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The Heavenly Principles were not king overseers, that was something well known. A contradiction itself, for they desperately struggled so that humanity was conserved, but had no qualms on eradicating civilizations when they dared to step from what they considered the human limitations.
They were always going to be dire consequences for the course that Teyvat inhabitants had decided to walk.
And when that fateful day they finally awoke, they brought the destruction and carnage through the one that had obtained their crown.
No one was ready, not the meager remains of the Primordial Dragons, nor the forces of the abyss that had been planning for centuries in the dark. And not even the Tsaritsa with the power of the Gnoses and her carefully centuries crafted plan was able to withstand the consequences.
All was lost.
Except.
One human being who previously had messed with the authority of Time and Space. And the anomaly who was able to withstand it.
A ridiculous idea, borne out of desperation and grief, a real last shot in the dark. There was no other option.
***
The night breeze carries with it the smell of the sea and flowers, above her hanging high in the sky the false moon and silent stars are the only thing she can see, a rather perturbing scenario, especially after being able to bask in the light of the real moon before.
The fake sky hides behind it the truth that the Heavenly Principles have stolen, it’s disgusting.
But, it’s just a matter of time, she tells herself, until the fake sky is shattered once again, and the real moon is able to show herself.
But, will she let things run their course just like before or will she try to change things now?
That doomed future can’t come to pass once again, she has to change things this time around, but how much can she really do without causing another kind of calamity?
The waves gently arrive at the shore, dragging pebbles and sand, in the distance she hears the howls of wolves and the bellows of the boars. In front of her comfortably and with no worry to be had Paimon sleeps peacefully.
The songs of the crickets join the melody that plays around her. This night is exactly like the one that occurred in that future that is now her past.
The day has played in the same way as it did so long ago when she fished Paimon out of the sea, and her adventure and new life in Teyvat truly began.
Until now, things have been the same. But, this time.
Coming from behind her she can hear steps.
This time things will go differently, they will make sure of that.
She turns.
Stepping out of the darkness he makes his appearance.
Il Dottore stands in front of her eyes, their encounter happening now years before it was meant to.
For a moment none said anything. And the two once enemies simply stare at each other.
She looks the same as she did in the future that became the past, but he doesn’t.
Gone is the metal mask that once adorned his face, and this time the visor that once replaced the place where his eyes stood is also missing.
Bright crimson meets gold.
Also missing is the white coat that once was so defining of his image, no insignia nor embroidery of the Fatui emblem is to be found on his person. The ornamental metal bird has also been left behind.
It’s not the same one but he still wears a shoulder cape adorned with feathers.
No, Il Dottore is not the man that stands now in front of her.
“Zandik.” She says.
“Lumine.” He calls back for her.
He looks tired, and she probably looks also the same, a mess, exhaustion has already nested deep into their souls.
He walks towards her, and sits down at her side.
She wants to go back to sleep, she wants to wake up and for her biggest concern to be her brother’s whereabouts.
Her head moves to rest against his side.
She carries so much love for people she has to meet once again, there is also a deep sadness and grief for the things she knows she won’t, can’t, change.
She doesn't know if she can do it all again.
“So,” he starts, voice weary and so unlike what it was once before. “How does one go about this saving the world business, Hero?”
***
Mondstadt’s most recent additions are quite the odd bunch.
Outside the sky is painted by red and oranges as the sun sets, night still a little bit away from arriving. Usually at this time Angel’s Share would rarely already have patrons to serve and yet, today two of its regulars are already sitting at the counter several drinks in.
Kaeya and Rosaria drink in uncharacteristic silence and calm, if it’s a facade or if they are actually deep in thought Diluc doesn't really care to discover, but judging by the occasional glance thrown his way it's more than clear they are gonna involve him in whatever they are planning.
But for now, they wait, for what? Diluc firmly believes the reason to be the other group currently present in the tavern.
In one of the corners, almost hiding in between shadows and darkness, Mondstadt’s current biggest topic of gossip dine in calm.
