The Looming Winds of Faith

<<———————————————— >>

'Rude Awakening'

"Be careful who you trust, sergeant, people you know can hurt you the most." - Simon 'Ghost' Riley

[February 15th 1545 A.D]

[Teyvat Mondstadt]

['Traveller' Aether]

[Outsider]

<<———————————————— >>

The small chat they had together was more of a summary of Aethers travels as they sat within the calming shores of Teyvat, a testament of that incident, that exact one amongst that floating bridge above the clouds was the place that fate stole his sister away, that unknown goddess, that stole not only his sister but his life in general. He had lost everything he had, the powers, the life he once had, his... only family...

He, like many in this situation, can only hold tightly into his own bundle of hope into his grasp and pray for a sign, any sign, anything! That holds a fraction of hope in reuniting with his sister.

He will find her, he knows he will...

But he can only hope, hope that it was true. Or that, truly, he had succumbed to a wilful ignorance of such a depressing reality that has been enforced over him.

Please... it's all he is asking for...

Please...

Of course he couldn't just dwell on those thoughts alone. even if the chances were close to zero he wasn't to ever stop the search for his sister.

But! At the end of the day, he was stumped. No clear objective (except finding his sister of course) and stuck in the world he tried to escape, what shit luck he had! 

Paimon, floated and manoeuvred around the boy as they chatted together on the many things that had happened.

Their goal today was simple, find a statue of the seven, contact the gods or anyone around for information regarding his sister. And, possibly, along the way find some treasure and possibly indulge in some of the cultures of food, according to Paimon. Speaking of that girl, along that journey (unfortunately) he had Paimon! The flying creature-child, and only guide around Teyvat. A greedy yet friendly face to see, and a good friend.

(Aether 'Traveller') - ".. after being sent to this world, the only thing I could do was scour this world in search of my sister, until! I found you."

[Aether said to Paimon in a more thankful and glad tone of manner whilst sitting on an embedded rock by that shoreline, watching as the little girl recalled that memory of their friendship.]

(Paimon 'Emergency Food') - "Oh yeah! I remember when we first met! Without you saving Paimon from that river, Paimon would have drowned, so Paimon will hope to be your best Guid- WAHHHH!! WHAT IS THAT?!"

Paimon hurriedly circled back to Aether to cower in fear as he quickly stumbled to his two feet and prepared a stance of defence, summoning his dull sword in caution of the imposing gateway that materialised beside them ringing with a loud groan and moan of some horn as it stayed, unmoving in that specific place.

On this day, that abyss that formed in front of their eyes was holding something… unholy.

*thud* *thud*

The heavy footsteps followed by the long, heavy breaths of whatever creature was coming out of that portal audibly echoed from inside that gateway. The sounds of such a figure lumbered ever so closely two wards them, the sounds of scraping and cold metal rang in their ears.

[They shuddered and cowered at the oncoming creature, they felt fearful of what was to come, and they should be.]

Aethers mind was racing of thoughts of growing and unconditional dread for the sudden appearance of the rift in front of them. Paimon's body trembled violently, she felt distress as her eyes shuddered at what was to come. Feeling the effects of despair creeping around her, diving deep within the skin of such purity with a vile grasp. They both felt it, Fear. And they were the first of many victims to come to experience said fear.

His fingers lost his grip on the sword, letting it embed itself into the sand as he stood still, staring at the eyes of a pure monstrosity of a man.

<<———————————————— >>

[February 5th 1545 A.D. -00:01:53]

[Teyvat Mondstadt]

[Sgt 'Crusader' Templar]

[Left Hand Of God]

[In Action]

<<———————————————— >>

As soon as Samuel arrived at the location, he had surprisingly located and found one of the many objectives, that being the young teen holding the sword in front of him and that floating child that was stammering loud shouts of fear at him.

He could see the pure dread in their eyes, the hunching shoulders and the visible shaking of horror at the appearance of a man of iron and yeah… he understood why that was the case given his appearance to be something described to be "hellish". Oh well, at least he knew that now then never.

