26 And so, with mankind as its witness, the universe declared: “Fuck this person in particular.”

'What is even happening?'

First, it was the reincarnation into this damn puppet. Then, I had to live in the wilderness to prepare myself for the future. And when I did get to the city, a dragon is terrorizing the hell out of it. Though that last one turned out to be more of a boon than anything else.

The city did ease my situation somewhat, but even then there's a different kind of problem. I had to be very careful not to expose who I am, else the Fatui might start asking questions. Not that anyone would dare to even approach me if they think I was who I was.

The Fair Lady is a different story, though.

And I'd rather not garner the attention of the Crimson Witch of Flames this soon.

After two more weeks, waiting for the Traveler to show up, thinking that I can somewhat get this new life back on track, of course things wouldn't go exactly the way it was supposed to. The whole debacle with the knights, the person inside my head, Barbatos' unusually proactive behavior, and of course, the most problematic turned out to be the Traveler herself.

It should've been obvious that there would be differences between the Traveler here and the Traveler in the game. And, as if the universe took the time out of its day to spit in my face, it decided that she had to have the personality of a mischievous, out-of-control gremlin.

Alone, she's not really much of a problem. But paired with this otherworldly pushover, that somehow ended up as her enabler, well… I can only pray that there's something left of Teyvat by the end of it.

'I apologize in advance, oh mighty Seven, should your country end up being wiped off the face of this world.'

And now, this instrument of destruction personified, is currently in my embrace, sleeping.

'To think that, of all the things that had happened to me so far, that last one ended up being the most surprising.'

In my previously mundane life, I thought I would remain maidenless until the age of 30, successfully passing the rite to become a wizard, before focusing myself solely on the art of magic. Then, I shall dedicate my life to accumulating strength and knowledge in order to be chosen as a divine candidate, before eventually eliminating every other competition and successfully ascending as the god of the new world.

Too bad that's out of my reach now.

Looking at the lack of sunlight streaming through the window, it seems that the sun has yet to rise.

'I suppose if there's one thing you managed to drill into my thick skull is the habit of always waking up at the ass crack of dawn, mother dearest.'

Of course, if your mother kept waking you up by turning the light on for years on end, you'd do anything in order to not get flashbanged every morning.

Looking towards the sleeping traveler in front of me, she seemed so different than what I'm used to. So quiet, her presence has a certain calming effect on those around her, and, most importantly, not actively trying to plot world domination or whatever the hell is going on inside that head of hers.

'She looks so peaceful.' Brushing her hair to the side, she let out a groan, before leaning into my touch and burying her face in my hand. 'It would be a shame if someone were to abruptly awaken her at this ungodly hour.'

Truly, it would be a shame.

'Of course, I would never do such a thing.'

Using my free hand, I gently caressed her head, down towards her back, before stopping at the side of her stomach.

'Or would I?'

…

'Nah, I'm not a monster.'

Finding myself unable to sleep, I decided to continue practicing motionless casting. Copyright pending.

Laying on my back, I look towards the ceiling before focusing on gathering anemo energy. Immediately, I could feel that manipulating them is a bit easier compared to before. It seems that the previous practice did bear fruit after all.

This time, I shaped the anemo energy into a ball and waited for it to become condensed, before switching to a square. Said square would then change into a triangle, before changing into a ball once more.

The idea was that, since the flow of battle can change in an instant, I would hopefully be able to change from one spell to another quickly and seamlessly. Say that I was on the offensive, when an enemy managed to bypass my allies and get behind me, I could immediately conjure a shield without delay.

With the way I am now, I could probably survive that scenario just fine with motion, but moving my hand takes time, and one second could mean the difference between life and death on the battlefield.

The fact that it would look badass definitely helps.

'Once I've gotten a lot better, maybe I should practice psychokinesis a lot more, preferably on real life items instead of something made out of the elements. Being able to take someone's weapon would be a convenient ability to have. Not to mention outright killing them, if necessary.'

And if my proficiency is better, maybe controlling a human like a puppet would be possible. Winds are everywhere after all, I just have to properly harness them.

'How would that work, though? Compress the air around them and encase them in a sort of air prison, then move them around?

'Maybe strings? Yelan was able to create something similar out of hydro and tie people up with them. Would an anemo puppet string work? Controlling people would be hard, so I'd have to infuse the strings with as much anemo energy as possible but since they're strings attached to me, it would definitely be limited by range.

'Hmm, would it though? Since anemo energy is very abundant in the world, theoretically I could stretch said string as far as I could. And, if I somehow managed to make them invisible, long-range puppeteering would be possible. But that poses a different kind of problem: the lack of line of sight. I can't really control what I can't see.

