Chereads / Souls in Teyvat / Chapter 56 - A few plans start unfolding

Chapter 56 - A few plans start unfolding

Now I need to go to the city to collect the Visions left. With my ability, I can locate them easily even through the walls, so no one will be able to hide from me. 

If someone does not comply, I need to convince them, or they will be caught sooner or later. And if they lose their Vision to another person that is not me, they will suffer a lot

I approach the first place, where I can see 2 Vision bearers together. 1 Anemo and 1 Electro.

"Can I enter?" after a lot of tumbling and hitting various things, I finally arrived. I can smell melted iron and coal here.

"Of course" a tall guy with ash-coloured hair answered me. Of course, I only know his appearance because I knew this guy before I lost my sight. "What can I do for the one collecting Visions around here?".

"Tomoya, you should already know that" I sighed exasperatedly. "And you are not the owner of this place".

"And yet, I'm the only thing you are going to get" he replied heatedly. He is not a bad guy, but he is probably fuming about this situation. One of many.

"Then I will tell you. I'm here to collect the Visions you and your little friend hiding behind the wall have". I can see the mopey kid, Kazuha, listening to us.

"No" he predictably replied.

"If you aren't going to give it to me, the army will come. You are fairly famous so everyone knows you have a Vision" I warned him.

"Then I will say the same to them" he is scowling now. Perfect a sulking kid.

"Are you going to leave Inazuma?". It's just for confirmation, I already know what he is going to answer.

"No" he firmly says.

"Then wait for a few days for whatever stupidity you are going to do. A lot of people will try to leave Inazuma, and your recklessness may put those plans in danger" I tiredly say. "As for you Kazuha, you need to decide what to do for yourself. If I take your Vision, I will be able to eliminate the side effects of losing a Vision, but if someone else takes it, you will suffer a lot. I need to wander around for a while, I will come back in a few hours to listen to your answer" and with that I left the smithy, not even seeing the owner's face.

I look around for more Visions and quickly find another.

"Hmm, excuse me" I felt someone tapping my shoulder, and turning to see a weird soul. She is probably a youkai, as they are the only things around with this kind of soul.

"What do you need?" A useless question, I can already see her Vision shining brightly.

"Chiori told me that you could help me" she timidly says.

"I can, what do you need?" I curiously ask. Maybe she wants to leave, or somehow hide her Vision.

"I want to give you my Vision. Chiori told me that you could make it painless" I can feel her anxiousness.

I think she is misunderstanding something, but it will certainly hurt mentally if someone else takes her Vision.

I reach to grab the Dendro Vision in her hand, and just like Ayato I touch lightly her hand in the same movement

"Done" I say with a smile. 

"Already?" she is asking me surprised.

"Of course" I nod. If only all people could be as sensible as her.

I can sense her looking at her own body looking for changes, but nothing happened, obviously.

"!!" I can sense her astonishment, and quickly realize what she did.

"Shh, keep it a secret at least for now. I need to collect every single Vision, only after that you can use it" I am obviously talking about the Elemental Power.

The Vision is nothing more than a vessel, the bearer's soul has already been 'touched' by whoever grants Visions. So the important thing is not the Vision but the 'touched' fragment of the soul it houses.

All I'm doing is taking that little shard and reinserting it into their bodies, so the 'touched' part is safe.

Now she along with Ayato, Ayaka and Yoimiya can use elemental power without a Vision. Maybe I'm messing with something Morax warned me about, but it's the best way to act now.

I firmly believe so.

"Thank you!" she shouted and suddenly hugged me.

"Okay, okay. If you are grateful take me to Chiori alright?. I need to talk with her about her Vision". And this energetic help with a '-nya' verbal tick guided me.

"Chiori!" she shouted from the outside, and the aforementioned person quickly came out.

"What are you doing here Kirara?" she asked and looked at me with a suspicious look.

"I don't think I did anything to earn that look" I commented.

"And you are supposed to be blind" she countered.

"And I am. I can see certain things" I confessed.

I can see the soul and how it reacts. The soul is always honest, and if her soul is 'suspicious', her expression will be too. 

"I gave him my-"

"Maybe we should keep some things to ourselves" I interrupted.

"*Sigh*, come in" she allowed us to enter her shop.

I feel something different here, but I can't see what.

"Are you leaving after all?" asked Kirara sadly.

"Yes, I won't give a part of myself" Chiori said with determination.

"But I gave my Vision to him, and I can still use Elemental Power, look". I saw Kirara's soul shine brightly with a green shade.

"While that's incredible, and I will shout in amazement later, it's a question of principles. I don't want to be robbed of something that is mine, so even if I can still use my Elemental Power, I still won't give my Vision".

I could sense Kirara's inner conflict.

"Don't say it like that, it makes Kirara look bad. You made your choice to leave, and that is as respectable as Kirara's to stay" I chided her, pointing discreetly at Kirara's down-hearted countenance. Chiori quickly realized what I was trying to say.

"Kirara, I didn't say it to make you feel bad. As this walking annoyance said, every option is equally valid. It also takes a lot of courage to stay in Inazuma after what is going to come" she said looking at Kirara.

