Chapter Text
The cry of the narwhal.
It is one of the most powerful sounds in the world. And yet the surface dwellers could not hear the beast's lamentations. In the end, with no one to answer its calls, the narwhal swam alone, without its family to accompany it in these foreign waters...
It was the same for the Abyss. No matter how loud or pleading the cries, no one could hear them. The only response we could expect was for the Abyss to look back at us...
The stars.
Whether in the depths of the Abyss or in the sky, they shone brightly. The shooting stars were fleeting, crossing the atmosphere of a new world for just a moment. And yet, sometimes one of them would fall on Teyvat, and then a second one. But these shooting stars were not made to remain in a single universe. They had to travel together and witness the destinies of other planets. To do so without one or the other made no sense for these twin stars.
Teyvat is just one stage.
A tiny step, even.
But a stage full of surprises...
To say that the Eleventh Harbinger was angry was an understatement. He was pissed.
With the corner of his boot, Tartaglia turned the body over. The corpse's mask was cracked, and the man's dead eye was clearly visible. Mud had also soaked through his black clothes, but there was now no doubt as to his identity. It was Oleg, the Fatui the Harbinger was looking for.
Unfortunately for him, he had been killed before getting to know him...
Tartaglia bent over the body and searched his pockets, his coat... Nothing. The object had been taken away.
“It seems that someone has intercepted the information about our meeting.” announced a pyro agent behind him.
Who was the question.
“Are there any survivors?” asked Tartaglia.
“No... The whole squad was decimated.”
Obviously... Everything would have been simpler if that hadn't been the case.
“What should we do with the bodies?” continued the pyro agent. “Should we bury them here?”
“No. We'll take them back to Liyue Harbor. In two days, a ship will leave for Snezhnaya. We'll ask them to transport them as well.”
“Yes, Master.”
The pyro agent bowed and left to carry out his dark task.
Tartaglia was weary. The whole affair annoyed him. He had prided himself on keeping his subordinates alive, unlike Signora, but now he had discovered their corpses... The only thing he could do for them now was to bury them in their native land.
With every step he took, mud splashed against his polished shoes. In the light rain, the Harbinger carefully observed the positions of the bodies. Everything told him that the opponent knew how to fight. And for once, the bad weather was on his side, as he had found the prints of a single pair of shoes. Everything suggested that this massacre was the work of one and only person.
Tartaglia followed the footprints to a ravine. Below, the Harbinger saw the disjointed body of one of his subordinates. He had tumbled down the cliff, probably as a result of some devious strategy on the part of his assailant. A Fatui was bent over him. With the force of despair, she clutched the body whose soul had long since left this world, staining her own outfit with mud and blood. Drops - a mixture of rain and tears - were beading on her mask.
“W-wait! Just a moment, please.” she cried out, when she saw the Harbinger approaching.
She could hardly hold back the tears behind her mask. The Fatui hugged the disjointed body of her companion all the more tightly. Tartaglia didn't know whether he was a friend, a lover or a family member to this girl... In any case, what difference would it have made?
We don't cry in Snezhnaya.
But in a foreign land, far from home... Did that sentence still make sense?
“We may be in Liyue... However, I expect you to be ready to leave in five minutes.”
“Y-yes, Harbinger.”
It was the minimum of tact he could afford. In any case, apart from yet another body, there was nothing more here...
In the meantime, the pyro agent in charge of collecting the bodies had returned to give his report.
“We'll soon be ready to leave, Master. We await only your orders.”
As the last body – the one that had tumbled down the cliff – was taken away, Tartaglia asked to the pyro agent:
“Did you find anything new?”
“Unfortunately, nothing, Harbinger. We think the extractor was taken.”
“And still nothing on the identity of the thief, I suppose?”
The pyro agent stooped even lower to the ground.
“No, there isn't. I'm sorry to be so incompetent.”