He attempted to walk to the boy and to try and consult him, only then seeing him recoil in fear, collapsing into the ground below on his arse in an instant, the flying child screaming in dread as she hid behind the blonde boy's head.

A rough sigh escaped the lips of the figure as he again attempted to assess the boy.

This was going to be a problem…

<<———————————————— >>

[February 15th 1545 A.D]

[Teyvat Mondstadt]

['Traveller' Aether]

[Outsider]

<<———————————————— >>

He was petrified at the sight of such a monstrosity. The man of iron that loomed over him like a golem of steel, the white visage of a machine with eyes that glowed a sharp tone of red upon observing Aether. He could feel the fearful whimpers Paimon was going through due to the sheer amount of shaken fear that she was going through and he understood it well. The manufacturing of such an engine of death that it looked inhumane, foreign even, too alien to even describe this things attire, the weaponry this figure had was many but weirdly shaped and off putting to look at but nevertheless frightening to see.

He didn't come closer to that man, not even an inch.

 However, the threatening mood that once was emitted from said creature of steel was more. Welcome?… Strangely enough, that's exactly what happened.

[The figure sat down in a nearby rock, the gateway closing as he attempted to signal him to get closer as he wrote in the sand a couple words. Cautiously, Aether let himself up as he slowly and carefully approached the figure, despite the desperate protests from Paimon.]

"Are you two alright?"

[Words were scribbled upon the sand as Aether looked at the man in a now confused expression, the rough handwriting evident from the shaking hands of the giant.]

(Aether 'Traveller') - "Y-yes, I t-think…t-thank you."

The figure looked at him in surprise, his red eyes dilating, for him even speaking before shaking it off. Possibly shocked at the fact he was speaking the same language as…That Thing.

The man of metal nodded at the teens' stammers as it observed him closely, checking for any signs of injury, then proceeding to check if his eyesight was damaged from the fall with his flashlight before sitting a small distance away from him, feet crossed over each other.

 (Aether 'Traveller') - "S-so what are you?"

[The word 'Human' was written in the sand as Aether observed]

"Oh I s-see, well pleasure to meet you then"

[He carefully stood up, again observing Aether carefully before pointing to the little friend behind him after writing the words on the sand.]

 "Are you going to help her?"

He turned around to see the child shivering at the sight of the stranger, her eyes dilating and breath shallow. He quickly obliged by taking the scared girl by the arms and comforting her, slowly and gently before her whimpers turned into small sobs as the fear washed away, this continuing until she relaxed herself and quickly changed her mood, just like that!

She disappeared from Aethers side only to appear next to the chunky mass of a man, she quickly manoeuvred around the stranger, as if observing him before expressing an extreme downpour of unnecessary yelling down the giant's ear.

(Paimon 'Emergency Food') - "HOW DID YOU APPEAR HERE?! YOU SCARED PIAMON AND THE TRAVELLER REALLY BAD YOU MEAN! MEAN! MAN!! YOU-"

[She complained wildly for several seconds more before settling down with a small pout, looking away whilst simultaneously crossing her arms in a grumpy fashion away from the perpetrator.]

A muffled grumble can be heard from the stranger, out of spite of the annoyance of a floating bug even existing in the first place, it had decided to distract itself from the problem at hand, he carefully assisted on helping Aether up from the sandy beach.

Aether, strangely enough, felt a form of kinship with the figure just around immediately, which was a weird feeling to actually experience especially with the sudden scare that he had. The feeling of fear that once took over washed away when finally socialising with the Ironed Giant. This gave way to a question he had now required.

(Aether 'Traveller') - "Who… who are… you?"

Aether rightfully questioned the stranger. The figure gave a glance towards the boy before quickly righting on the sand, then turning his body towards them as he pointed on the writing addressing himself as such.

[The words 'Crusader' were written in the sand as the red dots from his face glared a sharp dark red, as if he was directing them to address him as such.]

(Paimon 'Emergency Food') - "Ah! Scary~!!"

She retreated by Aether's side after getting sent a reddened glare by the figure towards the annoyance. Aether, sweating bullets from such stoic behaviour coming from an almost intimidating figure, quickly nodded in a frequent manner.

