Chapter Text
Monsters of the Black Tide were everywhere! He had been locked in combat alone by the shores of what must have been his homeland for days. But now he couldn’t fight anymore. He was simply too tired. Every muscle in his body was screaming in agony with every step.
His head hurt. He couldn’t see the injury, but golden blood had continuously leaked into his eyes for what felt like days. But still he kept going. He had to. He was all alone and he had no idea where he was. But he knew that it was still there in back of him. The Black Tide would never give up. All he could do now was run.
He vaguely remembered being surrounded by friendly people who were happy and excited as they traveled. But where they were traveling to or where they went, he couldn’t remember.
He was only still moving because he couldn’t stand the idea of going down without a fight. He was stronger than that. His people were stronger than that. So he held on to his spear and continued to walk ahead of the monsters.
Fleeing the monsters was annoying, but the wound on his head made it hard to focus. When he put his body on autopilot in the heat of battle, his head didn’t hurt so much. But now he was nearing the end of his strength.
He was still hurrying, desperately clutching his spear and following the shallow water of the sandy beach. But he had no idea where he was going! He could be heading into even greater danger. But there was nothing but a restless, churning black and red void and monsters behind him. So he stayed on the move.
His vision got fuzzy- for a moment he thought he was surrounded by black and purple smoke! But before he could react he found himself in the clear once more so he bounded forward! Finally! His heart leapt as he neared a hill with a small house at the top of it. Instinctively, he bolted toward it. He hoped he would find more people and food and help figuring out where he was now. But he had to get closer first.
Someone waved when they saw him and he motioned for them to stay back. But the figure continued toward him, moving faster now.
He dropped his spear as he tripped over a few loose stones. But he picked it up doggedly, and huffed angrily as he caught a better look at the figure, and realized it was a child heading toward him.
The boy had snowy white hair, large, clear blue eyes and a big, friendly smile.
“Hey!” The child called out. “Keep going! You’ll be in my village soon! We’ll be safe there!”
His head hurt but he knew that nothing was ever going to be safe again. He couldn’t think straight so trying to speak was a waste of oxygen. Instead, he rolled his eyes and grabbed the kid’s hand, dragging him away from the monsters that seemed to be gaining on them steadily as if something bigger than he and the kid were dragging them in…
“Hey!” The boy tried to escape his grip, but couldn’t, so he had to keep running with him. “Can’t you talk? Where are we going? And who are you anyway? Nobody new ever comes to this village!”
“Hurry up and run!” His head was hurting him even more now.
And he almost fell, but the white haired boy snorted and dragged him back up to his feet. Running was easier now that he was the one being dragged.
“Hey? What’s happening? How did that house catch fire- and that one?”
“M-Mom?” The boy was distracted again.
They both turned in time to see a huge hulking monster grab a blonde haired woman with a small basket of vegetables and tore her apart effortlessly.
“No!” He tugged on the boy’s arm as hard as he could. “You can’t help them! They will kill everyone here! The creatures of the Black Tide don’t know how to do anything except fight and destroy! We have to keep running or the dead people in your village will rise again and start attacking us too!”
“But I have to help them! Mom, wait- Dad?”
A middle aged man with a beat up old sword charged at the thing that had killed the boy’s mother, but the creature clubbed him to the ground with a single fist.
He didn’t say anything for a moment. He didn’t move either even though he knew the monsters were still hunting him too. The boy with the white hair squeezed his eyes shut tightly. “I don’t understand- why now?”
“I don’t know, but we’ve got to run!”
“Phainon?” A creepy voice whispered coldly. And a child sized creature emerged from the black tide to their rear left. “What’s wrong? Aren’t we still friends? Don’t leave me!”
He vaguely remembered seeing that happen once before- and he was shaking this time too. Even though he knew this girl was not real- that she was a monster of the tide she was still right behind them.
“C-Cyrene?” The boy instinctively reached toward her. But he tugged the kid back just in time to see a massive black claw form out of the small body of his friend. It swatted at both of them, but it missed because he had tugged the boy away with him. He was heading for what looked like a road leading out of the village’s far gate.
Suddenly, the unnatural darkness of the sky and the burning village were gone. The roaring fire, the monsters- the screams of the townspeople and even the thick, grey smoke gave way. Settling into that looked like another cloud of hazy purple and black mist and then that too, disappeared- finally.
He had no idea where they were, but he knew that they were somewhere underground. and they were alone. At last, he began to tip over as the adrenaline left his system, but he didn't fight it this time. There were a lot of shallow pools of water and rotting rope suspension bridges everywhere.