This pyro agent used to serve the Eighth Harbinger, La Signora. Perhaps he feared that, like his previous Mistress, he would inflict his wrath on him. However, if Tartaglia did indeed beat up his subordinates, it was during training for the Fatui armed corps, not for a mission that he himself did not know the answer.
“Let's go back to the Northland Bank. There's no point in staying here.”
We don't want to attract the attention of the Milleliths or worse, the Liyue Qixing.
Almost surprised to have been spared, the pyro agent sighed with relief. The last corpse to be transported, followed closely by the saddened girl, passed in front of them.
Just as the Harbinger was about to turn around, something caught his eye in the hand of the swaying corpse. He reached for the body, forcing the frozen fingers apart to retrieve his possession.
A flower?
As soon as his fingers touched the plant, the pistils began to glow ocean blue. It haloed the brilliant white petals, like a vision. Another strange phenomenon was that the flower was as solid as stone, as if fossilised, and there was no smell in the air.
It was...
“The Traveler.”
At this name, the mourning Fatui suddenly raised her head and clenched her fists.
“Should we send people after her?” asked the pyro agent.
“There's no need. I'll take care of it myself.”
An evil smile spread across the Harbinger's face.
It was finally getting interesting.
And he knew where to look for her.
“And you're sure we're on the right track? Paimon have a bad feeling about it.”
“Sure and certain.”
Lost in the rocky landscape of Liyue, the Traveler and Paimon travelled by night towards their client's home.
Lumine took the object out of her bag, the famous item she had been asked to retrieve, a small machine combining Liyuan and Fontainian mechanical science.
“Paimon wonder what it's all about though...” she inquired. “It must have been really important for the Fatui to guard it so carefully.”
“According to our client, the Fatui stole his creation.”
“Well, he also forgot to mention that in order to create his ingenious invention, he went into debt to the Fatui! What an idea, borrowing money from those guys!”
“You know, money has no smell.” Lumine sighed.
“Maybe, but they're no better than those treasure hoarders! Hmpf! By the way, we still don't know what this thing does? Wouldn't you like to try it out?”
Paimon moved dangerously close to the machine...
“Don't even think about it!” said Lumine, pushing the object out of the little guide's hands. “We don't know what we'll risk if we activate it. So don't touch it!”
“You're mean! What if it makes blob pies? Aren't you curious about what it's doing?”
“Of course I'm curious, but until we know what this machine does, we'd better not use it.”
“Pff, you're so boring.”
“And that's why I'm handling this part of the mission. It's better to be too careful than not enough.”
With that, Lumine reflexively ran her hand through her hair...
“Oh no! My flower! It's gone!”
She looked around. Unfortunately, her second flower was nowhere to be seen. Paimon flew here and there, but she too couldn’t find it anywhere.
“Do you remember where you might have lost it? Maybe you lost it along the way?”
Lumine retraced her memories. A hand coming dangerously close to her face...
“I think it was when the Fatui grabbed my hair. He must have taken it with him.”
Lumine remembered very well. The soldier had done everything he could to get back the object she'd retrieved. Unfortunately for him, he had backed up and fallen to the bottom of the cliff...
“Well, never mind. You'll find plenty more flowers along the way.”
“No, it's a memento of Aether. I... It is irreplaceable...”
Paimon gave a sad smile before offering.
“If you want, we can go back and look for it.”
Lumine shook her head.
“No, let's finish our mission first. I'll go and get it later.”
They continued their way in a gloomy atmosphere. Their client's house was lost deep in the Liyue mountains. It overlooked the Guili plains and offered a superb view of the sea. If the house wasn't so far from the city, Lumine would have enjoyed relaxing in this bucolic setting.
Once they were in front of the building, they saw light coming through an open window.
“Sir, we're back!” exclaimed Paimon.
There was no reply.
“Hello! Is anyone there?” she said in her high-pitched voice. “Rah! There's nothing we can do. He's not answering us. Do you think he's gone away?”