(Aether 'Traveller') - "A-and I'm Aether"

[He decides to raise a sign of peace in the form of a handshake to him in order to create a bond of trust between both man and machine.]

"t-that's all, sir."

He could have sworn he heard a faint chuckle come from the helm the man wore, as the 'Crusader' accepted said handshake with a firm grip and nodded at him whilst gripping those strange weapons of his along his back beside his bag.

All he knew is that things were about to get interesting…

<<———————————————— >>

Operation: "Righteous Resolve"

[February 5th 1545 A.D. -00:15:45]

[Teyvat Mondstadt]

[Sgt 'Crusader' Templar]

[Left Hand Of God]

[In Action]

<<———————————————— >>

He had secured one of many objectives, just by pure coincidence which was surprising to see, given the fact he just arrived in this new world. So far so good…

He was able to gather information from both Aether and Paimon of the circumstances of what this world was and a bit of history about it.

 (Although Paimon was reluctant to talk given in the fact that she didn't like him)

They decided to stick together, much to Paimon dismay at the fact a literal hunk of iron was apparently joining with them, this sudden team up with 'Crusader' would only start causing a lot of unnecessary attention to draw towards them. Especially with the "exotic" clothing they had. But, a risk both men had decided on.

Aether gave the 'Crusader' some small talk along the way to this supposed "Mondstadt", scavenging around for the loot and resources that this world lay before them. It was weird as well seeing those random chests, abandoned and stored with decent loot and was sceptical of even considering opening most of them. But hey! Loot is loot!

They continued to talk about the various things such as what he was and such. Occasionally interrupting them would be some light banter between both Aether and Paimon, both who had a deep relationship each other due to their fluidity to get along along as a group, however those conversations and little arguments had to be put on hold once they discovered and approached the statue within the distance.

The land itself was a stunning representation of what 'Crusader' wished his old world should have been. The greenery and nature that had spread out in an inconsistent manner amongst the cliffs and hills of the area intermingled well with the atmosphere that flutters between the surrounding plains of Teyvat. The lush wildlife frolicked along and co-existed with one another and the colourful palette of colours that brought together a nice complementary but also splash of vibrancy across the landscape.

Round balls of elemental magic bobbed up and down amongst their respective environments, that being slimes, who's faces shaped cutely in comparison with their aggressive nature if left unchecked. That reminded him of the potential dangers he may face, he knew little of this world and that goes to show given the fact that he has quite little information about this world. And that most of the information was only surface level to what he will be now experiencing. Great.

The statue of Barbatos, residing within a small island surrounded by a small pond that encircled the price of land. One of the many seven statues placed around the vicinity of Mondstadt and across Teyvat in general, each "Archon'' receiving a statue related to that specific land and elemental power.

The Statue of The God of Anemo, the engravings and plates of gold were surgically placed into said shrine, against the cold stone that supported the statue of said Barbatos. The wings of an angel surround what appears to be a ball made from Anemo within the cusp of the figure's hands.

It was a work of art, so to speak.

(Paimon 'Emergency Food') - "There! 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."

She exclaimed, she buzzed with excitement as she quickly proceeded forward before them towards the statue, the rest of the group following behind her.

-/So their basically religious artefacts in a way/-

[The Crusader mused in his own thoughts before he allowed Aether to give a question to the floating child for confirmation, which she happily nodded in response]

(Paimon 'Emergency Food') - "Yep! These statues are like links to the Archons, that being Barbatos!"

(Aether 'Traveller') - "I see…"

[As they approached said statue, Aether spoke in a more complimentary way directed to Paimon herself.]

(Aether 'Traveller') - "You know quite a lot don't you Paimon?.."

Paimon only returned a small smug smile and sounds of triumph before Aether decided to ask another question following his previous one.

"… But how are they going to help find my sister?"

(Paimon 'Emergency Food') - "If any one can find your sister, it will be the Archons! Especially Barbatos!"

[She said with absolute resolve as the group arrived at the first of many destinations.]

