Chapter 1: Party Crashed
Chapter Text
The sounds of music and joy fill the air, as hearty laughter and jovial banter echo through the spacious room reserved only for the most special of occasions.
Party balloons and streamers of all colors hang from the rafters of the banquet hall as fog machines coat the floor in a thin layer gray of haze. Rows of tables line the walls spread with various assortments of food and drinks, as partygoers spread themselves around the room in this atmosphere of excitement and delight.
Species of every kind gather in this hall in celebration of the feats accomplished by the Champion of Terraria. Goblins, Humans, Lihzahrd, and everything in between rejoice in honor of the man who conquered the impending doom.
“I could drink more than you ever could, Morthal.” A pirate boasts to the man sitting down at the bar in front of him.
“HAH. You think you can drink more than me, Cap’n? The only one who gave me a run for my money was Tavish DeGroot.” A dwarven man with a ginger beard that would put any other to shame, slams his ale mug down on the table as he gives a hearty laugh. “You’re welcome to try Morgan.”
“Oh you’re on, Dwarf!” The two get fresh mugs poured and start chugging. A crowd is gathering around the competition, various cheers and applause is given to the two as they continue to drink. After about three full mugs the pirate stumbles and falls over unconscious. As the crowd cheers. A woman in a nurse’s outfit grumbles to herself looking at the now blackout drunk pirate.
The man of the hour, however, was not joining in the festivities. Instead, choosing to stand outside on the balcony attached to the banquet hall. It was relatively dark out for such an early hour, the full moon giving enough light to see the vague outline of the nature surrounding the estate constructed by his own two hands.
Dancing across the night sky were ornamental paper lanterns released by the townsfolk during the celebration. Casting reflections down into the lake below, as falling stars twinkled in the inky black. Every here and there he could spot a neon pink light or two crawling around in the soil of the surrounding forest, Enchanted Nightcrawlers always seemed to like making appearances during meteor showers. It was a huge coincidence that the night of the celebration was also the same night as such a rare meteorological event. Unfathomable, but it made for such a lovely view.
2 Hearing the door open up behind him, he spun around to meet the gaze of a man with hazel brown unkempt hair. Wearing a cream colored shirt, faded blue jeans, and simple black shoes.
“Was the party getting too loud for you, Phineas?” The man asked in a hushed voice.
“Hey, Andrew.” Phineas replied. “Nah, just needed a breath of fresh air is all.”
Andrew chuckled lightly. “It seems like just yesterday I found you out cold in the forest with barely anything on you but the clothes on your back and a few flimsy copper tools.”
“I know.” Phineas agreed. As he returned back to the railing “It’s hard to believe that it’s been three whole years since then. A lot has changed in such a short time.” He looked at a small black box he was holding. “A lot has definitely changed.”
“Are you going to finally ask her?” Andrew asked hopefully.
“Yes, tonight has to be the night. I can’t keep waiting foreve-”
“Hey Phin, I was looking everywhere for you. Oh hey, Andrew.” A new voice joins the duo out on the balcony. The voice belonged to a girl with hair as green as the leaves of the trees, adorned with flowers. She was wearing little clothing but the two didn’t seem to mind. The more private areas of her body were covered by greenery and plant life.
Andrew nods in greeting while Phineas hurriedly conceals the black box in his hand before addressing the new voice. “Hey Shea, what’s up?”
“The party was getting lonely without you, I was wondering when you're going to come back in?” She asked.
“In a bit, I was just thinking about some things. Enjoying the scenery.” Replied Phineas, returning to the marvelous view.
“It really is something, huh?” Shea asked. “Beautiful. Isn’t it?”
Phineas exchanged glances with Andrew, the two sharing a silent conversation before they both nodded. Phineas turned towards the Dryad. “H-Hey Shea. Can I ask you a question? A lot has been on my mind recently, a-and I feel like this could help get some of it off my chest.”
“Oh? Well what’s on your mind then?” She returned the gaze curiously.
“Well it’s-” Just as he was about to start that sentence he suddenly got a dark foreboding feeling. God it was so silent, what happened to the critters of the night? The wind was so silent. Something was wrong, his gut was screaming at him to take up arms or flee. Then he noticed it.
It first started as a small red slit in the air just hanging there. The more and more he stared at it the worse this feeling became. Suddenly the slit expanded into three star-like shapes filling the center of them were a black void, almost reminiscent of those weird animated smoke tiles that Destiny sold. It was far darker than the night sky or any of the surrounding landscape, making its presence known by casting an ominous red glow onto the balcony.
“Get down!” The awful feeling hit its climax as he jumped and pushed Andrew and Shea down behind the railing, just as a red and black tendril of cubes shot out of the leftmost portal. Narrowly dodging it as it flew up and back around into the rift.
Massive tendrils of the black cubes protrude from the maw and flail about, uprooting trees and slamming into the walls of the estate. Andrew pushes Shea out of the way as one of the tendrils slams down onto the balcony causing it to groan in protest.
Inside, the party atmosphere seemed to die down and tension rose as the building shook with a loud slam. A man with a dark complexion and graying black hair, sporting a maroon shirt and blue jeans with brown shoes wearing an old brown trench coat. Rushes over to the source of commotion out on the balcony.
The door to the balcony swung open “What the hell is going on out here?!” The Arms Dealer yelled out.
The Arms Dealer had to duck down as a tendril went for a wide swing over the balcony.
“Everybody inside now!” yelled Phineas. The trio ran inside and slammed the door shut behind them. The slams became more erratic almost like the thing was mad at them for retreating as the intensity of the red glow increased outside the glass doors.
"Phin, what the hell was that thing?” asked the Arms Dealer.
“I have no idea, Tyrone. But it can’t be anything good.” Phineas concluded.
Despite the doors being made of glass it seemed to hold back a surprising amount of force as more and more cuboid tendrils bashed against it in attempt after attempt to get inside. Turning back towards the immediate threat he saw as a figure was beginning to emerge from the portal. They were human, or at least gave off that appearance. Seemingly a young woman in her mid twenties, fairly tall but slender. Her eyes were a burning gold color with cross shaped pupils.
“Damnit, everyone. Get out of here! Use the old Teleporter system if you have to, something tells me the Pylon network might not be working.” As convenient and simple the town Pylons were, they seemed to have a knack for completely shutting down whenever a monster of great power emerges or an invasion is taking place.
But before anyone could make a break for the large doors that led back out into the manor, the only remaining exit seemingly transformed into a bunch of the vile looking blocks. Cutting off the only other way out of the hall, lest anyone was willing to take a dance with death.
“I don’t understand, We’ve been invaded by otherworldly forces before. But this looks nothing like the Old One’s Army.” Just as Phineas finishes that sentence, the uninvited arrival touches the glass doors. As from the point of contact, spread more of those cubes. But this time instead of lashing out to attack they just spread around, fully consuming the door and a part of the wall holding it in place. All the cubes then shrink and fly back towards the point of origin, a small golden tesseract held within the hand of the woman.
“Vermin. All of you.” Phineas looked at the intruder with anger. “You and your people have been a thorn in my side for far too long.” The woman stated with an air of authority.
“Oh? And you are?” Phineas asks as he points his blade at her. “To me, you just showed up out of the blue to crash a party. We’ve only just met.” He speaks with ice in his tone.
“I am the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles. It seems Cthulhu didn’t accomplish his assigned task. Now I must carry out my will myself.”
“I’ve already killed one god, what’s another?” He taunted.
“The arrogation of your kind will be their downfall.” She responded in kind.
The two powerful beings stared each other down, neither moving an inch. The tense moment was broken up when a flaming arrow went flying towards the intruder. Before it could even land the dark cubes shot up from the floor and absorbed the arrow. “Then you’ll all die together.”
The two charged each other, the clanging of metal echoing through the hall. A dance of death was shared between the two; neither willing to back down, and each blow carefully calculated to damage or defend. From an outside perspective, it seemed the two were completely equal in skill, the stakes too high to back down.
This dance continued on for a moment more until a small dark round object clattered onto the floor in between the two. Recognizing this object, Phineas jumps back but not before going for one last strike to stagger the woman. Just before the grenade could explode, a rocket flies straight into the frey. The two explosives detonate at the exact same time, a devastating blow to anything just short of inhuman.
“You think we're just goin’ to let ya fight alone? Laddie, this is our home too.” Morthal says, walking up next to Phineas.
“It is a fight for survival; strength in numbers is recommended.” Affirmed a robotic looking man.
“She thinks she can get away with crashing a party?! One that I painstakingly planned?!” shouted a girl in all pink.
“Alright, then attack with everything you’ve got!” Phineas yelled.
As those words left his mouth, projectiles of every kind flew towards the clearing smoke. The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles widened her eyes in surprise before summoning a barrier of the dark cubes. However,she failed to notice the Truffle Spores floating their way around the barrier. Just as they made their way around the barrier, the woman dashed from her cover. She thought she was free of any harm until a stream of bullets stopped her dead in her tracks. She turned her head towards where the shots had originated from to see the smoking barrel of a Minishark in the hands of Tyrone.
“Annoying pest.” She mutters as a swarm of black cubes shoot out towards him. He raised his arms in defense hoping to block whatever damage those things may do. But before the swarm could make contact, they slammed harmlessly against a green translucent barrier.
“It’s probably not a good idea to let those things touch you at all. We’d better not take the risk.” Said Shea, her arms outstretched, a green glow emanating in front of them.
“Holy- Thanks for the save, Shea.” said Tyrone
“Do be a little more careful next time?”
“Yeah, yeah. I got it.”
Before she could attack the two any further she was slashed from behind, as Phineas took the opportunity to attack while she was distracted. She yelped in surprise and annoyance as she cursed herself for allowing him to get the advantage on her so easily.
But Phineas wasn’t the only one attempting to attack her while getting up close and personal. An exotic looking Scimitar slashed its way down with quick precision. At the exact same time Phineas went in for a second swipe.
The god placed her hands out in front of the blades stopping them in their place. The two had to jump back as they saw the exact spot they were standing be engulfed in the black cubes.
“Those cubes are proving to be a problem. We have to find some way to take those away or we risk a never ending battle.” Said the man holding the scimitar.
“Then we’ll just have to attack from a distance. Grab on.” Said Phineas as he grabbed the Dye Trader’s hands and flew back to the group.
He turned back towards her, and held out his blade once more. Interconnected with it as he was, he willed it to split apart and slash from all directions. The Zenith glowed before quickly lifting from his grasp and in a bright flash, split itself up into multiple forms before flying straight at the attacking party.
Try as she might, protecting one’s self from all sides is no easy feat. Raising her arms up brought about another wall of the cubes, moving like a semi-solid liquid. Blocking or deflecting a majority of the swords, but a few made it through.
She audibly hissed in pain and frustration as the few swords that made it through her defense cut her. Frustrated, she decided to employ a different strategy to get the upper hand. It seemed that a majority of her attacks were being deflected by barriers and protective actions done by the one in the back with green hair. She needed to get rid of that dendro user. Forming a cube in her hand, she tossed it at the crowd. It bounced harmlessly off the barrier at first, but it soon started to glow and vibrate.
As the cube’s actions intensified, Phineas realized what this may be, but before he could warn anyone or take any action himself. The cube exploded and a bright disorienting flash filled the room. It only took two seconds for Phineas’ eyes to readjust and see normally again, but his comrades weren’t as lucky.
Capitalizing on that flashbang, the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles dashed for the emerald haired girl and restrained her. No one could stop her advance as they were all reeling from the intense bright flash that just occurred.
After the people’s senses finally came back, the stakes of the current situation finally dawned on them.
“Let her go, you coward!” Phineas yelled, as he was about to ready another strike with his blade.
“Don’t be foolish, I’ve already won.”
“Don’t listen to her!” Shea yelled out.
“Quiet girl. Now sit still. And. Die.” She stuck her hand out towards the champion and launched another shot of cubes at him. He rolled away from the barrage before teleporting away with his Rod of Discord.
Quite the helpful tool it was, being able to teleport anywhere within an area centered around himself. It helped him out of very serious situations, but using it too much in a short timespan could spell his demise. It would be quite bad if his legs and head swapped places after all.
Shifting behind the god he primed his sword to cut. The god only turned around before she could register the incoming danger.
The next thing Phineas heard was a sharp scream, but his attack never connected. He could only stare in dumbfound horror as Shea was now bleeding profusely, the wound in her side filled with the cubes, almost eating away at her like a parasite.
The room was silent aside from the menacing buzzing of the portal the god opened upon arrival. The goddess flashing a maniacal grin sent out cubes from her feet to restrain the champion.
Phineas could barely register what was happening before it was too late, he wasn’t fast enough. Shea got hurt because he wasn’t fast enough to react to that flashbang. All of his friends and family were going to get hurt because of his failure.
The goddess started to chuckle, then a laugh, then a malicious cackle. She had tossed Shea aside as she slowly started to approach Phineas, a look of dejected worry for Shea morphed into pure unadulterated rage as he stared right at her. She calmed down her cackling as she started to speak.
“Let this be a lesson to all those who attempt to oppose the Heavenly Principles.” She spoke in a cocky authoritative tone. She slowly held out her hand towards Phineas’ head.
Placing her hand on his head to attempt to destroy his very core was met with high resistance from a familiar yet otherworldly magic she hasn’t felt before. She quickly took her hand away, placing her free hand on her forehead.
“Well, this won’t be as easy as I once thought, it seems you are a special case…”
“If I had a coin for every time I’ve been told that, I’d have enough money to buy whatever I’d want.” He spat back bitterly as he struggled against the cubes holding him down.
Another flaming arrow drew away the attention of the goddess. She scoffed before walking over to the assailant.
“Do you really want to die that eagerly?”
Andrew starred in defiance, before notching and losing an arrow. The projectile was absorbed into a black mass before it could even touch her.
She closed the distance between her and the Guide in less than a second, grabbing him by the neck and lifting him up. She attempted to execute him then and there but like the Champion, he too was being protected by this same mysterious magic. She slowly removed her hand before looking at the rest of the people in the room. It was a mix between fear, shock, and anger on all of their faces.
“A special case indeed…” She said quietly to herself before a column of cubes erupted from the floor right underneath Andrew. As the cubes slowly collected into the small golden tesseract into her hand, Andrew was nowhere to be seen.
One by one all the guests at the party were also absorbed into masses of the cubes. Phineas tried to break out but the combined chaos around him and the searing pain from the cubes digging into his limbs kept him from breaking free.
The last thing he saw before his vision was obscured was watching Shea get slowly consumed by the sea of black and red.
Chapter Text
He felt very sore, his chest stung, his arms and legs ached where the cubes binded him. Opening his eyes, he was met with yet more darkness. A black void wasn’t the strangest place he woke up in, but it wasn’t all an inky black expanse, there was a set of very ornate looking double doors. The more he looked at the door the more his chest started to throb.
Seeing no other way to go, he slowly lifted himself off the floor, legs protesting in pain. It seems that time would have to heal those wounds, he couldn’t find any potions on him, nor could he find his tools after a painstaking search of his person.
Pushing the doors open was a hefty task, even for him. Strange. They made a loud creaking sound when moving, as he pushed. Eventually, he opened them enough to slip through.
Upon entry, he was met with a dark room, the only lit up space being a short… Platform? Hallway? leading to a staircase. He couldn’t really tell, nor could he really care right now. As he trudged ahead, the room around him slowly started to brighten up more and more, though a majority of it was still unrecognizable. Turning back to look at the door it was no longer there, replaced with yet more void.
Climbing the staircase was simple, though exhausting. He tried to recall what happened, but all he was getting was missing memory and dull pain. As he reached the top he found the pathway in front of him suddenly stopped in its tracks, the oppressing darkness blocking his sight.
The path wasn’t immediately available so he stood there to wait. Seconds turned to minutes as he concluded that the path wouldn’t become clear anytime soon, so he took the time to try to think about what happened. Pushing past the dull ache that came from searching his memories he slowly started to piece things together.
That’s right! He was at the celebration that they threw for him, but what happened? The ache started to intensify. It felt like his brain took a direct hit from those Martian Tesla Turrets. Grabbing his head in an attempt to ease the pain, he tries to sort out his memories some more.
It hit him all at once like a freight train, first it was the conversation on the balcony being interrupted. Then it was the battle with the one who stole his friends. And finally, his loss and failure. So many emotions swirled within him at that moment. Sadness. Disgust. Anger… Fear.
He could feel a liquid run down his face. Bringing a hand to the liquid, he looked through a clouded vision and found himself crying. How long had it been since he last did that? When he lost his foster family? That damn witch took his new family too. Why is everything taken away from him when he finally gets comfortable again?
Just then he was hit with another memory of Shea. The two of them stood out in a field as she taught some basic Dryad magic to him, how to grow a tree sprout without the use of an acorn.
“Just hold your arms out like I taught you, it helps to channel the energy from your core while interworking it with the natural magic around us. And do remember to breathe and remain calm? Strong negative emotions can corrupt one’s core energy. If used with Dryad magic, the result can be twisted and changed… Corrupted.” Shea pauses to pat Phineas on the back, grinning. “No pressure.”
“Gee, thanks” Phineas retorts. He smiles and shakes his head.
Closing his eyes, he takes a deep breath before slowly holding out his arms in the position Shea taught him. A green glow emanates from the palms of his hands as the soil on the ground in front of him starts to shift and move.
It was a strange feeling having to will your core to manipulate magic like this, compared to the few magic staffs and tools he has used before, it was like having to ‘put your back into it.’ If he were to put it into words. He heard the ground shift some more, but he wouldn’t dare break his focus and ruin the spell. Shea was nice, don’t get him wrong, but she could be terrifying when she needed to be.
“Stop.” Phineas’ concentration broke when he heard Shea tell him to stop.
“Why? I didn’t mess up, did I?” He looks down at the ground to see a normal looking tree sapling where there wasn’t one before.
“This tree… Somehow you managed to grow a very special sapling, special indeed.” Shea said crouched down next to the sapling appraising it.
“Special how? Looks like any normal sapling to me.” Phineas replied.