'As expected, hydro would probably excel more at this whole thing. After all, the human body is composed of like, sixty percent water or something? If hydro manipulation extended that far…. Hmm, quite a scary thought.'

Noticing the faltering shapes in the air, I focused into my current routine once more.

'Why am I even thinking about controlling them anyway? Wouldn't eliminating them outright be a lot better? But increasing my arsenal is also not a bad idea. It's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it after all.'

I couldn't help but sigh at the thought of all the things I could improve.

'Thinking is hard.'

With that out of the way, I continue alternating the anemo creation into different shapes.

A ball into a square.

A square into a triangle.

A triangle into a ball.

Repeat ad nauseam.

'I should pace myself. For now, focus on the more combat-oriented stuff before branching out to other things.'

While waiting for the sleeping beauty to wake up, I continue practicing. Hopefully, the confrontation later would–

'Nope. Not thinking about it. I am not about to jinx myself again.'

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The celebratory atmosphere has somewhat died down in the City of Mondstadt.

The people have ridden their emotional highs, and returned to their daily routine. The regular adventurers have returned, busying themselves with their respective commissions, while store owners are busy tending to their customers.

"You sure you're okay Paimon?"

"Yep! No need to worry Lumine, Paimon just had the best sleep she had in a while."

"You better. All those Mora I spent better be worth something at least."

"Hehe, of course! Thanks for the food, white mask!"

"Mhm."

Once again, by virtue of being the only restaurant within the city and its close proximity towards our inn, the three of us are spending the rest of our time waiting for the meeting dining at Good Hunter.

"If you say so Paimon." Cutting the pancake in front of her, Lumine stabs it with her fork before offering it to me. "Here you go, Yuu."

Tilting my mask to the side, I took a bite out of the pancake before leaning back towards my chair.

Ever since last night, she is becoming a lot more affectionate.

The moment she woke up this morning, I was pulled in front of her face before she assaulted me with kisses all over my face except for my lips. It's like a dam inside of her just burst or something. A bit intense, but I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it.

Eventually, I managed to convince her to get out of bed and actually prepare for what we're going to do today. Had it not for Paimon's sudden appearance, I would've been dragged into the bathroom with her.

Other than that, we've been pretty much attached to the hip since this morning. Even now, my right hand is in her grasp as she feeds me breakfast with one hand.

Feeding me the last slice of the pancake, she wiped my mouth with a napkin before letting out a bright smile. "Okay, we're done."

"Thanks princess."

Seeing that Paimon is also finished, I check the contents of my bag once more before standing up. "We should probably get going. The faster we finish this, the better." Suppressing the yawn threatening to come out of my mouth, I slung my bag on my left shoulder. "I should've slept when I had the chance."

"You really should." Walking next to me, she matches her step with mine, gently swinging our interconnected hand back and forth. "Imagine my surprise when I woke up to a gust of wind inside the room."

Hearing her words, I couldn't help but wince. I was so focused on creating more complicated shapes that I stopped suppressing the anemo energy towards the end.

On the bright side, I managed to create a dodecahedron without any motion, so that's something.

"Sorry. I'll try not to do it inside next time around."

Feeling a gentle squeeze on my hand, I looked towards Lumine, a hint of worry apparent on her otherwise beautiful smile. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit worried."

"Well, I don't really blame you." Shrugging her shoulders, she grabs Paimon who was busy staring at someone else's food and holds her close to her chest. "We're going up against a dragon after all, who knows what could happen? Stop worrying so much. Even if things go wrong, we have a god by our side."

'Relying on the weakest archon among the Seven for protection? Yeah right. Where's Morax when you need him?'

"Princess, I beg you, please don't jinx us. I've been trying my best not to say anything all morning."

"Psh, relax Yuu." Lifting Paimon closer to her head, she rubbed her chin over her head, shifting the crown on her head out of the way. "It's no use thinking about stuff like that. If bad things happen then you just have to deal with it as you go. Quite simple, no?"

"Sorry for being cautious, I guess."

"It's fine to be cautious, but being overly cautious is no good you know? It's taxing on the mind. You might even start getting paranoid over every little thing, taking them as signs for things to come, when it actually meant nothing at all."

"Speaking from experience?"

"My brother, actually." Letting go of the giggling Paimon, she puts a hand on her chin. "Now that I think about it, he wasn't like that before, I wonder why?"

Staring at this ticking time bomb next to me, I couldn't help but scoff. "'I wonder why' she said."

Looking a bit sheepish, she avoided my disapproving look, rubbing the back of her head shyly. "...okay, I might have done something several times."

"And how many times is 'several times'?"

"...no comment?"

"That's what I thought."

With the Angel's Share in sight, I stopped our banter and prepared myself to meet Mondstadt's Batman.

