Chapter Text
Born from a wealthy noble family of Fontaine, you were raised and nurtured to become a proper lady, fairest of them all. The land ruled under the hand of the hydro archon herself, full of responsibility and expectations under the guidance of law and justice.
Your parents expected you to follow on their path, as loyal underlings of the hydro archon, worshiped and following all their absolute order. But something in you just screamed refusal, hesitant to believe in the so-called god.
"Mother, do I really need to worship our hydro archon? Is it a must?" A question you once asked your mother, not knowing better to just shut your mouth and do as they said. As the question left your mouth, you were met with a glare, a worried gaze from your mother. She repeatedly asked you, why did you even think about such a thing? Of course, as a family that has been loyal to the almighty hydro-archon, you just also follow on their path.
You can't do anything but nod, forcing yourself to follow their wishes. But that did nothing to you but made you question even more. The hydro archon looked just like the others, the only thing that's separating her was her title. Or so you thought.
Since your first encounter with her, you felt like doubting yourself of your own thoughts all this time. She looked majestic, she appeared to resemble any other humans, but you can't help but be captivated by her own charm, something that was pulling you closer to her feet.
Admiration is all you feel towards the hydro archon, slowly making you mimic her without you even realizing so. Truly enchanted you are, you almost completely discarded the ideologies you once held dear, hidden from the people around you. Yet deep inside, it felt weird, what happened to the you who were so doubtful in their beliefs?
* * *
Chaos ensued within the court, the grand bell rang way more than three times, signaling the passing of an important figure. What happened? It was perfectly at peace just a moment ago. A familiar figure suddenly steps in front of the court, your father. His face looked grim, yet he remained with his strict posture.
"The hydro archon has fallen."
The sentence came out of your father's mouth, responded by the silence within the chaos. They stand still, not saying a single word, but it's very visible to anyone, the fear on their face. One of them starts to weep, followed by the cry of a little child from the left corner of the court.
The rest are blurry, ending the fragment of memory from your dream.
In front of you is a statue, a figure covered with a robe, and a pair of wings on its back. The statue of the anemo archon, Barbatos. There you stand in the midst of night, standing still before the statue of a god. You clenched your hand as you looked at the text below you.
Gate to Celestia
The text is written in common Teyvat language, blurred by dirt and germs from all the years it has experienced. All the years of waiting might be repaid very soon. After all the journey from one point to another point passed on this prosaic of a world, you have collected numerous pieces of tales and veracities of this world. Once those pieces of puzzles are pieced together as one, the truth you've been searching for will unravel before you.
And now is the chance, by having this last piece— you'll find out the truth, and perhaps, will be freed from this suffocating world. The guise of wind of the night passed, blowing your hair along with your coat. Tonight is a very chilly night. A puddle of water next to you reflected your figure in great detail. You diverted your gaze to the reflection and saw your left eye, sparkling along with a shape of star.
A half-bred Khaenri'ahn and Fontaine, disconnected from both nations to seek knowledge and truth. And to erase your own existence. Footsteps come behind you and you turn around to see who might it be.
"Barbatos." You called. He stands there with the form of a young boy, or man if that matters, grinning with his green eyes narrowing a little. The former anemo archon had disguised himself as a bard by using the appearance of his old friend, mingling with mortals casually in the name of freedom.
"Hey, long time no see! What are you doin' here in the middle of the night?" He questioned, you assumed him to be drunk looking at his disheveled hair.
"And what are you doing going around town while drunk?" He smiled even harder upon your words. "Mind your own business, please." You continued.
"Oh, I'm definitely not drunk! Well, it's rare seein' you here, standing in front of a statue in daze!"
"Really? That doesn't seem to be true. For what I'm doing here…" you look at the ground. "You should be aware of my goal from wandering around this world to even joining that witch clique, right? Well, just say I'm already pretty close to that point, that's why I'm here."
"That still doesn't answer my question, though." As he stares deeply into your eyes, his foolish face becomes more serious. "Say, what will happen once you're done on your business here?"
"That, I can at least tell you. Simply put, I'd be most likely gone." You took a breath as you clutched your pocket tightly. "If you, by any chance, ever gonna see me after tonight- unless I know about our encounter tonight, then it's no longer the [Name] you're talking to right now. But she's not a threat."
"I see what you're about to do. But are you sure?"
"I won't be standing here right now if I'm not sure."
"Then farewell."
" Adieu. " You closed your eyes to feel the air around you, and he already disappeared the moment you reopened them. For what you're about to do, you must admit you might be the most chillest person in the entire Teyvat.
* * *
Darkness envelops your mind while the air around you disappears and Instead is replaced with water. Your eyes are closed, your chest is struggling to work for an ounce of air. As if drowning, all you can do is wait for the end to pick you up. You will die soon, that's great.
Everything around you disappears all of a sudden. Reopening your eyes, your eyes widened upon seeing the stars before you. Where are you? The sky, hell, heaven? Suddenly an unprecedented voice rang in your ear, forming words which you can't comprehend.