Lumine rounded the corner of the building and saw no other living soul, and when she turned the handle of the door, it gave way immediately.
“There's a light inside and he hasn't locked the door. Maybe he just didn't hear us?” thought Lumine.
The two acolytes then entered the isolated house.
“We're letting ourselves in!” shouted Paimon. “We hope we're not disturbing you.”
Lumine slowly climbed the steps. Each step made the wood creak with a cry of agony, as if it were ready to give way under her weight. Her dress caught more and more of the yellowish light coming through a doorway. The Traveler approached and enlarged the mouth of light, illuminating the entire room. Their client was dozing on his desk and a number of documents and instruments were scattered here and there.
“Sir? Forgive us for disturbing you...”
The Traveler put a hand on his shoulder, shaking him a little to wake him up. His head rolled back, revealing his eyes. Exorbitant eyes. Dead eyes.
“Wah! He's... he's... dead!”
The little fairy put her trembling hands in front of her mouth at this sombre sight and stepped back, looking panicked. Lumine went over to Paimon and took her in her arms, stroking the little celestial being's back.
“We should never have accepted this mission!” said Paimon, her words half-muffled by Lumine's clothes.
“Wasn't it you who said that you shouldn't miss out on such a mission?”
“Yes, but now the reward suddenly seems a lot less attractive...” Paimon lifted her head out of the scarf. “What do we do? We can't leave him like that.”
Lumine thought for a few seconds before concluding.
“There's only one thing to do. Let's warn the Milleliths... And then go and make our report to the Adventurers' Guild. We'll probably be questioned, as we were the first to find it.”
“But we didn't do anything! I don't want to go through the same thing again as Paimon did after the Rite of Descension.”
Lumine remembered very well the chase that had followed and the person who had turned up out of nowhere to help them... She repressed this memory.
“Let's get going. The Liyue Harbor is still a long way off.”
Two days passed. As Lumine had predicted, she and Paimon were questioned at length by the Milleliths. Even Yelan had asked them a few questions after their interrogation. Apparently, the Liyue Qixing were also involved and knew this scientist very well. The Adventurers' Guild decided to shelve the mission. As for her flower, Lumine was unable to find it anywhere, just like the bodies of the Fatui she had fought. Nevertheless, the adventurous life of the two companions took its course and they both headed for the Adventurers' Guild after completing their daily commissions.
“Oh, the Traveler and Paimon!" exclaimed Katheryne cheerfully. How have you been all this time?”
“Katheryne, as fit as ever!” said Paimon.
Lumine reflexively ran her hand through her hair. The emptiness was like a statue with one of its arms removed.
“I have a mission that might interest you.” continued Katheryne. “It's expressly addressed to you.”
“Oh really? To us?!” smiled Paimon proudly. “We're certainly super-mega stars across Teyvat.”
“In any case, you didn't steal the modesty!” remarked Lumine.
“Hey!”
“And what's this mission?” asked the Traveler more seriously.
“Oh, it's just an ordinary bounty. I'm taking the liberty of entrusting it to you directly.”
Katheryne handed the letter to Lumine. The paper she took out was fine and smooth, a luxurious paper. It also smelt faintly of honeysuckle.
Dear Traveler, I sincerely hope that you will accept this mission. To tell the truth, I can only entrust it to you. I have heard a lot about your swordsmanship and your powers.
Unfortunately, my life is under threat. A Fatui is trying to eliminate me by any means necessary. However, neither the Milleliths nor the other members of this cursed organisation from the North seem to want to listen to my complaints. Without proof of what I am saying, no one is willing to act, and I do not want to wait until I am buried for them to finally react!
So I have drawn up a plan that includes you. Tonight, the Fatui and I are supposed to meet at the place I have attached. But instead of me coming, it will be you who welcomes him and eliminates him!
