Diluc lamented the sight before him, the ruins of days gone by. The story of old Mondstadt and how Barbatos, the Anemo Archon, aided in its liberation was a tale as old as time. Yet very few had ever come to these ruins. Even he, as well-traveled as he was, didn't concern himself much with the tragedy of their country's founding. There were many more pressing concerns, like that of the Fatui and abyss. He didn't have time for history lessons.
Yet, confronted with the sight before him, unable to retreat to these more 'pressing' concerns, Diluc confronted the reality that Mondstadt, like all nations, would one day face. From dust they came, to dust they would eventually return. This is the truth of all civilizations - past, present, and future.
He wasn't discouraged though. No, this was a reminder of why he'd come in the first place. This was where he could do the most good. He could both critically observe this abyssal outlander and set the stage to make the final conflict easier to manage. After all, Dvalin wasn't their only threat.
"So, we're hunting these pygmies Aether told us about?" His lavender-haired companion asked from atop a pillar.
"That's right. Recently, they've been hanging out within primitive camps at strategic locations for causing trouble. Normally, they shouldn't be this far into a place so saturated with elemental energy; it places a heavy strain on the bodies of their minions. It's likely that they're here to both guard the perimeter of the lair and to disrupt the leylines. We need to get rid of them before Dvalin arrives. Otherwise, they may find ways to interfere at a key moment."
"Makes sense." Illya affirmed. "What about the festering resentment pooling in at the heart of the ruins."
"The what?" Diluc snapped to attention. "What resentment?" With a powerful leap, he kicked off a nearby pillar and reached the top of another in a few bounds. He looked around, trying to find what she could be referring to, but couldn't; there was nothing there.
"I don't see anything." He turned to Illya.
She explained, "There are five points to the north, east, west, and south funneling elemental energy into the center. The fifth spot, unlike the others at ground level, is at a much lower elevation."
"The true ruins…" he muttered.
"True ruins?"
"Decarabian, the god king who founded Mondstadt about 2,600 years ago, ruled with an iron fist. Despite also being a god of wind, he was a tyrant to his people. He liked to micromanage them, controlling every aspect of their lives with a form of limited omniscience. As a god of wind, his perception was beyond compare, making this an easy and brutal task. The storm wall you see surrounding the tower is both a way to keep the invaders out… and the residents in."
"And that's why your archon takes freedom so seriously, because of what he witnessed with Decarabian?"
"So, the legends say, but you'd have to ask him for the specifics." Diluc solemnly replied. "As for what's below… no one knows. A powerful vortex conceals the only entrance, powered by the ley lines, and what our resident chief alchemist believes to be the lingering remnants of Decarabian's power."
"Do you think your god can reveal the way?"
Diluc shook his head. "I don't know. We'll need to ask him."
The two didn't need to go far before finding the first group of pygmies. There were two kinds, the floating mages and strange mask-wearing trolls.
"What a strange group. Why are they out here living like neanderthals? Surely the knowledge needed to bend a dragon to their will is enough to earn them a place in civilization."
"They're nothing but trouble. Those mask-wearing devils are called Hilichurls. They live in tribes scattered around our world. Think of them like wild bandits. They're not very bright, attack on sight, and cause a lot of trouble for passing travelers. They're the lowest level servants of the Abyss Order, hence why you see them here taking orders from the abyss mages."
"Are they sentient? Surely, if they can take orders they can be negotiated with. Can we free them from their influence by slaying the mages?" Illya asked with concern. Slaying primitives wasn't something she enjoyed.
"Slaying the mages won't stop them. Sure, it'll likely break them from their existing orders, but Hilichurls naturally hate humans. The Knights have tried numerous times to communicate to no avail. Over the years we've concluded that they're not truly sentient. The archons have also confirmed them as monsters, rather than truly human."
"What an odd world…" she muttered, putting aside her mercy. "Let's be quick about it then."
"Satisfied your moral hangup?" He asked with a hint of playfulness.
Illya shrugged with lidded eyes, "Is that a problem? Surely, that would be pleasing to you. I mean, wouldn't it be concerning if I did jump at the chance to butcher the weak."
"Hmph." He laughingly snorted. "Fair point."
