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The blue sky. The blue sea. The blue ocean.
The rain shower. The butterfly wings. The small lamp grasses.
They were beautiful. Gorgeous. Breathtaking.
However, they were not the deep blue that she had been seeing when she closed her eyes.
The Astrologist had been blessed (cursed) with this vision. Whether it was a distant prophecy from the stars or a lost history hidden between the stars, her mind had been plagued by its vastness, stretching beyond the horizon. Borderless.
Clear and blurry. Pristine water and lightless deep sea trench. A distinct blue with purple tint, so intense that it consumed her whole being. Neverending.
She was reflected on its surface—had been—used to.
Not anymore.
She would wake up every morning with a teardrop in the crevice of her heart.
・・・━━━☂★━━━・・・
A pair of jade green was chasing after anything blue.
In the center of the city plaza, she sat at the edge of the fountain.
The cloudless sky did not shade the brightness of the sun. Its light shone through the water splashing from the fountain. Amidst the chattering of the local Monstadtians, the renowned astrologist’s inner voice was louder.
Where does the water gain its color?
Why does clear water sparkle in a brilliant blue?
The astrologist dipped her hand into the fountain and scooped a handful of water.
When you scoop it with your hand, why is it colorless?
Do they steal it from the sky, egotistically reflecting what is not theirs?
She looked around, noticing all sorts of blue on nature, buildings, and people. The cyan little flowers. The cerulean flags. The cobalt curtains. The navy shirt on men.
She scooted a little, shifting her direction to look straight to the city main gate. From her back, she snatched the bluest thing she had in her possession. Mona peered into her hydro vision, fiddling the blue gem in her palm.
The pair of jade green eyes found anything but the blue .
The wolf of the North, the lion of the South, the dragon of the East, the falcon of the West. The four winds never ceased. They blew everywhere but did not carry a slither of the blue.
The big windmills stood tall in different areas of Mondstadt City. The rotation of the blades reveals the gentleness of the winds that carry seeds of dandelions with it.
The astrologist stood on her feet. She needed a higher vantage for the clarity of her mind.
・・・━━━☂★━━━・・・
Her feet brought her to her favorite stargazing spot, the same spot she always went every night that the sky was clear.
Looking at the fluttering dandelion that she blew atop of the Starsnatch Cliff, the starry sky gazed back at her with longing.
“Real.”
A white petal fell.
“Not real.”
Another white petal followed suit.
“Real.”
Mona repeated, plucking the petals of the fully bloomed cecilia, her silent companies for the night.
“Not—“
She stopped at the last petal, holding it between her thumb and index finger. She gazed afar to the lone temple beyond the coast, before flicking the last petal along with its stem over the edge of the cliff.
This is kinda stupid , she debunked the genius astrologist.
The genius Astrologist plucked another one, admiring the beautiful white flower under the moonlight. With confidence, she tore one of the petals and tossed it to join its fallen brethren.
“Not real,” she started.
All cecilias bloomed with six petals.
・・・━━━☂★━━━・・・
“Another day we have vanquished the darkness crawling the hearts of the ignorant lambs. I bid thee a benign slumber,” Fischl curtsied with her skirt swaying and swishing with her elaborate movement, before she turned around and walked away with her head held high.
“See you tomorrow, Miss Megistus,” the raven said before following his Prinzessin.
The pair of jade green eyes followed the movement of the two, absorbed by the black and purple combination that stirred her mind.
The distinct blue with purple tint. It was as calm as it was tumultuous, like jolts of electro stinging her skin on a rainy day.
Stop , the genius astrologist stopped her train of thoughts.
Mona Megistus waved back with a smile as the two walked farther away from her front door.
She had decided to stop thinking about it and face forward.
She opened the wooden door and found a letter slipped down to her feet. When she ducked down to grab it, she noticed the wax seal of Akademiya. A letter from Sumeru, the land of wisdom.
With a creak, she closed her door with her attention on the letter. Walking to her desk, her mind was occupied guessing what kind of business Akademiya wanted with her. Probably the Rtawahist, inviting her to enroll again on full scholarship or, based on their latest approach, coaxing her by giving her the freedom to use their facility as a guest lecturer without any binding contract.
Mona grabbed her letter knife and tore the envelope open, then read the content of the letter with the speed of an avid reader.
Now this was new. An invitation to attend the Akademiya Extravaganza as a special guest despite not having any affiliation to the darshans.
The biggest Akademiya event would be held in a few months with full accommodation provided. An easy excuse to travel to Sumeru, be surrounded by the greens, and take her mind off the blue .
・・・━━━☂★━━━・・・
From Mondstadt to Sumeru, one needed to traverse the vast marsh and the unforgiving elevations of Liyue terrain. Wangshu Inn and Liyue Harbor were the two important stop points for good rest and delicious food to reinvigorate oneself for the long journey.
The journey should be akin to a self-rediscovery for the astrologist so she would stop looking for the blue .
However, human’s brain was not designed to think about nothing. For when one wanted to stop thinking about something, one would notice a thousand more things associated with it.