“This sapling has the same genetic code that sets itself apart from all the rest. This sapling will one day grow to become one of the giant hollow trees that you find scattered around Terraria today.” Shea explained.
This made Phineas pause, he turned around to look at the gigantic tree he always likes to call ‘The World Tree’. “So you’re telling me, that this tiny sapling will one day be as large as that tree over there?”
“A little bigger or a little smaller, yes. But it won’t happen for a while, those trees are very old, you know.” She smiles warmly at Phineas.
No. He refused. He would not take it. She would not want him to. He stood up from the ground, steeling himself, in newfound defiance to the goddess.
“That god is going to pay for what she’s done.” Phineas concluded.
He heard a loud click sound as the room around him fully lit up. The room he was in was large and open. But even more curious was the large… Chess Piece? In the center of the room suspended with chains and bulky cables.
It was very big and glowed and pulsed rhythmically, like a beating heart. Though the base of it resembled a chess piece, it didn’t look like it belonged in a normal set. The top of the piece was an ornate carved Angel Statue made of the same almost Rose Quartz like material as the base of the piece. However the base and statue were also accented with gold plating, making it much more regal looking.
The structure pulsed in tandem with the beat of his own heart, the room glowing brighter and brighter with each pulse. Until he couldn’t see anymore...
“…And just like that, the god took away my brother. Some kind of seal was cast upon me, and I lost my power. So while we used to travel from world to world, we are now trapped here.” The girl with blond hair and yellow eyes pulls a small stick out of the sand, a crude drawing of a woman with cubes and stars surrounding her in the beach at her feet. “How many years ago was it? I don’t know…” The girl clenches her fist in determination. “But I intend to find out.” She looks at the small floating being next to her. “After I awoke, I was all alone- right up until I met you two months ago.”
The small floating being who was listening to her tale finally speaks up. “Yeah. Paimon really owes you for that. Otherwise Paimon likely would have drowned… So Paimon will do her best to be a great guide!” Paimon places her hands on her hips confidently. She then starts to float off down the beach. “We should head off. Let’s get going!”
Walking up the beach the girl walked up to a mysterious obelisk. It was gray with gold accents holding a red crystal inside. Curious, she held her hand out to it and reacted. The red crystal changed from a red to a royal blue color as the obelisk lifted off the ground and hovered there. She watched it for a bit before Paimon spoke up again.
“Are you coming? Or are you going to make Paimon wait all day?”
She broke away from the obelisk and caught up to Paimon who floated up a small rock wall that she had to scale. Upon reaching the top, Paimon took over as the guide. “Okay, let’s take the route we planned! We’re off to… a Statue of The Seven!” Paimon then got curious and asked “Which of The Seven are you looking for exactly?”
The blond girl remained quiet as she studied the landscape around her. It was a valley of some sort, gray rocks making up a majority of the terrain with grass growing on the tops of the rocks. Though that wasn’t really on her mind. Which of the seven had she actually wanted to speak with? They didn’t sound like the one god she and her brother encountered. If they weren’t the god, would they even help her look for them? She was interrupted from her thoughts when Paimon seemed to be appreciating the view up ahead.
Running to catch up with her guide, she could finally get to see what she was amazed by. And what a view it was to the small lake with the statue in the middle of it, to the city adorned with windmills in the distance with the towering mountains ever further away. It seems like the way to the city is blocked by a forest, though it looks like just a straight shot to their current objective of the Statue of The Seven, judging by the looks of things it must be the one in the middle of that small lake.
Her guide looked at her and pointed at the statue in the middle of the lake “That’s a Statue of The Seven! There are a few of these statues scattered across the land to show The Seven’s protection over the world.”
Well at least her hunch was correct.
“Among the seven gods, this god controls the wind. Paimon’s not sure whether the god you’re looking for is the Anemo God, but Paimon’ll take you to the Anemo God’s place first, and there’s a reason why~” Paimon started to float down the hill on the right leading right to the statue. “As we all know, poetry and language flows like the wind. So there’ll definitely be someone there who knows about your brother. At least, that’s what Paimon thinks! Whether the gods actually answer you is a different story. You never know unless you try. So, let’s hop to it!” Huh, that might be a good place to start.
As they get close to the lake Paimon floats right over it beckoning her to swim over as well. While she wasn’t the most excited about getting her clothes all wet, though, the chance to speak to one of the supposed gods was promising.
The wind was warm and calm, as she looked at the statue. Deciding to walk up and touch the gold plate at its base, the star-like symbols glow a bright light blue color as a loud heartbeat-like sound can be heard. More parts of the statue light up blue as the wind starts to swirl around the statue’s base. Finally, the stone orb in the statue’s hands glows the same light blue color as the wind almost collects into it before a translucent orb flies out of the stone and hovers its way down towards her. It merges with her as she feels the wind pick up around her. She can feel a flow of elemental power similar to that of the orb she just collected emanating from the statue’s base that travels under the ground and spreads out in all directions, she can feel the obelisk from the beach, the salty air from the ocean, the warm sand of the beach.
“Ooh! Did you just feel the elements of the world? Seems all you had to do was just touch the statue and you got the power of Anemo!” Anemo, huh? It feels so… liberating.
“As much as they may want it, people in this world can never get a hold of powers as easily as you.” Paimon revealed.
“I think I know why, it must be because I’m not from here, right?” The girl inquired.
“Ah-ha, that’s right, it’s because you’re not from this world to begin with.” Paimon confirmed.
“If we keep heading west from here, we’ll eventually reach Mondstadt, the City of Freedom.” Paimon says, looking over to the now closer walled city. “Mondstadt is the city of wind, because they worship the God of Anemo. So perhaps, because you got power from the God of Anemo, you can find some clues there.” Paimon concluded. “Oh! There are also lots of bards there, so perhaps one of them has heard the news of your brother.” she added.
“Sounds like a good place to investigate then.” The girl agreed.
“Great, let’s move then! The elements of this world responded to your prayers and Paimon thinks that’s a lovely sign.”
Just as she was about to start moving, she smelled something burning? Turning around, she saw four Pyro Slimes bouncing up and down as they moved closer and closer. Feeling the newfound power coursing through her, she held out her arm as wind gathered at the palm of her hand. When it reached a crescendo of force, she let it go with a shout.
“Windblade!”
The Pyro Slimes were torn apart by the blades of wind, some blades catching fire as they mixed with the Pyro elements of the Slimes. In the end, all that was left of the Slimes was a patch of smoldering grass.
“These are the Anemo powers you got from the Statue of The Seven. Aww, Paimon’s so jealous! Why doesn’t Paimon get cool fighting powers?!” Paimon said with a pout.
WIth a light chuckle, she made her way to the edge of the island and swam back across the lake, making her way west at a light jog, she slid down a small ledge before stumbling when the wind around her picked up and a loud roar was heard. A large shadow was cast onto them as a large creature flew overhead and landed in the nearby forest separating them from Mondstadt.
“Woah! What was that?! It landed in the forest we needed to cut through! Paimon thinks we should be extra careful!” she suggested.
Making their way slowly through the forest, they hear a growling sound get louder and louder as they eventually round a corner to see the creature, hiding behind a tree they see that it’s a large blue dragon with large feathers and fur in the palace of scales atypical of dragons. However, standing out was this vile looking purple spike protruding out of the back of its neck.
There was a person standing in front of the dragon, dressed in seafoam green with black hair highlighted with blue. “Don’t be afraid. It’s alright now, I’m back.”
Paimon stared in confusion at the scene. “Is he talking… to the dragon?”
Before she could answer her, the elemental energy inside her seemed to act up and puff out into the air. Almost like an elemental sneeze. This startled the dragon as it roared angrily and attempted to swipe at the person in green with its claws.
“Who’s there?!” The person in green shouted.
The dragon roared angrily at the two as the mysterious character slowly backed up and disappeared in a flash of blue. The dragon then started flying away before giving one last angry growl to the duo.
“That was close! Paimon almost got blown away.” she said in between heavy breaths. “Luckily Paimon managed to grab hold of your hair! Thanks.”
“It’s a good thing you didn’t pull my hair out then.” responded the girl.
“Just what was that? Paimon thought we were gonna get eaten. It definitely has something to do with that weirdo who was walking to the dragon.”
“Is talking to dragons normal here?” asked the girl as she thought about the person who was there with the dragon before they arrived.
“Of course not!” Paimon huffed as she crossed her arms. She looked over to where the dragon was once sitting before noticing something out of place. “Oh? What’s that? There’s some kind of shiny red thingy on the big rock over there. Let’s go take a closer look.”
Paimon hovered over to the object. “Paimon doesn’t have a good feeling about this. Be careful.”
Climbing up the rock, she could get a better look at what it is. It almost looks like a teardrop in shape glowing a malicious red.
“Paimon’s never seen a stone like this before, so Paimon can’t tell what it is. All Paimon knows is that it looks dangerous. We should take it so it doesn’t end up in the wrong hands accidentally.” She concluded before speaking one last time. “Mondstadt’s just around the corner now, it shouldn’t be too much longer!”
The two continued to walk out of the forest together before being stopped by a new voice.
“Hey you! Stop right there!” The voice shouted as a girl in all red jumped off the ledge into a roll right in front of them. She caught herself from going any further and turned to face them. “May the Anemo God protect you, stranger. I am Amber, Outrider for the Knights of Favonius.” She stated as she posed in a knightly manner. “You don’t look like citizens of Mondstadt. Explain yourselves!”
“We’re not looking for trouble.” Paimon said in a hurry.
“That’s what all the troublemakers say.”
“Hello I’m Lumine.” the girl finally spoke up.
“Doesn’t sound like a local name to me. And this… mascot, what’s the deal with it?” Amber inquired.
“We’re friends.” Lumine confirms.
“We’ve only been traveling partners for a few weeks, but we’ve already become the very best of friends!” Paimon states.
“So to sum it all up, you’re traveling partners, right? Well look, there’s been a large dragon sighted around Mondstadt recently. In fact you may have seen it. Best you get inside the city as soon as possible. It’s not far from here, I’ll escort you there.” Amber offered.
“Oh? Aren’t you out here for some other reason?” Piamon asked curiously.
“I am.” Amber confirmed. “But not to worry, I can keep you both safe while doing that too. Besides… I’m still not sure if I can trust you two just yet!”
“That’s a rather rude way to speak to guests.” Lumine chimes in.
Amber gets flustered when she realizes her mistake. “Oh, ahh... I'm sorry. Probably not something I should say as a knight. I give you my apologies, uh… strange yet… respectable travelers.”
“That sounded so fake!” Paimon accused
“Do you have something against the type of language usage prescribed by the Knights of Favonius Handbook?!” The two would go on to bicker for a little while Lumine mostly tuned it out. The city was right there, then they could take a bit of a break.
“So, suspicious travelers, what are you doing in Mondstadt?”
“Lumine got separated from her brother during a really, really long journey. Paimon is her travel buddy, helping her to find her brother.” Paimion puffed her chest out.
“Oh, looking for your family..? Huh.” Amber replied in a sadder tone to what they ever heard her say prior. “Ah…” Amber stuttered in the awkward silence. “Okay! Let me finish some other stuff first, and then I can help you put up posters around the city.”
“What exactly is it you need to finish doing first?” Lumine asked curiously.
“It’s simple. You’ll understand in a bit.” Amber said as she started to walk down the path towards the bridge that connects Mondstadt City with the mainland.
Notes:
The first chapter took maybe 5-6 months of off and on writing compared to this chapter's 3 days.
God I can't wait for the Ultrakill update tomorrow.
Big thanks to iDrmzlt for being my Editor + Genshin Lore Consultant.
Chapter 3: Spring and a Storm
Summary:
That time I awoken friendless in another world and fought a six-winged dragon
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
In the darkness, he felt the rough itch of grass, and the smell of fresh air. Opening his eyes, he was met with the canopy of a very large tree, after sitting up he was met with a large expanse. There were rolling green hills as far as the eye could see. A myriad of trees, bushes, and rocks dotted the landscape. On his right was a forest with what looked to be stone structures peeking out over the treeline. A large cliff behind it all.
On his left however, was something much more interesting. A large walled city with beautiful stone buildings and windmills sat atop a rock ledge. Along the path towards the city, there appeared to be a small camp setup.
As he stood up from the ground, he did a quick check of his person to ensure all was as expected. Unlike the dream, all of his usual effects, tools, equipment, armor, and weapons were accounted for. He also found the normal storage items he carries with him safe and sound. Setting down his safe and opening it up he could see all the dirt, stone, wood, and mud someone could ever need along with various other landscaping and building tools, workstations, and an emergency stash of potions. He closed it and picked it back up, placing it back in his inventory.
Somehow, in his quick check of the nearby environment, he missed the blatant tall ornate statue in front of him.. The base is carved out of a gray rock, a ring of gold encircling the base. Splitting the base in two was a red crystal, the cylindrical post spread out and flattened creating a large circular platform for the statue’s central piece. On top of it all was a humanoid figure covered with a large cloak with angelic wings protruding out of their back. Walking around to the front of the statue, the figure was depicted carrying an object in both hands. The figure’s facial figures appeared unpolished, perhaps from lack of construction or simply time itself.
As he got closer to the statue, he felt… something coursing throughout the statue and into the surrounding ground. Despite its age and artistic value, the force coursing around it was curious. In his curiosity, he placed a hand on the golden plaque attached to the statue. Likely against his better judgment, he sent a short pulse of mana into the statue, hoping for a reaction, but was met with silence. Afterwards, he looked back towards the city, and noticed the twilight setting in. He made up his mind to head there before night fell, he did not know what nightfall meant here, after all.
He took his hand off the statue and started to descend the stone steps. As he was walking away the statue pulsed with Anemo flashing a seafoam green color before settling back down to the inactive state it is in. Turning around after hearing the noise, he looked back at the statue to see it lifeless just as he left it, though the wind did seem to be picking up in the general vicinity. Strange.
Shrugging it off he continued his walk to the city. Deciding it to be faster than walking, he let his wings spread. Normally he can show or hide them at will, but since he wanted to fly, they would have to be visible. He jumped off the floor and flapped hard. He could keep himself afloat for about 3 or so seconds before, but with the Soaring Insignia he got from the Empress of Light, he never tires out and can fly as much as he pleases.
However, as he soared away from the tree, a faint sound of a harp could be heard along the breezes of the wind, though in his haste to reach the city before nightfall, he did not seem to notice the sound.
Riding the low wind currents close to the ground, he flew up the side of the ledge and landed in a roll at the top. He hid his wings and looked around to make sure no one saw him. Even if this is a foreign area, he wouldn’t want to freak out the locals. He started a light jog towards the city, reaching the end of the small hill he was on. He slid off the steep face and landed on a dirt path, deciding that it would more than likely lead to the city, he followed it. Along the path was a tree that looked to be growing some kind of fruit, his curiosity got the better of him as he diverged towards the tree and reached up to grab a fruit.
With a light tug, it ripped off the branch. He inspected it for any insects or signs of rot before taking out a bottle of water and pouring it all over the food, doing his best to clean the potential snack before consumption. Its aroma is curiously sweet, as he slowly moves it closer for a bite. Taking one, he notices a slightly bitter taste before it quickly turns sweet. He could think of a few dishes to make with this new taste.
As he bit into the fruit again he continued along the path slowly, mind thinking back to the strange dream he had. He starts to recollect all that has happened since the attack. What was that large chess piece looking thing, why was it shaped like an angel statue?
He reached the bridge to the city as he focused back on the place in front of him. There was a bunch of pigeons gathered in the center of the bridge, as he walked forward, they all flew off. Stopping just at the gate of the city, he looked through and saw a neat plaza with a beautiful fountain centerpiece.
Hearing the clearing of someone’s throat, he looked off to the right where the sound came from. “Welcome to Mondstadt, traveler. My name is Lawrence, how can I help you?” The man spoke up.
“Mondstadt?” Phineas asked.
“Yes, also known as both ‘The Crown of the North,’ and ‘The City of Pastoral Song,’ there are no words that can truly describe the beauty of this city.” Lawrence said.
Mondstadt, huh? Sounds like a neat place. “Are there good places that you would recommend to visit?” Phineas asked, curious to know more of the city.
“There are two popular Taverns in the city, Angel’s Share and the Cat’s Tail. There’s also the Favonius Cathedral, if that’s more your thing.”
“Must be beautiful up close, then. Anything I should watch out for?”
“The city itself has a low crime rate, mostly due to the presence of the Knights of Favonius and a rumored vigilante. There’s also been recent sightings of a large dragon around. So best be careful just in-”
His sentence was cut off by the wind’s sudden change. Dark gray storm clouds gathered above the city. Usually Phineas was used to Terraria’s sudden rainstorms, but something about this one felt off, Ominous.
It came flying from behind the city. A large six winged blue dragon flew low to the ground, destroying a building as it flew by. “That’s Stormterror! Sir, you need to-” Lawrence turned around but paused, when he found the man he was greeting missing. A red feather dancing in the wind where he once stood.
Taking to the skies, Phineas went to confront the dragon. But due to the powerful winds it was creating, he couldn’t fly as easily as he normally could. He was just about to get its attention but then he heard screaming. Tornadoes have gathered around the cathedral and citizens were getting caught in them.
Tornadoes were not native to Terraria, but he had heard stories about them and their destructive potential from the traveling merchant that would show up every so often. Diving down, he grabbed a woman who was clutching onto a young boy.
“I got you, hold on tight!” He yelled to them over the howling winds. He quickly scanned for an area that was relatively safe from the tornadoes, finding a fairly sturdy looking building that looked a little less grand than the cathedral with the large statue out front.
Setting them down out front A man in armor watching the commotion rushed up to them. “Abagail, Conner!” He shouted as he hugged them tight. The man looked up to Phineas, “Stranger, I don’t know who you are, but I cannot thank you enough for saving my wife and child.”
Just as he was about to open his mouth to speak, Phineas was interrupted by a ferocious roar. He merely nodded to the family and spoke up before flying away. “Get inside, and stay safe.” He turned around and took off once more leaving another few feathers in his wake.