Without another word, the two turned their attention back to the camp. Illya summoned her bow and took aim. Diluc stood to the side, drawing an ornate greatsword. He didn't engage, merely standing at the ready. Rather, his eyes were drawn to their newest traveler, attentive to witness the strength that almost slew the strongest of the four winds.
Illya released the arrow, followed by two more successive shots. The first two hit their mark, instantly rupturing the tiny pigmy-like skulls. The other hit a hastily erected barrier of water.
"Oh? Interesting. That little barrier blocked my shot." She mused, shifting focus to slay the Hilichurls sprinting in their direction. It wasn't hard; they were mindless brutes running in straight lines.
"hehe~" the abyss mage laughed tauntingly as it teleported sporadically around them. "Can't touch me!" It carried a playful demeanor, treating the whole thing as a game. If she didn't see its companion's deaths with her own eyes, she wouldn't believe that it'd just lost them.
"Maybe they aren't truly sentient either…" she muttered.
"So… different or not, your powers align closely with hydro." Diluc answered, more interested in the failed shot.
"Hydro? Your equivalent of water?"
"Yes, in Teyvat, some monsters possess immunities to their specific element, regardless of its potency. That abyss mage is a hydro variant, so its barrier is immune to hydro. It looks like your arrows act as hydro."
"Interesting… If that's the case, then, how about this." she mused, releasing her bow and summoning a greatsword in its place. It had a smooth blade that transitioned from a bluish indigo to purple. The most eye-catching part was the miniature black hole at the greatsword's base.
"This one's different. While it carried the same general feeling as the other weapons, this one is much darker." Diluc noted, narrowing his eyes at the void blade.
The hilichurl didn't last a moment as a swing of Illya's blade brought forth a violet arc of lightning, shredding the shield and incinerating the mage to ash.
"I had the others crafted from the Narwhal's corpse. This one though I found inside. There was a warrior guarding the beast's core."
"Got it… and it looks like that one corresponds to electro, though its more potent than I'm used to."
"And I'm assuming Electro is strong against Hydro?"
"That's right. In Teyvat, the elements react with each other in different ways. Electro is especially effective against hydro, easily shredding through it."
"Good."
With everyone gone, Diluc searched the camp, hoping to find orders.
"That was disappointing. With a name like 'The Abyss Order' I was expecting something… stronger."
Diluc continued his search without looking back. "Don't underestimate them." He chided. "Their order has much greater members than these. These are just grunts. Their top cadre has power capable of much grander feats and are truly intelligent beings."
"Greater prey?" she asked with a glint in her eye.
Diluc paused for a moment, feeling her ravenous aura swell for a moment before subsiding like the tide. He glanced down at his palms that suddenly felt much clammier than when he started. Many thoughts ran through his mind, but he didn't voice them; he continued.
"Damn. I guess it'd be too convenient to get good intel this easily." He irritably muttered, turning back to Illya. "Let's move to the next camp."
This process repeated across three camps. None were particularly well defended. Between the two of them, it was an easy process. With the camp's cleared, the two made their journey toward the center.
"How did the abyss mages get inside the ruins? Dvalin is too large to fit within the gaps to breach it, and I doubt he'd be willing to open the way for the mages, regardless of his fury. When we saw him, it didn't look like they had dominion over him; they were just whispering in his ear." Diluc thought aloud.
"Maybe they didn't?" Illya guessed.
"What do you mean? Didn't you say there was elemental energy being funneled from below?" Diluc asked.
"There is, but it's different than the others. The four cardinal camps actively channeled elemental energy. The one in the center though is much denser. It's like boiling water. Gas is rising from beneath, but it may not be something that's actively being controlled."
Diluc thought for a moment, pondering on all the information they'd gathered through this ordeal.
"… the leylines. If the abyss was tampering with them as we believe, maybe it's released the lid on Decarabian's remnant power. The nation of Inazuma and Liyue have a similar issue in their nations they deal with in different ways. Ours has always been inaccessible, but if the leylines are disturbed…"
"Is it something we can solve now?" Illya asked. She felt she could probably risk it and force her way down, but that wouldn't be wise. Even if she could, it'd doubtful she could easily escape, and many powerful warriors have died by underestimating ancient ruins like these. She may be good in a fight, but that didn't make her any less squishy than any other mortal.
"We'd need Barbatos to open the way. The winds are too strong." He replied, earning a nod.