And, safe at last, he finally crumpled to the ground beside his spear, exhausted.
Phainon had no idea what had just happened. But he did know that this boy with these strange red tattoos and a full sized spear had saved his life.
He had no idea where they were though! They were no longer laying on the road. The rope bridges weaving in and out of the huge, cavernous room were looking dangerously unsteady.
Those monsters had been terrifying and he couldn’t quit shaking. But he was thirsty too. And he carried the other boy to the edge of the shallow pool. He got a drink by cupping his hands, the water was surprisingly clear and tasted fresh…
Phainon looked the kid over and decided he had never seen someone so young get so badly injured. What the hell? He couldn’t be any older than Phainon himself. But he was covered in golden blood, and so many cuts and scrapes and bruises that he was surprised his body was still breathing. He was totally unconscious, but as he watched, the bruises and cuts began to heal slowly. Then the larger injuries began to heal too.
“So, just who are you anyway?” He wondered, shaking his head. The boy’s clothes didn’t seem too out of the ordinary. But suddenly he froze- the red cloth, it was embroidered with gold. And the spear had gold on it too.
Who was this kid? And could this be real gold? Where had he come from? The questions only multiplied…
Phainon sat there waiting for the other kid to move for so long that he nearly fell asleep beside him.
With his parents and his whole village suddenly gone, he held onto the other kid’s hand, hoping that all of this was just some horrible nightmare. He prayed that he would wake up in his safe, warm bed. But for some reason he doubted it.
At the same time, he noticed that holding his hand felt natural. Like it had always belonged right there, in his. He hoped the other kid wouldn’t mind Phainon touching him. After all, he was honestly terrified of going to sleep because he was afraid of waking up completely alone now. So he was determined to hold on to his new friend with all his might. But for now he was too tired to keep his eyes open.
He heard soft voices speaking in warm, soothing tones and yet he was afraid that he was being harassed by the monsters and the voices of the Black Tide again like that child ghost.
He could feel a bandage on his head and growled as he tried to feel around for his spear…
“Woah, there,” Someone- a man’s voice said, smiling. “Yeah, I get it. You’re tough alright. But you’re also safe now so just lay still, a little longer. Okay?”
“You’re awake! It’s me, Phainon! It’s okay now! Some grown ups found us! They have food and they have been healing you, so relax. Okay?”
He wanted to snap at Phainon for not waking him up sooner. But the boy was clearly happy to have been found so he took that to mean that the food was good at least. And he was starving too. He honestly had no idea when he had last eaten…
“So, can you tell us your name? I’m Yaoao. It's nice to meet you.” A small female voice said gently. “But how did you just walk right into the Chasm?”
“Yeah!” The male voice added. “The mines have been closed for weeks because the Abyss started to act up again down in the ruins. You’re lucky we found you passed out over here. Monsters are everywhere around this area.”
“Childe,” A self assured woman’s voice halted his chatter. “Are you sure you don’t know anything about this?”
“Nope,” The man’s voice got farther away as he spoke. His footsteps light on the wood planks beneath them. “Sorry, Yelan. They’re too young for the general ranks of the Fatui. And that golden blood thing? It’s cool, but that’s not ours either. Well, probably…”
Yaoyao finished using her magic to heal him, and he quickly took the bandage off of his head. He saw that he was loosely surrounded by Yaoyao, a child in a yellow and green sundress.
There was also a tall, elegant woman with black and blue clothes and hair.
A young man in a grey suit with a mop of curly red hair and blue eyes was sitting lazily beside an older man in a much more intricate suit. But this man had long black hair that was tipped in gold. And he had golden eyes that glowed as they studied him.
He froze under the man’s gaze without knowing why. “Who are you?”
The older man chuckled. “Sorry for startling you. I’m Zhongli. Consultant of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. And who are you?”
He looked away, unable to meet that man’s gaze anymore. It was like he was not human at all. He wondered if he was something larger and more ancient than Amphoreous itself. He certainly felt like this man could see right through him. “I… don’t know. I’ve been on the run from the black tide monsters for what feels like weeks. But I found him last night and I collapsed as the scenery suddenly changed around us.”
Phainon got up from his spot at a nearby small table. “Yeah. Thank you for saving me… Here! Yaoyao gave me these! I want you to have some too.”
He was oddly shaken by the kind sincerity of the other boy. He would have taken one anyway, but the way Phainon smiled made him smile back. He suddenly felt more relaxed than he had felt since his horrible battle with the Black Tide began…
But the adults continued to talk around him and Phainon as they settled down to eat.