Of course, as this is a bloody and express task, I intend to pay you for your work. To settle this matter, I am offering you ten million moras. I dare to hope that the great saviour of Liyue Harbor deigns to respond to this request and that the reward is commensurate with the task.
Yours humbly and entirely,
Your obligee
“Ten... ten million moras!” Paimon choked.
“Paimon, wasn't it you who said that we should no longer accept missions that are too tempting?”
“Yes, of course, but... Ten million, Lumine, ten million of moras! That's worth at least one hundred of blob dishes! And besides, who's going to regret the life of a Fatui?”
“Ten million... That's still far too much for a simple Fatui.” the Traveler thought aloud. “We're usually paid a lot less than that.”
Lumine admired the elegant handwriting on the letter. It was refined and beautiful. Such calligraphy was not something you saw every day.
She looked up at the Liyuean-style Guild sign... and then back down at the letter.
“Who is this?” asked Lumine suspiciously.
“It's a merchant from Fontaine.” replied Katheryne quickly. “He has come to Liyue to sell clockwork toys from his homeland.”
The Traveler had not yet set foot in Fontaine. So she didn't know how the locals wrote their language. However, she wondered whether the author of the letter was not yet another creditor of the Northland Bank.
“I wonder... Was he already trading in Liyue when Osial attacked?”
“Who cares about that?” Paimon said impatiently. “If worst comes to worst, we'll just have to take a look and go back if it's a trap, won't we?”
“I think it's too perfect to be true...” sighed Lumine. “But I suppose we can always have a look.”
“Great!” Paimon rejoiced. “Let's go ! The feast and the moras are for Paimon !”
Although Lumine was smiling, she couldn't help but have a bad feeling about this.
“Ad astra abyssosque!” waved Katheryne.
The meeting place was an old, dilapidated and derelict manor house. It was close to the south-west exit of the Liyue Harbor, but far enough away not to attract attention. What's more, the cover of night made any transaction... or murder... discreet.
“Brr, that's a spooky place.” Paimon said, not quite so serene.
“Hush Paimon. For all we know, our enemy is already here.”
There was certainly not a living soul around, but caution was still the order of the day. Lumine and her little guide slipped quietly into the cadaverous mansion.
In the half-light, only a few pieces of furniture stood out against the moonlight.
“Hik! I saw something move!”
Lumine turned round. There was nothing. Only a torn curtain swayed lazily.
“It must be your imagination, Paimon. Let's go, I can't wait to go to bed...”
Cracking noises could be heard in the distance and the wind was blowing through the house. Abandoned furniture lay here and there or was knocked over like a rag doll. Everything was silent and eerie. An ideal place for a ghost to live.
They left the hallway and entered what appeared to be the living room. More torn curtains fluttered about and a torn decorative screen in faded colours caught the eye. Lumine stroked the sumptuous designs with her fingertips, but the fragile fabric crumbled under her fingers.
Tac.
A thud.
Paimon, who was hiding behind the Traveler, looked around in panic.
“Paimon can't take it any more!” lamented the little fairy. “Paimon want to get out of here!”
And with that, she ran off in the direction of the exit.
“Paimon, wait!” shouted Lumine.
Light.
Just as the Traveler was about to pursue her, she and Paimon were blinded by this sudden apparition. She blinked several times before recognising in contrast the shadow passing in front of the light source. A slender body with supple, agile muscles, messy auburn hair and that damned dead-fish look.
Tartaglia.
“You!”
Lumine quickly drew her sword from nothing. A dull blade of the most banal kind. The Harbinger remembered this sword very well. And yet, the fact that the Traveler had managed to defeat him with such a mediocre weapon made his victory all the more deserving.
He remained placid in front of the blade pointed at him.
“Well, what a welcome.”
“Hmpf! You're here for a fight, aren't you?” said Paimon vehemently.
The Harbinger swept the air with one hand.
“No, I'm not. In fact, I personally asked the Adventurers' Guild to give you this mission.”