"Urgh…" he groaned. "The knights should be patrolling this place. These mages shouldn't have had the time to mess with the leylines before being noticed. Incompetent as always…"
"You seem to have a low opinion of the knights, Mr. Diluc. Yet, Jean didn't seem to match that."
Diluc regarded her with a dull gaze. "Jean isn't the knights; she's one person who does the work of thirty. She's not here in her capacity as the grandmaster due to how tied up they are in resource shortages and political subterfuge. The fact that we're out here, no… the fact that she's out here without support from her fellow knights is evidence of my words."
"And yet, why do I feel like that's not the true reason for your ire. The fire I see in your gaze speaks to a much deeper reason that these." Illya rebutted.
"…"
"…"
They continued in silence. Diluc didn't bother responding and she didn't pry further. Rather, she was content to observe the quick transition from noble façade to brooding warrior.
'There's history there, not that it's any of my business.' She thought.
Suddenly, a painfilled roar snatched their attention, prompting their gaze to the sight of the dragon flying overhead and into a floating citadel seated high within the heavens. Behind them, Jean and Aether chased on their gliders while Venti trailed closely behind without. As Dvalin settled into the citadel, the trio descended to their position.
"Took them long enough." Diluc sarcastically jeered.
"What an impressive control of winds…" Illya muttered with awe.
"He is the god of wind after all. I'd be disappointed if he could at least do that much." Diluc snarkly replied. "But shouldn't someone capable of battling a dragon be capable of similar feats."
"Destruction is easy. Acts of creation and manipulation like that require much greater levels of finesse." Illya answered without an ounce of defense.
"Fair enough." He understood that fact more than anyone. He was distinctly aware of how difficult it was to build and maintain his place within the wine industry. He could also perfectly recall the ease by which a certain group destroyed the lives of everyone that stood against them. The scales were not balanced.
"The winds of salvation have arrived!" Venti's voice filled the skies, carrying a merriment woefully inappropriate for the situation.
"We're here!" Paimon shouted in tandem, revealing herself from… somewhere within the traveler.
Illya and Diluc glanced at each other before shaking their heads.
"I see you've cleared out the abyss mages." Jean commented, landing beside the group.
"We have." Diluc calmly affirmed with his broody countenance. "And it looks like they've taken a much more active approach. We noticed quiet a few Hilichurls at their beck and call."
"Hilichurls…" Jean replied with concern. "I remember Outrider Amber giving a report about them being more coordinated than usual, but I didn't expect them to be using them for this."
"You're just learning about this?" Diluc asked, shaking his head. "Really… the knights are as incompetent as always."
"Hey! That's not nice. Why can't we get along?" Paimon interjected.
"I agree. We need to hurry. We need to finish this before the abyss has time to regroup." Venti affirmed, silencing the banter; he was their god after all. "Now, the stage has been set and our leading actors are in place. Are you four ready to take the stage?"
"What about the rising power from beneath the ruins?" Illya asked.
The others on gliders were confused, but Venti understood her meaning.
"It's fine. The crack is making Dvalin a bit stronger, but we'll have to make do. By the time we solve the problem down there, the abyss may have spirited away Dvalin completely."
"That makes sense. Even if Venti remembers the layout of the ruins beneath, they're still a city-sized structure.
Venti turned to Illya. "Can you get up there?" he asked, pointing to the top.
"Sure. It's just more draining than I'd like, uses up about half my stamina in one go." She said, summoning her lance.
"Can't you just 'swim up there' or something? I think I remember you saying that." Paimon asked. "Surely, you can make it up there without needing to go through the trouble."
Illya turned to Venti. "Can you clear the way? I can get up there that way."
"Hehe~" He embarrassedly chuckled. "I haven't been around Mondstadt for a while so my power's the weakest of the seven. With all the power Dvalin has at his disposal, I can't wrestle enough control of the winds to open a clear path. At best, I can help them ride the existing currents safely."
Illya's eyes narrowed for a moment before shifting back to Paimon. "See?"
"Well, I tried." Paimon shrugged.
Truthfully, Illya didn't believe Venti. It's unlikely that the god of a nation couldn't wrestle with a dragon. Rather, she was pretty sure his current approach doubled as information gathering. They didn't seem to need her help in the first place as she hadn't been in their plan. If she could get up there, cool. If she couldn't, cool. Either way, he'd know more about her limits and possibly create a better tale out of the whole thing. Between the lyre she'd seen him carrying earlier, his clothes, and the singalong manner in which he approached speech, he was probably this world's version of Hermes.
