty to him. It was common for gods to not be human anyways.
From the corner of his eyes, Shouki no Kami notices a maid staring and sends her flying across the room with the flick of a finger. He hated that type of stare. When he first awakened in Inazuma, that was the same way people looked at him whenever they saw his doll-like body. "Dispose of the trash properly," he mumbles coldly, referring to the unconscious maid on the floor. The remaining servants nod and bow as they do their best to hide their fears.
"Now," the male pauses. “How is my wife today?" he questions.
“Lady Lumine eats her meals from time to time, but she still refuses to speak to anyone,” one of the servants responds.
He lets out a sharp exhale upon hearing the servant. After he secured his rule over Sumeru, he made Lumine his bride against her will and locked her up in a bedroom so she couldn’t escape. He planned to keep her close so that no one would dare to undermine his status. Plus, he wanted her beauty as the trophy of his success, but he also missed the old Lumine. He missed the way her eyes used to glimmer. He missed her happier emotions. Now, she is just a silent, empty person who refuses to talk.
Shouki no Kami descends the stairs and exits the room in frustration. He looks down at his wrists as he makes his way through the halls of the palace. His joints mysteriously disappeared long ago after he migrated out of Inazuma, so for centuries, he's looked like a normal human being. He couldn't figure out why the old puppet joints had emerged on his body again after he ascended to godhood. Regardless, the change didn't affect his abilities, so it was the least of his concerns. Right now, he cares more about Lumine.
He approaches a large door that is barred with multiple exterior locks. Two servants at the door bow to him and begin to undo the locks. They open the door for their new god and quickly close it after he enters.
Inside the room, a female sat on the bed, adorned in the finest silk clothing. Her short, golden blonde hair was pinned up with many bejeweled hair ornaments. Despite all of these valuable gifts given for her to wear, her amber-toned eyes were unhappy. She only silently stares out of the locked window, and she pays him little attention every time he visits. He was lucky if she looked his way at all.
"Lumine," Shouki no Kami says as he sits beside her. She doesn't move. She’s been this way ever since the day they wedded.
The lavender-eyed male pulls Lumine into an embrace. "When will you speak to me?" he quietly asks. He buries his face into her shoulder. It felt humiliating to keep a wife who wouldn't speak or look at him, but he couldn't bring himself to be upset with her. He’s unsure if it was guilt or something else foreign to him, because he’d be lying if he said he didn’t care for her.
The maids take care of her everyday, and he's thankful for that. Everyday, they help her bathe and shower, bring her meals, and dress her. The shade of lipstick they applied on her tonight was a lovely rosy shade, which accentuated the shape of her lips. Even without it, he thought she was quite beautiful. She looked like she wasn’t from this world, literally. Shouki no Kami leans in and tries to kiss her, but she turns away. When he looks at her eyes, she is glaring at him.
"You have many mistresses, don't you?" the golden blonde female questions. "You took in other mistresses after marrying me, so why not seek the attention and love that you need from them? Because it certainly won't come from me," Lumine continues nonchalantly. After she spoke, she moved to the opposite side of the bed.
Shouki no Kami stares at her speechlessly. This was the first time she's spoken to him in months, and yet she chose the harshest phrases. He may be a powerful god, but her words were daggers that he could not defend himself from. He scoffs and abruptly stands up, now visibly upset. He couldn't care less about the mistresses. He wasn't married to them. He's never loved or slept with them. He doesn't speak to them either. They're only beauties that he collected out of frustration to fill the emptiness in this new life of his.
Seeing Lumine in her current state, his chest aches. He takes a deep breath and slowly recollects himself. “I see that you're still upset over things,” he calmly responds. The look in his eyes softens, and he reaches out to tuck a piece of her hair behind her ears. “Take your time. We aren’t human, so I’m in no hurry. Even if it takes you eons to come around, I will wait for you.“
The large door opens up for him as he steps out of the room. The indigo-haired male wonders if this outcome with his artificial divinity was worth it. Everything was in the palm of his hands, yet why did he feel more miserable now than ever before? Shouki no Kami turns around to glance at Lumine one more time before the closing door blocks his view.
Lumine looks towards the locked door with a saddened expression. Truth be told, she really wanted to talk to him sometimes. She wanted to ask why he purposely missed his attack that day. She wanted to ask about his past. She wanted to learn about him. However, she couldn’t let herself give in. Even if his gestures seemed genuine now, he’s done many bad things that changed the trajectory of her life forever. She had to stay strong, for herself and for her friends.
Perhaps in another world, they succeeded in stopping him as a god and saved him from the torments of his past. If such a world existed, she wouldn’t hesitate to become his friend in it.