The Call

"Ad astra abyssosque! Welcome to the Adventurers' Guild," Katheryne said as Allen arrived at the guild.

"Activate command S, code Eleven," Allen stated, making sure no one was around before issuing the command.

"...Redirecting..." Katheryne closed her eyes momentarily before opening them again with a completely unexpressive face. "What is your motive to summon me, Colleen?"

"I came for information, Sandrome," Allen replied. "I want to learn about the mysterious movements of the hilichurls, specifically their location and time of discovery, to try to find their origin."

"Accessing to the data..." Katheryne closed her eyes again "Triangulating..." After two seconds, opened them. "Following the pattern of appearance and expansion, I have compiled all the data in my memory. The origin is calculated to be 20 kilometers north of Mondstadt, in an area with a radius of 10 km, with a margin of error of 3 kilometers. The origin was discovered 29 days ago, according to Plauen's report."

"It has also been detected that the hilichurls have been moving south while maintaining the same area of effect. They stopped at the north of the Liyue Region, north of the Minlin area. Since then, their area of influence has been exponentially increasing to over 150 km. Based on the reports of-"

"There's no need to continue," Allen interrupted. "Prepare a quest for me as an excuse to be away for some days. A week would be enough."

"Understood. The appointment has been created for the investigation of hilichurls over Windwail Highland."

"Thank you," Allen said as he turned away and returned to his inn.

The Adventurers' Guild was a great source of information, but it was heavily limited to one region. However, the Katherynes were all connected, created and controlled by Sandrome. One of the perks of being a Harbinger was being able to access this network of information, including the computational power of Katheryne, which was usually kept secret.

But, as they say, nothing is free in this world. Even for Harbingers, unless it was completely directed by their mission, they needed to pay for the use of this network. The pay was more symbolic, based on completed quests and achievements. However, as Allen had not completed any quests as a Harbinger, he was only able to access the network once for personal matters.

Although Allen could have asked for Barbatos' whereabouts, the information would have been lacking, as he had already been informed about the information of the Fatui. Allen decided to use his one-time opportunity to gain information about the mysterious movements of the hilichurls, as he was curious and worried about Alice's warning.

After preparing for travel, Allen left the gates of Mondstadt and headed north toward the mountains. As she did not know what to expect, Allen prepared for the worst and used her Delusion to maximize her speed and strength.

As she crossed over the lakes in the area, Allen sensed something strange. "It's similar to when I approached the Abyss. I can sense a call, but it is far weaker, making it difficult to determine its direction."

Suddenly, Allen remembered a domain from the game. "There was a quest for this area." Allen quickly moved towards her objective, a little opening over some rocks on the shore of the lake.

"The Call of the Abyss," Allen recalled the quest. This quest was memorable because it introduced the mysterious character named Dainsleaf, and was also the first time the Traveler met their twin.

Allen carefully made her way through the opening, being cautious of the dangerous cliffs that surrounded it. As she entered the old temple, she felt a sense of ancient history and power emanating from the walls. With closed eyes, she relied on her heightened senses to navigate through the temple avoiding any potential traps.

As she ventured deeper into the temple, she encountered weak Hilichurls that posed no match for her skills. She also encountered traps consisting of purple bubbles that made it difficult to proceed without a glider. However, Allen had no need for one, as she propelled herself across the walls and ceiling, shooting geysers of water.

Finally, after some time, she arrived at a grand hall illuminated by a dark purple light. In the center of the hall stood an upside-down Statue of the Seven of Barbatos, chained and holding a black-purple sphere that seemed to exude the energy of the Abyss. Allen recognized it as the "Defiled Statue," one that had been stolen and corrupted by the Abyss long ago.

However, her attention was soon drawn to a blond young man sitting cross-legged beneath the statue. The sphere's energy seemed to be continuously being absorbed by him.

The young man quickly stood up and drew a sword with a characteristic star-shaped rainguard when he detected Allen's presence.

"Who are you?" the young man asked pointing his sword at Allen.

But Allen didn't need to ask the same question in return. She knew exactly who he was 'Aether.'