Setting his sights once more on the dragon, he sped up to close the distance quickly. He pulled the Zenith from its sheath as the blade summoned its previous forms around itself spinning in a cone shape. He prepared to slash across its abdomen.
“No! Attack the crystalline growths!”
He heard a voice suddenly echo in the wind as he was pushed back away from landing the strike by a sudden powerful gust of wind. He paused for a brief moment, before having to dodge out of the way as a torrent of air bullets whizzed past him towards the dragon. Looking to the left, he saw a girl with blond hair gliding in the sky summoning the projectiles. It seems that she also noticed him as they shared a glance.
Phineas jerks his thumb over towards the dragon and then shakes his hand holding the Zenith, to get across that he was going to be going in close, the girl nodded in confirmation. Taking initiative, he flew close to the back of Stormterror. Grabbing onto the back wasn't that tough, though the dragon did attempt to shake him off. After stabilizing on its back, he slowly stood up and made his way to the dark, malicious looking crystal embedded into its back.
He made a claw shape with his hand as the Zenith broke apart and mimicked large claws. With a swipe of his hand, the blades tore into the side of the crystal, shattering a large chunk of it as a dark bloody fluid poured out of the wound. Stormterror shrieked in pain and thrashed around even more, Phineas lost his footing and fell off, hovering in the air, as he watched Stormterror fly off.
The girl glided over to him, “Thanks for the help with the dragon, I didn’t know if I could have successfully driven it off. How did you know to attack the crystal growths on it?”
Phineas thought for a bit, debating on whether or not she would call him crazy. “A voice in the wind yelled at me to attack them instead of just the dragon. That was right before a strong unnatural gust of wind blew me away from the dragon.”
“So you heard it too?” Phineas’ eyes widened at her question.
“This should probably be something we discuss more on the ground.” Phineas concludes.
“Ah, you’re probably right.”
The two glided down towards the courtyard out front of the Favonius Cathedral. Touching down in front of the large statue, a girl in all red runs up to the girl he was flying with.
“A-Are you hurt?” She asks while grabbing her and checking for any possible injuries, the girl being questioned shakes her head. The girl in red then turns her attention to Phineas, “You, I saw you flying up there too, thank you for rescuing those people, and for your help. But who are you? You don’t look native to Mondstadt.”
Before he could answer, he heard slow clapping and the sound of someone approaching. Everyone turned to look at the new arrival. A man with long, navy blue hair and a tan complexion. His left eye was a dark blue while his right was covered by an eye patch. Some kind of animal hide with a lot of fur was draped over his shoulder and back acting like some kind of cape. “You’ve actually got the power to go up against the dragon. Are you a new ally, or a new storm?”
The girl in red adopts a contemplative stance, “Stormterror is attacking Mondstadt itself! Kaeya, Lumine, Stranger, you’ve come at the right time. We must-”
“Hold on Amber.” The man now known as Kaeya interrupts, “Are you perhaps forgetting to introduce us?”
“Oh… right.” She speaks to Lumine and Phineas, “This is Kaeya, our Cavalry Captain.” She then gestures to the blond girl and her floating companion “These two are travelers from afar. Lumine and Paimon…” She then turns to Phineas, “As for him, I am unsure, he wasn’t with us when Stormterror started his attack. But he did help drive him off.”
“Travelers from afar, and…?” Kaeya gestured to Phineas to speak.
Realizing that he was asking for a name, Phineas spoke up. “My name is Phineas, Champion of Terraria. I am on a journey to find my friends and bring the one responsible for ripping all of us from our home to justice.”
Kaeya nods his head in understanding. “Can’t say that I’ve ever heard of Terraria before, but our current situation is more pressing,” turning towards Amber, “is that all we know of them?”
“Eh- Long story short, I met Lumine and Paimon while out on patrol, eliminating Hilichurl camps that have gotten a little too close to Mondstadt. She got split up from her brother and got lost so I told them that I would help them put up missing posters in the city when we would get back. But then Stormterror attacked.”
He hummed in understanding then set his attention to Phineas. “And what of you, Phineas? What’s your tale?”
“My friends and I were celebrating the defeat of the Dark One, and Terraria’s freedom from its ages long war against Cthulhu. I… was about to propose to someone I hold close to my heart but the party was interrupted by someone proclaiming to be ‘The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles’.” Lumine’s eyes widened at the mention of the name, something that did not go unnoticed by Phineas, but he continued.
“She attacked us and captured my friends and family in these large swarms of black cubes.” Paimon looked to Lumine with a worried expression, she was stunned in silence. Kaeya seemed to tense up at the mention of the cubes. “The last thing I saw was the one who I held close being lost in the dark chaos. Then I woke up here in this land underneath a very large tree.”
Kaeya took a deep breath. “I see. Welcome to Mondstadt, though, you haven’t arrived at the best of times, I’m afraid. I understand your anguish of being separated from family, both of you.” He turns to Lumine, “I don’t really know why you’re looking for Barbatos, but everyone has their secrets, right?”
Lumine visibly shudders at that, which Kaeya picks up on. “Haha, Relax! I won’t push you for more.” He places his hand over his heart. “First and foremost, on behalf of the Knights of Favonius, I would like to extend our thanks to the both of you for your help just now.”
“Well, we couldn’t just leave the situation to fester. Right, Paimon?” The floating child nods excitably.
“I couldn’t, in good faith, leave a city full of innocent people at the mercy of an out of control dragon. Even if the place is so foreign to me.” Phineas declared.
“Indeed, and your fight to defend the city against the dragon just now was witnessed by no small number of citizens.” He turns to Phineas, “And there is a family I believe looking to thank you for saving them.” Phineas nods. “The Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius is also very interested in meeting the both of you, and formally invites all three of you to our headquarters.”
If anyone knew more about this place then surely, it would be them. From what he could gather, they seemed like the governing body here. Maybe they would have an idea as to how to help him, though that dragon has to be taken care of first. He looks over to see Kaeya jump over the railing and off the ledge quickly followed by Amber and Lumine, jogging over he sees them gliding down towards the building where he dropped off that mother and child.
Vaulting over the railing, he opened his wings and quickly glided down to meet them, hearing Paimon speak up as he landed. “So this is the Knights of Favonius Headquarters? It looks smaller than I imagined.”
“Now, now, Paimon. Don’t let looks deceive you. The headquarters gets the job done and then some.” Kaeya said, opening the large doors. A large open atrium laid inside the headquarters, to which Kaeya immediately led the group to the first door on the left side of the hall.
Opening the door, he walked in followed by the group. “Jean, I’ve brought them.” Kaeya said as he gestured to Lumine, Paimon, and Phineas. Looking at the two people in the office he saw a woman with blond hair tied into a ponytail at the back and blue eyes smiling warmly at them. Her outfit was mostly white with black and gold accents, and she had a regal navy blue cloak hanging around her neck. Then leaning on a railing behind her was who Phineas could only describe as a witch. She had the iconic pointy hat except it was purple, underneath it was shoulder length dirty blonde hair with sharp lime colored eyes. The rest of her outfit being some other shade of purple with white and gold accents.
Kaeya began to recount the attack on Mondstadt from the dragon Stormterror, from his own perspective, witnessing Lumine and Phineas driving it off, then leaving Lumine and Phineas to explain their situations to the Acting Grand Master.
“I see… Well regardless, Mondstadt welcomes you, windborne travelers. I am Jean, Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius.” She says as she places a hand over her chest. She then gestures to the woman who has stepped down from the platform. “And this is Lisa, our resident Librarian.”
The woman named Lisa turned towards the two, “Oh! Are you sweeties here to help us out?” Phineas raised a questioning eyebrow at the strange nickname given to them. “You’re both so adorable!” He crosses his arms and gives a deadpan expression at Lisa. She smirks at him before continuing, “Sadly, the timing is regrettable. Stormterror has caused quite a ruckus in the region since its recent resurgence.” The three of them only nodded at that. “Simply put, Mondstadt’s elemental sphere and ley lines are not akin to a yarn ball in the paws of a kitten.”
So that’s what those mysterious energies he felt from the statue was, he knew it was some sort of power but he only thought it was a battery of some kind as he couldn’t get it to do much. If the word ‘elemental’ is anything to go off of then it has to be some kind of thing found in nature, right? “For a mage like myself, it couldn’t get much worse. My skin is one elemental particle away from a full-blown breakout.” Well that settles that internal debate then, It has to be nature’s elements.
“If it weren’t for this interference, the Knights of Favonius would have better ways to help you than just putting up missing person posters and asking around. We simply ask that you three repose in Mondstadt while we help you seek out your missing people.” The Acting Grand Master requested.
“If I help you guys deal with the dragon and the problems it's causing, then can I ask for help and/or information in return?” Phineas asked Jean.
“Y-yes! Of course we can help you!” She stuttered in surprise from the offer.
“I really should help out as well.” Lumine spoke up.
“Paimon will help too!” Paimon kicked her feet
“Good. In that case we need a plan.” Kaeya states.
“With Stormterror now directly attacking Mondstadt, we may have an opportunity to cut this problem off at the source.” Jean deduced. “Lisa has revealed the sources of Stormterror’s power with her detection magic.”
“Is that so?” Kaeya questions
“They’re located in the abandoned Four Winds’ Temples.” Lisa nodded in confirmation.“Stormterror’s ability to whip up these kinds of storms can be attributed to it drawing power from the temples.”
“Which means our objective is to deal with three of the four temples, due to Stormterror being the Dragon of the East, he is unnaturally drawing power from the other three. So we need to cut off those extra sources.” Everyone nods their heads in understanding of the reasoning. “Knights of Favonius, time is against us. The storm is rampant, and there’s no point in maintaining a defensive position. We need to take initiative and act before this escalates any further.”
“I think it would be faster if we split up into three groups of two, that way we can cover more ground faster.” Kaeya suggested.
“Excellent idea, Kaeya.” Jean agreed. “Amber, you take Lumine and head for the Temple of the Falcon. Kaeya, you and Phineas head for the Temple of the Wolf. Lisa and I will take the temple of the Lion.” Everyone nods. “If we’re all in agreement, then we should head out immediately.”
Kaeya puts his hand on Phineas’ shoulder, turning around he sees Kaeya holding up his thumb towards the door. “Let’s head out then, shall we?”
Notes:
And that's another chapter done. This one took me a bit of off and on writing, but I managed to bring it all together in the last day or so. I hope you all enjoyed, and do please remember to leave a review if you want to speak your mind. I really don't know what people think of this and at this point I'll take anything.
That being said, I have finals this week so don't expect the next chapter so soon. God, I cannot wait for Summer.
Chapter Text
“So, Terraria. Not exactly a local sounding place.” Kaeya broke the silence between the two as they walked through the streets of Mondstadt, resting his hands behind his head as he strode along.
“You’d be correct. I’m not too sure about that blond girl, Lumine, but I’m fairly certain that I am not native to this place.” Phineas gestured all around with his hands. “It was a beautiful place, I’d say that the landscape of Mondstadt is quite similar to Terraria’s, just without everything trying to kill you at every turn.”
“Sounds… hostile.” Kaeya commented.
The two left the gates of Mondstadt, the sun had now set over the land and dusk had come. Walking across the bridge, they had scared away more pigeons that had somehow decided to come back after Stormterror’s attack.
“Are you sure we should be out this late? There’s usually monsters wanting to tear you limb from limb.” Phineas asked, cautious for Kaeya’s safety.
“I don’t know what it’s like where you come from, but aside from the usual Slime or Hilichurl camp, Teyvat, or at the very least, Mondstadt, is relatively as tame in the nighttime as it is during the day.”
Phineas visibly relaxed “That’s good, I was worried we were going to have to fight our way there the entire time.”
“Unless we see anything suspicious, I doubt we’ll have to.” They reached the end of the bridge, and Kaeya pointed towards the path in front of them. “The temple is along this path, as long as we stick to it, we’ll be there in no time, and then we can head home to rest, and plan our next steps against Stormterror.”
Phineas pointed to a structure protruding out of the cliff face about a hundred meters in front of them, “Is that the place we’re supposed to be going?”
Kaeya shook his head, “No, that’s the temple of the Falcon, Outrider Amber and Lumine’s target. Ours is much further away.”
Phineas nodded in acknowledgement and started following Kaeya, trailing behind a bit. Kicking his feet around as he walked, he looked to his right. That large tree again. He thought back to when he was there and interacted with the statue under the tree, and that strange energy he felt from it.
Phineas coughed slightly to get Kaeya’s attention. “So, you see that tree over there?”
“Yeah, Windrise. What about it?” Kaeya responded.
“Ah, Windrise, I see, alright. I was wondering—what’s the statue beneath the tree for? I felt an energy from it.” Phineas asked.
“The statue, eh? That’s one of the Statues of the Seven. There are multiple of them throughout Mondstadt, they predate anyone living today, no one is sure where they came from.”
“The Seven?”
“Oh, you’re really not from here, right…” Kaeya fumbled awkwardly for a moment.
“The Seven are Archons, or ‘gods’, each serving as a ‘leader’ of each elemental power in Teyvat…” Kaeya continued.
“The statues themselves are linked to the elements of their Archon, so each Archon will know whenever their statues are interacted with.”
“I… see…” Phineas slowly said, suddenly flashing back to when he first interacted with the statue.
‘I probably shouldn’t have fired foreign magic into that statue… the Archon could be mad…’ Phineas thought to himself before continuing.
“Say, Kaeya, what is Mondstadt’s Archon like?”
“Barbatos, or the Anemo God, is a freedom loving God, generally allowing his denizens to act on their own accord… He’s held in high reverence, but unlike Liyue or Inazuma, he hasn’t been seen in a couple centuries.” Kaeya said.
“Why hasn’t he been-“ Phineas was saying before being cut off as a yell followed by the snap of taut string flung an arrow in the two men’s direction.
The arrow fell short, landing a few meters away from them.
“Hilichurls!” Kaeya yelled, materializing a sword adorned with wings, a blue gem shining near the hilt seemingly appearing out of thin air.
Five ‘Hilichurls’ were in front of them, two seemed similar to the one who fired the arrow, but wielding wooden clubs, wearing simpler gray and brown garb rather than the bright red fire bandana that the crossbow wielder wore.
The other two were… different. One was huge, nearly twice as tall as he or Kaeya were, wielding a shield that is equally as it was. Another was rather short, carrying a strange blue-ish green staff.
“I’ve got the one with the shield! Get the Shaman before he summons any anemo attacks!” Kaeya yelled again at Phineas.
Phineas was sure the Shaman was the one with the staff.
In a small flash of light multiple swords materialize and spin around the main sword he is pulling out from a sheath like a flower of blades. Swinging his arm, the sword’s blade fractured, launching its component blades in an elliptical path towards the right side of the Shaman. The Shaman began frantically dancing, whirling its staff in a circular motion, creating a miniature tornado about as tall as he was, sending the blades up into the air, leaving the Shaman unharmed for a moment.
The blades flew in a similar path again from another angle, hitting the Shaman from the top, its body turning black before turning into dust, blowing into the wind.
The other Hilichurls were enraged at the death of their Shaman, while the crossbow wielder primed to fire another a shot, the club wielders charged towards him.
He charged to meet the club wielders head on, but came sliding to a stop as something round, green, and slimey landed in the crossfire. The object thrashed before exploding in a violent cloud of spores and razor-sharp leaves.
Turning to look towards where it came from, he saw Kaeya dodge another slimy bomb. Just before he had to bring the Zenith up to block a swing from a club.
Kaeya raced towards the Mitachurl, the grass crunching beneath his feet as it froze slightly to the presence of his Cryo powers.
Attempting to disorient it, he slashed at the side of the shield a few times, but it did not work. The Mitachurl pushed him back with the shield, sending him to the ground a few meters away.
Mildly annoyed, he stood up, realizing he’d have to get serious. With his sword in his right hand, he made an almost prayer like motion, doing a gripping motion with his left hand, a ball of Cryo power appeared, before he snapped his hands to his sides, putting a ring consisting of four icicles around him, before beginning to slash at the shield again.
“Cool it!” He yelled, flinging even more icicles at the shield, seemingly breaking some portions off it, but breaking the shield enough to leave the Mitachurl unguarded.
The icicle ring kept hitting the shield, preventing the Mitachurl from protecting himself from potential other angles. Kaeya slashed at the shield four more times, before in a blink of an eye, he appeared behind the Mitachurl, slicing it on the back of the neck, it too similarly turning into black ash, blowing into the wind too.
Hearing the sounds of combat, he turns to see Phineas regather the various blades, refusing them together into the Zenith before letting go as it hovers above. He stretched both his arms out to his side as the Zenith mimicked his actions with two blades of its own.
Bringing his hands together in front of him with a loud clap as his palms met, the Zenith’s two outstretched blades flew together and clashed, cutting down the remaining charging Hilichurls like a large cut from shears. Their top and bottom halves separating before turning black and dissipating into the air.
The blades then spun together before gunning right for the Hilichurl with the crossbow, impaling it through the chest. Its body went limp as it too turned black and broke down, leaving behind a fractured mask where it once stood.
Kaeya swiped his sword, cleaning off anything off the blade of his sword, before tossing it into the air, dematerializing it back into some unknown space. He walked over to the dropped mask and picked it up before tossing it to Phineas.
“Good fight! Though…” Kaeya trailed.
Phineas caught the mask inspecting it for a little before placing it into his inventory for later. “It was! What were you going to say?”
“Your blade, how interesting… I couldn’t quite see what you did during your battle with Stormterror exactly, but this blade you have currently seems different from the one you used then… curious…” Kaeya said inquisitively.
“Ah, this thing?” Phineas said, unsheathing the sword again.
The Zenith. The pinnacle of weaponry he ever personally forged. He rotated the blade, facing the flat side of the blade towards himself, his face reflecting in the blade. It represented his entire story up to that point, he came from nothing, just a man with some tools made of flimsy copper, finding more and more blades, culminating in this blade unlike any other he had encountered as the Champion of Terraria.
He put the blade away again.