Paimon and Lumine looked at each other in surprise.
“And why did you do that?” asked Lumine suspiciously. “Because, if I may say so, it's not really your habit to act in this way.”
“To find you, Traveler. You travel all over Teyvat. There had to be something interesting enough to make you come here, to Liyue... I hope you like the surprise!”
Tartaglia already knew that Lumine was in this part of the world. But he wasn't going to admit it out loud.
“Yeah well, it's disappointing now that Paimon know where the money came from” the little fairy pouted.
“Oh, don't worry. I'll pay you in time... But before that, I've got a few questions to ask you.”
Lumine advanced her blade towards Tartaglia's chest.
“The mission stipulated to eliminate a Fatui...” Lumine pointed out with a closed face. “Why not do it now?”
Tartaglia sighed as he gently removed the tip of the weapon with the back of his hand:
“Although I like the idea, unfortunately it's not the right time to fight.”
“Oh really?” Paimon quipped, crossing his arms. “Mr. Moras-Gets-Over-My-Pockets is afraid of losing?”
“You killed my men, Traveler. Don't think that would have escaped me.”
“And in retaliation, you killed the inventor.” retorted Lumine.
“Oh, so he's dead?”
That didn't help the Harbinger's case.
“Don't play innocent!” snapped Lumine. “It can only be you who's behind his murder.”
“Yeah, she's right!” agreed Paimon. “Only Fatui would pull a stunt like that!”
“And yet, I can assure you that we had nothing to do with his sudden disappearance. It's true that he had debts with the Northland Bank, but that was the end of it... Let's get back to our business, if you don't mind. Who paid you for this mission against the Fatui?”
Lumine finally tucked his sword away in the void before crossing her arms.
“Have you ever heard of confidentiality?”
“Of course, I'm sure I wouldn't buy you off with a better reward.” sighed the Harbinger, before launching into a sharper line. “However, I don't really have time for riddles.”
As long as he didn't know whether it was the Liyue Qixing or simply the inventor, he couldn't assess the situation fully. Especially as his last scene in Liyue had made certain Harbingers such as Pantalone unhappy.
“No matter how much you insist, I'll remain as silent as a tomb.” Lumine persisted.
The wrong approach. Being too hasty was one of the Eleventh Harbinger's faults. So he decided to change the subject.
“Very well, I won't insist then...” he pretended to give up. “Apart from this dispute, how have you been all this time?”
This question sounded false to Lumine, as if he were talking about the weather today.
“Oh, you mean apart from the disappointing mission I've just received today? I'm doing quests here and there. I explore ruins and, occasionally, the Adventurers' Guild sends me missions to stop Fatuis from causing trouble. Just business as usual.”
Tartaglia's face remained impassive despite the remark. There was absolutely no way of guessing the memories of the Fatui clutching her slain friend or the hatred his subordinates felt for the Traveler... As for the Harbinger's emotions? There was no real need to put them into words. In any case, the Harbinger's jumble of emotions could only be indecipherable. And you don’t cry at Snezhnaya, or anywhere else...
Instead of speaking his mind, he blurted out:
“We also sometimes ask members of the Guild to remove certain members of our group for us. Who knows, you may have eliminated deserters or traitors.”
There was no approval or sadness in his voice. Just a cold fact. Lumine already knew that the Fatui were far from gentle souls, but she would never have thought that the organisation would act so basely even towards its members.
“You really are a bunch of scums...”
He didn't need to hear it from the Traveler to know that. After all, he knew only too well who the bad guys were in the story. Fortunately for the Eleventh Harbinger, he hadn't had to deal with this sort of thing very often... But he knew all too well how traitors and deserters were treated when he was just another Fatui soldier.
“Are there any other lies I'm supposed to know about?”
“Nothing that concerns you in any case. It's not really like me to lie to you.”
“Because you've never lied to me, perhaps?”
