Chapter Text
“I'm going to do some surveying in Vissudha Field for a project.” Kaveh said that morning, noisily placing a backpack full of materials, blueprints, maps and various types of equipment on the living room floor. “It could take a while”.
Although his first thought was to ignore his roommate and pretend he heard nothing, Alhaitham still peered up from the book he was holding to see what the other was doing. Meanwhile, the blond architect had re-emerged at least two more times from his room with his arms loaded with equipment, which all ended up on the table in front of him.
The scribe didn't particularly appreciate being disturbed while reading in the early morning, but even his earpieces couldn't block out the deafening noise of poles, rods and materials banging against each other as the architect tried with little success to fit everything into a pair of cloth sacks that were clearly too small to accommodate everything. Alhaitham furrowed his brow between imprecations from his companion, who occasionally cast quick glances in his direction, as if to mentally suggest to him that perhaps he could lend a hand as well. It was obvious that the roommate wouldn't succeed in the task. Nevertheless, Alhaitham didn't move a finger to grant his request, silent in words but loudly in deeds.
“I doubt you can carry all that stuff alone.” He merely commented without flinching.
“Yeah, why couldn't I?” The architect ran an arm across his forehead, already dripping with sweat. “I'm used to it, after all. I always do it by myself !” Another sharp glance in his direction.
“Why don't you use Mehrak to help you?”
“It’s doing upgrades, so I can't bring it along today with me. I will have to make do on my own but I don't see the problem since I will be just outside the city!” After what seemed like an eternity, finally helping himself with some straps, Kaveh managed to tie together the stuff protruding at the top of the backpack. In doing so, however, the backpack was even more overloaded than before. “See? Here we go!”
The scribe's skepticism rose even further, confirmed when the architect tried to pick up the backpack on his shoulders and the other two bags each one by hand. It seemed like he was ready for a year-long trip across the entire Teyvat nation. That is, he would never be able to carry them for long, as his legs were already shaking from the weight.
“Looking like this, the Eremites will rob you before you even reach your destination. And without Mehrak’s help and your claymore, you will be Spinocrocodile food before nightfall.” He shook his head.
“Oh shut up! You never believe in my abilities anyway! I’m absolutely capable of defending myself!”
“Whatever, suit yourself.” Alhaitham gestured with his hand, lowering his gaze to the paragraph he had been stuck on for a while because of a certain someone. “Just stay away from the camps. Rumors are circulating in Akademiya about monsters and Eremites stirring in nearby ruins due to some landslides and mudslides in the ground.”
Kaveh grunted, better arranging the backpack on his back. “Like I was so thoughtless. You will not get rid of me so easily, neither because of monsters, nor Eremites. I am fully aware of the landslides, that's why I have to go and check whether it is possible to build in that area or not. Relax, I'll be back in time to pay the rent of the month, if that's what you're worried about!” The blond huffed annoyed.
“As if you weren't already three months late, since your last salary was spent on alcohol and other futile things bought by merchants at the Grand Bazaar.” Alhaitham muttered under his breath, while the blond strode to the door.
“Those purchases were for a good cause! They serve to support organizations that care for desert orphans!” He blurted out with his red cheeks growing hotter. “But I don’t expect you to understand the importance of feeling empathy for others, since you like to isolate yourself from the world without trying to help the people around you!” He slammed the door aggressively and Alhaitham heard him muttering expletives for a few more seconds as he walked down the steps and away down the street.
The scribe breathed a sigh of relief at the thought that the source of noise that had interrupted him from the beginning had finally disappeared. Evidently he had woken up in a bad mood, typical of Kaveh when deadlines for his projects were approaching.
He tried to pick up his reading where he left off, but after a few minutes he found himself staring at the same paragraph once again, unable to continue, with the blond’s words still buzzing in his head. Not even the earpieces could silence them.
He closed the book huffing.
“Damn that noisy architect!”
He took the door and went out.
❀𖤣𖥧𖡼⊱✿⊰𖡼𖥧𖤣❀
Although Alhaitham was watching him from a distance and the earpieces kept out his words, the slight movement of the blond architect's lips meant that he was still chattering to himself. Throughout the whole trip he hadn't stopped chatting for a second. It was indeed true that the tongue is the only muscle in the human body unable to tire.
The other, meanwhile, seemed totally engrossed in the surveys, arranging equipment at specific angles and directions, periodically reporting all the data collected in a notebook. He loved his work so much that he was able to completely estrange himself from his surroundings. More than a few times, in fact, he even tripped over an old abandoned cart and wooden planks scattered on the ground in the abandoned camp they were in. If the scribe had left him alone, the architect probably would not have reached his destination yet.