“Maybe once this is all over, we could get a drink at Angel’s Share, and you could let me have a look at that blade.” Kaeya said before a short laugh.
“Perhaps so, Kaeya, we’ll see,” Phineas said.
“Not to cut that short, but it seems we’ve arrived.” Kaeya said, pointing in front of them.
A similar structure to the one Phineas pointed out earlier protruded out of the cliffside, red strips of light adorning the sides of the structure, a slight semi-transparent red material covering the door.
Kaeya touched the door of the temple, the lights quickly fading to a more neutral blue color.
“So, are you ready to go in?” Kaeya asked.
“If you are.” Phineas replied.
The two men pushed either side of the door, opening it, before stepping inside. The door shut with the grind of stone behind them.
The first thing that happened after walking into the temple was being assaulted by the smell of burning slime. A smell that Phineas was used to throughout his journey, but one that did not get any better to stomach with time.
Kaeya, noticing the visible disgust on Phineas’ face, spoke up, “Can you smell that? I can only imagine that there will be Slimes, Hilichurls, and whatever’s powering up Stormterror further in.”
Walking down a long hallway, the two were met with a wide-open room, down below was a shallow pond of water with a few Hilichurls in it. The roof of the room was caved in and was giving a clear view of the rest of the Domain, a large structure that looks dilapidated and covered in dirt.
Phineas points to the structure through the hole, “That place seems important.”
“If I had to guess, that’s where the end of the temple should be.” Kaeya mused.
“Well, no time like the present.” Phineas said as he leapt off the ledge the two were standing on. Kaeya followed behind soon after.
Before the two could even advance they came face to face with Hilichurls shouting at them and beginning to charge. Kaeya held his sword up to his side, the blade covered in frost and ice before thrusting it in the direction of the charging Hilichurls. “Freeze!” Two of the three Hilichurls were frozen solid, like ice sculptures.
Phineas followed up with a different weapon in his arsenal, A green yo-yo. Winding up and throwing the yo-yo, it slammed into one of the frozen Hilichurls causing it to shatter and crumble into the familiar black substance. The yo-yo then hovered in the air where it made contact with the previous Hilichurl before spinning up and releasing a ton of ethereal saw blade like projectiles that cut down the other two Hilichurls with ease, one dropping another fractured mask almost identical to the one he collected earlier.
“You’re full of surprises, aren’t you? Guess you’ll also just have to tell me about that one later too.” Kaeya spoke, walking through the now opening door.
Rounding the corner, the two were met with a few flamethrowers, Kaeya walked over to the emitter and placed his hand on it. Sending freezing cold power of Cryo straight into the machine’s core disabling the flamethrower. Repeating the process with another flamethrower down the path the two were taking. It looks like the path is quickly becoming a dead end; however Phineas could feel the updraft force of a wind current nearby.
“We could use the wind current to fly up, unless you have something else in mind?” Phineas asked.
“It seems that way, let’s head up then.”
The two warriors jumped into the nearby wind current and used its force to scale the side of the domain. “I’m impressed really,” Kaeya said. “Being able to hold your own, without a vision no less, is quite the sight to behold… The Knights of Favonius could use more talent like you.”
The two touch down on the upper part of the large structure. “I’m flattered, but I think I’m a little too unorthodox for that kind of stuff.” Phineas replied.
“Well, if you ever change your mind, I’m sure the Acting Grandmaster would love to have you join the fold.” Kaeya spoke while walking over to a terminal.
Placing his hand on it, the device lit up, the various runes and designs covering the terminal glowing a bright white. The door next to the terminal comes to life, flashing a natural blue before opening up into the topmost room of the domain.
The room was filled with Pyro Slimes, the smell was so pungent that Phineas had to plug his nose. “Well, I guess we found the source of the smell.” Phineas sarcastically mused.
Kaeya pointed to a blue crystal in the back of the room. “That Hydro Amber, when broken, will splash water all over the room. If it doesn’t stop the smell, it will at least put out their fires, giving us the advantage.”
Phineas pulled out the Zenith, “Sounds like a plan.” The sword levitated in front of him before pointing at the amber in the back of the room. With a forward thrust of his arm, the Zenith rocketed towards the Amber, shattering it into pieces as water gushed out from the now fractured base of the crystal like a geyser. The Pyro Slimes, now agitated that they’re covered in water, start swarming the two.
The Zenith flies back to Phineas as it slices down any Slimes in its path. Kaeya engages the closest Slimes, freezing them before shattering them with his sword. Phineas brings up a hand as the Zenith splits apart into a wheel of blades. Taking a pitcher’s stance, he mimics pitching a ball as the wheel of blades tears through the Slimes like a large boomerang.
They clean up the last few slimes before another door up a set of stairs opens. “It shouldn’t be too much further now.” Kaeya said, taking the lead. “Hmm. There are spikes in the water so we can’t swim across, I might just have to freez-” Kaeya paused as soon as he saw what Phineas was doing.
Phineas paused and turned around, “Have to do what?” Kaeya’s face was full of shock. “What’s wrong?” Phineas asked.
“You’re just… walking on the water…”
Phineas’ mouth made a small o upon realization. “My boots let me walk on water as if it was solid, among other things.” He continued. “I have a lot of equipment that helps with overall combat performance or just grants strange abilities. Like walking on water.”
Kaeya sighed and shook his head. He kneeled and placed a hand on the surface of the pool, ice spread from his fingertips and froze over the surface of the pool, making traversal possible for him. Crossing the pool and rounding a corner, the two ascended the final flight of stairs into the final room of the domain.
Right in the center of the room was a seafoam green crystal swirling with Anemo energy. “Guess my intuition was correct.” Kaeya said. “That crystal must be what Stormterror is using to gain power… We must destroy it.”
Phineas nods and walks up to the crystal taking out his Solar Flare Hamaxe to smash the crystal to pieces. With a swing of his tool, the crystal shatters and releases a violent storm of wind, the two having to cover their faces to protect themselves.
The winds do not last long, however, and die out. Kaeya brushes off his shoulders and dusts his hands, “That was quite the performance, and the battles we shared were sights to behold.”
Phineas shook his head. “I was only doing what was right…” He spoke.
“But I’m sure the people of Mondstadt will remember your valor, maybe a bard will make a song in your honor, even. However,”
Phineas suddenly felt a cool presence in the room, hidden out of sight. “there’s no way Hilichurls organized a seizure of this temple like this, not with their limited mental capacity.” Kaeya mused.
Bolts of water were shot at the two. Both make quick reactions to either block the bolts or dodge them. They both look up to a small creature cackling at them. It was wearing a blue and white robe with a white bird-like mask over its face. Holding an exotic looking gem staff.
“Thus, YOU were behind this!” Kaeya brandished his blade, pointing it at the new arrival. The being chanted in a language unheard of to Phineas as it held the staff high above its head, as water started to coalesce all around it.
The three stood in a standoff, neither making a move as tension was quickly rising. Phineas, however, felt an intense heat from behind, and the Abyss Mage also picked up on it as it turned its head towards the now incoming flames. Running behind the fire was a man with fire red hair, clothed almost wearing all black.
As the flames reached the Abyss Mage, the new figure grabbed its head and spun around, throwing it onto the floor, past Kaeya, and Phineas. As the man followed through with his attack and pushed his advantage on the now tumbling Abyss Mage, Kaeya glanced at him as he passed them both, keeping an indifferent stance with his arms crossed.
The man unsheathed a large claymore, scraping it across the floor as he ran. He jumped into the air performing a downward aerial slash at the Mage as his blade lit up with burning red flames... It panicked and attempted to erect a barrier with its staff, but the now burning hot claymore evaporated the Hydro barrier in an instant. The Abyss Mage was pelted into the floor, it tumbled and rolled into a nearby column, and slumped over unconscious.
The red-haired man stood up with his back to the duo and flicked his claymore, the flames on the blade put out in an instant. “Knights of Favonius.” He spoke up as the dust settled. “Always so inefficient.”
Phineas narrowed his eyes at the man, while Kaeya was clapping his hands like he was applauding a good show. “Agree to disagree.” Kaeya retorted. “But your involvement in this just made things a whole lot more interesting, Diluc.”
Notes:
I hope everyone is now out of school for the summer. Sorry this took a little while, my computer's SSD died and I had to get it replaced.
I'm sure that I've also mentioned that I'm playing Genshin side by side as I write this. I used some free pulls on the Noelle banner and somehow managed to get not only Noelle, but also Diluc and Beidou in the same set of 10.
Thanks again to IDrmzIt for being my lore consultant.
Catch you all on the flip side.
Chapter Text
The man known as Diluc walked over to the unconscious Abyss Mage, binding its limbs together with rope before hoisting it over his shoulder.
"I'm going to interrogate it, see if it knows anything useful." He said as he walked past the two. He stopped and turned to Phineas, "You have my thanks for helping to protect Mondstadt. If we meet again, maybe we can talk a little more."
He continued back on his path, standing on the nearby exit pad as he and the Abyss Mage disappeared in a flash of light.
"Don't mind him. He was a nice young lad, but nowadays he just seems to be in a world of his own... Overall, not much fun to hang out with." Kaeya spoke up. "Anyways, we should head back to Mondstadt. With any luck, the other groups should be done with their temples by now as well."
With that, Kaeya started to saunter over to the exit pad of the domain. "Wait a minute, Kaeya. I might have something to get us back to Mondstadt, it will save us the walk back." Phineas pulled out a glass bottle in the shape of an hourglass, inside was a bubbly liquid that was light blue in color.
"What is that?" Kaeya asked.
"A Recall Potion. Upon drinking it, you will be teleported back to the place you consider home. Or at least that is what it says it does, more often than not, you just end up in the room containing, or near the last bed you fell asleep in." He says as he shakes it around in its bottle, watching the liquid slosh against the sides of the glass. "They've helped me escape situations that would have been fatal."
He tossed the bottle to Kaeya. He caught the bottle and stared at the liquid in thought for a moment before turning to Phineas, "But how will you get back?"
"I have something similar that I can use, I shouldn't be too far behind."
Kaeya shrugged and popped off the cork of the bottle before chugging it down. He starts to glow a bright blue as he inspects his arms, before long his whole body is covered in the blue light and then it dissipates, leaving empty space behind.
After Kaeya disappeared in a blue shimmer of light, Phineas pulled out his Shellphone and tapped the button to take him home. The device glowed in the familiar brilliant blue as his vision was overtaken by a bright white light.
Opening his eyes once more he saw that he was in some kind of tube, rocketing through it at an incredibly high speed. As he traveled through the vortex, he thought about why it was taking longer than normal. Maybe the Shellphone was actually trying to take him back to Terraria.
But before he could ponder more, he felt something metallic grab around his ankle, looking back he saw a shackle with a golden chain expanding as far back as his eyes could see. He went to cut it with his blade but three more similar cuffs spring out of the void behind him. Grabbing onto his free limbs and restraining him. He felt himself slow down to a stop before moving in the opposite direction he was headed.
The vortex around him quickly disappeared as he was dragged out of the stream and back to Teyvat. The chains let go of his limbs as he was flung out of a wormhole, slamming into the sturdy trunk of the tree he once woke up under. Groaning in pain he slowly stood back up, looking over his Shellphone to see what had happened. On the screen was an error message being displayed:
Something interfered with teleportation! Failsafe activated. Current location saved to databank; Overwriting 'World Center' to 'Windrise'.
"Well, shit." Phineas muttered to himself as he closed the device, slipping it back into his pocket.
Phineas, deciding that he needed to catch up with Kaeya, decided to use a Wormhole Potion instead of flying back to Mondstadt. Pulling out a glass bottle with a deeper blue liquid than the Recall Potion and downing it before he disappeared in the familiar blue shimmer.
Once again in the absence of any other presence at Windrise, a soft harp-like sound could be heard among the breeze in the canopy.
"Amber, I trust that the problem inside of the Temple of the Falcon is all taken care of?" Acting Grand Master Jean asked.
"Yup! Lumine's combat skills are something else, we could use more people like her." Amber responded, throwing her arm around Lumine's shoulder.
"Yeah, they were all like: Hii-yah! Oooo-wah!" Paimon said as she punched and kicked to mimic their moves. "Those Hilichurls stood no chance!" Jean smiled and nodded, Lisa stifled a giggle, and Lumine embarrassingly looked away.
"A-Anyways. I have something to show the Knights of Favonius." Lumine said.
"Oh? And what would it-" Jean started, being cut off.
The door to the Acting Grand Master's office opened and stepping through was Kaeya. "The situation at the Temple of the Wolf is now under control. We removed all traces of the Abyss Order."
"So, they really are behind all this. This makes it a lot harder, but we must try… for Mondstadt." Jean looked down at her clenched fist, relaxing it and looking back up to Kaeya. "What happened to Phineas?" Now realizing the missing member from this expedition.
"He said he would be right behind me." Kaeya said, shrugging. He looked towards the group gathered, noticing everyone got back before them, they might have had less trouble in their temples. Oddly they weren't looking at him, they were all looking next to him, he turned towards his side to see a blue shimmer in the space next to him. Taking a few steps away the shimmering intensifies, and the lights gather into the silhouette of a man.
The light died down, leaving Phineas in its place. "Sorry I was late, got a little held up."
Everyone in the room except Kaeya stood dumbfounded.
"My, my. That's certainly an interesting entrance." Lisa stated, recovering from her moment of surprise.
"I- Wha- How did you do that?" Paimon inquired. "Are you like… magic or something?!"
"It certainly would appear so." Lumine answered, looking at Phineas curiously.
"This is all kinds of weird!" Amber exclaimed.
Kaeya audibly cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. After everyone quieted down and focused on him, he spoke. "Yes, Phineas does have some rather… special abilities, he's shown he was quite capable during our expedition." He turned towards Jean, "However I believe our Acting Grand Master has a few things to say?"
"Yes, thank you, Kaeya. Lumine, what did you want to show us?" She looked over to the girl who was now fishing through a pocket behind her. She pulled out an ominous glowing red crystal shaped like a droplet of water.
"It's a crystal embedded with some kind of power... Lisa, are you able to analyze it?" She asked the librarian.
"Let me take a look… Hmm... I can see impurities in the crystal, but upon further inspection…" She pondered it further, "No, I'm sorry, I can't make a proper analysis at the moment." She apologized. "Give me some time. I'll take a look through the library's restricted section."
"Right. I'll leave the research to you then." Jean concluded.
Phineas stepped up to Lumine, eager to satiate his curiosity about the object she was holding. He held his hand out to her, "May I?" Lumine nodded and handed the crystal off to him.
He held his hands out as it gently hovered above his palms. "It feels… sad? Like the energy within this crystal is crying out in agony." He poured a bit of mana into the crystal to see how it would react, getting back a familiar energy signature to that of Stormterror when he faced the dragon in the skies.
"Say, does this object have anything to do with that dragon?" He asked Lumine.
"Yeah, it did. How did you know?" She asked incredulously.
"The energy signature of the crystal and the one Stormterror emanated felt similar." He shrugged, handing the crystal back off to Lumine.
"Can I take it with me? It would be good to have when researchi- Ouch!"
"What happened?" Amber asked.
"The negative energy in the crystal stung me when I got close…" Lisa noticed a purple glow in her Vision. "I see… it appears to have reacted to my Vision. The negative energy and the elemental energy us Vision Holders embody, repel each other."
"But Lumine has elemental powers too, and she didn't get hurt by it." Amber looked to Lumine and saw her lost in thought.
"Well, I guess the crystal would be better left in the hands of either of you cuties, it would only bring pain if left with us." Lisa decided.
"Okay, I'll keep it safe." Lumine put it back in her pocket.
'Cutie?' Phineas thought to himself, shaking his head to rid that thought. He had someone else he liked.
"Fascinating… Do you know what would keep it from harming you, Lumine?" Jean asked, as she mentally shelved that info for later.
Lumine shook her head in the negative.
"Regardless, Lumine and Phineas, the Knights of Favonius have another favor to ask of you… Please accept the title of Honorary Knight, the gratitude of the Acting Grand Master, and we ask for your continued support with the Stormterror situation."
"Honorary Knight… of Favonius?!" Paimon asked giddily.
"Sounds like a nice offer, but I'll pass."
"WHAT?!" Paimon screamed.
"Please reconsider!" Jean implored.
"I'll still help with Stormterror. I can't just sit around when innocent lives are on the line, but I'm no knight." Phineas clarified.
"I see…" Jean frowned, but quickly shook it away. "Well, then, Stormterror's rage, and that crystal, I know Mondstadt's safety is at risk. Knights of Favonius, Windborne warrior, may the wind guide you to the truth. We'll meet back here if you find anything."
"Can I trouble you for an inn, or a place to spend the night? If payment is required, I don't know if my currency would work here… But I'd be willing to barter if I need to."
"That isn't necessary. There are spare empty quarters we usually set aside for delegates; however, the current delegations are renting out the entire Grand Hotel. So, the both of you can feel free to take those and use all accommodations here at the Headquarters if you'd like."
"They're on the second floor, I can show you to them." Amber jabbed her thumb to the door of the office.
With that, the group left the office, and all went their separate ways. After Amber showed them to the spare rooms, Lumine offered a quick goodnight and took Paimon into one of them, while Phineas took the other.
He set an alarm to wake him up at what would be sunrise in Terraria. The clock read 11:45 PM. Looking out the window, he could see the moon of the world nearing the crown of its arch. Relieved that he didn't have to re-adjust the clock on the Shellphone he set it on the nightstand next to the bed and laid down. After about 15 minutes of tossing and turning, he finally let rest take over and fell into a blissful slumber.
Notes:
AN:
Hey guys, sorry for taking like a month to update, this chapter isn't even the original length I wanted and it ended up being cut short.
The next chapter will have two certain world travelers finally getting a chance to talk.
Thanks to iDrmzIt for being my lore consultant.
Until next time, (hopefully sometime within the next 3 weeks as opposed to 4 or 5)
-Spoopy
Chapter Text
For once, Lumine woke up in a furnished room.