When she was passing the Dawn Winery all the way to Dihua Marsh all the way to Liyue Harbor, her head and eyes would race to spot the mist flower corollas along the way. She would easily pinpoint the blue birds perching on the tree branches, despite it being actually emerald.
She would be naturally drawn to the starconches littering the white sand beaches, the glaze lilies decorating the flowerbeds, and noctilucous jade displayed on the street vendor stall.
・・・━━━☂★━━━・・・
When she stepped foot into the City of Wisdom, she was promptly welcomed and guided to tour the biggest and most prestigious learning institute of all Teyvat. She got to see the vast collection in the House of Daena and sat in on one interesting lecture about Inazuma politics despite not being her expertise.
Putting the obviously extravagant Akademiya aside, she was drawn to the Grand Bazaar situated under (or inside?) the tree of wisdom. The lively music of the local dance troupe and rows of street stalls selling things she was foreign with. Mona was completely captivated by the charms of Sumeru.
When she least expected it, she found it.
The distinct blue with purple tint, so intense that it consumed her whole being—had consumed—used to consume.
Her heart dropped and her breath stopped when she locked eyes with the blue .
“Anything I can help you with, Miss?” He smiled at her with the pair of midnight blue that she had been desperately looking for.
The lustrous blue was shining at her. Blinding .
She opened her mouth but no words came out. Her throat was dry with her own expectations.
On the surface of the pair of midnight blue, the reflection of herself did not exist.
Mona could feel the pressure on her eyes, caving into the realization.
She was not disappointed. She was not sad. She despaired losing something she had never owned. She felt like she had lost it more than once.
Did she adore the midnight blue?
Or did she adore her own reflection on them?
Was this feeling a superficial one?
Or did she genuinely cared for what he had wept for?
Mona brought her eyes back from the long trip in her own head to the pair of midnight blue that was staring at her. Crystal clear and without blemishes.
“Is something wrong?” The boyish man asked, tone laced with genuine concern.
Mona swallowed her jumbled feelings and accepted what fate had brought to her. “My name is Mona Megistus, a genius astrologist,” she told him, extending her arm. “What’s your name?”
The man, wearing the wide-brimmed hat with unnecessarily long sleeves and pretty blue eyes, looked bewildered at first before breaking into a smile. He extended his hand to shake her hand.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Mona,” he said, looking at her.
He told her that he had no name and that he had been wandering the world for a long time, desperately looking for something.
Despite that, Mona could finally put a name to the midnight blue.
・・・━━━☂★━━━・・・
She would then spend the following weeks basking in Sumeru’s Sun. Going to the Akademiya for lectures and conferences has occupied all her time and her intellectual brain power, leaving her no room to think of unnecessary stuff.
And yet,
Her eyes would wander to each of the little stalls in Grand Bazaar. With the music from the street performer, she would casually scan every little corner of the market.
Some days she would not find what she was looking for. Some other days she would be greeted by him first.
A diligent and helpful man, the stall owners vouched for him.
He would then show a pure smile that she thought was lacking some darker colors.
“Miss Mona, you’re here again!” He greeted her again this time too, waving his hand and his pretty long sleeve swayed with the movement.
Mona would greet him back and do a small talk with him void of any substance. She would only stare at his eyes and thought that he was void of some thorns.
Why would she wish bad things to happen to a man she barely knew?
Why was she put off with his authenticity?
The weird one was her.
.
So, she decided to stop.
The midnight blue or whatever. The purple tint or whatever. Her reflection on it or whatever.
She would shove all those mysteries into a box and give it to Pandora.
Fate is called as such, for it cannot be changed, nor can it be reversed. It can only but be accepted.
This was his and her fate. To meet but to never meet again.
・・・━━━☂★━━━・・・
Was it?
・・・━━━☂★━━━・・・
Mona spent the rest of her stay in a private study room in the Rtawahist hall. The stars and moon ornament hung above her head, forming constellations that filled the big unknown universe. She got lost inside her mind like she was the only human in the vast unidentified realm.
Her hand floated above the parchments, stroking ink in elegant cursive. She argued with an imaginary figure, constantly defending her stance on the stars and the fate and the truth of this world. The imaginary figure again and again tried her reasoning, filling in gaps that solidified her scientific paper that she would submit to be reviewed by the experts of the Astrology community.
Do you know about constellations? Astrologers believe that the patterns of the stars map out the destiny of Vision bearers — past, present, and future, everything is written in the stars.
Mona Megistus leaned back into the chair, head facing the high ceiling.
With only one color, so vivid that she could see it behind her close lids, she tried to materialize a past encounter to the present. However, that was not what the stars had in store for her. Therefore, no matter how hard she looked, she would find but not find it.
Mona Megistus closed the scientific paper about constellations, a paper that she had spent the last few weeks writing under the sponsorship of Akademiya.
She turned her head to check on the window and the clock on the wall.
Thus far had been some weird months of longing after the presence of a color.
It was time to close the book and move on with her life.
To do so, she had to conclude her duty in Sumeru.