Entering the establishment, we were greeted by the scent of musky wood alongside the pungent smell of alcohol. The bartender Charles, noticing our presence, waved his hand at us in greeting. "Good morning, honorary knights. The master is upstairs waiting for you alongside the Acting Grand Master and the bard."

"Thanks Charles." Taking a moment to look at the tavern, I noticed a pile of empty bottles near one of the tables. "Did Venti go overboard again today?"

Noticing my gaze, Charles glanced towards said table before dismissing my question. "Oh archons no. Compared to that one time, this is nothing much. The fact that the master had to drag him away probably helped though."

"Hmm, ever the drunkard that bard is."

"Patrons such as him are more than welcome." As if remembering something, his happy attitude suddenly turned sorrowful. "If only he would actually pay with Mora. There's only so many times I could let him do away with his performances."

Turning his gaze towards me, Charles put on the brightest smile he could. "Actually, honorary knights–"

"No. I am not paying for his tab."

"Sigh, it was worth a try."

Leaving the despondent Charles behind, the three of us make our way towards the second floor.

"Paimon thinks Venti should cut down on his drinking. That can't be healthy right?"

"It would be funny if an archon died because of his drinking problems, but that's probably impossible. Besides," glancing towards the fairy, I thought of all the food she's eaten so far, "you don't get to talk like that, what with how gluttonous you are."

"Paimon's not gluttonous, you're just eating too little, white mask! Right, Lumine?"

Hoping to get some assurance from the blonde traveler, she was met with silence.

"Right?"

Instead of answering Lumine holds Paimon tight, gently patting her head. "Don't worry Paimon, I wouldn't think less of you regardless of how much you eat."

"...somehow Paimon felt like she was being insulted just now."

"Ah, good morning travelers! So nice to see the three of you again."

Sitting on one of the tables next to the railing was Venti, Jean, and of course, the Darknight Hero himself, Diluc.

"Hmm, so you two are the honorary knights Jean has been telling me about."

Wearing a black dress shirt covered by a white vest and a brown coat, he stood up from his seat and approached the two of us.

"I've heard of your exploits. Though stealing the Holy Lyre was somewhat questionable, your reason for doing so is understandable. Regardless, the two of you lent the city your help when it needed it the most despite being passing travelers."

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Diluc is the embodiment of a phoenix: the long red hair tied into a ponytail, the pyro vision tied to his belt, even the red gem decorating his ascot seems to accentuate his crimson eyes.

"It's a shame that you joined the Knights of Favonius. From beginning to end, their inefficiency is appalling. But the two of you are different."

"You don't seem to like the knights that much. Is there a reason why?" Paimon, still held under Lumine's grasp, posed a question towards the red-headed noble.

"We have a… difference in terms of our preferred methods. Especially regarding a certain group foreign diplomats. But enough about that." Shaking his head out of his thoughts, he held out his hand. "My name is Diluc Ragnvindr, but you can call me Diluc. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances, travelers."

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

With the introductions out of the way, all of us began our discussion on how to deal with Dvalin. I say we, but really, it was just Jean and Venti with Diluc occasionally chipping in here and there. Honestly, I was almost asleep midway through their talks.

Paimon didn't even last a long time before falling asleep, while Lumine seemed like she's paying attention. Whether that's really the case remains to be seen. Luckily, since it seems that Jean has informed Diluc of all the important facts before this, the discussion didn't last as long as I thought it would, which is great.

After the three of them unanimously decided on using Starsnatch Cliff as the location, we departed immediately.

Currently, we are at the base of the cliff, just outside of the Thousand Wind Temple. The leading trio consisting of Venti, Jean, and Diluc decided that we should go around the temple to avoid wasting time dealing with the ruin guard patrolling the amphitheater.

"That's an impressive mechanical construct."

Following quite a bit behind the leading trio, the three of us were pretty much enjoying the scenery throughout our journey. Surprisingly, we didn't run into a single hilichurl on our way here. Even with her whole spiel about being overly cautious fresh in mind, I can't help but worry. Is it a sign, or am I just paranoid?

"Oh! That's a ruin guard, they usually remain inactive if there's no one around them. Someone must've triggered it or something." As if mimicking a binocular, Paimon shapes her hands into a circle and puts them around her eyes. "It can even launch explosives out of its back!"

"Hmm, it sounds dangerous. I wonder who created them? They look like something you would use in a war or something."

"That's because they are."

Looking towards me, Paimon claps her hand in excitement. "Oh, oh! Do you know more about them, white mask?"

It's hard not to remember them considering what the creators named those things. What a sick joke. "They're weapons of war created by the people of a destroyed nation, Khaenri'ah. I believe they called them 'Field Tillers.'"

"'Field Tillers'? Is there a reason?"