“Well, I told you who I was as soon as I met you. It's not like I was hiding it. And anyway, I've always preferred to be direct with my interlocutors. All this diplomatic coating makes me extremely bored. As for my intentions, you knew them from the moment you found out who I was.”
Lumine grumbled. She couldn't really disagree with him there.
“And then” he continued. “I helped you to clear your name with the Milleliths when I could very well have left you in the lurch.”
“Really? But who's to say you weren't testing the quality of your sigil replicas by asking me to show one to the Adeptus?”
“Oh no, I wouldn't dare.”
Liar. Lumine thought to herself. That was the whole reason you gave me one.
“You know,” continued Tartaglia. “while you were having fun with Osial, I was getting ready to welcome the Geo Archon as I should. But as you already know, Rex Lapis never came to the aid of his own citizens. He left them to their fate until the end... Do you know what Zhongli was doing during this time?”
Lumine remained silent. Tartaglia took that as his agreement to continue.
“He was watching your fight with me. Zhongli knew that I was waiting to confront him, but he dared to taunt me in front of me and act as if nothing had happened... If I were him, I would have stood up to protect my people. Of course, I don't spit on his gnosis, but...”
“What are you getting at?” cut in Lumine, annoyed.
“Morax betrayed his people. He abandoned the Liyueans when he had the power to stop Osial. If I were you, I'd be furious at his inaction. But, as it happens, you care little or nothing about that. How... astonishing. I don't know what Her Majesty the Tsaritsa negotiated with him, but even I, I don't think it was worth this so-called ‘test’. In any case, if Her Majesty betrayed us all, well...”
He didn't finish his sentence. The hard look in his eyes spoke for itself.
“Well, not that I doubt her! She would never abandon us.”
Whether it's us, her people, or in our fight against the laws of this world.
And yet, thought Lumine, she wouldn't hesitate to send you to fight in her name. To die for her. Does she really still have any love for her own people? In the end, she was no better than the Geo Archon.
“And you don't mind being on the wrong side?” retorted Lumine.
Tartaglia shrugged.
“Not really, no.”
Even though, he had to admit, he loathed the idea of having used cowardly tactics to summon Osial, the god of the Vortex, and of being considered as a criminal by the people of Liyue. All this was a far cry from the ideal of heroes his father had told him about... But reality wasn't black and white, and he had duties to fulfil against all odds. What he didn't know was that this would be neither the first nor the last time he would be treated like a criminal...
“Is it justice to make innocent people suffer?” said Lumine. “You had the choice not to wake the god of the Vortex.”
“But I never said otherwise. But despite everything that's happened, that doesn't mean we can't be friends.”
“Friends?” raised the Traveler. “After everything you and the Fatui have done?”
“And yet, on a battlefield, I'd be perfectly capable of counting on you for support. Basically, there are only two types of people. Those who fight for an ideal and those who fight for their own interests.”
Paimon frowned and put his fists on his hips.
“What do you mean by that, Mr. Moras-Gets-Over-My-Pockets?”
“In the end, it doesn't matter that we don't share the same goals. We're both fighting for something bigger, something far beyond our personal interests. I want to continue to defend the Tsaritsa's wishes and you want to stand in our way... But that doesn't mean we dislike each other personally, does it? Up until now, we've fought for state interests, never personal ones. I didn't free Osial to drown its inhabitants, but to get Morax to come out of hiding and defend his citizens – at least, that's what I hoped for, ignoring his intentions... And you, Traveler, correct me if I'm wrong, but if you fought me, it was only to stop me stealing the gnosis and not against myself.”
Lumine remained silent. Paimon began to scratch his head in thought.
“That's why I consider you as a friend.” continued Tartaglia. “It's true that we've been through some troubled times. But as warriors, all those moments were enriching experiences, weren't they? I don't think it matters that we're not on the same side. On the contrary, I think it makes our relationship more sincere.”
“Rah, spare us all that gibberish!” complained Paimon. “I think you really need to reread the definition of ‘friend’ in the dictionary.”