・・・━━━☂★━━━・・・
A nice sunny day without any clouds giving temporary relief from the scorching hot sun. Mona walked to the location written on her invitation card, bringing her to a clearing in the vast Sumeru Rainforest of Lokapala Jungle. People were crowding around the main venue, excitement was in the air for the Akademiya Extravaganza, particularly the Interdarshan Championship.
The best from each darshan had been selected to represent and compete over the diadem to prove that their darshan is the best. The six representatives were agile, the ownership of the diadem constantly changed within a short time; one second of looking away and the diadem was in another darshan’s hand.
Mona looked over them from the shade of one giant blue mushroom-like structure, not that she knew what they actually were. The wind was a nice company in the sweltering hot weather of watching six people sweat to win a vainglory.
The combat area expanded and shrinked and moved at an unpredictable but exciting pace, bringing the audiences on the tips of their toes. They would promptly move to wherever the diadem was going, trying to get the bestest view than the others.
Mona was satisfied looking over from afar, until the diadem was suddenly flung in her direction.
The gentle breeze turned into a powerful wind that swept her off balance.
The Vahumana representative fluttered his pretty long sleeves while catching the diadem.
Oh, it’s him from the Grand Bazaar , Mona recognized him.
Yet, at the same time, she could not recognize him.
Suspended in the air with his anemo vision, there was a split-second pause that stretched forever for Mona.
Like a series of burst shots from Kamera, each movement was captured and suspended for her to see.
Click .
The wind swept her off balance and she closed her eyes.
Click .
She looked up to see someone flying above her.
Click .
With his wide-brimmed hat traded for the six pointed circle behind his back, shining brightly and allowing him to transcend gravity.
Click .
He spared one glance at her before looking away.
Click.
Click.
Click.
In that less than split second moment, their eyes locked longer than the eternity that the electro idealized.
Mona saw.
Clear and blurry. Pristine water and lightless deep sea trench. A distinct blue with purple tint, so intense that it consumed her whole being.
She was reflected on its surface—had been—used to—not anymore.
Reflected on its surface once again.
She wished for it to never cease.
Click.
He did a double take and a haughty smile that was meant for her.
Click. Click.
The wind blew again and time was moving again.
The blood was circulating all over Mona’s body at a rapid pace; her heart was pumping to its maximum capacity. Like a waterfall, everything rushed down.
Their fate was intertwined, too intricate to extricate one from the other. They had been ordained to walk the same path that, even if one went astray and erased himself from the cast, fate would pull them together again like a strong magnetic force.
Mona Megistus laughed. She was doomed from the start. She was doomed from the very moment he existed and she came to existence. There was no escaping him as she would always yearn for him.
Even when the only thing she remembered were the color of his eyes.
Fucking scumbag. How dare he pull that move.
Mona turned on her heels and treaded the path back to Sumeru City.
・・・━━━☂★━━━・・・
The day had brought the curtains down, covering the land with quiet darkness.
Many people were still celebrating the Interdarshan Championship, the festivities would continue for several days still.
Yet, there was one young lady, walking down the path outside of the city, carrying a suitcase with her.
She had finished all her duties and bid farewell to the city of wisdom. It was time for her to come home to the aroma of wine and the dandelions in the air.
At the intersection, she was intercepted by an unknown force. Armed robbery was quite common in Sumeru dense forest and she was prepared to let anyone know that she was not someone to mess with.
For the second time that day, the gentle breeze turned into a powerful wind that almost swept her off her feet. This time, she was not taken aback as she smelled a faint scent of sakura from the perpetrator.
Under the full moon light, he was condescendingly floating three heads above her. With his arms folded and legs relaxed, he paid her a visit.
He looked divine.
Heaven's answer to mankind’s prayer for salvation.
Lamentably, the god who answered was fickle.
Mona mirrored him, immediately folding her arms and adapted a contender’s gaze.
She was lost in his eyes, the midnight blue with purple tint, which was reflecting her own visage on it had some thorns binding his sharp gaze from the centuries watching betrayals.
His lips hiked up in a smirk so arrogant and so natural for him, like he had seeped darker colors from centuries of masking his real intention to move people the way he needed them to.
“Isn’t it lonely to leave without saying a word, Miss Mona ?” he said with the same sweet voice but laced with bitter poison that had been brewed after an eternity of never attaining the one thing he desired the most.
Mona snorted at his sarcastic tone.
The thorns, the darkness, the bitterness.
This was familiar.
This, she knew.
The man descended to the ground, hitting the ground with almost no sound, never breaking eye contact with the woman in front of him.
“You want to kiss me,” Wanderer said, lifting her chin to look at her face with those midnight blue eyes that reflected only her and her alone.
Kiss? The act that could be legitimate to seal a sacred oath?
What kind of oath was on the table here? The oath to be together until the rest of their lives, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part?
What she had on her mind was not something sacred like that.
Mona grabbed his collar and pulled him and kissed him until they ran out of breath.
“False,” she said, staring into his eyes directly, “I want to fuck you.”
・・・━━━☂★━━━・・・