It dawned on her that she finally got a place to rest that wasn’t a hastily made cover of sticks and leaves or some damp cave.
Looking to her side, she could see Paimon still sound asleep. The sun was hanging low in the sky, filling the room with its warm glow. The clock on the nightstand read 7:42 AM.
Because of her tiredness, she never bothered to explore the room the Knights provided for her. After such a hectic day, hiking around Mondstadt, fighting a dragon, retaking a temple, all in one day to boot, she crashed on the bed as soon as the room’s door was closed.
She slowly flipped the covers off herself, careful not to take them away from Paimon, and stood up stretching an arm over her head, yawning. She opened the only other door in the room besides the one that leads back into the hallway and was met with a bathroom, including a shower.
Before she could turn it on, though, she heard a knock at the door. Walking back out to the main door, she opened it and was greeted with a silver haired girl in what looked to be a cross between armor and a maid dress holding her signature white and blue outfit.
“Here are your cleaned clothes as promised.” The girl spoke as she handed the outfit to Lumine.
“O-Oh. Thanks…” Lumine replied.
The girl bowed her head before walking down the hall. She looked down at herself and realized she was in pajamas remembering that before she went to sleep, a maid came by and asked if there was anything she could do. Knowing she didn’t have any other sets of clothes; she asked the maid if it was possible for her outfit to be cleaned overnight. She was thankful that was the case.
Stepping back into the bathroom, the sound of rushing water greeted her as she turned the shower knob. Stripping off the pajamas, she stepped into the shower and felt the warmth envelop her. She closed her eyes, letting the water cascade over her, washing away the troubles that had gathered ever since arriving in Teyvat.
As the droplets caressed her skin, Lumine's thoughts drifted. Her only family getting ripped away from her. The weeks spent alone with no direction in the wilderness before finding Paimon. All she wants to do is find her brother and leave. It was so frustrating.
The rhythmic patter of the water on the tiles was broken by the drips of tears. Stifled sobs were muffled by the stream from the showerhead as she gave into anguish, tears mixing in the water with every gasp of air.
The shower became her only moment alone from everything, where she could finally let loose the frustration and pain that had festered since she got here. Momentary respite, a moment alone to let her vulnerability show.
She leaned against the wall of the shower, cheeks puffy and eyes red. Despite the sorrow plaguing her heart, there was still a faint shimmer of hope. She finished cleaning up and did her best to make it look like she wasn’t crying.
She left the bathroom dressed in her cleaned outfit and was met with Paimon now awake. “Lumine, good morning. I’m getting hungry and you’ve been in there for a while-'' She paused seeing Lumine’s face. “Hey… Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” She dismissed. “You said you were hungry?”
“Umm... Yeah. Paimon wants some Fisherman’s Toast from Good Hunter.” Paimon responded.
“That’s doable. Let’s get going, then.” Lumine opened the door back out into the Knights’ Headquarters.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Paimon asked catching up to Lumine.
Lumine glared at Paimon before quickly softening her expression and dismissing Paimon’s questioning again.
The two exit the Headquarters and start down the path with the goal of Good Hunter in mind. Walking past the fountain out front of the hotel, Paimon gets her attention. “Hey isn’t that Jean?” Lumine looked towards the hotel, and standing out front was none other than The Acting Grand Master herself. “Who’s she talking to?” Paimon asked.
Lumine looked at her, Jean was visibly annoyed, though only mildly.
Walking closer they could start to overhear their conversation.
“...Which is what has brought us to this point in the first place. If you are unable to promptly deal with the Stormterror threat, then leave the defense of Mondstadt to the Fatui.” The woman in purple said as she gestured to the man in red standing beside the main door to the hotel. “We can put an end to Mondstadt’s dragon issues. All we need to do is bring that monster to the-”
“‘Monster’?” Jean interrupts.
“Yes. What’s your point?” The woman in purple questions.
“I’d expect a more professional attitude from your diplomats.” Jean crosses her arms in irritation. “Yet here you are saying you want to ‘put an end’ to one of The Four Winds of Mondstadt?! I won’t have any of this nonsense in front of the Knights of Favonius.”
Jean was slightly taken aback when the diplomat started giggling. “It’s not as crazy as you make it sound… Perhaps we should ask the two who did fend off the dragon. Maybe they would like to join the Fatu-?”
“Speak for yourself.” Someone interrupted walking up to the two nonchalantly, whom Lumine recognized as Phineas. “Something is up with that dragon, and I intend to find out what it is without the need for unnecessary bloodshed.” He states as he glares at the delegate.
The delegate huffed. “Fine then, that’s enough negotiation for today. At this stage it’s simply… an amicable exchange of constructive opinions, no?” She turns around and starts to walk back into the hotel but stops and turns her head back towards Jean and Phineas, “I’ll be sure to make… thorough notes.” She walks back into the hotel followed by the man in red behind her who closes the door.
Jean pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs, turning toward Phineas as Lumine and Paimon approach as well.
“Ah, Lumine, Paimon, I take it the accommodations were to your liking?” Jean greeted.
“They were plenty comfortable. Thank you.” Lumine nodded.
“So, she sounded like a real piece of work, huh?” Phineas joked.
Jean stifled a small chuckle and nodded her head. “If only I could openly share your views. The aftermath of the last Stormterror attack is finally settled, but the pressure from the delegation has become too big to be ignored.”
“Delegation? From Liyue or Inazuma?” Paimon spoke up.
“Snezhnaya.” Jean said, “They follow the Cryo Archon. Their envoys go by a particular name: the Fatui. Ever heard of them?”
“I’ve come across a few of them wandering Mondstadt before I met Paimon, though I mostly stayed away from whatever they were doing.” Said Lumine.
Phineas shook his head, “They don’t sound like the most good-hearted people.”
“I’ll have to agree, I don’t believe that they have Mondstadt’s best interests at heart.” Jean cast a downward glance at the floor. “The Fatui have always coveted Barbatos’ power.” She revealed. “If anything comes up about Stormterror, we’ll be sure to let you know… I’m afraid I’ve been letting some paperwork sit for too long, so I’ll be off now.” With that she walked back towards the Headquarters.
And then she was left with probably the only other person who had a similar run in with the god that attacked her and her brother. However, she still has only told her full story to Paimon, No one else knows why she is even here in the first place.
“Say… Lumine, right?” Lumine was broken from her thoughts as Phineas spoke up.
“Y-yes that’s me.” She confirmed.
“You seem like you know this place better than me, do you know of any good places here to eat?” He asked.
Well, she was just about to head to that Good Hunter place that Amber recommended her to go try. Surely, he could come along too, right? “Paimon and I were headed to Good Hunter, a place we were recommended to try. You can come with us if you would like.”
Phineas hummed as he thought about it, “Sure, I don’t see why not.”
Lumine nodded her head and walked off towards Mondstadt Square. Walking past the central fountain with Paimon and Phineas in tow, she arrived at Good Hunter and opened the door. Inside, they were greeted by a waiter and then requested a table for three.
“Right here in the middle of the square, and I walked right past it twice.” Phineas huffed, as Lumine and Paimon chuckled at his misery. “Hey, it’s not that funny.”
“I mean…” Paimon shrugged, “It’s a little funny.”
The three sat down at the table offered by the waitress and placed their orders. Two Teyvat Fried Eggs for Lumine, a plate of Fisherman’s Toast for Paimon, and a set of Chicken and Mushroom Skewers for Phineas.
“So…” Lumine started after the waitress left with their orders, “How has your morning gone?” She asked to fill the awkward silence.
“It’s been insightful, I bartered with the local Blacksmith for some of this place’s currency. Mora, they call it.” He explained as he held up a small gold coin with a triangular symbol minted in the center.
“We’ve also picked up a bit of the stuff from the Hilichurls in the Temple of the Falcon when we cleared it out with Outrider Amber.” Paimon said.
“I was on my way back to the Knight’s Headquarters to see if I could find Kaeya, but then I ran into Jean talking to that delegation.” Phineas summed up. “I think you know the rest.” Lumine nodded in understanding.
“So, how has yours gone?” He asked.
“O-Oh! Well, it went… normally, I suppose. Woke up, cleaned up, then left for breakfast.” Lumine stammered out. Paimon stared at her with concern. “So… How did your temple go?” She asked to change topics.
“It went well, all things considered. Slimes and Hilichurls, I think they’re called, are easy to deal with on their own. But I can see how dangerous they can be in large groups, like Goblins or Pirates.” Lumine gave him a blank stare not quite knowing what he was talking about.
“O-Oh… right, you guys don’t know what I’m talking about.” Phineas hummed as he took a contemplative stance. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a little out of my element in this new world, or at least that is the running theory.” Phineas began, “As I’ve never seen anything like this place anywhere on Terraria, not even the slimes are the same.”
“I can’t help but wonder where that god sent me.” As he uttered those words the scene replayed itself in her head. Her brother’s terrified expression as he was consumed by the cubes. Her strike absorbed like it was nothing. She started to tear up once again as dark thoughts plagued her mind. What if she never saw her brother ever again?
“Lumine?” She could still hear her brother calling out to her. It was haunting.
“Lumine.” Make it stop.
“Lumine!” She was forced out from her spiraling thoughts as a hand reached out and clasped her shoulder. Phineas had a mild look of concern and Paimon looked scared.
He slowly took his hand off her shoulder, her breathing staggered. “Are you okay?”
“W-What did she look like?” Lumine spoke through tears. “The god…?” She asked, completely ignoring his question.
Phineas frowned but relented. “White hair, orange eyes, whole arrogant demeanor?” It definitely sounded like her, but why attack them both unprovoked? It made no sense, and it made her head spin.
“So, we were both attacked by the same being.” Lumine concluded somberly.
“You were confronted by the same god that Lumine was?!” Paimon turned to Phineas with a look of shock.
Phineas nodded in confirmation “Which is why I’ve wanted to have a chat with you… I couldn’t help but notice your reaction when I told my story to everyone right after we drove off Stormterror.” Phineas admitted.
Lumine tensed, debating on whether she should tell him, but ultimately relented. “My brother, Aether, and I… We’re world travelers, we travel from world to world, experiencing the various cultures they have to offer…” She smiled remembering the good times they had together, but the smile quickly faded. “And then we came here.”
“I don’t remember much, vague memories of a great calamity but Aether and I tried to leave quickly. But then we were stopped by her. She attacked us after saying something about mankind’s arrogance. She took my brother, and then she sealed my powers and took me too.” Lumine retold.
“Then I woke up in the wilderness about 3 months ago, stuck in the form of a Human, and without anything but the clothes on my back.” Lumine finished. “Then I fished Paimon out of a river about a month later.” She spoke, turning to Paimon. “She taught me the language they speak here, and then we traveled to Mondstadt to find any leads on my brother or the god that separated us…” She trailed off.
“Just to get wrapped up in a situation you have no stake in.” Phineas finished her thought. She glanced up at Phineas. “I know the feeling, even if I am helping Mondstadt of my own volition.”
“How could you ever know how I feel?” Lumine bit back.
“Do you think I ever wanted to be the champion of Terraria? The one to risk my life and countless others on some insane quest out of the blue?” Phineas asked rhetorically.
“Listen, this god attacked the both of us plus those close to us completely unprovoked.” Phineas began. “You want to find your brother and leave. I want to find my friends and family but also get revenge… No one attacks my friends and lives to talk about it.” He clenched his fist; she could see the embers of determination in his eyes. “That’s why I want to ask for your help.”
“Help me find my friends, and I’ll help you find your brother and recover your power.”
Lumine was stunned, taken completely by surprise that he would even offer to help. “I know we barely know each other, but we both have similar goals.”
“How do you know if your friends are even here?” Paimon asked.
“Does she know if her brother is even here?” Phineas asked back while gesturing to Lumine. “I don’t know if they are, but I know that God has them somewhere. What I do know about this place is that each nation has their own Archon. I figured who else might know more about the god that attacked us than the gods that oversee the elements?”
Lumine thought about his proposal, as a warmth stung her eyes again. The prospect of someone who completely understood her situation not only existing, but offering to help her find her brother was astounding.
“Lumine…” Paimon looked to the girl who was now trying to hold back tears.
“I- Did I say something wrong?” Phineas asked worriedly.
“Ah, n-no you didn’t. It’s just… well…” She wiped away a tear. “It's nothing. I’m glad to have your help.” She wore a warm smile on her face.
Phineas nodded and sat back to lounge in his chair, as the waiter brought out their food to their table. Lumine was happy to no longer be alone in this while Paimon seemed content with her toast. Breakfast never tasted so good before.
Phineas enjoyed those skewers, it’s been almost a day since he last ate, so he was glad to have gotten something. Breakfast only cost him about 500 Mora, which was practically pocket change if selling off some of his materials from Terraria was anything to go by. After selling off about a fourth of his iron to the blacksmith at the gate he was given a hefty sum of Mora in the 5-figure range. So, he would be financially stable for a while. It was a shame that they wouldn’t take his world’s currency here though.
Looking to his left, Lumine and Paimon seemed to be in the middle of a conversation as they caught up to him. “...don’t think he’s a bad guy.” He heard Lumine speak to Paimon.
“But he was still there when we first saw Stormterror, so he has to be involved in some way.” Paimon argued.
“Are you talking about me?” Phineas asked, now curious about their conversation.
“No.” Lumine shook her head, “We were talking about someone else we met when we first saw Stormterror.”
“He looked just like that guy over there!” Paimon pointed to a person in seafoam green holding a musical instrument of some kind running up the stairs.
“I think that’s him, actually.” Lumine stated.
“What?! Well, what are we doing sitting here? Let’s go follow him!” Paimon yelled before flying off after the person.
“Paimon Wai-” Lumine huffed at her antics, “Well, let's go follow her.”
Lumine ran towards the stairs after Paimon left Phineas by himself out front of Good Hunter. He debated whether he should follow but eventually decided to run after them and catch up. Luckily, his Terraspark boots let him do just that, as he quickly caught up to the two. They were following the seafoam person from a distance, watching him climb up the stairs further into the city.
“So, who exactly is this person we’re spying on all the sudden?” Phineas asked in a hushed voice to the two as they left their spot to follow him further up more stairs.
“When we drove off Stormterror yesterday, it wasn’t the first time we saw the dragon.” Lumine explained.
“We saw the dragon touch down in some woods not too far out from Mondstadt on the way here. When we got to where it landed, we saw it speaking with the guy we’re following right now.” Paimon followed up.
“But then something happened, and the dragon noticed us before roaring and flying off and leaving that tear shaped crystal, I showed to everyone last night. The green person disappeared in the chaos, and we haven’t seen him since.”
“Until now, that is?” Phineas asked rhetorically as they followed them up more stairs towards the cathedral’s courtyard. Lumine only nodded in response.
As they get up the last flight of stairs they look around for a moment before hearing a soft harp-like melody coming from a crowd gathered in front of the large Barbatos statue. The three of them gently pushed towards the front of the crowd to find the source of the melody.
Standing in the center of the crowd playing a Lyre was the person they were tracking down across the city. They had a look of silent focus as their hands strummed across the strings. The melody came to a crawl as the figure spoke up.
“What is to be sung transpired in the days of yore, When the divine archons still walked the earth. A dragon cast his curious gaze on the world below as he parted from the heavens that gave his birth.” The boy looked towards the clouds before strumming some more.
“The dragon sought truth amongst common folk, but mortal trifles only fogged his mind.” They spoke fluently, and strummed so perfectly that not a single note was out of place as if they had told this story for hundreds of years. “The windborne bard strummed his strings dolce and the Holy lyre answered his questions kind. The dragon was but a child full of wonder, and soared the heavens free from care.”
“The bard’s songs invited him to sing along, for he yearned to let all perceive him fair. Enchanting legends the bard and dragon were, but the tides of despair soon engulfed the land;-” The melody slowly became more foreboding and sinister as the boy continued his tale. “The lion fang perished and the falcon flag slept. As a vile dragon approached Mondstadt in lone stand, over the Cathedral loomed death and his friends. Of the people's agony the bard soon sang.”
“The soaring dragon heeded his grave calls, and amidst the windstorms a brutal war sprang.” Of all the stories that Phineas has heard through his life, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something about this one felt like more than just a fairytale, as the bard’s melody took a more somber tone. “Blood of venom sent the sky dragon into slumber, only to awake to be expelled in abhor. ‘Why do people in this age loathe me so?’ But the Holy Lyre replied no more.”
“Wrath and woe, vigor and venom, Poured from the dragon's bitter eyes. The dragon's curse sprawled in silence, But the Lyre could no longer soothe his cries.” As the person finished their tale, the crowd applauded the performance and others left some Mora as a tip.
“Wait, you guys are… Oh that’s right! You’re the ones that scared Dvalin away.” The seafoam boy spoke to Lumine and Paimon.
“Dvalin? Who’s that?” Paimon asked curiously.
“Dvalin is Stormterror, remember what Lisa told us in the headquarters last night?” Phineas answered.
“Huh? …Oh right! But umm, why do you call him that, are you two meant to be close or something?” She asked, turning back towards the bard.
“Oh, so close…” Answered the fellow in green.
“Ahh… hello…” Lumine spoke to the bard.
“Good day, outlander. Seems we meet again.” The boy placed a hand over his heart, “I’m Venti the bard. Three-time winner of ‘Most Popular Bard of Mondstadt,’ to be precise.” Venti spoke with an air of pride. “So, what do you need from me?”
“It’s about Dvalin… what we saw in the forest.” Lumine said, pulling out the red crystal that was left behind from Stormterror.
“Oh, this is… Dvalin, he… The anguish he feels has brought him to tears.” Venti revealed, staring at the red crystal.
“Lumine, -” Phineas spoke, holding a hand out to the crystal, “if I may. I want to try something.” Lumine nodded and handed the crystal over to him. Holding it in one hand, he could feel the negative emotion from the crystal but tried his best to ignore it. He dug around in his inventory for an old tool that has since fallen to the wayside but still has its occasional uses, like right now for instance.
Pulling out a light blue pouch with a yellow drawstring he looks at the pouch for a moment, remembering the last time he restocked them a few days before those cultists showed up at the Dungeon. “God, it seems so long ago now,” he mumbled.