Her hands gripped her spear tightly as she aimed toward the sky. She gazed up at the specific spot within the eye of the storm. Unlike the beast she inherited the ability from, she needed to see where she was going. The lance glowed with an abyssal glow before she thrust it forward, shattering the air in front of her, revealing a blurred mirror-like image of platform in the sky.
"Follow if you want, but I'd only recommend doing so if you're sufficiently sturdy."
"Nice! Less work for me then! You two go on ahead, traveler and Paimon." Venti said, patting Aether on the back. "I'll get these two up there in a jiffy."
The trio stepped through the portal. For a brief moment, they felt wild currents pulling at them from all directions, but it was only that, a moment. In the next, they were out.
"Urgh… wow! Paimon's never doing that again!" She declared only to be silenced by a furious roar that shook her ear drums. "AAHHH!!" She screamed before vanishing into her golden-haired friend.
"Your tour guide's a bit of a coward." Illya jested through labored breathes, eyes trained on the dragon. The move to get here took a lot out of her. It's why she didn't like doing it. Sure, she could get anywhere she could see fairly quickly, but it didn't bode well for her stamina. Tearing a path through space wasn't easy, especially as roughly as she did it. She really needed to learn how to do it right.
"To be fair… it's a dragon." He said, as if that was all that needed to be said.
And as if on cue, Dvalin attacked. It snapped its jaws forward at her, forcing her to retreat. She wanted to attack, to seize the opportunity presented but hesitated; she wasn't supposed to kill it and that's all she'd trained herself to do. The dragon took the chance provided and swung its head horizontally, launching her off the platform.
"Illya!" Aether shouted.
"Don't worry about me!" She shouted back, flipping herself midair, stabbing her spear into the ground to stop her fall, and throwing herself back onto the platform. "Bring it down!"
"Right!" He nodded before trying to counterattack.
It saw right through it, backing its head back into the air before he could arrive. Anemo energy swelled into its mouth, before all hell broke loose as it screamed into the skies. The laws of physics bent the knee to its sovereign command as tornadoes descended in a frenzied manner.
He tried approaching, using all his leg power to split the distance but it wasn't working; the winds were relentless. He could only dodge helplessly as the dragon snapped at him with its long neck. Its jaws ripped through the ruins below, demonstrating what it'd do to his flesh and bone should they make contact.
After a few times, Aether swung his dull blade at its snout, testing its flesh. Unfortunately, his sealed strength didn't find any purchase. He grits his teeth, frustrated at his weakness, but he persisted; he needed to find a way.
As the seconds ticked by, he felt a growing strength welling up from within. His strikes went from bouncing off, to scratching it, to eventually even leaving light gashes on its hide. The anemo flowed freely like never before. He was distinctly reminded of his earlier battle with the beast. His gliding ability had soared; he'd been like a fish in water. His stamina felt limitless as he pelted the beast with a storm of anemo that far exceeded his capacity. He wasn't complaining though. He needed this.
Unfortunately, at this moment, that boost wasn't enough. He didn't know if it was the location, situation, or even his own stamina, he couldn't dominate Dvalin like he'd done on the way here. Compared to the tyrant dragon before him, his arms were like twigs against a roaring tempest. Any little he did were like scrapes at best and, like Illya, the dragon's identity as an 'ally' they were trying to save made the weaker points like the eyes untargetable.
"Keep moving!" he barely heard through the roaring winds, making him remember his goal. They weren't here to kill it.
'I'd almost forgotten. Adrenaline can really do a lot…' he fearfully realized.
He dashed to the side, using a gust of wind to launch himself away from this platform and onto the next. His eyes lit up when he saw Illya waiting for him.
"His hide is too tough. I can't leave any lasting damage"
"You're not trying too, remember? You only need to cut off that blood clot." Illya steely reminded.
"I know, but it's not that easy. He's relentless."
"Don't worry. I'll distract him. You circle around and take him out. He's probably ruled you out as a serious threat."
'Ouch!' the truth hurt, but he didn't let it get him too down. The dragon was attacking. Instead, he nodded and bolted to the next platform.