The 'Crusader' observed from a distance as he sees the two approach said statue, seeing as they were distracted he quickly hides behind a nearby lump of stone before connecting with Azrael via earpiece and updates the angel about the situation that has transpired of course mentally due to the angels supposed psychic powers and all. Only hearing a small giggle and sly compliment from him as he could hear the small claps of celebration he was getting.

(Azrael) - "as expected from thou 'Crusader'! Well done! Now, focus on the objective at hand my knight. Protect the boy and girl at all costs, and one must also help him in his quest if needed to be. But thine soldier must remember! The mission comes first, disturbing the current timeline of events to secure a better future for this world. Ta-Ta~!"

And thus, in an instant, the call was disconnected leaving Samuel to only sigh in tiredness and cursed at himself of even accepting before deciding to meet up with the two kids. Removing the earpiece and placing it inside the pockets in the body armour before attempting to raise himself from the floor behind the boulder.

*Whoosh!*

A sudden burst of wind flew past him at such speed and power, before he could even move! Fearing the worst, he quickly jumped over the rock and brandished his Mossberg 940 Shotgun into his hands as he dashed towards the scene, observing several slimes come towards them. Of course, Aether wasn't weak by all means necessary, he was a novice at what he can do with the sword by the flimsy technique he was using, but he was damn better than many recruits when it came to sword handling but still. He can only take on so many of those fire slimes or whatever, it didn't matter! he needed to help!

Another group of slimes, this time sparking with electricity and coloured... purple? Well it won't matter once they're dead. 

<<———————————————— >>

He quickly dashed towards the group of slimes, who were now aware of the enemy that was rapidly approaching them, as they threw themselves at him, some of the bigger ones threw several bolts at lighting at him which temporarily shocked him several times. But thankfully with the under armour that was resistant to such a shock it was able to resist quite a huge portion of the electricity, of course it still hurt like a bitch though.

He loaded his shotgun with only three shells, aimed and fired a shot at the first slime, a loud bang and a ringing sound echoed from the barrel as the slimes liquid splayed aggressively into the ground before he turned around and did the same to the incoming two. Another came flying towards him, he unsheathed his Kukri and sliced the incoming alien into two clean pieces, the liquid dropped itself into the floor. And for the big blobby mess of a slime he had something better planned, he quickly grabbed and loaded a incendiary shell, coked the gun and shot it towards the fat blob.

*BOOM*

A small explosion occurred after the fire contacted against the positively charged squish body, the slimes innards shooting out in a plume of fire that made the Crusader chuckle. He looked to Aether who had already taken out the pyro slimes, staring in shock and awe of such brutality. He only confirmed that when the man of steel approached a retreating slime and with the back of his boot, violently stomped it to death.

He breathed a sigh of relief before quickly reloading thirteen shells into his Mossberg, the max he can reload before turning to see the faces of the duo, shock and awe.

(Paimon 'Emergency Food') - "Whoa! That was so cool! A-and a bit scary to even look at!"

[The Crusader only grunted in response, scraping the goo from his shoe in a nearby rock, before scribbling in the dirt for the question he need to ask]

"What the hell was that gust of wind anyway?"

(Paimon 'Emergency Food') - "These are the Anemo powers Aether got from the Statue of The Seven!"

[She said with a giddy voice of excitement as the crusader only started at Aether in confusion, before suddenly gaining such a realisation that her mood dropped to a grumpy manner]

"Aww... Paimon's so jealous! Why doesn't Paimon get cool fighting powers! Why does he get them! Right Metal Man?"

[Both kids direct their attention to the Metal Man as he turns to glare at the comment Paimon made towards him, the girl giggling at her own joke.]

"Who the hell are you calling Metal Man, you flying pig."

[The annoyed man quickly retorted as he saw the girl's expression change drastically from her small victory smirk into an expression of anger and shock. Aether giggling slightly at such a sudden look.]

(Paimon 'Emergency Food') - "Hey! Don't call me a pig!"

[She waved her arms and legs around mid-air in an aggressive manner before pouting]

"…You're so rude! Hmph!"

[The 'Crusader' gave her a look of amusement and a hollow chuckle at such an expression as he then turned to Aether.]