"Not that I know of, princess."

Something to do with reclaiming lost land or something? I don't really remember.

"Still, with such a powerful weapon, I wonder what they were fighting?"

'Who knows. Other nations? The gods? Or maybe the abominations that Gold summoned into this world?'

Continuing our walk, I idly listen to Paimon explaining more about Teyvat to Lumine.

Not long after, our group finally arrived at our destination.

Standing in front of us, Jean claps her hands to gather our attention. "Okay everyone, please be prepared for anything. Since the Abyss Order is involved, we can never be too careful."

Hearing her command, the rest of us began to prepare. While Jean, Diluc, and Lumine prepare their weapon, Barbatos is busying himself with the Holy Lyre, occasionally strumming a note or two. Releasing my hand from Lumine's, I slung my bag on my right shoulder, making sure that it stayed in place before checking all of my available potions.

'Thankfully I bought a lot back then. There's still plenty to spare.'

Once the preparations were over, we gathered together near the edge of the cliff.

"A lovely view for a fated reunion, don't you think?" Basking under the wind, Barbatos lets out a sigh. "It's a shame that such an occasion would be interrupted."

"We'll just have to try our best to make this work." Giving his greatsword a swing, Diluc nodded before stabbing it to the ground. "But who would've thought that the solution we're looking for would be a pair of travelers and a song?"

"Now, now, Master Diluc, don't forget the knights also helped!"

Hearing Barbatos' words, Diluc looked towards Jean before letting out a sigh. "I suppose they did, didn't they?"

"Credits where credits are due, Master Diluc." Nodding his head, Barbatos walked towards the edge of the cliff. "Now then, please leave the rest to the best bard that has ever walked the mortal realm." Taking a deep breath, Barbatos began strumming the lyre, playing a song that sounds suspiciously similar to the game's main theme.

"Such a beautiful melody."

"Mhm."

Mentally preparing myself, I gathered as much anemo energy as I could to my surroundings. Hopefully, I can finish them off as soon as they appear.

'That's the ideal scenario.'

When Barbatos finished playing his tune, there was silence, followed by a distant rumbling. Not long after, the azure six-winged dragon makes its appearance in front of us, followed by a gust of wind strong enough to nearly blow us away.

"Barbatos…."

Letting out a guttural noise, Dvalin inches ever so closely towards the green bard. "What's done cannot be undone…."

"Then why do you seem so sad, old friend? Why do you yearn for this song?"

Growling in response, Dvalin moved even closer.

'They should be here any second–'

Seeing the rapidly approaching cryo bolt heading towards the lyre, I quickly surrounded Barbatos with a wind barrier, deflecting the attack.

"Tch, Inazuman wretch–"

Before the abyss mage could do anything else, I condensed the anemo energy surrounding its neck, putting it in a chokehold. Using some of the previously gathered anemo, I let loose a wind blade towards it, instantly killing the mage.

"Venti, the dragon!"

At the sudden appearance of the abyss mage, everyone else became more alert. Barbatos meanwhile, seeing the agitated Dvalin, ran towards his lowered head and put his hand near its mouth before casting some kind of spell.

"I've isolated Dvalin from the rest of the world. I won't be able to do anything, but Dvalin should not interfere with the battle. I'll try and finish this as fast as I can!"

Right after Barbatos' words, multiple portals appear above and behind us.

'That's not good.'

From above the dragon, following a single lector was a group of abyss mages, each with differing elements spaced out from each other. Meanwhile, the portals behind us let loose a small army of hilichurls of all kinds. Mitachurls, samachurls, even archers, each of differing color schemes indicating their respective elements.

Levitating myself, I fly as fast as I could towards one of the mages in the hopes of taking them down before they could react.

The moment I was close enough to one of them, I threw a charged wind blade, successfully killing them before moving to the right, grabbing one of the abyss mages and stabbing them in its head with a blade made out of anemo.

'Ugh, I should've just stuck with ranged combat.'

Before I could go after the rest of the mages, they quickly surrounded themselves with elemental shields, while the Abyss Lector, which seems to be of the electro element, materialized a tome and fired several bolts of electro towards me.

Dashing out of the way, I returned a wind blade towards its direction before taking a moment to assess the situation.

'Two out of the seven mages down. Two cryo, and the rest are hydro, pyro, and electro. If I can group them, I can finish them fast, but we're out in the open and they can teleport. Not to mention the lector wouldn't just sit around and wait for me to kill them.'

Spreading its arm wide, the lector gathered electro energy and condensed them into multiple spheres above its head.

"No one is allowed to interfere with His Highness' plan."

With a distorted voice belonging to a creature of the abyss, the lector made its declaration.

"Wretched surface-dwellers, your incessant meddling shall cease this instant."