“What did you say? Paimon could barely hear you just now…” Paimon asked Phineas.
“It was nothing. Now, -” He stuck his hand into the pouch, pulling out some sparkly blue powder, “I wonder what would happen if I-” He sprinkled the powder over the tear and watched as the tear shimmered a bright white as wind swirled around the crystal in his hand, picking up the leftover powder that clung to it and swirling it away in the wind. As the white shimmering died down, what was left in place of the once vicious and red crystal was now a mellow and blue teardrop shaped crystal.
“Dvalin…” Venti spoke up once again, “He was once such a gentle child. Now so full of rage and suffering.” He had a somber look as he held another corrupted teardrop crystal in his hand. “I also came across a teardrop crystal, can you purify it?” He handed it off to Phineas.
He nodded as he took the crystal and another handful of Purification Powder and combined the two, the same gale of winds swirling around the powder as the crystal changed from red to white to blue.
“You… really do have some wonderful abilities, maybe you’ll end up getting written into a bard’s poem. A warrior too kind, but alone he is confined. Though with companionship so tight, one would be weary of his might… Alas, I’ve really not the time to compose a melody for you at this moment.”
Well, he couldn’t say for certain that anyone had made a story in his honor before, so even if it was just a short poem, it was a first. “Anyway, even if Dvalin is not taken down, his life will still wither away in the breeze.” Venti adopted a thousand-yard stare. “He’ll burn himself out in the flames of anger…”
Lumine stepped forward, “Is there anything we can do to help?”
“Purifying the Teardrop Crystal helped me greatly, but I’ve already devised a plan of my own.”
“Oh? And what plan would that be?” Paimon asked smugly.
“Seeing this tear has brought to mind a friend to dear.” Venti replied. “Well… one must be going.” He said as he started to walk away.
“Hey! Where’re you running off to!?” Paimon demanded to know.
“To the ‘Symbol of Mondstadt’s Hero.’ Bye-bye~” Venti said as he ran off down the stairs of the courtyard.
“So cryptic… Lumine what do you think?” Paimon inquired.
“Of Venti? He definitely knows more than he lets on, we should go follow him.”
“You know… despite never meeting him before, his voice sounds familiar. Reminds me of the one that spoke to me when driving off… Stormterror…” Phineas trailed off as he thought back to the moment when he took to the skies above Mondstadt.
“We don’t know for sure, but what is the ‘Symbol of Mondstadt’s Hero?’ what is that?”
“Oh, Paimon knows! It’s that huge tree you can see all the way over there!” She floated over to the railing and pointed towards the huge tree that Phineas recognized as Windrise.
“Windrise… hmm… I think I might know a way we can get there before him.” Phineas said as held out a bottle of bubbling blue liquid to Lumine.
Notes:
AN:
Wow! What? A new chapter? That's weird. This is probably the longest one to date.
Thanks Valve for Updating Team Fortress 2 again. :)
Thanks to iDrmzIt for being my lore consultant.
See ya next time.
-Spoopy
Chapter Text
Underneath the canopy of The Symbol of Mondstadt’s Hero, Lumine, Phineas, and Paimon all sat in wait for the bard to arrive.
“Are you two absolutely sure this is the right place? Phineas, what if your device and the potion messed up?”
Phineas looked to Lumine as he lounged against the tree’s trunk, “I’ve been to this spot at least three times now. I know where we are.” He felt the winds change, though he didn’t quite know how to put it.
Lumine walked up to the statue of Barbatos at the base of the tree and touched the golden plate on its front side. The statue’s accenting glowing bits changed from a red to a light blue as stone and debris raised from the ground around it formed around the statue. Like pieces of a puzzle slotting into place.
This intrigued Phineas as he stood up and walked over to Lumine, “What did you do?” Phineas asked as he inspected the now ‘active’ statue.
“I ahh… resonated with the statue.” She explained as she took her hand off it and faced towards him.
“She can use them to get all around Teyvat really quickly, because they’re all interconnected together with the Ley Lines!” Paimon exclaimed.
“Ley… Lines?” He was puzzled.
Lumine pinched the bridge of her nose. “Paimon, you can’t just-”
“Like… teleportation?” He inquired.
Lumine sighed in annoyance. “Yes, I can use the Statues and Waypoints scattered around Teyvat as a means of instantaneous transportation. The Ley Lines are what link everything together, I can jump in and out of them.”
Phineas walked back up to the statue as Lumine explained, he reached his hand out to the golden plate on the front of the statue once more and focused. He could feel a steady ‘pulse’ in the statue, not unlike a beating heart whose veins travel deep below the surface and scatter in all directions. It was a chaotic mess that also seemed stable and powerful, very powerful. Perhaps, with some ingenuity and a bit of luck, he might just be able to tap into this goldmine of potential energy. Though before he could give it any further thought, he heard a voice from behind.
“No way, I left before you two. How did you-” Venti asked, as he walked up the stairs in front of the statue.
“You weirdo! What was up with that disappearing act, huh?!” Paimon shouted as she got up in Venti’s face, causing him to stumble back slightly.
“Paimon, relax.” Phineas said as he grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the bard’s face, as she struggled in protest.
“I want to know more about the Anemo God. You spoke of him during that melody…” Lumine requested.
“You speak of Barbatos? Unlike the other nations, Mondstadt hasn’t seen their god in many moons… Why do you wish to know? Does it have something to do with Dvalin?” Venti responded with questions in kind.
“Uhh- Well…” Paimon stuttered awkwardly.
“We have a few important questions we wish to ask of him.” Phineas said, finally joining the conversation.
“Oh? And what questions would those be?” Venti asked.
“Depends, why would I ask the questions to someone who isn’t Barbatos?” he replied cautiously.
Venti only laughed, holding his hand behind his head. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not Barbatos.” Venti said as he continued to laugh.
Phineas was suspicious, he didn’t believe the bard in front of him. While he claims he’s not Barbatos, he most definitely knows more than he lets on. Everything Phineas knew about Venti was suspicious. Even from the beginning, with Lumine’s recounting of her initial meeting with Venti, to him discussing Stormterror as if it were an old friend. Nothing added up in a satisfactory way…
“Anyhoo,” Venti chimed slightly, derailing Phineas’ line of thinking. “Was that it? Is there more you want to talk about perhaps?”
You feel the wind sting your eyes.
Lumine started to speak up, but Phineas quickly tuned it out as he felt the winds change. Throughout his quest that eventually led him to slay the Moon Lord, he picked up something akin to a sixth sense. Something that allowed them to sense danger and strong creatures that were inbound to attack.
With the sudden shift in the winds, he could feel its agitation and rage gunning right for Venti. Not wanting his new acquaintance to get attacked he rushed over to Venti and pushed him out of the way as a large glowing orb charged right through where they were standing, spinning jagged pieces of stone in a cyclone surrounding the orb.
“What the hell is that thing?” Phineas yelled over the howling wind.
“An Eye of the Storm! It must have been attracted here by the mutations of the wind from Dvalin!”
The Eye of the Storm turned around to ‘face’ the four as they readied their weapons for battle. It roared as the winds surrounding it thrashed and the jagged stones it carried spun around it. It quickly flew above the group and started to spin, creating a vortex that pulled in smaller objects and stones and lightly pulled the group in.
Venti started to dash away from the Eye, Phineas, recognizing that the Eye was trying to crush them, summoned his wings and took Lumine by the arms and lifted her away just in time as the central mass of the Eye crashed down into the center of the vortex. The force pulverizing the smaller objects it had dragged in.
After it fell, it seemed to be stuck in the ground as it was struggling to pull itself from the ground, Venti started to lay fire into the Eye peppering it with arrows. Phineas quickly got his wits about and grabbed the Zenith by the handle. He rushed back towards the downed Eye and swung with the main blade, as some of the various smaller blades followed the same path he carved, cutting into the Eye’s core even more. Lumine also rushed in, delivering deadly strikes to the Eye in quick succession. But this only served to make it angry.
The more he thought about this creature the more he wanted to pull his hair out. For something that is supposed to be wind given form, how the hell are they even cutting it? He chalked it up to different magics at play and left it that. There were more pressing matters to worry about.
The Eye roared and sent out a burst of Anemo, knocking the two away and staggering Venti. It rose from the ground and drew in Anemo from the air around it. A cyclone started to pick up around the Eye as it blasted a beam of pure Anemo into the ground, infusing into the environment and walls of the cyclone with razor sharp winds. Effectively containing the party within a death trap designed to kill in a thousand cuts.
Phineas could barely hear it over the howl of the wind, but he heard an intelligible shout from Venti and saw him pointing towards a wind current erupting from the earth.
Lumine was the first to run towards and into it, her wind glider opening and catching the updraft from the current. She seemed to be relatively unharmed, so that was alright, he didn’t have to do much to get off the ground either. His wings appeared once again for him to push off the ground with them and take flight once more. While he could fly forever, he didn’t know if the other two could, so in a gamble he held up his hand, imitating a firearm with his index, middle finger, and thumb. Over his shoulder, the Zenith blade started spinning faster and faster in place. Phineas lined up his ‘sights’ with the core of the Eye of the Storm, when the Zenith’s spinning hit a crescendo, he uttered a single word.
“Bang.”
The blade launched itself towards the eye of the storm with the speed of lightning. Cleaving through two shards of the sharp rock that the Eye carried around its being. The blade entered the main core of the Eye, and it left as quickly as it entered, leaving a hole on the opposite side of the core. The Zenith smashed into a nearby rock, cracking it with its still significant force.
The lights inside the Eye faded from a green to nothing as the core took on a gray color. Its spinning shards of rock turned black, before the shards and the Eye itself slammed into the ground, dissipating into nothing but ash. The floor was no longer covered in a pool of Anemo energy and the wind currents fading with the core of the Eye. The area around Windrise calmed as soon as the Eye faded into non-existence.
Venti let out a sigh of relief as he touched down on the ground. He looked downtrodden and spoke. “It seems the dragon wasn’t the only one being affected by the change in the wind.” He quickly brightened up though as he looked at Phineas and congratulated him. “That was an impressive display of prowess. However, sorry I couldn’t do too much in the battle, they’re immune to outside Anemo based attacks.”
Phineas waved him off, “It was no problem, it’s dead, so hopefully there shouldn’t be much more of an issue. But what did you mean about a change in the wind?”
Venti looked down towards his hands, contemplating. “...It feels more… sinister.”
Lumine spoke up, “Well you and Kaeya did confirm that the Abyss Order was meddling in the temples containing the crystals giving Stormterror its power.”
“So, they really are the cause behind all this…” Venti clenched his hand into a fist. “I had my suspicions, but if you’ve seen them in the Temples of the Four Winds, then this confirms it. The wounds he suffered from protecting Mondstadt all those years ago, the black blood that now flows through his veins because of his degradation, it’s all allowed him to be led astray by the Abyss Order.”
“Umm… What exactly is the Abyss Order? Paimon doesn’t understand.” Paimon asked.
“They’re an organization of non-human beings, they despise mankind.” Venti answered. “I don’t know more, but I do know that they hold a deep hatred for the human world. The Hilichurls scattered about in their camps acting as their grunts.”
Phineas was drawing some connections between the Lunar Cultists from his world and the Abyss Order from here. Both wanted to bring ruin, using monsters as their tools. If he stopped it there, then he would just have to do it again.
“Before coming here, I too was cursed like Dvalin. But under the branches of this great tree, the Symbol of Mondstadt’s Hero, makes me feel purified. Like what you did to those teardrop crystals.” Venti nodded towards Phineas.
“You got poisoned as well?” Phineas questioned.
“Back when I tried to talk to him earlier in the forest, I was interrupted. So not only did I not break the curse, but I also got infected too.” Venti confirmed.
Paimon was off elsewhere focusing on the area around them, seemingly not trying to pay much attention, while Lumine was flushed red looking down.
“Ah- I’m… sorry.” She meekly mumbled out.
“I’m afraid a simple apology won’t be enough this time. So, to make up for it, you’re coming with me to the Cathedral.” Venti demanded.
“The Favonius Cathedral?” Phineas asked. “For what?”
“To claim a certain ‘Holy Lyre der Himmel.”
Outside of the Favonius Cathedral, the three of them stood. Phineas took a deep breath in and let out a long sigh. “So let me get this straight, you both just waltzed in there and not only asked, but posed as Anemo Archon and demanded the Lyre?”
Venti sheepishly scratched the back of his head and giggled. “Well, when you put it like that it sounded like a terrible idea.”
“That’s because it is!” Phineas yelled at the bard.
The bard only chuckled at this, making Phineas take a deep sigh once more.
“Well back on topic, it seems that asking to borrow the Lyre is off the table, so what do you suggest?” Lumine spoke up, stopping the two from further arguments.
“Since borrowing is not going to be possible, we’re simply going to have to steal it.” Venti proposed.
“Steal it. The Holy Lyre. The same one used by the Anemo God most likely kept locked deep within the Cathedral, possibly swarming with security from the Knights of Favonius.” Phineas deadpanned.
“Yep! The very same.” Venti beamed.
“This is the worst idea, ever. Of all time.” Phineas said, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“It seems the one guarding the entrance will change for rotation when night falls. It would be best to enter then.” Venti looked back over to the main doors of the cathedral. “If we pull this off then it should be smooth sailing from here.” He looked back over to the two, “So, what do you say?”
“Disregarding how absolutely awful of a plan this is, every time I tried to sneak, or hide, or be stealthy in any sort of way, something always went wrong. You two are on your own for this; that’s not to say that I won’t lend aid.” Phineas said kneeling down and placing down his safe, opening the door he stuck his arm in and dug around for a bit. He pulled out a round flask with a cyan liquid inside.
“This is an Invisibility Potion.” He said, handing the flask to Lumine. “It will turn you and anything you’re carrying with you invisible for about three minutes. So be quick when you use it. Do try to breathe softly, they can still hear you.” Lumine nodded and accepted the potion, the flask vanished from her hand in small wisps of gold.
With that, Phineas started to walk away from the Cathedral and towards the stairs.
“Hey, where are you going?” Paimon asked.
“Look around you Paimon, it’s still around the afternoon. We’ve got time to kill, so I’m going to explore the city some more. Venti,” He turned towards the bard, “where do you want to meet after you two go through with this?”
Venti cupped a hand to his chin and stuck his tongue out, humming like he was thinking hard. “Ah! Let’s meet up at the Angel's Share. One of the tables on the 2nd floor.”
Phineas nodded towards the three one last time before descending down the stairs. “Angel’s share.” He muttered to himself, “Where the hell is that?”
Notes:
AN:
I told myself that once Fanfiction.net fixed it's email issues, I would update the story. I attempted to get a backlog of chapters going in the meantime but only got this chapter and about half of the next done, sorry.I mean it when I say it. It is time to reinstall Halo Infinite guys, the game’s in a great spot right now. Also go check out HaloFollower's YouTube channel I hear he is working something big.
Also if any of you are into Splatoon, might I recommend taking a look at The Polaris Project by Piston24? It’s a surprisingly decent read.
Thanks to iDrmzIt for being the lore consultant.
-Spoopy
Chapter Text
Phineas was sitting at a table outside Good Hunter drumming his fingers on the table, pondering over his lack of information. He can’t stay with the Knights of Favonius forever, unless he joins them. But that red haired guy from the temple seemed to have some sort of problem with them. Were they hiding something?
His eyes took in the square one more time, taking in a deep breath of the fresh air that breezed through the city. It seems that this is indeed the City of Wind. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a familiar cream-colored shirt. Rubbing his eyes to clear them as if he was seeing things he stood up and went towards the alley way he thought he saw the figure walk in-
“Ah, Phineas, just the man I was looking for.” Only to be stopped by Kaeya.
Phineas turned around to face Kaeya and greeted him. “Oh… Hey Kaeya. What’s up?”
“I’m thankful I found you, the Anemo Archon must be gracing me right now. Could you spare me a moment of your time?” Kaeya requested. Phineas raised an eyebrow but nodded.
“Excellent. I will need your help with this, it’s something that I cannot let just anyone listen into.” Kaeya clasped his hands together. “Let’s move this conversation somewhere more private.”
Kaeya started walking in the opposite direction towards the alleyways near a building with a lot of cats hanging around. They moved deeper into the alley where the hustle and bustle of Mondstadt was little more than white noise. “This place will do.”
“So, what’s the problem?” Phineas asked, curious as to why Kaeya had to lead him into an alleyway to speak.
“Let me start with a secret of my past, something that I do hope you keep.” Phineas nodded. “Good. Well, my grandfather was a pirate.” Kaeya confessed.
“...” Phineas was silent for a bit mulling over the times when he had to defend his home from invaders from the sea, those Deadeyes were always ‘fun’ to deal with. “Like, the kind that pillage, plunder, and kill?” Phineas asked with a bit of a bite.
“No, definitely not. It’s more of an informal title really, he wasn’t allied to any of the seven nations, but he did fight the good fight.” Kaeya put his hands up in a mock surrender. “I inherited my eye patch from him.” He excused. “Anyways, I was looking through his old stuff that he left me and found old records that spoke of a treasure. A sword that was dropped from Celestia by a god into the sea. Coursing with magic power, he used that blade to fell many a foe, and wicked sea monsters.”
Phineas was deep in thought, there was some merit to him being the grandson of a pirate, but they don’t give their children their eyepatches. He lived with one for crying out loud. And a sword that was forged by the gods and dropped in the ocean? While he would admit it sounded cool, it was just that. Something that sounded too good to be true. Plus, he already had his own blade.
“Kaeya, I’ve met real pirates before, and they do not pass down eyepatches. Also, while the sword does sound awesome, you know I’ve already got mine. And with all the flowery language in which you spoke to me earlier, this all just isn’t adding up…” Phineas said.
Kaeya let his whimsical story-telling demeanor drop. “I guess I should have known that you would sleuth me out, Phineas.” He chuckled mirthfully. “But I guess I can let you know what I’m planning since you’ve seen right through my deception.