"... - .-. .- -.-- / .-- .- .-.. -.- . .-. / ..-. .-. --- -- / - .... . / -.. . ... - .. -. . -.. / ..-. .- - . --..-- / .-- .- -.- . / ..- .--. .-.-.-"
The next thing you knew, everything fades to black once again.
Where is this? Your head feels lightheaded. Unfamiliar pictures start to flash through your head, rapidly causing chaos. Everything rushes in at once. Just what is happening, who are these people whose faces share similar features as Liyue people. A pink-haired young girl... It appears as though the star is ready to burst since it is so massive and bright.
You attempted to reject those unknown memories rushing in away from your head, yet they keep on coming in. It messes with your mind, forcibly turning in a life you never even experienced before. You don't want to become somebody else.
Stop it!
In an instant, those images crumbled and dissipated entirely. They disappeared as if never existed in the first place, and once again you regained your peace.
Which did not last for long. Right now, you can feel your whole body floating in the air, yet slowly gliding down you don't know where. The next thing you know, your body crashes on the hard ground. What the hell. The sensation of the cold ground shook your body awake, trembling from the hard fall. You attempted to move your body, to no avail. Your eyes are closed shut, and are yet able to be opened. Where are you?
Loud footsteps echo through, signaling something nearby. Not one, not two, more than that. What you assumed to be a huge metal moved causing an even louder noise. Then a scream of a girl came, likely being chased by something. It stopped, and the same voice of the girl returned, seeming to be complaining about something. The girl spoke to ‘someone’, in which a masculine voice replied to her.
Everything went silent.
“Dan Heng, another person is here!” The same voice of the girl exclaimed. Wait, did she mean you?
“Her outfit doesn't seem to be any of Herta's staff. March, try waking her up.”
“Can't you do it instead?!”
“I did it already earlier. It's now your turn.”
“Right, why not Caelus who's doing it?” She mentioned another person.
“He just woke up, you do it instead.”
For the last time, you tried opening your eyes. In front of you is a pink-haired girl, a black haired male, and a gray haired guy right behind him. “...Where am I?” You inquired.
“Good! You wake up instead. Are you okay?” The girl cheered.
"Can you stand up?” The black haired guy asked you and offered his hand. Hesitantly, you took it and finally got up from where you're laying. “Thank you.” he nodded slightly.
“Are you a staff member of Herta's Space Station?” He questioned, letting go of your hand.
“I don't even know what that is, but I'm certainly not part of them. What even is this place?” You answered, completely clueless of your current predicament. He narrowed his eyes hearing your answer, seeming to be lost in thoughts.
"How did you end up here then? Considering that you don't even know what this place is, then you too are not a guest."
"I was… I don't know. The moment I woke up, I'm already here with all of you observing."
"You can come with us then! I'm March 7th, this is Dan Heng and Caelus!" The girl excitedly introduced herself as March 7th while also pointing at the two men. The black haired guy named Dan Heng only nodded in silence, while Caelus, the one with gray hair, looked at you observingly.
"I'm [Name], it's a pleasure to meet you." You introduced yourself. For a brief moment, you began looking around where you're standing to study the place and noticed how silent it is.
"This place is way too empty for a space station, is something happening at the moment?" You decided to speak.
"Ah, right! The place is currently under attack caused by the Antimatter Legion. Me and Dan Heng actually are part of the Astral Express, but happened to arrive the same time the invasion started." She began to explain. "We were actually heading to the control room right now… then we found you lying unconscious here!"
"I see. I could grasp the current condition a little now. I still have some questions, but let's get going for now."
* * *
During the venture to the control room, a hostile creature showed up. Dan Heng explained that it was one of the Antimatter Legion that is currently invading this space station. March 7th and Caelus beat it before it even got to attack.
There's a lot to unpack and you are still unaware of what's happening, the last thing you remembered was the small talk with Barbatos and the distinctive sound whispering in your ear. Everything around you is unfamiliar, and you noticed that these people are able to channel elementary power without them having any vision.
You don't think you are even still in Teyvat now.
"We've arrived!" March 7th exclaimed. The door before you automatically opens itself as you step foot inside. The room contained several large screens and plants in the corner. This place truly holds tons of advanced technologies that you'd never find randomly when visiting any of the seven nations.
You are immediately greeted by a shorter male with white hair and darker skin tone. March 7th introduced herself and Dan Heng as part of the Astral Express and admitted that they coincidentally arrived the same time as the Antimatter Legion invaded.
"—The Antimatter Legion arrived at a suspicious time, almost at the same time our security system failed. The lady.. no, lead researcher Asta immediately began to organize the evacuation. While I was supposed to cover everyone as they evacuated… but I didn't expect myself to fail the task." The guy who you assumed to be Arlan confessed. March 7th has previously said that they are looking for the head of security department, Arlan to help them fix the elevator.
"Don't be too hard on yourself. You already had yourself injured, it was wise of you to decide to hide her and avoid encountering the Legion directly." Dan Heng reassured him. Usually, you'd speak for a word in a situation like this, but you decide not to since you are still completely oblivious of everything.