"I'm a bit offended by that. I didn't do anything to be called that" I pouted theatrically.

"You brought the Shogun to my store the day before all this happened, I think that's something" Chiori scoffed at me.

Kirara felt amused at our little exchange, making her forget that Chiori was leaving, at least for now.

"Now on to important things. Chiori, how are you planning to leave?" I asked seriously at Chiori. I need to know what will people think of me when leaving.

"I will go to the port and pay for a trip to Liyue" she succinctly said.

"That's stupid. Everyone will do the same" I shook my head. Ritou is the base of the Hiiragi clan, they will not allow hundreds of people to enter Ritou to leave.

"Then what can I do? I have no contacts to leave from another harbour" she grimly said.

"Wait for a while. I will go to the Tenshukaku in a few hours, let me gauge the Shogun's reaction to people leaving Inazuma" I revealed my plan.

"And if she doesn't allow us to leave?" Chiroi asked back while clenching her fists.

"I will help you leave. I will help everyone, even if that means going to the Resistance" I firmly answer.

"....." she thought for a while, but I know she will agree. She has no other choice.

"Just skip this play, I already know your answer" I scoffed at her. "If you can, try to spread this plan to people around, but don't let the Tenryou Commission find out about it. We are screwed if they stop you all before you leave".

"Okay, I will do it as you say" she finally nodded. "When should we be ready?".

"I want to talk to the Shogun before 14:00, and if it doesn't go well, I will talk to the Resistance in the afternoon. There are going to be a lot of people leaving, so we need to go at night so we aren't spotted. Be ready for a long walk in the dark". That was the best plan I could think of.

"I will not be able to carry my materials then" she sadly muttered.

"Don't worry, I will help you!" Kirara excitedly offered.

That is a problem, as the Shogunate will notice our absence at some point and will realize the plan. We can leave for Watatsuna with 100 people, but only 1 will come back, and that's me.

If we go with 150 and 50 come back, we will be discovered on our way back.

But I won't say it now, maybe an alternative will appear. In the best case, we will not need it.

After saying my goodbyes, I spent the rest of the morning collecting Visions. 

A lot of people refused, but the vast majority agreed to give it to me, so there was not too much trouble.

I saw a lot of tears from indignation, sadness, anger.....but I couldn't do anything about it.

Finally, I came back to the Kaedehara Smithy, where a nervous Kazuha was waiting for me, and Tomoya was looking from the back with a frown.

"What have you decided?" I asked the nervous kid.

"I will keep it for now" he muttered.

"Then keep it. But you will not be able to hide for long, and at that time it may be too late for me to help. Should you change your opinion, you can look for me in the Shrine" I explained while turning to leave. It's regretful, but he is free to choose his path.

I walked to the Tenshukaku wobbling from all the Visions I had, but I saw Ayato waiting for me in the door of the Tenshukaku.

"I didn't know there were so many Visions in the city" he said, and took a lot of them, letting me breathe.

"And there are even more who refused. I can't do anything but respect their wishes" I said while walking towards the entrance.

"Halt!" another guard said. What is wrong with these people?

"Leave the Visions here!"

"No" was all I said before striding past him.

"By Lord Takayuki's order, we will carry the Visions to-"

"No" I repeated once again, but the guard grabbed my shoulder.

"You are not my superi-"

I had no hands, so I headbutted him in the nose, making it crack.

"Aaahh!" he is now on the floor squirming in pain while grabbing his nose. To think Inazuma's safety depends on these guys...

"Don't touch me. Even if I'm not working for that woman anymore, I'm still carrying her orders. So shut up" and with that, I was finally able to go through. I feel happy that I won't need to go through these gates again.

Ayato didn't say anything, he just maintained his apathetic gaze. It was a big change for him, but one required by the circumstances.

We finally arrived at the meeting room, and Ayato opened the door with his leg. Normally, he should have put the Visions on the floor, opened the door, bow, and pick the Visions again, but now he wasn't that careful with protocol.

"Show som-" the Kujou head was complaining. Again.

"I bring the Visions" I interrupted him, walking to my former seat. I started picking them one by one and putting them in front of Ei, who was in charge now.

"This one is from Ayaka, a smart and shy girl who likes to wander in the city".

"This one is from Yoimiya, who likes fireworks and ramen".

"This one is from Thoma, a kid from Mondstadt who came to Inazuma for a better life".

"This one is from Kirara, a youkai who works in a delivery company".

"This one is...."

One by one, I started putting every single Vision in front of Ei, who had a calm countenance. I can feel a prick of sadness in her every time I put a Vision in front of her, but I'm not going to stop. The Vision bearers all these Visions belonged to need to be mentioned, or nobody will know of their sacrifice.

When I had no more Visions, Ayato came over, and I started putting them down one by one.

Of course, I didn't remember whose Vision was whose, but what I remembered was every single name.

"This one is from Masato, a painter who wants to travel to Tatarasuna to see more landscapes". That was the last Vision.

"Are these all the Visions in Inazuma?" the Kujou lord asked me, but I ignored him.