Chapter Text
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A Genshin Impact Fanfiction
Seeds of Time
Chapter 1: Brilliant Stones
By: Knowlee Raven
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The train shook hard, nearly knocking Lumine off her feet. Luckily she managed to catch herself before she could completely fall over by grabbing hold of a nearby seat inside one of the train’s many coaches. Her heart dropped as the sound that caused the machine to rattle grew closer. Just what the hell was going on out there?
Deciding to check it out, she searched around the cabin until a door leading to the outside caught her eye. Noticing the ladder that led up to it, without any sense of hesitation, she ran over, grasping hold of his rungs and used the momentum she’d gathered during her sprint to propel herself up. Once she had reached the top, she grasped the door handle, sending a prayer up that whatever it was beyond the door wasn’t anything too horrible, before wrenching it open.
Her eyes blinked furiously against the sudden shock of light, the rapid movement helping to get them to adjust fairly quickly. After her sight came back, she turned to lift herself atop the following coach’s roof. The breath left her lungs when the person who was behind this attack jumped onto the roof as well, their gaze as fiery as the powers they wielded. “Nowhere to run now, is there?”
Cackling lowly, they send a volley of fireballs in her direction, forcing her to summon her sword from the vision she wielded to cut through them. Some of them, however, still managed to make it past her, causing some of the flames to lick her skin causing painful burns.
Cursing under her breath, she sent him a glare that could cut through stone and moved back into a ready position to prepare for the next attack despite the fact the pain made her want to falter. This motion only served to make the person laugh, making Lumine’s irritation at what was going on stir up even more. “Hah! You’re no match for me little girl! Just give me that little golden gem hanging from your neck and maybe I’ll spare your life!”
Her glare turned stonier as her free hand grabbed hold of the star-shaped vision they mentioned. Knowing that this was what they were demanding made her even more irritated. While she had no clue as to why they wanted it, there was no way in hell she was letting them take it. Especially not when it was her only ticket to finding out exactly what happened to her brother.
~~
Running through the rain, her hands above her head, desperately trying to keep the rain from making her hair get too wet, Lumine ran through the streets of Mondstadt, dodging objects and people alike to get as fast as she could to her destination. And while she knew she was getting closer and closer with every step she took, it still felt like a mile, especially considering how soaked she was getting despite her best efforts.
Soon though, just as she rounded the corner, the end of her journey came into view. Sighing a breath of relief, she sped up a little faster, bursting through the door upon grasping its handle.
The rain that had fallen onto her form dripped onto the floor, creating a small puddle underneath where she stood. For a few blessed seconds, she stopped to catch her breath glad that the place she worked was one that was closed off to the general public.
As she was doing this, she found herself vaguely wondering if Sucrose had a spare change of clothes put aside. Considering that she tended to stay here overnight during the many times she and Albedo had a breakthrough the likelihood of that was high. She sighed, grimacing a bit when she felt the water running through her hair. And she just took a shower before heading out too…
“Lumine? Is that you?” Ah, speak of the devil… Sucrose, a woman with head of green and yellow eyes came walking towards her with a look of concern. “I heard the rain and hoped you’d get here alright. I assume you did by chance?”
Lumine nodded, smiling to back up her initial gesture. “I did. Although I will say I got a bit soaked on my way here. You don’t happen to have some clothes I could wear, do you? The last thing I need is to catch a cold.”
“Oh!” Immediately the woman entered into a frazzled state which while normally would alarm most people near her, Lumine wasn’t most people. “Certainly! Just give me a moment and I’ll get you something.”
Sucrose scampered off, muttering something under her breath regarding what clothes she would choose for her to wear. Lumine watched as she went only looking away when another voice caught her attention. “Ah, you made it!”
Looking up, she saw Albedo, the owner of the lab she and Sucrose worked in and effectively her boss. He was gazing down at her from the opening showing the second floor above. Continuing his spiel, he began to walk down a nearby flight of stairs. “When this rain started coming down, we knew you were going to be late, but only by a few minutes. Why an hour though?”
At his question, Lumine’s mind flashed back to this morning. She had been just about to leave, hand on the handle hoping she’d be able to catch the train into the city when her adoptive father stopped her, a gift in his hand. The sight of it threw her off completely. For while she knew he was a real softie underneath his tough exterior, him giving her, or anyone really, anything was something she didn’t expect. “Yeah, well…”
She hesitated a moment. In the back of her mind, she knew there was a reason why she hadn’t told many people about her history as they tended to look down upon her with either unsurity, confusion or even pity. But she also knew they, being Sucrose and Albedo that is, were people she could trust to not give her any of those emotions. Especially when considering they trusted her with their past, so why could she not do the same? “Diluc gave me something this morning.”
While Albedo didn’t emote much, she could easily see the shock and surprise in his facial expression. “Oh? Wow, I didn’t think he’d have it in him.”