Their recently named Honorary Knight, Paimon her loyal floaty companion, and, him, the self proclaimed researcher.
The conversation they have is led by Paimon, as usually any interaction with the group tends to be, occasionally the researcher will also partake, but the Honorary Knight does nothing more than single words and hums.
The moon is shy of making its entrance on the firmament when they finish, by this point the Pixie is clearly tired and now instead of floating around her companion she sits at the Traveler’s side slumping over her. The woman lets out a small laugh and simply grabs a napkin, cleans the child’s face to then take her up in arms and carry her.
With her usual poise and grace she stands, and approaches the bar while the researcher stays behind to pick up their bags.
“Thanks.” She says to him while taking out the mora needed to pay. “It was good.” She then adds, and with no more to be discussed she leaves it at that. The scholar already waiting by the door with their things.
“Goodnight.” She says addressing the three of them.
“Goodnight.”
“Bye. Have a good night.”
“Rest well.”
She then throws a small smile in their direction and turns to leave, the sleeping child held securely in the Traveler’s arms, and when she reaches his side he just wraps his arm around her waist in a protective, (possessive,) manner.
He turns to look at them and a simple acknowledging nod is directed to them.
After that, they leave.
The door closes and nothing happens for some seconds, just only after more time passes and it’s sure that they have already walked away when Diluc dares to release the breath he was holding.
In front of him he sees Rosaria and Kaeya start to calm down, the tension slowly leaving them and it seems like they can finally breathe freely.
Rosaria interrupts the fragile peace by taking what was left of her drink in one gulp and then slamming the glass against the bar.
“So” she starts, voice firm, “are we finally gonna address the situation? Or are we going to keep pretending that we don’t know the things we do?”
One of his usual low chuckles leaves Kaeya’s lips, “Tell then good sister, where do we even begin?”
Focused now in the inevitable conversation Kaeya leaves his drink forgotten. “Shall we once again discuss once again if our esteemed Honorary Knight is really someone who we can trust?” He picks up his glass, but instead of drinking from it he simply swirls it around, the liquid following the movement.
“Or shall we enter a deep debate about who the Scholar truly is? Or maybe we should leave rumors and gossip behind and turn to see if we can finally pinpoint the cause for the abnormally increased monster activity all over the nation?”
His brother finally finishes his rant and downs his drink. Tense silence follows as he simply refills Kaeya’s glass.
Yes, which topic to address? Which topic to discuss in cycles for hours just to reach no definitive conclusion?
Indeed, Mondstadt’s most recent additions were an odd bunch, wrapped in mystery and uncertainty.
She claimed to be searching for her brother, in words she declared to truly believe he was alive and simply missing, but Diluc could so easily see the grief she was carrying inside her, but aside from that it was almost as she had already given up on finding him, like she already knew the answer as to what his fate was and she simply couldn’t come to terms with it.
Was it the way her grief made itself present or was it denial over her situation?
But then at her side an even bigger concern was him. Diluc hadn’t had the “pleasure” of meeting the scholar during the whole stolen Holy Lyre Fiasco, but he knew thanks to Paimon that the pair was actually a group of three. And that the man had been the Traveller’s companion before Paimon joined them.
But who had met the Traveller first wasn’t the thing of concern, instead his whole existence was, while he called himself a scholar no matter in which institution was searched nothing could be found about a man that fitted his description attending anywhere in recent decades. Not at the Akademiya, not at any of Fontaine’s research institutions, nor Liyue’s schools.
But the title of researcher and scholar was no lie, when he wasn’t basically glued to the Traveler’s side he could be found deep in research on Mondstadt’s library. But aside from that there had been that occasion in which Dluc found him deep in discussion about topics that flew over his head with Lisa.
And it was easy to see that the knowledge he possessed was more than enough to leave the witch surprised. And according to Kaeya, the same had occurred with Albedo.
And as if his intelligence and knowledge weren’t a matter of concern already then the other thing was the fact that he was no feeble scholar.