In the end, Alhaitham had retrieved the blond in the square near the Adventurers' Guild. The architect, as expected, was already struggling because of the heavy luggage he was carrying, which slowed him down. From time to time, the scribe wondered why the other insisted on using a claymore when he couldn't even lift it without the help of his automated toolbox. A sword or a catalyst maybe would have been more suitable for him, since he kept insisting that those hands were made for creating art and beauty and not for rough work.
Without getting lost in small talk, the scribe found himself carrying most of the equipment, leaving Kaveh with only one bag - that at first glance seemed lighter than the others - and the task of leading the way.
Although it was Alhaitham who carried the most luggage - and who punctually dragged the architect away from the traveling merchants that just outside Sumeru City tried to sell them the oddest trinkets - when in a couple of hours they reached the small place that the architect had been asked to redevelop, it was still the blond one who seemed to be the more tired of the two. Of course, the heat of that humid day certainly didn't help.
Following to the west of the city, the road was mostly straight and linear. They skirted the waterway, passing an encampment of Hilichurls from which they kept well away, until they arrived on a small promontory of Vissudha Field, before the road turned north.
There they found two shacks in very poor condition, and a third smaller hut. Those buildings had probably been used as an encampment by various bands of Eremites and Treasure Hoarders, also evidenced by the abundance of fairly recent material such as carts, crates, and even a small campfire, not yet looted by neighboring Hilichurls groups. There had definitely been human presence in recent weeks, however given the uninhabitable nature of the half-collapsed shacks it seemed that that place had now been totally cleared, perhaps due to recent landslides from the grounds above. They had probably just migrated elsewhere. Many students in Akademiya spread rumors simply because they had the mouth to do so, and from mouth to mouth a report of a sighting of a simple camp could easily turn into anything else by blowing it out of proportion. However, in case there really were monsters or bandits left around, Alhaitham would know how to deal with them.
As soon as they arrived, Kaveh immediately arranged to do what he had to do, placing the equipment and setting to work.
The scribe stepped aside to give him space and not get in his way. He pulled out a small book from the inside pocket of his cape and under a small group of Brighwood trees catched up on reading while enjoying the silence, occasionally casting a quick glance at the architect at work. Although in the end, once again, there were more occasions when he found himself staring at the other than the ones when he actually read. For several moments, Althaitham lingered on the features of the architect's jaw, neck, and shoulders, half-hidden by the clothes, on which a few drops of sweat occasionally made the sun-reddened skin glisten. He just stared at him, studying him impassively and imprinting his figure in his mind and nothing more.
A couple of hours later, a slight growling in his stomach suggested that it was time for lunch, though Kaveh was still absorbed in his work. If he was not mistaken, a few hundred meters below would lead to the river where he could retrieve some water, fruits or maybe some fish to grill, if he was lucky.
Lost in thoughts, he looked away only for a moment, but that was enough to make Kaveh disappear from his sight.
Alhaitham immediately stood up, looking around frantically, unable to spot the blond head of his roommate anywhere.
“Kaveh?” Striding, he headed to the last spot where he saw his figure, near the smaller hut. The equipment was still there, perfectly assembled. He didn’t hear neither screams nor monster noises, so the architect certainly could not have vanished into thin air, right? Unless someone caught him stealthily from behind and the scribe’s earpieces prevented him from hearing his muffled calls...
“Kaveh!” He examined any traces of his presence even in the bigger shack by moving planks and unsafe fronds of the broken-down roof, looking around with bated breath.
Nothing, everything looked empty. No sign of either monsters or the architect.
“KAVEH!” His gaze fell on the lonely, ruined building just below and Alhaitham immediately rushed to check that too, stepping over the remains of the wooden planks that partially obstructed its entrance.
A sharp weird shriek greeted him, along with a headbutt directly on his teeth and jaw, caused by a certain head full of shaggy blond hair.
Together they fell to the ground on top of each other from the kickback, smashing several planks into the floor.
“What the heck?! What's your problem?!”
“That’s what I should ask you!! Where have you been?!”
“I'm working, can't you see?”
“You could at least answer when you are called!”
“Holy words from someone who doesn't even hear cannonballs when he reads!”