"That gust of wind that was made, that you? And if so, how did you do that? I don't even see a so-called vision of you?"

[The 'Crusader' who asked the question looked at the boy, prompting Aether to nod his head as an answer before explaining]

(Aether 'Traveller') - "To be honest, I don't know myself."

[He shrugged nonchalantly before replying back to the golem]

"…I just touched the statue and then yeah, this happened."

[Pointing at all the dark burnt spots that littered all across the small battlefield the crusader finally put the pieces together of pyro slimes that attacked them. He then looked at Aether with a confused look before responding with his handwriting.]

 "And yet you don't have a vision?"

[Aether nodded again at the question, seemingly also puzzled by the acquirement of such magic]

The 'Crusader', himself was beyond confused at such a discovery, It was impossible...right? It baffled him of how such things were possible, nothing was ever said about someone, without the usage of a vision, easily yielding the powers of elements within that boys palm with ease.

-/Must be divine intervention from above/- 

He pondered to himself at that thought before returning to his senses, the group ventured forward past the statue and towards the forest. 

They continue the journey in a humble silence.

But the peace between the parties will not last for long.

<<———————————————— >>

Another gust of wind! But this one was different, it was almost as if it was made by some kind of creature.

?!?!

The entirety of the party set their gaze above the sky with shock and awe of what was being presented to them. Its size, humongous, its body shaped into a streamline base, its roar pierced the air with such a scream of violence before dipping down into the forest.

A dragon… yeah… a fucking dragon?! This was not what he signed up for?! Yeah Samuel understood that he was being sent to a world of unknown for a task he had no choice but to accept said choice and all that! Still though! This was ridiculous!

The crusader growled in anger, he knew that this dragon will become a nuisance in the future and he knew that dragon might be a potential threat to the mission at hand.

(Paimon 'Emergency Food') - "Whoa! What was that?! It went into the forest!"

[she exclaimed as Aether and the 'Crusader' looked at each other in uncertainty of what to do]

(Aether 'Traveller') - "To even begin to imagine that dragons exist in this world, incredible."

The Steel warrior nodded in agreement with what Aether said as they looked on towards the dragon's direction, Seeing Paimon in a horrid panic that spread across her whole shaking body.

(Paimon 'Emergency Food') - "We need to hurry! it might spot us as a tasty snack to gobble up, and Paimon wants none of that!!

She was desperate and he understood, but it would be too dangerous to even proceed forward, what if the dragon was perched in that forest? It was a possibility, sure, but it felt unlikely. nevertheless, with the spreading panic affecting Aether as well he tried to gather attention with the cusp of his hands.

*Clap!*

[Both turned to his attention, the worry was visibly plastered in their face. He let out a deep and irritated sigh before the golem reluctantly wrote an answer.]

"We could go into the forest for cover, that would be a viable option especially with the dragon's attention not currently on us at this moment of time. But a possibility is that the Dragon would be there, I may have my opinion but with my voice being in bad condition."

[A small nod was seen from the helm of the 'Crusader' as Aether pondered at the idea before asking.]

(Aether 'Traveller') -"I guess we have no choice though... right?"

[Aether questioned the Iron Golem, the man of steel began to prepare himself to reply to said boy before his motions on the dirt fell into blind eyes, Paimon quickly interrupting their chat in a visage of fear.]

(Paimon 'Emergency Food') - "Come on you two! We have to go to Mondstadt now! Paimon is hungry! And if that dragon is going around here we must hurry!"

[The pixie desperately pleaded along with Aether who seemed anxious of the situation that had now fallen on them as they both sprinted off without them.]

He tried to motion them to stop in a desperate act to maintain order within his party, being rudely ignored as he tried to warn them of the possibility's ahead. The kids ran past him as they both desperately sprinted toward the heart of the forest, in an attempt to reach Mondstadt before the dragon, leaving the fellow in the dust.