“The Knights of Favonius have gotten reports that a band of Treasure Hoarders being led by a man named Izzard are following adventurers into ruins and strong-arming them into giving up the treasure they find. Had you fell for my ruse, you would have been the key part in our operation to catch these rapscallions red-handed.” Kaeya explained.
“How so?” Phineas asked.
“I was going to leave the location that the treasure was supposedly buried in intentionally vague, prompting you to go research for it. Asking people around and what not.” Kaeya revealed. “In your search, you would have been bound to catch the attention of Izzard and his men. Then when we finally gave you the right information, he and his men would have fallen right into our trap with them being none the wiser.”
“I am sorry for lying to you, Phineas. But please, if you would still like to help, I can see to it that you’ll have a part in our operation.” Kaeya offered.
“Apology accepted. Where do we start?” Phineas smirked.
“We can have you play the role of a black market informant, the adventurer was to meet with a contact in the Whispering Woods for information regarding the ruins where our trap is set up…”
Perhaps, for all the bad luck he has, there are some pockets of good mixed in.
That’s what Bennett thought to himself when Cavalry Captain Kaeya himself asked him specifically to help him find the lost treasure of the Arcadian Ruins. Kaeya explained to him that he requested information of its whereabouts from the black market, but due to his status within the Knights, he couldn’t really just go and get it himself. Plus, he still had duties to attend to within Mondstadt’s walls.
He was told to meet the informant at the edge of the Whispering Woods…
But no one’s here.
As he approached the tree line, he heard the distinct sounds of Hilichurls yelling and blades clashing further in the forest. Bennett rushed in; he couldn’t just sit idle when there were people under attack.
As he rushed through the forest, he could hear the combat getting louder, breaking through the edge of a small clearing, he saw a man in a green shirt and brown pants with red flaming wings growing out of his back was battling against a group of Hilichurls and an Abyss Mage.
Wasting no time, Bennett jumped into the fray. He shouts as he punches the ground in the middle of the closest group of monsters, a wave of flame covered over the ground and infused into the soil. Some of the Hilichurls were knocked off their feet and singed while the Abyss Mage’s protective Hydro barrier took a decent enough blow where it now showed visible cracks. A large glowing ring was embedded in the floor with a large thumbs-up symbol in the center.
Bennett looked back to the man in green and spoke. “Stand back, I can take it from here.” Channeling Pyro into his sword, he turned to the nearest target, a Hydro Abyss Mage recovering from the initial attack. The blade flashes red twice before he unleashes a devastating Pyro infused swing into the side of the Mage’s shield, staggering it once again, but it did not matter as Bennett quickly followed up with another deadly uppercut with his blade shattering the remains of the Hydro shield and launching the Mage into the air and jumping up after it. He brought about his blade one last time before slamming it into the head of the Abyss Mage, sending it and himself flying with a fierce explosion.
The abyss mage landed on the floor and tried to get up, but it clutched its head in pain before its life was brought to a quick end by a purple sword bisecting it. Bennett looked around at the rest of the monsters to see that they were either already gone or disintegrating corpses left in their place, remnants of shattered masks and arrowheads littered the ground. He looked at the abyss mage only to see it disappear in a cloud of smoke as the person he saw fighting placed his sword back in its sheath.
“You wouldn’t happen to be named Bennett, would you?” The man, now with his wings missing, spoke.
“Why, yes I am, fellow adventurer!” Bennett placed a fist over his chest as the red aura from the ground dissipated.
“Good, then that means you’re the one I’m here to meet. I was mulling over how I would get payment for this information, but since you did help me, I can just give it to you for free.” The man said.
“Thanks, I couldn’t just sit by when someone was in danger.” Bennett rubbed the back of his head with a bit of a flush to his face.
The informant nodded. “Listen well then, about the Arcadian Ruins… ‘Three six-armed giants reside in the city in the lake. Two guard the statue, one, the treasure.’” The informant spoke. “It also came with a map to follow.” He said, handing over the map to Bennett.
“Hmm…” Bennett hummed to himself as he thought over the information. “It’s definitely a riddle of some kind, and this map…”
Almost looks like the city… Wait.
That is the city.
He pondered for a moment before turning back to his informant one last time, “Thanks for the information, I’m sure I can figure it out somehow.”
With a wave, Bennett left the forest and trekked back to Mondstadt City.
Phineas watched him disappear around the corner and with one last look at the battlefield, he collected all the items that dropped from the monsters and bolted out of the forest.
He made sure that Bennett entered the city before he continued along the path. Taking a glance at the looming statue of Barbatos, he looked at the sun to gauge the time of day. Seeing that it was nearing the beginning of sundown, he offered a whisper of good luck to Lumine and Paimon for their upcoming task.
Continuing his path, he parted off to run down the hills of Windrise and towards Falcon Coast. With the speed from his boots and a leap, he cleared the river that banks the large tree and continued towards the staging area set up by the Knights.
The group took notice of his arrival and murmurs of confusion and surprise gathered among the knights currently present. The noise was silenced by a more decorated knight than the others. “You there, this is official business of the Knights of Fav- Oh… it’s you.”
The man speaking to him stuttered, “I must once again thank you for saving my wife and child back when Stormterror attacked, but again, this is official knight business, you cannot be here.”
Now Phineas remembered this man, the one he told to get to cover before. Clearing his throat, he spoke up, “Actually, I’m here as part of the party hunting down a band of Treasure Hoarders. Kaeya asked me to be the informant to pass on the fabricated intel, and then meet up back here.”
“That’s strange, I don’t remember you becoming a Knight.” The man replied. “My name’s Samuel. It’ll be a pleasure to work with you.” Samuel greeted, extending his hand out for a shake.
Phineas grabbed it and shook with his own. “I’m not a Knight, just here on temporary help. The name’s Phineas, it’s good to finally meet you, Samuel.”
“I assume the Cavalry Captain has at least filled you in on the important details?” Samuel asks.
“Chasing down a band of thieves led by a man named Izzard. Right?” Phineas quizzed.
“Yeah, but more so leading them into a trap.” Samuel corrected. “In all previous reported encounters with him and his gang, each one states that Izzard always goes in for the steal after unsuspecting adventures. Threatening adventurers who don’t give up their treasure and belongings, by letting them know of his men always waiting around the corner for his call.”
“The plan is that, once he goes in after our bait, we spring the trap on his men waiting outside. Then once they are taken care of, we move in to capture Izzard.” Samuel concluded.
“Sounds simple enough, though, are you sure that this wild goose chase is going to draw them out?” Phineas mused.
“Hey, trust the process. In all my time as a knight, Sir Kaeya hasn’t once led me and my comrades astray. He is intelligent, cunningly so, and has orchestrated the arrest of some of Mondstadt’s most elusive criminals.” Samuel praised. “I’m honored to be working under such a capable captain.”
“Now, now. I’m just doing my job, and my schemes could not have been pulled off without everyone doing their part.” The smooth voice of Kaeya butts into the conversation.
“Sir,” Samuel ran up to Kaeya, saluting him. “My men and I are ready; everything is set in place.”
Kaeya took a moment to look around, observing the state of the temporary stake out location turned into an ambush spot. “Thank you, Samuel, our bait should be arriving any moment now.” Kaeya informed.
“You heard the man, places everyone!” Samuel ordered the Knights.
Kaeya turned to Phineas and bobbed his head up above the cave entrance. “Phineas, think you can fly us up there? We can use it to get the drop on Izzard’s men.”
Phineas nodded, leaping in the air, and flapping hard with his wings, taking off in flight. He flew over Kaeya and grabbed his hands before ascending the cliff face and dropping Kaeya down on the nearest ledge. Landing, he walked over to the edge and crouched down to look over the edge. There was no sign of Bennett just yet, which means that they still have a bit before they need to act.
Phineas broke the silence, deciding to tell him who he ran into while in the woods. “Hey Kaeya, while I was in the woods acting as the informant, I was attacked by more members of the Abyss Order. It happened when Bennett showed up for the info.”
Kaeya hummed in thought, eyes showing a calculating look to them. “They’re getting closer to Mondstadt than we thought. I can’t tell if they’re incredibly brave or incredibly foolish. Nothing we can do about it right now, however. First, we will take care of this, then we can report this to the Acting Grand Master.”
Phineas nodded in agreement, thoughts starting to run again before he was broken from his brief distraction as he heard a murmur from below. Spying over the edge he saw Bennett looking between a rather old-looking map in his hands and back at the cave entrance to the ruins.
“This must be it.” Bennett spoke quietly to himself as he stepped into the cave’s maw.
Unbeknownst to Bennett, however, was a man silently trailing him. He had maroon hair tied up into a ponytail with an olive mask covering his face. It was Izzard alright.
He looked around, most likely to see if he was being followed or watched, somehow forgetting to look up. It seems a lot of people always forget that.
“Well, well, it seems our guests have finally arrived.” Kaeya softly mused as more men with similar masks to Izzard trailed the original to the beach’s cave. They all huddled up around Izzard, while he spoke to them. While Phineas couldn’t hear much, he could make out a word or two here and there. And from what he heard; it sounded like they fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker.
The group of bandits finished their huddle and Izzard marched into the cavern alone. His men hung back outside, a few dropping their guard while the more experienced took up positions near the cave entrance to wait for Izzard’s signal. However, they wouldn’t have much of a chance to respond as Kaeya and Phineas landed behind the group.
A few of the men yelped in surprise but were quickly incapacitated with the flat side of the Zenith. As he leaped from person to person, he noticed an electrified purple bottle come sailing towards him. He jumped into a roll, avoiding the bottle as it crashed into the sand. The force of the impact seemingly caused an elemental chain reaction inside making the bottle burst with the crackle of electro spreading across the sand.
Phineas looked up to see one of the bandits standing in the shallow water about to throw another. He was prepared to rush him before he could throw it, but a large sledgehammer narrowly crashed down next to him. Phineas kicked the bandit in the head, knocking him backwards to the floor.
Turning back to the one throwing the electrified Molotov Cocktails he found him quite literally frozen in place, like a perfect ice sculpture. Though he quickly moved on to another bandit, taking notice of their dwindling numbers now that the knights joined into the fray, causing many more of them to surrender.
Phineas spared a glance towards Kaeya to see him send another chilling blow towards a Treasure Hoarder with a shovel, before swinging his sword at the handlebar of the shovel, rendering the makeshift weapon useless. Phineas turned his attention towards a screaming bandit, the one with the hammer was now rushing him down in anger.
Leaping into the air with a flap of his wings, he soared right over the enemy. He dropped down and willed the Zenith to split, sending a wheel of blades flying at the Treasure Hoarder like a frisbee. The hammer wielding bandit tried to block the attack but was too slow. He was knocked back one more time and landed on his stomach, his hammer’s head now broken off the handle.
Samuel directed a few of the knights to restrain the now unconscious bandit. “Kaeya, sir, the remaining bandits have been subdued.” Samuel reported as he turned towards Kaeya, who was just finishing up his battle with another Treasure Hoarder.
“Excellent. Samuel, I want you and two of your best men to join me and Phineas inside the ruins. Something tells me Izzard won’t go down without a fight, and poor Bennett might not last by himself.” Kaeya said.
With a quick nod from Samuel, he called two other knights and the group of five then made their way into the ruins. The group quickly made their way over a catwalk towards a flamethrower. Kaeya ran up to it and let an icy blast hit its core disabling it.
They pushed further into the ruins, passing by more flamethrowers. As they ran past, Phineas could once again smell the distinct smell of burning slime, it was very strong. “These ruins had monsters, Kaeya?” Phineas asked.
“It had to seem genuine, so we didn’t bother clearing it out beforehand, we also weren’t going to send in just any ordinary adventurer as well, we needed someone who would be able to overcome these challenges.” Kaeya explained.
Samuel pointed towards the staircase at the end of the room, “C’mon, he should be up those stairs!”
As the group made their way up, they began to hear talking, one voice Phineas could make out as Bennett, but the other…
“My gang is just outside waiting for my order. However, they’re not as… ahh… sociable as me.” Izzard threatened.
Bennett clutched his sword tightly and opened his mouth to say something in return-
“I’m sorry to rain on your parade,” Kaeya spoke as he slowly approached the two. “But your gang won’t be participating in your current plan.”
“What!?” Izzard shouted angrily.
“...Kaeya? What’s going on?” Bennett curiously asked.
“Perhaps you can ask them why in Mondstadt Prison.” Samuel said, as his men slowly made their way to him.
“You bastard! I almost had it!” Izzard spat with vitriol.
“Oh, you mean the treasure?” Kaeya had a smirk on his face. “Sorry, but there wasn’t any treasure to begin with.” Izzard’s expression dropped in shock. “You came all this way… for nothing. Just give it up.”
Izzard looked down to the floor, and then started chuckling to himself. Phineas readied to grab his blade, as the laughter became more chaotic and twisted. “You got me good! I didn’t think the Knights would resort to such tactics!”
Izzard broke out into a full sprint towards an activation terminal. Placing his hand on it it glowed blue before the door to the exit of the room sealed shut and the door behind Izzard opened. “You’ll never get me!” He shouts as he makes to run through the opening door.
Phineas breaks out in a sprint with the goal to apprehend Izzard, green particles of energy kicking off his shoes as he is accelerated by his Terraspark boots. But as he looked to the room, he saw it.
Ruin Guard has awoken!
A large mech, with a singular yellow piercing eye stood in the small room glaring down at Izzard. Its torso big and bulky compared to its lanky arms and legs, it almost reminded him of that Deerclops thing he saw one night in the Tundra. However, it was built of a material not unlike Golem.
The machine raised an arm and clenched its digits into a fist. Miniature thrusters along its arm puffed as its fist jet forward straight toward Izzard.
He only let out a grunt as he was punched by the machine, sent flying into the opposite door that just closed. Knocked out cold from the attack. The machine let out a mechanical roar as it turned towards those remaining in the room.
The machine crouched down before springing off the ground, leaping over to Phineas with the intent to crush him.
Phineas rolled out of the way with a shout towards Kaeya. “What the hell is this thing?!”
Kaeya ran over to Phineas, grabbing his hand and pulling him up. “A Ruin Guard, be careful they’re tough.”
The Ruin Guard spun its torso around as its legs kneeled on the floor. It dug its lanky arms into the ground, as Phineas noticed a floating red crosshair appear on his chest. The tube-like protrusions on its back flared as six rockets shot out from them.
The missiles turned in the air, each one aiming right for him. “OH SHIT!” He yelled as he dived to the side. He spread his wings and flew low to the floor, almost scraping along it. The red crosshair continued to track him, acting as the target for whatever homing system these missiles used. He circled the Ruin Guard as the missiles continued to fly after him.
Kaeya was keeping the Ruin Guard busy, occasionally blasting Cryo directly into its joints whenever possible. But that only served to piss it off, Kaeya had to jump back as the Ruin Guard used the thrusters on its arms to bring them together with the intent to crush him.
The red crosshair finally disappeared leaving the missiles to stop tracking Phineas, they flew straight into the wall crashing and exploding as they slammed into the large stone slabs. Phineas took the opportunity to hatch some kind of plan to take it down, he saw Kaeya release a burst of frost into the machine once again, and then it struck him.
He remembered back to when he and Kaeya stopped the Abyss Order at the Temple of the Wolf, the Hilichurls covered in water were frozen solid when Kaeya blasted them. If he could only find a way to get it wet… “Oh,” He muttered, looking at a stray bottle of Holy Water he had in his pocket. “That might work.”
With a plan concocted, he set out to enact it. “Kaeya, when I give you the signal, freeze this bastard!”
“We’ve got company.” Kaeya stated as he pointed to an opening door. Several Hilichurls rushed out with clubs and crossbows ready to attack. With quick thinking, Phineas hastily constructed a wall out of some spare dirt. A volley of arrows fired by the Hilichurl Shooters smashed harmlessly against the barrier. They were just about to move once more, but a large figure burst through the wall, knocking the two away from the slam.
They landed in a tumble, each of them sliding to a stop and facing the machine again. “I need you to keep it busy for a bit.” Phineas said to Kaeya, while grabbing the Zenith. “So, here.” He lifted the Zenith with two hands by its blade, offering it to Kaeya.
The Ruin Guard screeched in anger, it spun around again and launched more missiles, each one aiming right at Phineas. Panicked, he shoved the Zenith into Kaeya’s hands and took off again.
As he flew, he saw the Hilichurls load up another volley and take aim, with the missiles hot on his trail, he didn't know if he could spare to dodge. Hoping his armor could hold up and he could tank a few hits, he braces for the arrows… But they never came. Sparing a brief glance towards the Hilichurls, he saw them being swiftly taken out with blasts of fire. Bennett looked towards him and grinned, shooting him a quick thumbs up. He then had to jump away from the swing of a club. Phineas looked at the red mark on his chest and realized what would happen once it disappeared; he could use this.
The Ruin Guard stomped over to Kaeya once more and threw another punch. Kaeya thought about the motions to deflect the attack, but as he moved to do so, the blade lifted from his grasp and flew to meet with the fist of the Ruin Guard. The blade and fist locked with a loud clang, the thrusters on its arm constantly burning to keep it stable. The blade slowly moved forward, pushing the fist back more and more.
Eventually the thrusters on the arm gave out and with it its resistance, as the blade cleaved clean through the rest of its arm splitting it right down the middle. The Ruin Guard staggered as its arm exploded due to the damage it sustained. Through the smoke, the Zenith flew right back into Kaeya’s grasp.
He took the time to get a feel for the blade, thinking that it was almost weightless with how effortlessly he could twirl it around. If this was how Phineas fought, then he also wanted one.
The Ruin Guard let off a screech that shook the ruin’s foundation. From the smoke, Kaeya could make out the eye of the Ruin Guard getting brighter with each passing second. Wisps of energy coalesced near the light, as an electrical buzz could be heard.
Kaeya braced the Zenith in an attempt to block its next attack… But just as it was about to fire, a salvo of missiles slammed into its side, staggering the robot as it fired. The beam hit the wall behind Kaeya, sending rocks and debris flying from the explosion.