In a tangle of limbs, the two scrambled to get away without crushing each other. Kaveh rubbed his forehead in pain, shaking a little bit from the fright, while Alhaitham did the same, having been struck by his companion's earrings on the mouth. Jeez, those jewels were really heavy and hard! How could he not be able to carry a pair of bags but then wear those heavy earrings all day long?
“So, what do you want?” Huffed Kaveh as he tried to stand up. He retreated a few steps, vigorously stamping his feet as he dusted off his clothes. The wooden subfloor boards, already missing or deteriorated in several places, creaked from the weight.
Alhaitham tried to pull himself together and catch his breath, standing up again in turn.
“I'm going to find something to eat, are you okay being alone for a while?” He immediately cursed himself for how stupid and pathetic that made-up excuse was at that moment. The reality was that he just panicked like a mother who loses sight of her child on the playground, but Alhaitham would have died rather than admit that embarrassing detail.
Kaveh frowned at him, as if he were mulling over those words.
Seeing him linger, for a few moments the scribe believed he would not buy that excuse. He tried to pose as similarly as possible as usual.
“So…?” Alhaitham insisted as he approached the other with crossed arms, keeping the tone of voice as neutral as possible, although his heart still had to slow completely to its normal beat.
The close distance caused a strange reaction in the architect, who started to nervously shift his weight from one leg to another, further cracking the rotten planks in which they were wedged. The tips of his ears turned a deep red.
Now it was Alhaitham who dwelt for a moment on that sudden change in attitude, unable to decipher it fully.
“Y-yeah, why shouldn't I?”
“Good, then-”
He didn’t have time to finish the sentence.
A deep rumble and everything began to shake.
The precarious structure of that place finally gave way. The building collapsed on itself.
Alhaitham was only able to grab his companion with one arm when the ground disappeared from under their feet.
❀𖤣𖥧𖡼⊱✿⊰𖡼𖥧𖤣❀
A deafening crash filled their ears for several minutes. Piles of debris and rubble buried them and they were swallowed by the ground.
With his heart racing, Alhaitham had the courage to open his eyes again only when he heard Kaveh coughing and protesting.
“Mmph, lefh me gohh!” He muffled troubled. “I can’fh b-breafhe!”
On instinct, without even thinking, the scribe had abruptly dragged the blond toward him. He wrapped one arm around his neck while with the other grabbed Kaveh’s head pressing it against his own chest, shielding him from the fall. Realizing the gesture, Alhaitham loosened his grip to allow the other to lift his head.
“W-what happened…?” In the half-light, the architect's face was pale and covered with dust and dirt. His ruby eyes widened with fright.
“I believe that the ground crumbled and we crashed down.” Not even Alhaitham could hold back a slight tremor in his voice this time.
Kaveh tried to lift himself up by levering his trembling arms. A choked groan escaped the scribe’s mouth.
“S-Sorry!” The architect rested his hand on his companion's chest, evidently adding additional weight in the wrong spot on his already sore body from the impact with the ground.
Together they gently tried to untangle their bodies, paying attention that the movements didn’t cause further collapse of the rubble around them. Alhaitham propped himself up on his elbows while the other slowly slid the remains of some wooden planks sideways.
The scribe squinted, running a hand over his face to wipe off the dirt. A few rays of light filtered from the surface from which they had plummeted down. A huge hole was now open at a distance of about a dozen meters. It was no surprise to feel such pain in the back and legs, given the fall from such a height. It was already a miracle that they were both still alive without broken bones.
“Is everything okay?” He asked the blond.
“Yeah I think so… Just some bruises but nothing serious it seems, you?”
“Same, bruises and some cuts, but I think I will survive.”
As soon as they both caught their breath, they began to look around. They had fallen down into what appeared to be a small, probably pre-existing underground cavity under the Eremites’ camp.
The continuous and abrupt surface movements must have dealt the death blow to the weak layer of soil that supported the structure, which was already worn, causing it to finally collapse. Maybe that was the real reason the camp was abandoned. The ground wasn't stable at all, and the current collapse was a clear evidence of that.
“Well, cursed those who wanted to build a transit tavern here before reaching the desert… They should have called a geologist before an architect!” Kaveh commented sourly, snapping his neck and stretching his arms, as he made his way through the ruins. “Looks like we'll have to find an alternate way out, since we can't climb all the way up there!”