Illya readied her shield as the dragon approached into a full dive. While they'd strategized, it'd taken some distance and dove back to them at high speed. She waited until it was close enough and dove to the side. She dodged by a hair's breadth, losing a few strands in the process.
Her fist tightened. She felt her blood pumping, urging her to slay the beast and bathe in its blood.
'It would be so easy', it whispered. Her eyes flashed red for a moment before she regained control.
"No." She declared through gritted teeth. She turned to the blood clot. "You'll just have to settle for that. Come on, Aether…"
Unfortunately, the dragon's time-earned wisdom shone through its berserk state. Once again, it bellowed, binding the winds to its command. The tornadoes drew closer, closing any room to maneuver they may've had. Now, around the ring-like domain, tornadoes sat between each platform, preventing easy movement between. Then, pulse bombs rained down on every platform in the sky.
Illya's face scrunched in shock. "That lunatic's planning on bringing this whole thing down! Even if we survive, it can pick us off before we have the chance to land."
She'd fought enough of these types of battles to not mistake what it was doing. The power of each bomb wouldn't be enough to collapse the platform immediately, but it wouldn't be long now. Also, by cutting off their room to jump between platforms, it denied aether the ideal platforms at its back. She also noticed there were a few extra tornadoes between his platform and it, preventing him from taking advantage of his non-ideal flanking position.
"Hehe~, you pick now to show your battle savviness? Couldn't wait until we saved you?" she jested.
Her gaze hardened as she prepared to continue their battle. "Guess I can't make this as painless as I'd hoped."
She felt a shiver in the wind, an agitation differing from Dvalin's own current. She paid it little mind though, too focused on the threat before her.
Before either side could make their move, Aether and Illya noticed two figures above the storm; Jean and Diluc had arrived. Jean gathered a tight ball of swirling winds in front of her, suspending Diluc within, and like a catapult, he shot forward like a speeding bullet. He drew his greatsword, igniting it, and viscously slamming the flat against its skull.
The combined force of Jean's gravity assisted anemo catapult and Diluc's fiery plunge to its skull sent the dragon reeling, dropping it to the ground. At the same time, the tornadoes lose their cohesion, dispersing, following their master's disorientation. Illya took advantage, releasing her shield and holding her lance with both hands. With a powerful leap, she struck the blood clot, severing it at the base.
Suddenly, her gaze was drawn by a massive burst of anemo that exploded from Aether. It radiated from him like cyan fire. Motes of gold and cyan light swirled around him from all directions; he was a beacon of resplendent light. "What the…?"
He leaped through the air, bypassing the tempestuous winds as if it were clear skies, and jammed his sword where the blood spike had been. "ROOOAAARR!!!!!" Its painfilled roars echoed across the ruins, deafening the combatants. Aether didn't relent though, channeling his elemental energies into the beast, purifying its blood from the inside out. It thrashed and writhed under the pain, doing everything possible to throw him off, but he wouldn't relent, hanging on for dear life.
Then, its body glowed with a radiant cyan, blasting anemo outward and shooting Aether out like a missile. He was intercepted midway, caught by Venti who subsequently lowered him onto the platform. Illya, on the other hand, took the initiative to seize the blood spike before it got lost. Before it could get lost, she stored it in her inventory.
"This isn't right…" Venti muttered with concern. "That should've done it. The abyss mages shouldn't have any hold over him anymore."
The combatants looked on with concern as its pain-stained roars crescendoed. Blackened anemo energy leaked out of it in copious volumes, escaping freest from wounds Illya'd inflicted in their earlier skirmish and the wounds where the blood clots used to reside. It gathered into the vortex above, forming a core of winds that served as a miniature singularity. Then, the platform shook prompting the group's heart to sink. A dense deluge of elemental energy burst from the underground, bypassing Dvalin whose consciousness had since faded, and merging with the concentration above in monstrous amounts.
"What's happening now!?" Jean urgently asked Venti.
"…" he didn't answer, frightened by the possibility he hadn't even considered. "That should be impossible."
"Urgh… Paimon's got a bad feeling about this..." the pixie whispered in terror.
The energy swelled to unimaginable levels before exploding outward, sending Venti, the Mondstadters, the outlanders, and even Dvalin's unconscious form flying from the platform.
Yet, despite their screaming and the roaring gales, as if carried by the wind, Venti's haunted voice whispered in in their ears, "…Decarabian…"