-/Wha?! What the fuck?!/-

[he curses to himself in a violent manner, his deep voice echoed within the helm and exited out the breathing holes like a muffled hawk]

He quickly chased after them in a hurry, afraid that something horribly wrong was to occur to those kids, speaking of which, WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING?! Those!…

 *Tsk*

[He ran towards the general direction in a fastened pace equal that to a track star, praying to god for them to be safe]

He couldn't blame them for that behaviour, especially in this new world. But…

Damnit! they need to realise that this… this was a reality that was beyond them. A world they don't understand and yet aren't mature to realise…

 [He barged through the bushes and branches of the foliage that withstood no chance against him. The sounds of heavy breathing and gas escape from the slots and filters as the metal violently scraped themselves against the wooden material that surrounded him. This whilst trying to locate the two outsiders, before finally seeing them, both in good condition (nothing hurt and such) and observing them , look on at the situation in front of them, he slowly but quietly walked near them and positioned himself amongst the bushes opposite to them and the dirt road.]

To have realised that the coming of such an imaginative, innocent, mental visage of a hero that Aether holds to himself, projecting his mentality to this world, can only bring him a greater pain than ever.

[his eyes widened to almost of a bulge to what he saw alongside Aether and Paimon]

The weight and burden of consequence.

<<———————————————— >>

The dragon, that the group had seen previously, had perched itself upon a rock and was listening to a voice directed the towards dragon a bit of a distance away from the Crusader as he crawled further past the bushes and closer to the rest of the group

A figure that wore a mixture of green and white, whilst dressed in an almost feminine attire, was the one that spoke first to the dragon. The voice, a sweet and tender voice, attempted to soothe the disturbed dragon apparently named Divalin. Since the crusader had the better angle he was able to roughly get a description of what the person in front of their eyes looked like.

A slender and almost female structure alongside multiple shades of blue that contrast well within the person's eyes and braids, a distinctive bard outfit that adorned an almost feather like hat and a lyre that is strapped between the waist of his boxers.

(???) - "Don't be afraid."

[The green figure raised his hand towards the dragon, who only bared he's fangs at the teen in defence]

"It's alright now Divalin, I'm back."

[the two kids who hid behind the oak trees looked on at the scene, Paimon whispering in a loudish tone of voice]

(Paimon 'Emergency Food') - "Is he talking... to the dragon?!"

[as if the green figure heard what she said from such a long distance, he quickly turned around towards their vicinity in distress]

(???) - "Who's there!?"

[as the figure shouted at the general direction of the noise followed by the dragon]

(Paimon 'Emergency Food') - "Oh!? Oh n-HMPH?!"

[both mouths were covered by the head of the man of iron, his grip tight around there jaws as he slowly mouthed for them to be silent. They audibly gulped as they felt his glare set upon them]

The dragon roared harshly in the air! The gust of wind almost blew away the Crusader and the duo apart before finally stopping, the figure and the dragon then retreated in different directions in haste, leaving the three alone, breathless.

[The Crusader quickly checked if the coast was clear, after that he finally got his hands free from the mouths of the two before sternly dragging them to the rock, ignoring the shouts from both.]

"What the hell did you think you were doing?! You just ran in there without a second to think?!"

[He angrily wrote on the bark with his Kukri he unsheathed and forced them to look at it, he was upset and disappointment at their antics, Aether pointing his head down in shame before Paimon tried to retort]

(Paimon 'Emergency Food') - "B-but P-Paimon wanted to-"

[She tried stammer in reason for what they did, But only being silent in shock of a loud shout from the man that made both flinch at the guttural cry he shouted out]

('Crusader') - "NO!"

He coughed out blood violently after such a shout, collapsing onto a rotten log and adjusting himself up, wiping the blood off his helmet that was mixed with saliva and mucus. His voice was so rough and uncomfortable to visibly see him speak, They both flinched in such anger that was emanating from him and were at the same time shocked that he could talk, a wave of shame came over them, small drops of tears came from Paimon's eyes.

('Crusader') - "If you guys weren't so fucking!… Augh!…"

They stood there in silence, the atmosphere a moody one with the tone of disappointment and shame hovering above their heads like lights. He was trying to protect these children, why don't they!... Great, he felt a wave of disappointment within himself too, he was at fault here for not explaining his intentions to them and for his failure to protect them.