Alhaitham got back on his feet a bit unsteadily, stepping over fragments of soil, wood and rocks. Reluctantly he had to agree with his roommate. Not even with his vision and skills he could reach the hole at that height. It was probably best to listen to his aching body, which suggested to avoid overly complex efforts. He already had an immense luck thanks to a wooden plank that absorbed most of the impact of his back. Better to avoid overdoing it, throwing away the miracle of not cracking his spine. He would have felt the after effects of those bruises for quite some time anyway. He sighed.
With the exception of the crash site, their surroundings did not give the idea of a place habitually frequented by human beings, nor by monsters.
A light layer of moss and grass covered both the walls and the ground. The lianas and roots were tangled on each other in the area closest to the surface, holding back the portion of the soil that hadn’t collapsed yet. Some blue-leafed plants spread a slight halo, brightening up a bit the environment with their fluorescence. In addition to the light coming from the hole from which they fell, faint rays passed sporadically from some tiny spaces between the tangle of roots on the ceiling. This wasn't a good sign.
“I think it's better to get out of here quickly.” Kaveh suggested, pointing upward. “The ground may crumble again because of the withering ...”
Alhaitham shivered unconsciously. Now that the other had pointed it out, he noticed dark veins with purplish traces running through most of the area, leaving indelible marks like a net to witness that the place was anything but pristine.
“But… it can’t be… they should be all purified by… they should no longer appear…” He whispered upset.
“Yeah, yet here it is… That's why the ground is falling apart in this area and the monsters are stirring.”
Even though the Hilichurls were on the surface, they could still sense what was happening below ground level.
The underground cave seemed to continue in two directions: to the east, where the withered lines were weaker and thinner; and to the northwest, where the veins became more intense, rotting vegetation along their path.
The two exchanged a worried look, immediately sensing that both had arrived at the same reasoning.
“In that direction-“ Kaveh found his mouth suddenly dry.
“-There is Sumeru City.” The scribe concluded for him.
“W-we have to hurry… We should tell someone, the forest rangers, the Lesser Lord!” He shook his head, breathing heavily. “If the withering is back underground and is going in that direction, sooner or later it will reach the city! The whole city could collapse!”
The architect ran his hands through his ruffled hair, clearly beginning to panic.
“You’re right.” Alhaitham reached out and grabbed his arm to get his attention and, hopefully, to prevent him from panicking further. Both of them needed to keep their head to get out of that situation, and he perfectly knew how difficult it was for the blond to keep his cool in the most complicated situations. “But look! It’s a different kind of withering, from the one we already know and which Lesser Lord Kusanali has purified in the past.”
Where the withering left its mark, purple veins intertwined with some second one of a different color, of a blue hue that in some places shaded mixing into each other.
“We can split up to follow both sides of the path. The first one who will reach the surface will alert someone and-“
“Don’t even think about it!” Kaveh abruptly interrupted him, raising his tone and crossing his arms. “You're not going to purify that withering zone, half-dead, alone, in an unknown underground cave that we don't even know how far it goes and whose roof especially could crumble at any moment! I will go with you, so don't even think of leaving me behind!”
“But we don’t have time to waste-”
“Then why are we still here?! Come on, we need to hurry!” Without waiting for an answer from his companion, Kaveh headed nervously in the direction of the withering.
Alhaitham rolled his eyes, sighing. There was no point in wasting words to reason with that blockhead. When he decided something, it was impossible to change his mind.
So it was better to save energy and start walking.
❀𖤣𖥧𖡼⊱✿⊰𖡼𖥧𖤣❀
They walked in silence on high alert to immediately sense possible dangers, but the rustle of their footsteps was the only sound that accompanied them in that cave. Except for the vegetation surrounding them, they didn’t encounter other life forms. The scribe could sense the tension from his partner, who winced whenever his clothes accidentally rubbed against the fronds of some ferns.
Their eyes took little time to adjust to the semi-darkness.
The withering’s veins litted the environment becoming more frequent and intricate, pulsing with blue and purple where the two colors merged together. They gradually replaced the vegetation, leaving behind only scorched ground.
With each step, the ambience became thicker and heavier, a sign that they were approaching the central core of the withering zone.
At one point, the architect froze.
“I have a very bad feeling.” He muttered, rubbing his hands together nervously and bringing a flap of his scarf over his mouth. “There is something weird around here, and I’m not referring to the withering.”
Without speaking, Alhaitham passed him, materializing his own sword ready for any eventuality. “Stay close.”
There was something buzzing in the air, making it electric and crisp. Long-term exposure to toxic miasma from a withering zone could be very dangerous, even fatal. Although they were vision holders, the exhaustion began to permeate their bodies. Better to avoid lingering there too long.
