Archons

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***

Yomite even dared to say Hu Tao could probably beat most people from Mondstadt in a fair match, then again, he didn't meet that many strong Vision users of Mondstadt, so he wouldn't know, he just got the feeling.

It wasn't just her speed, the strength behind her attacks was terrific too. Each swing of her spear had a devastating amount of power behind it.

Not to mention her weapon mastery technique...

She wasn't just proficient with a spear, she could use other weapons just as well, yet she preferred the spear as it was taught to her since childhood.

She even used his claymore and showed him multiple stances he was currently trying out and he could tell each of his swings were much faster and much more stable than before.

He had never sparred with any of his teammates before, so Hu Tao was the first one.

And let's say...

It did not go well...

He found himself lying on the grass before he could even blink.

It was that bad the first time...

Now, he could generally put up a fight, but it still wasn't enough to beat her at all...

(Freaking monster...What is up with the power levels in this world!? They make no sense!)

How was a God like Venti so much weaker than any Vision user he met!?

Speaking of Venti, he disappeared a few months ago, and no one had seen him...

The last memory of him was...let's just say... weird....

***

Roughly two and a half months ago, about a week after the Dvalin's fight.

Yomite was in the Church of Favonius, asking around about Gods of this world.

"Ah, Hero, so you're interested in multiple religions?"

"...Yeah, you can say that..."

Replying to the nun, he scratched the back of his neck.

It was still quite uncomfortable to be called a hero.

The nun in front of him basically covered all seven Archons for him, but that was about it.

She didn't know any other Gods.

Sia wasn't among them and neither were any other Gods mentioned.

The Seven Archons were the seven Gods who presided over the seven nations of Teyvat.

Each Archon was associated with an element and an ideal, by which they formed their territories' environment and determined their method of governance over their nations.

The God of Wind's ideal was Freedom, and his territory was the city of Mondstadt.

Rex Lapis, or Morax's ideal were Contracts, and his territory was the city of Liyue, the place where Hu Tao came from.

The God of Eternity's ideal was Eternity, and her territory was the city of Inazuma, on a faraway land, which was currently under a lockdown due to reasons unknown. The nun mentioned something about a Vision hunt decree and from the name it wasn't anything nice.

The God of Wisdom's ideal was unsurprisingly, Wisdom itself, and his territory was the city of Sumeru, which was also where Lisa attended an academy in the past. This news was relayed to him by Jean who accidentally mentioned it during one of their talks.

The God of Justice's ideal was the Justice of the courtroom, and her territory was the city of Fontaine, the country which was capable of coming up with tons of new ideas, such as a camera and so on.

Still, Jean showed the so-called "Camera" to him, as Lisa was sent one as a gift, but it was nowhere as special as the ones in his old world. Jean on the other hand, praised it, saying it could be useful for many things.

The Lady of Fire, who was also known as the God of War, had an ideal of War, and her territory was the city of Natlan, a fiery country of winners and losers.

And finally, the one shrouded in mystery the most, the Tsaritsa herself, the Cryo Archon.

Her territory was the city of Snezhnaya, which was heavily populated by the suspicious Fatui who were currently roaming the streets of Mondstadt, waiting for the right opportunity to tear it apart and make it their own.

Yet it seemed that no one knew her ideal, but it was evident that behind the scenes, something was happening that barely anyone had knowledge of.

"Thanks!"

Some of the things she mentioned, Yomite recalled from Venti, but it was always nice to recap and refresh his memory.

"May Archon Barbatos bless you, Hero of the city of Freedom!"

Smiling wryly at the part where she called him a Hero again, he decided he would head towards the Angel's Share, as Kaeya told him he wanted to ask him a few things.

(It must be something important. He wouldn't contact me otherwise.)

On his way out, he overheard a child, no older than five years old, sitting on one of the benches inside of the church, together with his father

"Daddy? What's Mommy doing?" The child asked as he pointed at his mother who was kneeling in front of a small Statue of Barbatos.

"Mommy is a sister, she believes in Barbatos, and she helps and guides all other people who believe in Barbatos, too." His father replied to him.

"Papa Toes? Daddy, who is that? Is he a magic man?"

"No, sweetie," His father corrected him, "it's Barbatos...He is the God of Wind. A very magical man. The reason all of us have such a happy life is because Lord Barbatos is a very nice man and looks after us."

(Hmm, looks like Venti used to be useful in the past. People still love him...Maybe I will reconsider my opinion about him.)

He left the cathedral and headed directly towards Diluc's pub to meet up with Kaeya.

Once he stepped inside the pub, however, chaos ensued.

The inside of the bar was messy, even messier than the street outside.

For some reason, the floor was sticky.

Yomite hoped to God that the thing that he stepped into was a puddle of alcohol and not something else...