Chapter 4: Talents

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***

If Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing was the richest person all across the lands of Teyvat, then Mona Megistus's financial situation could only be described as tragic. A frugal lifestyle befitted a person who sought out to find the truth of the world... Mona convinced herself when grilling mushrooms under the night sky.

"I ran out of salt. Should I go back to Mister Zhu?"

She looked over her shoulder. The long, unwinding path would take her to Mister Zhu's inn in three to four hours since a number of hilichurls and slimes would try to kill her.

'Mister Zhu will be asleep by then. I cannot ruin their rest for some salt.'

Instead of troubling Zhu, she chose to eat the mushroom without any seasonings. She was used to bland food. Once she finished her meal, she put out the fire and sat upon a cliff. A Millelith guard—the military force and the peacekeepers of Liyue—overlooked the Guili plains from a watchtower. Two more Millelith guards stood nearby, wielding polearms to fight any threat that came their way. Such Millelith watchtowers sprawled across the ruins of Guili Plains, keeping the hilichurls camps and criminal activities in check.

Mona raised her gaze, consequently tilting her indigo witch hat. Built upon a towering pillar of rock was the landmark of Liyue. An amber knotwood tree bigger than the sanctuary itself watched over it. Wangshu Inn was known throughout Liyue for its cuisine. Mona's stomach grumbled at the thought of mouthwatering noodles served in Wangshu Inn.

Instead of drooling over imaginary food, Mona decided to make use of the clear skies. She summoned her scryglass. A circular pale blue, akin to the color of the hydro element, diagram floated into existence. The circle was separated into two segments. The inner segment housed an adjustable hourglass, while the outer segment was further divided into twelve sections housing symbols native to the world of Teyvat. The diagram depicted a clock and using it in conjunction with her hydro element and her attainments in the astrological arts she pried into the illusive destiny of the world and its machinations.

Mona touched the scryglass and rotated it according to the alignment of the stars. The illusory reflections of the stars reflected the truth on its surface. As Mona squinted her eyes, the inverted reflection became foggy. The sky was as clear as it could be but she couldn't find the exact truth.

"Two towering cliffs between a breeze and a rock. Do the stars want me to go there?"

She hadn't scried her fate, so why were the stars reciting a puzzle? Were the stars giving her a trial?

The young astrologist continued stargazing while solving the riddle that possibly contained the truth of the world.

'Two towering cliffs, where could that be?'

***

When Orion came to his senses, he was sitting at the edge of a cliff basking under the glow of the moon. The river flowing hundreds of meters under him froze his blood. It wasn't long before a wave of water had splashed him to death. He could make out tiny sand grains sitting in the shallow river. The discovery and Makoto's pleasant mewls served as a much-needed distraction.

'My eyesight is far better than what it used to be.'

As Orion scratched Makoto's chin, small crimson hearts flew around Makoto. Her happiness was spread to him through the Sentimental Ocean talent. It didn't fully work with Lydia, perhaps because of her divine status. But with Makoto, he could feel every bit of her happiness. He could turn the talent off at will, saving him from being overwhelmed by others' emotions.

'I need to find more about my talents.'

Even his aunt, the goddess of teaching, seemed oblivious to his divinities. Before checking on his talents and what the roots were exactly, he observed his surroundings. The cliff he sat upon towered over another cliff, both of which loomed over a river. The second cliff had a couple of orange flowers surrounded by flickering flames, which surprisingly didn't spread any wildfire. The grass nearby seemed immune to fire.

"Flaming Flower Stamen," Orion whispered the name of the flower despite seeing it for the first time in his life. "Flowers that accumulate heat through elemental energy… Odyssey of a Wise King is a cheat talent."

Wisdom Root - Odyssey of a Wise King

Talents unlocked:

Curse of Knowledge - You can acquire knowledge from the ley lines network at the cost of your spiritual energy. The talent requires you to be touching a part of the ley line network to access the knowledge.

Bear in mind, any knowledge can become a curse and trap you in its blight.

?? - You are a…

Even though the talent looked extraordinary, Orion had a hunch this was the most basic form of this talent. The second talent was cryptic, which might become clear once he unlocked the talent. He was after all a god who had gained three divinities not long ago. With time and practice, these divinities will come to define him.