"Yeah! Most of the staff has evacuated safely, so returning to the master control zone is now our utmost priority. But the elevator doesn't seem to work now… do you know how to start it?" Arlan nodded and revealed that all the elevators had been shut down to avoid any harm the Antimatter Legion would cause there.
"Since lady Asta told you to look for me, she must've given you some sort of encryption key for the elevator access?" March 7th began to sweat profusely hearing his words.
"Uhh… she did give me something on the way here…" she revealed. Everyone in the room immediately set their gaze on her.
"...March, did you…"
"Where did I put it..?" She immediately began searching frantically on her clothes. At last, she took out something from her pocket, the encryption card. "There it is!"
Dan Heng took a deep breath with a dumbfounded expression, then rubbed his own forehead as he was flabbergasted from seeing March 7th's careless behavior. Caelus on the other hand grinned devilishly from behind. What's up with these people? You huffed.
Arlan took the keycard from March 7th's hand and walked over to the console, he used the keycard and pressed on a few buttons until you see the elevator from the outside slowly gliding up to the highest level. Dan Heng was about to flee until Arlan suddenly stopped him.
"Hold on! I only activated the elevator to go to the highest floor, you'll have to go there yourself before using it."
"Why? It's so far away." Caelus spoke all of a sudden, finally hearing his voice caught you off guard since he has never spoken until now.
"I mustn't let the Antimatter Legion get to the master control zone through the elevator. I have to do this to ensure the safety of the station' staff. I'm sorry…"
"Wait, you're not coming with us?" March 7th said with quite a shock, her face scrunched up looking worried about the guy that seems to be contemplating on something.
"I'll just slow you guys down with my legs injured. So I'll just stay here and deactivate the elevator system once you guys reach the master control zone." Arlan looked down, it was obvious from his look that he was gloomy and was feeling disappointed with himself for having failed in his duties.
Understanding his position, Dan Heng began to reassure him. "You won't slow us down. Besides, you should be able to shut down the elevator through the control panel in the master control zone too."
"That's true! Me and Caelus could get here completely unscathed, and now that we got Dan Heng and [Name], we should be more than capable to protect you!" March 7th followed, also mentioning your and Caelus' name. Caelus spoke again, telling him to trust them. Arlan is silent for a moment before looking up again and stares at everyone one by one, including you. He thanked them for their reassurances and finally agreed to tag along.
The entire time, you noticed that tons of things are disabled on purpose to delay the movement from the said Antimatter Legion. This place's security is very uptight and they took precautions greatly, much different from many places you had once visited.
Entering a room, you set your gaze at something displayed atop the desk, a rectangle shaped card-like with a picture of a burning tower, or castle? Noticing the same thing, March 7th immediately asked Arlan about it. "Isn't that a light cone? I thought only the Interastral Peace Corporation had it."
"No, light cones are the Garden of Recollection technology. It allows you to carry memories around— a very potent enchantment item. The IPC paid a lot for the usage rights, but I didn't know Herta could manage to get her hand on it." Dan Heng interrupted, explaining in greater detail about the light cone.
"I can assure you that madam Herta gained through legal means. Take them, it's useful for combat." Arlan instructed. The others including you look each for themself. An image of a white horse standing proudly with arrows pointing at it at once caught your eye, so you decided to take it.
Going along with the others might be the best option for now, at least until you figure out the situation and decide the next step you must take. These people look pretty trustworthy, but you must stay wary to avoid any risk possible.
They continue to chatter along the way, whereas you walk behind them in daze. You remember meeting with Barbatos and talking with him for a while, and proceed with your plan later on. Yet somehow, you failed to remember anything after that, not completely gone, but blurred beyond comprehension. Will it gradually return to you as time goes on? Who knows.
.
.
.
"Oh, we have reached the elevator already. Lucky we haven't encountered any enemy all the way here." You glared at March 7th right after she said that in which she noticed, she giggled in response.
"Well… probably shouldn't have said that… it might bring bad luck." As if answering her words, an Arrow with purple highlights suddenly came in high speed to attack, Dan Heng immediately dashed up front, deflecting the Arrow with his spear. He gritted his teeth as the Arrow hit his bracer.
A voidranger appears as the others and you prepare to go against it. You wonder if you can use your Vision or perhaps summon hydro mimics here. Except, you don't have enough energy and can only contribute supporting attacks.
With the remaining power you have left, you formed water arrows and went towards the voidranger, followed by March 7th's Arrow of ice. Caelus fiercely hit him from behind with his bat, catching the voidranger off-guard and letting Dan Heng send one final attack.
The weakened voidranger fell on his knee before suddenly letting out a loud squeal, summoning his fellow Legion to aid him. Voidrangers appear one by one, surrounding all of you while floating above.
"Hey sore losers! You can't just gang up on us!" March 7th shouted angrily. You are cornered, along with the others. You might faint very soon, what a terrible situation.