*sigh*

The Crusader motioned both of the kids to follow him as they sat next to a nearby rotten log together. Which was still in a saddened silence of what had transpired, before the Crusader broke it with something they must hear. Turning his head to them he said what he meant from the heart, a first for many.

('Crusader') - "Look… we are in a world we barely understand, and rushing into things like this is only going to get innocent bystanders killed, or even worse. And I'm sorry for dropping such a reality bomb on you so early on but you need to understand that things like these always have a consequence for actions like this."

[He breathes in deeply whilst simultaneously looking at them in an attempt of showing empathy, something so foreign to him, the duo looked above at him in a less saddened understanding of his words.]

"Kids, you need to understand me here, we are nothing more than strangers in this world. With the technology I, MYSELF, have and the power YOU contain we are going to go through many trials and tribulations going forward. And the appearance of you and including Paimon, as our guide to this world, will have many people question us, or challenge and target us."

[Both nodded at that thought, replacing the emotions once previously had into a slight look of shock of such a man of brutality to even speak in such a wise manner to them. It was strangely comforting.]

"So I only ask for this..."

[They listened in closely to what he had to say, understanding the wisdom and experience that both were seeing from the eyes of a dead man, but they didn't know that.]

"We have to trust each other, even if we have secrets we need to keep, even if we just met today, even if we have different views and an entirely different mindset from one another! It doesn't matter. What matters more is what we must do now going forward."

[The two looked at the man, the eyes from the helmed soldier giving them a sense of reassurance and forgiveness, something so alien to him, but it felt right.]

"But to do that… you're going to need to trust me. For not only ours, but for this world's sake. Ok?"

[The Crusader reached out his hand to Aether, who only looked in shock before a wild grin formed from him in excitement and happiness of a new companion as he accepted the gesture with a pure smile. Paimon gave the crusader a nod and a small smile as the crusader apologised to her for shouting at her which, thankfully she accepted.]

Finally! Things have finally settled down, even if temporarily!

Before standing up and getting prepared to continue to their objective, Aether felt a hand on his shoulder as the golem began to chat to him.

('Crusader') - "Oh! And one more thing, kid!"

[Aether turned to the man along with Paimon who were both curious of what more he had to say, only receiving a glance of friendship emanating from his eyes as he dropped a bomb of trust into them.]

(Sgt Samuel 'Crusader' Templar) - "Call me Samuel for now… Samuel Templar"

<<———————————————— >>

After all of that heartfelt goodness, they decide to continue on the dirt road whilst taking in the scenery of the forest itself still shining brightly with the colours of nature, before Paimon spots something from the rock that the dragon perched onto.

(Paimon 'Emergency Food') - "Hey! There's some red crystal over there! Where the dragon was!"

[She flew ahead as the curious men followed in suit to the rock, Aether cautiously calling out for her]

(Aether 'Traveller') - "Please, Just don't touch it ok?"

(Paimon 'Emergency Food') - "Mmhm! You can count on Paimon!"

She nodded in agreement as the party arrived at the location, both men observing the stone within a careful distance away from said stone. The red glare that the ruby gave was blinding, the shimmer and craftsmanship of such a detailed crystal that shaped itself similar to a teardrop was almost so mesmerising and beautiful to… wait, a teardrop?

-/Was the dragon...crying?/-

The Crusader held that thought for a bit, the possibility was there due to the fact the green bars and that dragon had some type of bond together… Possibly the dragon was mad at the fact that the bard had not visited in a while… maybe…

He was snapped suddenly out of his train of thought as Aether asked him a simple question.

(Aether 'Traveller') - "Well, what do we do with it? We can't just leave this here."

[Aether looked at the Crusader for guidance, the man simply pondered for a while before making a decision]

"Well… we bring it with us"

<<———————————————— >>

Operation: "Righteous Resolve"

[February 5th 1545 A.D. -01:34:01]

[Teyvat Mondstadt]

[Sgt 'Crusader' Templar]

[Left Hand Of God]

[In Action]