"Spiritual energy. How much do I have?" Orion pondered idly, hoping for a status window to manifest. "Bummer."

He tried different words that could bring up a status menu. It was a system for god's sake, having levels and other stuff was a must. Nothing happened even when he muttered twenty different words.

Makoto stared at him as if he was a weirdo. "Mew?"

"Ley lines."

Strangely enough, the talent didn't give information regarding the ley lines.

"Song of a Crimson Heart. Voice of the Void God."

Heart Root - Song of a Crimson Heart

Talents unlocked:

Sentimental Ocean - Your heart can feel what others feel. Your heart can feel what others cannot feel. To make the talent work, you have to be in close proximity with the target.

?? - ??

Void Root - Voice of the Void God

Talents unlocked:

?? - ??

"More locked talents. Gotta work on them…"

He caught a view of a peak, towering there silently against the dark sky, encircled by giant jagged rocks and yet secluded among them in the center. He knew the location although he never visited it.

Dragonspine.

The freezing mountains agonized players with the cold effect. However, the snow mountains half concealed in the clouds were breathtaking from every angle.

He put his hands on the grass and leaned back to admire the scenery. "Incredible."

An odd sensation passed through his palms into his hands. Two glowing figures suddenly appeared before him. A brown-haired man and a blonde female holding hands with each other, looking at each other like a couple made in love. Orion accidentally triggered some memories stored in the ley line.

"If our clans cannot let us live together."

"Then we will sink in this river together and reunite in the afterlife."

The couple kissed each other passionately as they slowly fell, plummeting into the ocean.

Makoto jumped to the edge and looked down at the suicidal lovers.

Orion shook his head. "Weirdos."

Instead of fighting, the couple chose the easy way out. They should have run to some other country instead of taking their lives.

'Nice way to start my journey.'

Turning to his left, he saw a manor contained inside a field. The orange lights in the windows implied that people inhabited the manor.

'Should I go there?'

He looked at his hands. The violet vein-like tattoos seemed demonic at a glance. He wasn't going to knock on a stranger's door without covering his hands. A vicious thought of murdering the residents and occupying the manor entered his mind. He was a god, and the world was beneath him. Everything should be his 'possession.'

[Talent: Vanity of the Void unlocked.]

And the talent from the 'Voice of the Void God' finally manifested as the worst sin of the seven sins.

Pride.

His ascension to godhood wasn't without its flaws. Some locked talent suppressed his emotions to maintain his rationality. Then 'Sentimental Ocean' talent took empathizing to a whole new level. Now 'Vanity of the Void' gave him a god complex and raised his bloodlust.

It was no wonder his aunt showed fear when mentioning the Void. The power could corrupt. What kind of element was Void in this world? Was it a form of nothingness that could devour energy? Was it simply manipulating the black holes and gravity by extension? Any aspect would make the Void element overpowered.

He reeled back his passionate thoughts for now and scratched Makoto's head. "My end goal is there."

He looked over his shoulder. There, Lydia's home floated in the sky. A floating island comprising several landmasses, with one large central rock and about seven to eight smaller 'satellites' positioned around it.

Celestia.

He had to grow strong and crush the gods imprisoning his aunt. For the sake of her freedom.

The goal resonated with him, unlike the one Lydia tried to give him. Speaking of the things his aunt gave him, he had nearly forgotten about the book.

The black chain around his neck had a silver orb attached to it. As he touched the orb, a thick book manifested and fell on his lap.

"Convenient."

He didn't have time to read it now, so he transformed the book back to the pendant with a thought.

"Meooow…"

The cold, damp air chilled Makoto to the bones, making her shiver while he seemed fine. There was also the problem of food and water. He could see trees packed with juicy fruits everywhere. He searched for one particular fruit that saved his Traveler from dying on numerous occasions.

Sunsettia.

For fresh water, he got up and observed the river. A giant sky blue slime sat on the shore while its small counterparts bounced on the river. The river froze under their jiggly mass, attributing their element to Cryo.

"A small monster created through the concentration of Cryo in the natural environment."

As long as his feet touched the ground, he was a walking dictionary.

"Makoto, let's pop some slimes."

A god wouldn't lose to some slimes clad in cryo elemental energy, right?