“You should be honoured though. Not everyone gets my friendship.”
“That's a relief!” retorted the Traveler. “Oh, but who wouldn't want to be friends with a Harbinger? Frankly, I don't need your ‘friendship’, and I am not and never will be your friend!”
“And yet I'm convinced that you do. I'm sure that if I were faced with an insoluble problem, you would come to my aid. You're not the type to abandon people in difficulty.”
Oh, Lumine knew that very well. How many missions had she accepted because the person made her feel sorry for them? Admittedly, Tartaglia had indirectly helped her to clear herself of the murder of Rex Lapis. However, all this was not without malicious intent. What's more, waking Osial up was an unforgivable crime. All this was still too fresh in the minds of the Liyueans to be swept under the carpet so quickly. Lumine refused to overlook her past actions. She had friends in Liyue Harbor : Xiangling and her father, Chief Mao, Yanfei, the duo Xinyan and Yun Jin and so many others... She would never forgive him for putting them all in danger. She'd never forgive him.
“I can't accept that. You've hurt too many people.”
The Eleventh Harbinger was in the best position to know the consequences of his actions. The fish seller he occasionally took a cut from, the waitress at the restaurant where he regularly ate with one of his old friends, the storyteller from the other day... They all looked at him with contempt and animosity now. The most difficult was the old woman who sold toys from whom he had bought souvenirs for his brothers and sisters, because, while Tartaglia could bear the look of hatred and anger from the other Liyueans, the sad look from this one was unbearable in comparison.
“I can understand that. But don't forget that inaction is also a crime in itself.”
He was clearly referring to Zhongli.
“Anyway,” he continued. “I'm not telling you anything new by saying that.”
Lumine offered only a long silence before replying.
“Do you have anything else to say?”
“Well, there's...”
“Perfect!” cut short the Traveler's attempt to continue the dialogue, “since we've finished this discussion, I'll be off!”
Lumine turned away from the Fatui, while Paimon offered the Harbinger a few grimaces before fluttering away to follow her.
Damn it...
The Harbinger was running out of arguments to get the Traveler to answer him, but it wasn't the right time for Lumine to leave either. So he had no choice but to use his last card.
“It's a shame you're leaving now. I thought I'd give you back this flower.”
Lumine froze on the doorstep at these words.
“Unfortunately, it doesn't smell like much”. he continued, after taking another whiff of the inteyvat. “But I suppose that's to be expected from a dead flower...”
“Give it back to me!”
Lumine plunged at him, but he had prepared himself for the assault and dodged it easily.
“Well, so much enthusiasm for a simple flower.”
Except that it wasn't just a ‘simple flower’. In Lumine's eyes, it was a memento of her brother. His closest friend and confidant. A gift before they were attacked by the unknown goddess and separated as a result... All these tangled feelings were reflected in her amber eyes. The Fatui sensed this and immediately understood the value she held for the Traveler.
“I don't know why you want her so much, but I intend to keep it a little longer... At least, until you finally answer my questions. That is, unless you're so keen to fight to get her back. Not that I mind.”
He gave the most dazzling, provocative smile he could muster.
The Traveler clenched her fists.
“Lumine... Calm down, he's only playing on your nerves.” Paimon tried in vain to soothe her.
“I've got nothing to say to someone like you!”
With a flicker, she drew her sword from nothing to strike the Harbinger in the chest. Having seen the blow coming, he easily dodged it and two blades of water formed in his hands.
“So you're taking the initiative?” he chuckled. “Well, don't disappoint me!”
The Traveler's sword and one of her water daggers clashed. With a quick flick of his wrist, the Harbinger turned the blade in his other hand to catch her in the back. Lumine broke the contact between their weapons and dodged the Fatui's blow.