“I can understand Xiao being here, we know this area well." Yelan said coolly. “But what are you doing here, Mr. Zhongli?”
“Actually, Miss Yelan,” Mr. Zhongli said warmly. “Childe and I were the ones who found them and called for Xiao. He was able to bring Yaoyao here more easily than he could get to Dr. Baizhu. These children needed immediate help and we had to do something.”
“Miss Yelan,” Xiao nodded. He was only slightly taller than Phainon and himself. The silk clad young man was sitting on the ledge above the rest of them. “Mr. Zhongli is very knowledgeable about everything in Liyue- including the Adepti.”
“Yes. That’s what literally everyone I’ve met says about everything.” Clearly the woman was still quite suspicious of all three men. But she relaxed a little as she looked over at him and Phainon. “So, how did you two get down here, into the Mining floor of the Chasm?”
“Uhm. What’s the Chasm?” Phainon just blinked innocently.
Zhongli smiled patiently. “The Chasm is where we are. It's a massive mining complex as well as a huge system of natural caverns and interconnected ancient ruins. The whole area is called the chasm. The region is large but sparsely populated and spans several miles above the ground, over our heads. But it also stretches many miles straight down from our current position.”
“Wow!” Phainon said excitedly. “Can we go see it after we finish eating?”
“Nope.” Yaoyao shook her head and she frowned when he glared at her. “Well, Phainon probably could. But you? I’m afraid you are in no shape to travel. You’re badly dehydrated, your stomach is still growling and you need to sleep for a couple of days to let your body heal naturally. That’s the only way you can regain your strength after such an ordeal.”
He snorted. “Hn. I’ll be back to my training right after I eat! The Kremnoan language doesn’t have a word for rest.” He said imperiously.
“Woah,” Phainon said, “Are you really a Kremnoan? I’ve never met one before. That’s so cool!”
Honestly he had no idea why he had just said that. But he also snorted. “Of course I am. I’m Prince Mydeimos, son of King Eurypon and Queen Gorgo.”
He was shocked that he’d said it. And yet he knew that these words were true. But that only made him feel more confused! Why would he have left his home- the palace- to go out and wander around the beaches fighting the Black Tide and running for his life? Nothing was making any sense!
“Kremnoan as in a place called Kremnos?” Yelan wondered, looking around at the others present. “Have any of you guys ever heard of it?”
Phainon laughed seeing the others look confused. “Duh! Castrum Kremnos is the home of Amphoreous’s greatest warriors! They worship the Strife Titan, Nikador and they are very honorable.”
Mydei nodded proudly but only started to look more confused as the adults had all gone silent.
“Wait. What’s Amphoreous?” Xiao asked, leaning down curiously.
“Amphoreous is the name of our world. And another Flame Chase Journey is about to start soon.” Phainon said eagerly. “Wait- isn’t that where you are from too?”
“Wait! Nobody move!” Yelan called out. “I’m afraid I’m going to need to take you two to see Lady Ninguang before we discuss anything else-”
But everyone else was already gone! The woman swore under her breath and shook her head. She had already sensed that this Zhongli person was going to be a problem and it annoyed her that she was right... “Xiao?”
“I’m sorry, Yelan.” She could hear his voice, but the little Adeptus was not visible to her. “I can’t take you with us. Those children are too important to simply hand over to anyone- even to the Qixing right now. He is calling the Archons together first. I’m sure he will explain himself to Lady Ninguang as soon as he can.”
“What?” Yelan yelped. “You’re telling me that man can bring the Archons together?”
But this time Xiao didn’t answer her. She sighed. She supposed that was enough of a hint at what she needed to find out about him for now. She would just have to return to the Harbor and wait with Lady Ninguang herself.
**
Mydei blinked as he and Phainon appeared outside in the bright moonlight. They were with Zhongli. But Xiao, Childe and Yaoyao were not there, neither was Yelan. The three of them were atop a tree that was just unimaginably huge. Beautiful white and green roofed towers and marble pathways meandered up the tree and extended far below them.
“How did you do that?” Mydei asked, his eyes found Zhongli first.
“And where is everyone else?” Phainon wondered.
“I’m sorry for not warning you. But the woman we were speaking to wanted to bring you to her leader. I have come here to bring you to meet the world’s more literal powers that be.”
Phainon blinked in confusion again. Mydei sighed. “He means we’re here to see the titans of this world. Because he’s one of them…”