She laughed. “Yeah, I didn’t either, but it was kinda strange though. He said the thing he was giving me was something that had been passed down in our family and was something he was entrusted to give me by well…my brother.”
If she thought Albedo showed emotion before, well, that was an understatement when compared to his reaction to that. “Wait…are we talking about the same brother? The brother who disappeared when you were very young after your parents died?”
Lumine nodded, the pain from that day causing her chest to hurt. She honestly didn’t know why it happened. One day they were each other’s crutch, their lifeline after their parents died during a trip to the outside world. He was there one moment and then the next…gone. She’d been wondering where he went since and even though she’d put up posters and asked for Master Jean’s help in contacting other nations to see if they’d seen him, nothing came up.
It was like he vanished from the face of the world. And with no trace left behind. Except for what memories of him lived on in those who knew him.
It was those memories that drove her to her interest in alchemy and then eventually to become a student and employee of Albedo’s alongside Sucrose. Though the art of alchemy was considered something crazy and looked down upon by some members of society, she had a feeling though that it was through this ancient art, that she would find her brother. Well, that and now… this.
“What was it that Diluc was entrusted to give to you? If you don’t mind me asking.” Albedo, unable to hide his curiosity of what was just revealed to him, had a gleam in his eye. It was a look that showed when he came across something fascinating.
Hesitating but only for a moment, Lumine pulled the item from her pocket, revealing to Albedo a star-shaped pendant with a glowing golden gem in its center. Albedo’s eyes widened further although Lumine didn’t see it at first. “It’s a necklace of some kind. Diluc explained that according to me and Aether’s parents, it was a family heirloom that possessed some kind of power. Though he wasn’t able to elaborate as to what that was.”
“Hmm…” Albedo brought his hand up to his chin in thought. “That symbol the charm is based on looks vaguely familiar. But I must admit I can’t place where. However I do know it’s alchemic based.”
Alchemic-based? Now that was new information. Did that mean she was right in assuming alchemy would lead her to Aether? “How so?” The eagerness she had dripped into her tone. If Albedo was right, that had to mean she was one step closer to finding him.
“The symbol looks nearly identical to one I’ve seen in one of my old books. Unfortunately that particular tome isn’t located here. I kept it at my camp on Dragonspine.” Lumine’s heart dropped. Oh… well looks like that idea went out the window.
Albedo must’ve seen her despondent look for she heard him chuckle before giving her a small grin. “Luckily for you, us preparing for a trip to Dragonspine was supposed to be our job for today. Seems like fate has the answers you seek in store for you.”
Joy cascaded through her form. She could’ve probably taken on the Four Winds with how excited she was. Finally after all the years of searching now there was a path before her. One that if she took it, could lead her to the answers she wanted and the family member she’d been wanting to find. “Really! That’s great! Let me go and find Sucrose! The sooner I get changed, the sooner we can go!”
The nod Albedo sent her way was the last thing she saw before barreling through the lab towards the room Sucrose kept for herself. Almost laughing at the fright she gave the women when she caught her just as she was walking out the door, Lumine tried her best to calm herself down. Even though things were finally starting to go her way, she couldn’t jinx it. It had certainly happened before.
~~
And even though she put in her best efforts, it still happened. Cursing under her breath, Lumine tried to find a way out of the situation she found herself in. With a madman walking towards her and no way to run except inside which would then leave her as a sitting duck, Lumine had no choice but to face him. But how could she do that? If only she could figure out more about how this vision worked, then maybe she could use even more of its own power against him.
Gripping her sword tighter, Lumine racked her brain for any idea she could come up with, but was coming up blank. As the man continued to get closer, she knew she was going to have to come up with something fast. C’mon, Lumine! Think!
The man raised his hand, readying another fireball when another voice separate from theirs resounded. “Today is such a beautiful day. Why are you trying to mess that up with a bit of fighting?”
The two stood stunned, both looking around for its source before their eyes caught sight of a green-garbed man standing alongside them atop the train, his eyes hard and a smirk plastered on his face. Just who the hell was he? And also, where the hell had he come from?
The enemy between them, annoyed at being interrupted, simply replied with a fireball in his direction. Lumine’s heart jumped. How was he going to dodge that? She barely could do it on her own. Though before she could call out a warning, it seemed the green guy had his own answer. Holding his hand out before him, a whirl of wind appeared, creating a shield making the flames dissipate into threads around him, each falling to the rushing ground alongside the sides of the train.
Lumine was shocked. How did he-? It was then she saw it.
Doing the same as she did, the green guy summoned a weapon, a bow, which appeared in a shimmering green light similar to his attire. At the same time he did that, a green gem, similar to hers, but in a round shape glowed. Her breath caught. How did he have one too?