Their every step raised dust and cobwebs. When a wave of water came towards her, Lumine distorted the mass with an anemo whirlwind, dispersing the element. And when the Traveler reached Tartaglia's height to strike a blow, Tartaglia took care to block, dodge and return Lumine's assaults blow for blow.
The spiders could only flee and hide under the shock of the battle. To think those little ones thought this abandoned house was a peaceful, trouble-free place...
With a kick from his boot, Tartaglia pushed a chair out of the way of the Traveler. The latter recovered in time to narrowly dodge another watery jet from her adversary, and set off again to attack him. However, while in the Golden House, the Traveler had the psychological advantage over Tartaglia, this was not the case here. Her blows sliced through the void, more than they touched her opponent. These confused gestures were the sign of a troubled mind, Tartaglia could see that.
But in a fight, no holds barred.
So he threw the inteyvat into the air.
Lumine, her gaze inexorably drawn to the object of her desire, lowered her guard. She stretched out her hand towards the flower. Her fingers reached out and touched the petals for a moment...
It was the beginning of the end.
Without mercy, the Harbinger struck in the stomach. She rolled to the floor before hitting an old sideboard.
“Lumine!”
Paimon approached her, worried. Having swallowed a gulp of dust, the Traveler coughed before dropping to her knees, her sword stuck in the mouldy parquet.
“It's all right... Don't worry.”
Her opponent's footsteps approached. Paimon flew to stand between her and the Harbinger.
“Don't come any closer, or you'll taste the power of Paimon's fists.”
But he kept coming.
“Paimon warned you! Yah!”
Paimon dashed at the Fatui, his fist thrust forward in a parody of what the Traveler would have called ‘a comic book superhero’. The little fairy touched the Harbinger's shoulder, but he didn't flinch. She stepped back, clenching her ‘super fist’.
“Ow, ow, it hurts!”
The little guide's assault failed, and nothing now stood in the way of the Fatui's march. Once Tartaglia's entire shadow was over the Traveler, she prepared to counter-attack... But the weapons evaporated from his hands, completely disarming him.
He would have liked to say that this was nothing like Lumine. That this fight had been more than disappointing, that he would have liked more from this meeting. But...
“I suppose I can not change your mind, can I?”
Their eyes, one empty of light and the other amber, met. Even before she answered, they both knew the answer.
“No.” she confirmed, leaning on her weapon to get up.
“And your flower?”
Lumine froze. She felt as if she had venom in her mouth as she forced those words out:
“Keep it. I don't need it any more...”
A lie. She absolutely wanted it back. But she wouldn't accept any transaction from this man. None whatsoever.
She walked slowly towards the exit. Tartaglia spoke thoughtfully.
“Traveler, I have one last question to ask you.”
At the doorway, she turned slightly, her hair half-lit by the opalescent light of the moon.
“Have you found your place in this world?”
“My place...”
Lumine knew where it was. At Aether's side, travelling through the different worlds with him. She didn't belong here, in Teyvat. She belonged far beyond the stars. Far beyond the borders and laws of this world.
“As a traveler, I belong everywhere” she lied.
The Harbinger's face closed. It didn't seem to be the answer Tartaglia was expecting, but Lumine didn't care.
With a heavy step, she left the abandoned house, taking the path back towards Liyue Harbor. Her dress caught the moonlight and the caress of the wind lifted her scarf.
As he watched her walk away from the bridge leading to the town, he thought for a moment he saw the Snegurochka of fairy tales and legends.
Finally, he looked at the inteyvat, the flower that bloomed and wilted nowhere in Teyvat, the flower that had no place anywhere in this world. The orange and azure glow diminished as the Traveler moved further away, leaving only the ocean light of the hydro element.
Did the Traveler really belong anywhere in Teyvat? Could he himself find his place in foreign lands? No. The Harbinger couldn't conceive this idea. His heart was far too far from the Liyue Harbor...
Tartaglia murmured to himself:
“I would have hoped that you would have understood, between strangers...”
To be continued...