They continued for another hundred paces when they were startled by the sight that greeted them.
“What the-“
In front of them, only dust in a scorched cave, corroded. In the middle a dark tumor about a meter in diameter. It pulsed slowly gurgling, covered with bright purple veins. The most worrying thing was that this tumor wrapped itself tightly around a second blue-colored lump. The latter was wildly releaing electrical sparkles into its surroundings, as if it wished to break free from the cage that kept it trapped.
With each beat, the purple veins of the tumor seemed to absorb energy directly from the second one. They expanded elastically pushing that energy along the network of connections that departed from the central body.
With each beat, the tumor increased in size and that of the fetid boughs around it.
“Is it devouring up a Ley Line...?” Kaveh materialized his own claymore, holding it low near the ground for its weight. “We must destroy it before it grows even bigger!”
“Wait! Don't do anything stupid!” The scribe blocked him abruptly. “We don't know how the Ley Line might react inside the tumor!”
“Then you suggest leaving everything as it is without doing anything?!”
That brief exchange was enough to leave both of them breathless from the decay that permeated the air, weighting them down. Alhaitham was gathering words to reply when a rumbling noise made them turn sharply toward the core.
With each absorption of the Ley Line, shapeless masses began to emerge from the tumor, like lumps of mud, slowly forming limbs and heads writhing in agony.
“It’s spawning… Monsters ?” Kaveh asked, confused.
“It seems so…”
The monsters began to make choked noises as the mush that covered them made them take on a more defined shape, either shrooms or fungi of any kind. The only distinguishing feature that highlighted their corruption and decay were their colors, which remained in shades of black, gray and dark brown even when their bodies perfectly replicated those of the surface fungi.
The first hydroshrooms to be spawned, let out a high-pitched cry as it charged against the two humans. Alhaitham didn’t hesitate to strike a slash and block it, cutting it in half without meeting the slightest resistance.
“What the heck!” The substance that formed it spread in every direction, even on the architect's clothes. “This is gross!”
The scribe shook his sword, smeared with the dark mud too. The feeling on impact was exactly as if he had cut through the mud.
“They’re not normal monsters...” He muttered, not too surprised.
“Yeah, I guessed too!” Kaveh slashed down the claymore on a whirling cryo fungus to shield them, releasing some Dendro energy. The fungus exploded shrieking as it released dark mush around itself. “Ewww!!”
“Don't get distracted! They’re coming!”
Dozens of fungi charged, and the two roommates did their best to resist, back to back, delivering strikes and knocking them down one after another.
Although morphologically they were different, all fungi merely attacked them with physical attacks, without using skills. Despite this, Alhaitham soon sensed that they couldn’t continue just defending themselves. The tumor kept respawning new monsters as the previous ones fell down, and the scribe began to suspect that even from the dark remains of the fallen creatures, limbs and heads were beginning to reform into new bodies.
That battle was never going to end if they didn't change their strategy.
In addition, they felt the tiredness take over their limbs, which were already sore from the fall just before.
Alhaitham gritted his teeth, casting a glance at his companion. Kaveh seemed even more exhausted than he was, not being used to fighting without Mehrak. They wouldn’t last very long.
So Alhaitham made a choice.
“Cover me, I need a shield!”
“Wait, what-“
The scribe launched forward, without hesitation. The architect could only follow suit, expanding a burst of Dendro energy to distance the monsters just enough to allow them to pass and reach the withering core with the nucleus of the Ley Line.
Alhaitham shot down a couple of monsters pushing them away.
With his eyes on the tumor enveloping the Ley Line, Alhaitham struck a slash with the sword using his own vision for more propulsion.
The attempt to purify the tumor collided against the presence of the Ley Line, which literally exploded from the backlash.
The impact unleashed a shockwave and a powerful amount of Dendro was released into the environment, exploding violently against them.
In the blink of an eye, Alhaitham found himself face down on the ground, ears ringing and body on fire, unable to move a single muscle, paralyzed. His gut began to writhe aggressively, causing him a severe nausea.
The architect was in the same condition, just a few steps away from him, unable to remember when he actually fell over. His body was shaken by violent spasms, and his frightened eyes locked into the scribe’s ones.
With his lips he tried to whisper something, but Alhaitham couldn’t hear anything. His head and the world around him were spinning more and more.
Were they dying?
Everything was so overwhelming that Alhaitham closed his eyes for a second, promising to catch his breath just for a moment, but instead he definitively collapsed and everything became black.