Using his bow he summoned a green arrow composed of what looked to Lumine to be pure air and sent it towards the enemy. Holding his hand up afterwards, a green glow shining on it, he was able to keep it true. It hit the man’s shoulder, sending him to the top of the train in pain.
How…did he do that? Her eyes shifted from the now injured man to the green guy. His smirk widened at what he had accomplished and with a wave of his hand, the bow he previously held shifted into a lyre that played a quick tune, creating another updraft of wind that lifted the man off the roof of the train and due to his fast it was going, threw him off.
Lumine turned her head away, not wanting to see what happened next. And though she didn’t see it, she knew it didn’t end well… A few moments passed before she opened her eyes again and when she did, she was blinded by green.
Nearly jumping back in alarm, her wrist was gripped tightly by his hand, keeping her upright against the speed of the engine below their feet. He sent her a smile, the sight of it strangely calming her though she didn’t know who this man was. “Are you alright?”
She nodded, feeling the sword she held previously vanish from her grip. His eyes lit up at the motion, letting her know he didn’t know she could do what he could until now. That in itself made her have so many questions. How did he do that? Who was he? How many more people were there with gems? Her inner ramblings were endless.
Noticing her mental distress, concern entered his gaze. He inclined his head to the door behind her all while keeping his smile plastered on that cute ( wait…cute? ) face of his. “Perhaps we should head back inside. I can answer all your questions where there’s less risk of us flying off here like the last guy did.”
~~
Albedo narrowed his eyes giving the new arrival a glare. Sucrose and Lumine stood alongside, one of them showing curiosity and the other a mixture of that emotion and concern. Sure he had a gem just like Lumine did, but did that mean he was good? Or was he like the man from before who'd been chasing them? But considering he helped fight him off, it more than likely was the latter. Still, it didn't hurt to be careful. "Who are you?"
The alchemist's words echoed in the small cabin, the sound making it hold weight. Though instead of intimidating the green clad man like he may have intended, it did the exact opposite. The man stood tall and proud, hand on his chest like he was about to proclaim some glorious truth, a grin breaking out on his face. "I'm Venti! Three time winner of Mondstadt’s best bard contest!"
Confused looks were shared between the trio. Sure, they had that contest, but...they never saw him compete or even win for that matter not even once! ...was he even referring to the same Mondstadt? Lumine was the first to point this out. "Oh, really? Then why haven't any of us heard of you before?"
Just like before, the man, Venti, if he was being truthful about that, didn't show any sign of fear. He only smirked, crossing his arms. "Oh, you will. Ehe.. "
Confusion was replaced with annoyance. Why was he acting this way? "What do you mean by that?"
Winking, Venti continued to smirk. "Oh, you'll find out, I promise. In the meantime, how about we answer some of your other questions, hmm? Like for instance, why our gemstones are similar."
Grasping her own while looking at his, she had to concede he had a point. Though that still didn't erase the fact that he was acting ridiculous, even if she thought his face was cute… "They do look almost the same, but they also look different."
He nodded, his hand moving to touch his. "Indeed they are. My gem is called the Wind Vision. It gives me the power to control the wind much like you saw me do back there. Yours on the other hand is the Star Vision. And while I didn't see you use it during that fight back there, it's supposed to give you powers over light."
"Hmm...Wind and Star Visions? That does sound familiar. Perhaps I read those in those books we're heading to find. Seeing as it did contain information about Lumine's vision, it must be the same for yours." Albedo, although still cautious based on his expression, couldn’t deny this was intriguing. And from what he saw of the battle this made his need to know spike.
"Where exactly was it you were planning on going, if you don't mind me asking?" Venti questioned, his glee momentarily disappearing into concern.
While she shared her boss and friend's unsurity, Lumine had a feeling she could trust this Venti character. Plus if Albedo had confirmed that there was indeed another vision in existence that could mean they were connected somehow. Perhaps he could help her find Aether? Sharing a look with Albedo, she decided to answer his inquiry. "We're headed to Dragonspine. There's something we need to get there."
"Oh? Well, that seems to be almost where I'm headed! There's a small wooded area I need to get to in order to check up on something and if I recall correctly, that's just right before we get to Dragonspine." And while Venti said this gleefully the look on his face didn't follow. It made her wonder why. What was it he needed to check on?
Almost as if sensing her thoughts, Venti gave her a grin, the look on his face changing into his previous sly one. Ah, there was the look again. She had a feeling this was going to be something she was going to have to get used to. "Maybe you can join me in what I’m talking about after your journey to Dragonspine. I'm sure where I’m going it can give you any more answers you seek. I know I'm looking for that myself."
Lumine looked at him for a few moments, not able to see or sense a hint of malic in his tone. That told her he was being sincere regardless of his cryptic words. Still...if there was a chance to get some guidance as to where to go next, why would she give up this opportunity? Nodding, she gave her assent. "Sure, why not?"