Phineas landed right next to the Ruin Guard, taking out his Yoyo and tossed it towards the robot. The Yoyo spun around its legs, encasing them in a web of string. With a strong tug, the machine’s legs were pulled together causing it to topple over.
Phineas then pulled a jar of blue water out of his pocket; the jar had a golden cross on the cap of it. He tossed it onto the Ruin Guard and yelled, “Now, Kaeya! Ice the bastard!”
The bottle crashed against the downed Ruin Guard splashing the water all over its form. Just as it landed, Kaeya brought the Zenith in close as he let the power of Cryo flood over the blade.
“Freeze!” With a thrust of the sword, it split. Three blades made of pure Cryo flew from the Zenith, each impaling into the robot at different points, causing the water from the bottle to freeze rapidly.
“Now smash it to bits!” Phineas yelled.
Kaeya nodded and took the Zenith high over his head. With a shout, he cleaved the blade right through the frozen head of the Ruin Guard. A shatter, akin to breaking glass, erupted throughout the chamber as with the destruction of its head, the rest of the body went limp. Electricity started to arc over its shell as beams of light shone through the frost.
Phineas let go of its legs and brought the yoyo back to him and Kaeya backed away from the machine’s body, it reached a climax and exploded in a fireball. Left behind on the ground where it once laid were an assortment of tan shafts running through a black casing, and ancient looking circuit boards. Walking over, he grabbed a few of them off the floor, lifting them up to the nearest source of light to get a better look. If anything, he could take a few of them and get a better look at them later, maybe even use them in a new weapon?
The door that shut behind them opened once again, allowing the party to leave.
“I’m afraid you won’t be able to do much with those, not even the best scientists in Fontaine could figure them out.” Kaeya spoke up, walking over to Phineas. He held out the Zenith back to him, “Now how do you get it to split apart like you do? The best I could do was make it float around.”
Phineas took the blade in his hands and inspected the surface of it. “I mentally make a list of which blade I want to use, and then it splits.” He placed it back on his back. “I guess you need to know exactly what it was forged with to make full use of it.”
Samuel walks over with his men, one of them holding an unconscious and bound Izzard over his back, Bennett also walks over to the two. “Target captured, Sir.” Samuel said.
“Excellent, let’s take them in now.” He nodded to the Knights, then looked to Bennett. “Bennett, a word please?”
Samuel and the knights took this as the queue to make their way out. Leaving the last three to talk. “First of all, I am sorry for tricking you in such a manner. No, there was no secret hidden treasure left behind my grandfather, this was only a trap to catch a band of Treasure Hoarders.”
Bennett looked a little downtrodden, and Phineas couldn’t help but wince a bit as he had a part in that. “However, this is compensation for your time and effort.” Kaeya interrupted his momentary sadness, holding out a heft looking pouch towards him. “Without you causing a fuss looking for those clues and fabricated intel, Izzard would have remained in hiding and they would still be free. So, you have my thanks.”
“Aww shucks Kaeya. Well, in any case, I’m glad I could be of assistance.” Bennett rubbed the back of his head again.
“And you,” he momentarily recovers and points to Phineas. “That’s some incredible quick thinking you did back there!”
Now it was Phineas’ turn to get flustered, he brought a fist to his mouth and cleared his throat. “It was nothing, I’m just used to fighting on the fly like that.”
“Oh man, I’d love to learn a thing or two if you can spare it!” Bennett’s eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas.
“I’m sure I could give you a few pointers later…” Phineas mused, he looked towards the spot where the Ruin Guard fell. He knew that the Holy Water mostly splashed on the machine, and the surrounding ground looked unchanged, but he had to be sure…
“Heck yeah! And not even a single time did my bad luck ruin anything!” Bennett shouted. It seemed that his voice was loud enough to shake the foundation a little more, though. As a small pebble fell from the ceiling and hit him on the head.
“Ow!” Bennett rubbed the spot it fell on his head, “Or not…” He grumbled.
Phineas shook his head and uncorked a Healing Potion to give to Bennett. I wonder how Lumine is holding up… He peeked at his Shellphone, and the clock read 6:52 PM. They should be starting the heist now.
With an all too familiar weight on his back, he pointed the nozzle of the Clentaminator over to the general area of where it splashed. With the pull of the trigger, a sparkling green mist ejected from the tool as he slowly aimed along the floor.
“Phineas, what are you doing?” Kaeya spoke up.
“Cleaning up my mess. That bottle was filled with Holy Water, if left unchecked it could spread the Hallow. Something very dangerous from Terraria that I’m not going to risk spreading here.”
Phineas pulled out a round vial of pink liquid and gulped it down in one swig. His eyes lit up with a pink glow as he peered at the ground. Through his eyes he could see a small patch of glowing pink through the floor. Lining up his Clentaminator, he let loose a blast of Green Solution in its direction and watched it disappear. He double and triple checked the surroundings in case he missed any more stray patches of Hallow, eyes no longer glowing when he couldn’t spot any more.
After a brief moment of silence, he spoke up again. “I got it all. We’re safe.”
Bennett released a sigh of relief and Kaeya nodded and walked out, the other two following suit.
Lumine was standing behind a pillar, seemingly hidden from sight. Occasionally peeking towards the stairs behind the altar.
“Any minute now and the Guards will change.” Paimon said in a hushed voice.
Lumine saw the knight at the entrance yawn and checked his pocket watch. He saw the time and looked elsewhere in the hall, nodding at someone, and then walking away.
“He’s moving! Now’s our chance!” Paimon said, turning towards Lumine who was already drinking down the cyan liquid. Lumine began to fade from sight. “Woah, it’s really working! Now let’s move!”
Lumine dashed from her hiding place over to the stairs, making it to the staircase before the new guard could take the position. She moved quickly down the stairs and came to a large library-esc room with a large, lowered section in the middle.
She noticed a few knights on patrol down here, either standing at posts or roaming the aisles. Not wanting to be caught when the potion wore off, she made her way to the right and passed by a few of the guards on patrol. She made her way up a small staircase and swiftly made her way past the last few guards. Sneaking around was a total cakewalk when invisible. She entered the room at the end and found the Holy Lyre placed on a pedestal in the middle of the room.
She made her way to grab it but stopped in place when a woman seemingly appeared into the same room out of thin air. She had a long purple coat with black fur cuffs. She wore a hood, the same color as the jacket, with two rabbit ear-looking protrusions on top, and a mask covering her eyes. In one hand she held a purple lantern that also seemed to have rabbit ear-looking protrusions. On her chest was an insignia, a blue-looking animal head with a golden flower symbol where the face would be. The same insignia that was on the Fatui woman speaking to the Acting Grandmaster this morning.
Paimon let out a small gasp at the sudden appearance. The Fatui agent must have caught on to that, as she looked out the doorway. Lumine stood completely still, holding her breath. Seconds passed like hours as she sat there staring at the interloper.
The woman grinned and lifted her lantern, it glowed a violent purple before an Electro infused shockwave passed throughout the room. Lumine and Paimon were knocked back, the sound blast alerting the nearby Knights.
Because of the attack, the potion effect was dropped and Lumine lost her invisibility. The Fatui agent then grabbed the Lyre and blinked away. Lumine was frozen. She had been too slow again.
Goddamnit.
“Freeze! What are you doing here?!”
Lumine broke from her thoughts and turned around, there was a knight staring at them with a sword drawn. Clambering sounds from the hall behind him meant that more were on the way. She booked it past the knight, with Paimon following right behind. A few gave chase but she pushed them away with a light gust of Anemo.
She legged it up the stairs and slipped past the knight now standing guard, he yelped in surprise, but she didn’t stop. She ran towards the cathedral doors and pushed on through.
Outside, Venti was sitting on the railing. He looked a bit jumpy; he likely wasn’t expecting them to burst out of the doors like this.
“It’s a bust, we gotta run. They’re right on our tail.” Lumine said in between deep breaths.
“What? Follow me!” Venti grabs at the wind around him, physically manipulating Anemo to his bidding. He makes a circular gesture with his arm and thrusts it forward. Rings of rushing wind form over the courtyard and beyond.
Venti takes a leap off the railing and deploys a wind glider, he enters the first ring and is shot forward out of it, up and over the Statue of Barbatos. Lumine jumps over the railing and follows suit with Paimon trailing close behind.
As soon as she clears the statue, the doors to the church burst open as multiple Knights and a few sisters pour out. One of the more decorated knights immediately started to bark out orders.
“You,” He points to a young knight staring at the two fly away. “Alert the Acting Grandmaster.”
The younger knight nods and runs off to the HQ.
“I need a search party looking for them right now!”
“...And with the Ruin Guard’s defeat, we all left the ruins in one piece, and we captured Izzard and his men.” Kaeya finished retelling the events as they played out. Phineas was leaning against the wall, eyes closed but still listening. Giving his own thoughts every now and then.
“Excellent Kaeya, I knew I could count on you. Izzard has been causing a lot of trouble recently, and with our hands practically tied with Stormterror and the Fatui I was afraid he would continue to evade capture.” Jean said. “And Phineas, although you previously said you do not want to become a knight, the previous offer still stands.”
Phineas nodded, he turned around and reached for the door handle. But then the door opened, bumping him on the forehead and knocking him back.
A young-looking knight bursts into the room. He stands there, panting heavily. “Ma’am, the Holy-” He pants some more, “The Holy Lyre’s been stolen!”
Oh shit, that’s news.
Kaeya’s eyes widened in surprise, Jean dropped the papers she was holding and shot up ramrod straight.
“What?!”
“Can you put a face to this thief?” Kaeya asked.
“No sir.” He shook his head, “I could only discern that they were blonde.”
Well, that meant that they got away with it right? Hopefully they made it to the hideout location. If only he knew where that was…
Jean was about to rush out of the office when her shoulder was grabbed by Kaeya. “Easy now, rushing headfirst out there isn’t going to get it found. Chances are the thief is hiding out somewhere in the city. You should finish the current paperwork you have and then relax for a bit. I’ll handle the search.”
Jean sighed and nodded, she slumped back down in her desk chair and muttered up a storm.
“If that’s everything then, we’ll be off now.” Kaeya said. Phineas looked at the Acting Grandmaster and all she did was wave them off. Seems like she gets really engrossed in work fast.
The three walked out of the office as Phineas got lost in thought again. Hopefully they got away. It seems like that, if they did, then they should be at the meeting spot… Which he still had to find. Guess he could make an excuse to go see the night life or someth-
Wait a minute, he has a potion that can teleport himself to people. He mentally facepalmed, well he can make the excuse he’s going to retire for the night to slip away.
He looked towards Kaeya, he had just dismissed the younger knight that walked in, Kaeya noticed him staring and approached. “I’m glad you helped me with my task, we would have been in quite the pickle with that Ruin Guard had you not been there. Thank you, my friend.”
“It was nothing, glad I could help.” Phineas dismissed.
“Now, now there’s no need to be so modest. Someone of your skill is deserving of the praise.” Kaeya argued.
“I… Thank you, Kaeya.”
Kaeya hummed and looked at a clock on the wall. “Well, I do have to go interrogate our suspects, please excuse me.” Phineas nodded and the two split off.
“Oh, and one more thing, next time we have some time off, let’s grab some lunch.” Kaeya popped his head back out in the room.
“For sure!” Phineas waved at him.
Kaeya smiled warmly and closed the door once again, leaving Phineas to his own devices.
He pulls out a Wormhole Potion and pops off the cork. I hope they’re alright. As he sips down the potion he’s whisked away in the familiar blue light.
The blue light overtaking his vision clears up as he takes in his current surroundings and notices a few things:
- There’s a bar off to his right so he must be in some sort of tavern.
- Lumine and Venti are trying to get a man with red hair- no wait, that's Diluc. Diluc to put away his sword.
- All eyes were on him.
- Oh shit, everyone saw that.
“What the hell did I just witness?” The man with red hair spoke up.
Phineas sighed and put his hands up in a calming gesture, “Teleportation, it’s quite easy with the right materials.”
Diluc shot him a glare, Phineas recoiled a bit and recognized that as a queue to shut up.
The customers in the bar went back to what they were doing as the silence was slowly replaced by the conversations of those present.
“Bard.” Diluc called.
“Yes, Master Diluc?”
“That information was confidential. Why did you let me know?” He asked.
What info?
“Why? Hmm…” Venti put a hand to his chin in a mock thinker's pose. “Perhaps the winds are changing… What say you, Master Diluc?”
Diluc hummed. “Give me a few hours, I’ll pull a few favors, organize some contacts.”
Both Venti and Lumine seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at his verdict.
“Outlander, as one of the Knights, it seems you’re not a suspect. With blonde being the only description of the thief, you should be relatively safe.” Diluc remarked.
“And as for you two,” Diluc spoke to Venti and Phineas. “I’d be better if you stayed here at the tavern until it closes.”
“It’s no problem at all, I quite like taverns!” Venti beamed and moved to go sit at the bar.
Diluc grumbled as he watched the man behind the bar serve Venti a drink.
“I’m going to head out, I’ll be back in time for the meeting, don’t worry.” Lumine said as she and Paimon strolled out of the Tavern.
“...Sorry, Diluc, was it?” Phineas spoke up. “Why should I stay here? I’m definitely not the one they’re looking for.”
“No, you’re not.” Diluc agreed. “But one of my contacts asked me to keep an eye out for someone like you. They come here often to wind down, they’ll be here in half an hour or so.”
After the impromptu quest with Kaeya, he just wanted to take it easy. He didn’t want to spend his night in a tavern, but alas, Ms. Fortune decided to toy with him again.
Grumbling, he walked over to the corner opposite the bar. There was a staircase leading up to the second floor that overlooked the first, he could see seating up there with not a person in sight. Perfect.
He ascended the staircase and found a booth away from all the noise of the tavern. With relative peace achieved, he opened his void bag and dug around for a certain item.
He pulled out a book with a worn cover, opening the book he flipped to an empty page. Pulling out the various items he has collected from the felled monsters of this world, he started to sketch each one onto its own page along with a brief description of the monster he gained it from.
He made a note to experiment with what they can do when he got the time, he would say that he isn’t very skilled, but he’s sure that Nort and Ella would love to have a look at those parts that dropped from that Ruin Guard. The prospect of a new weapon or tool was not lost to him.
Phineas noticed a person approach the table and sit across from him; he was in the middle of sketching out the details of the ancient circuit piece.
“What ’cha drawing?” The carefree voice of Venti spoke.
“This circuit board looking object I found earlier today, found it in some old robot. I want to find out what it does.”
Phineas took a rolled-up blueprint and spread it out on the table placing the circuit on top. The blueprint’s chalk white text started to adjust to the new object placed on top of it. Wrenches of various colors along with wire cutters and a glass lens materialized off to the side.
The object he placed on top, dubbed Chaos Circuit, by the Grand Design, was measured by the blueprint. Lines of measurement expanded on both sides of the object measuring it out to the nearest millimeter, some of the chalk floating off the page like a projection to measure up its thickness in 3D space.
Phineas wrote down the details of the item into his notebook for later, swapping the Chaos Circuit for the now named Chaos Device, and Broken Mask to be marked down as well.
“Woah…”
Phineas stared back up at Venti, who was watching as the chalk dropped back onto the print when he picked up the mask. Venti shuffled around, procuring an apple, and placing it down on the page. The Grand Design displayed the name as a Teyvatean Apple, the chalk outlining a rough circumference, diameter, and radius of the apple.
Interesting…
He swapped the apple placed down by Venti and replaced it with one from Terraria. The measurements adjusted only slightly as his apple was slightly smaller than Venti’s, but the more interesting part was the changing of its name to Terrarian Apple.
It knows there’s a difference?
“Huh. That’s odd.” He muttered to himself; he’d have to explore that later. He knew it could name objects that he himself knew what they were after asking Andrew, but to see it take liberties to name things he’s never seen before was wild. He’d need to try so many things, does this imply that Terraria and Teyvat share more than a few objects? He could easily tell when something was grass, dirt, and stone because he’s seen that stuff everywhere. Teyvat had iron, he would have to see how it held up with iron from Terrar-
“Terraria? Can’t say I’ve ever heard of that place before.”
Ah, shit.
He closed his notebook and moved the apple off the Grand Design, rolling it back up to put it away. “It’s uh, my home. Where I come from.”
“Oh? What’s it like?” Venti asked curiously.
“Quite peaceful, when everything there isn’t trying to kill you.” He answered honestly.
He wondered what had happened while he was gone, because it seemed that all her focus was on him. Hopefully the smaller settlements out there were left untouched, they’ve already been through enough as is.
“I’m sure it’s a nice place.” Venti said with a warm smile.
Phineas couldn’t help but smile at all the good memories he’s had, despite everything that happened. The walks in the forest he and Andrew would have, fishing with Matty and Captain Morgan, picnics with Shea…
His thoughts were broken when a drink was placed down in front of him. He never ordered anything.
“Hey, I never ordered anyth-” Phineas looked at the figure holding the drink and froze.
“I’ve been told it was ‘on the house.’”
In front of him stood a figure he didn’t think he’d ever see again.
“Andrew?” His voice, spotty and meek.
“Hey Phineas.”
Notes:
AN:
I understand that I am a bit late to the party when I say this, but I hope that everyone has had a lovely holiday and a happy New Year.With that out of the way, it's time for your irregularly scheduled Author's Notes with Spoopy.
Hey guys, it's been a bit. First off I want to say that I tried to get this chapter rushed out before Christmas, however that did not come to pass. Self imposed deadlines suck.
Second, I've been toying with the idea of making a Discord Server for this fic, though I'm still debating that. I don't want to make a Server and have maybe 5-6 people join and no one talks until it fades into obscurity. We might have one, just much later down the line.
That's actually about it. Coming up in about two months will be the birthday for this fic. If there is a self imposed deadline that I'd actually like to meet, it'd be that one.
As always, thanks to iDrmzIt for being my lore consultant.
See you guys next time!
-Spoopy
FrenzyReader on Chapter 1 Wed 31 Jan 2024 02:55AM UTC
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