Diluc had only seen him fight on one occasion, but that was more than enough. The man fought with a lethal control of both brutality and grace, he wielded his weapon fast and with devastating precision.
Yes, bigger concern than the mysterious Traveler he was.
And of course, adding the fact that he looked like Him.
Diluc still remembers the fear that invaded him the first time they crossed paths, the way that only years of life and death situations prevented him from freezing when his eyes met the bright crimson that had tormented his nightmares for years.
But it wasn’t Him, it couldn't be Him, the man that just arrived in Mondstadt was clearly at least two decades older than the man that left a deep wound in the city a mere couple of years ago. His hair was a different tone of blue, he conducted and acted in a completely different way, and inside his eyes there was simply something akin to boredom where that man had a sparkle of something wild and almost manic.
But most importantly Diluc knew that even after his return years ago Il Dottore hadn't left the borders of the land of Cryo.
So no, it wasn’t Him, it couldn't be Him.
Unnoticed by the bartender, a conversation between his brother and Rosaria had picked up moments ago, he is brought out of his thoughts when the door opens.
Outside, the moon takes its place high in the sky and soon the tavern will fill.
A good distraction for his restless mind.
Still, the night advances and in quiet moments he still finds his thoughts slipping now and then, but now he is not only tormented by crimson, instead gold joins now, a gold that fills with so much happiness and genuine love at even the smallest of things.
He thinks of her, of her grief ridden presence, but also the determination to protect something, someone, the world itself on some occasions.
As the night advances, Diluc remains unaware of how close he is to figuring out the Traveler’s real motivation.
***
Above shining bright on the fake sky the false moon demands all eyes over it. It makes Lumine sick, and she can do nothing more but long for the moment the real one takes her rightful place.
With her heart beating fast and her breath in quick pangs she allows herself to collapse with no care on the forest floor. She’s so tired, but worse than that is the fact that once again she is back to such a state of weakness.
Around her monsters still scream and growl and the fighting goes on, still she closes her eyes and focuses only on regaining her strength. Out here in the wild things are getting worse this time, a mob of Lawachurls so close to the city was nothing she had ever seen before, not even when the abyss threatened to consume the word back in that future that was now her past.
From the sound of it it seems that some Rifthounds have joined the fight, still her eyes remain closed, she knows no danger will befall her. In a matter of seconds silence falls again, when she opens her eyes he’s there patiently waiting for her.
“Ready to continue?” He says, offering his hand so that she can stand up.
“Yeah. Let 's go.”
Tonight it’s just the two of them, Paimon resting securely back on their accommodations in the city. Still even with the stellar job that the remaining knights have been doing, the monster and abyssal activity does nothing more than increase in unnatural ways.
If an end is not put to it, it’s just a matter of time before the city starts to become affected, and then no place will be safe.
Ah, what wouldn’t she give to have her Teapot realm once again with her.
Especially because the most probable cause for the anomalies of this present have no intentions of stopping soon. Now that she is aware of her status as a Descender she will make use of her fate altering abilities as much as she can, and well, it seems that the world itself is against Zandik’s presence, makes sense, seeing as the man is out of his designated time and space.
With strength returning to her she finally stands up and they walk towards where another monster mob was reported. She doesn't have a lot left on her. Soon she will have to call quits.
It’s so frustrating, her strength and power once again taken from her, maybe even worse than when it first happened, probably because she knows she can regain it, but it’s a matter of time.
But, at least this time there’s someone to protect her when her limits are met.
At her side Zandik is a strong and firm presence, an ideal companion to both guide and offer comfort when her grief threatens to devour her.
It’s been hard, having to be a stranger once again to people who have carved a place inside her heart, and it will only become worse, she will meet old friends again for the first time, and she will lose people who she can’t save.
And the world around will become more dangerous, more violent.
Things are bad already, and hard. And so easily they could become worse.
But she’s here once again, and she will do all she can to save this world she loves so much.
And he's also here, in a future they will be able to stand side by side, they will be able to call each other equals, but right now he protects, guides her path, and she happily follows.