Chapter Text
Zhongli I
Zhongli had made a mistake. Admittedly, he could not have anticipated this occurrence, but he should have left Yilong Wharf the moment he had sensed a certain someone’s presence. After all, that certain someone was impossible to not notice.
But now here he was, standing next to his boss as he stared at the Chief Justice of Fontaine with wide, horrified eyes. Yes, he was in the presence of none other than the Hydro Dragon Sovereign, Iudex Neuvillette. The very being that wanted to judge and possibly kill him. This was most certainly not what Zhongli had had in mind when he had acquiesced to accompany Director Hu to Yilong Wharf where she had agreed to meet Miss Furina for talks.
He had most certainly not expected for Neuvillette (and his admittedly adorable daughter) to escort the former Hydro Archon.
It was obvious that Neuvillette had not expected to see him, either.
Zhongli instinctively took a step backwards, his polearm materialising in his hand. Yes, he was terrified of the being in front of him. He had immense respect for the Dragon Sovereigns of old, he had befriended the one whose Authority he wielded. But this dragon was most certainly out for his blood.
Those incredible eyes narrowed, their white pupils glowing brightly as the dragon growled lowly, “You…”
Zhongli took another step back, his hand clenching around his weapon.
“Uhhh,” Director Hu’s gaze jumped in between them. “What exactly is going on here?”
“Neuvillette?” Furina asked.
The little dragonling looked at Zhongli, then at her father, confusion written all over her face.
“Ah, Furina! And Miss Hu Tao!” A cheery voice suddenly interrupted them, and Zhongli flinched.
Director Hu gaped at him.
“Oh, and Monsieur Neuvillette and Étoile?”
The Iudex kept his eyes on Zhongli even as he answered. “Miss Navia. And Miss Clorinde.” His daughter remained silent.
“Hehe, fancy meeting you here. And Mister Zhongli! I didn’t expect to see you again. What a small world, huh?”
It was indeed Miss Navia, and Zhongli let out a shuddering breath. “Miss Navia. The pleasure is mine.” He didn’t take his eyes off the Dragon.
“Are we… interrupting something?” Miss Clorinde asked slowly.
Yes. Please do keep interrupting.
“Probably,” Miss Furina said, then jumped in front of Neuvillette, waving her arms widely to catch his attention. “Teyvat to Neuvillette! What is going on?”
And the second Neuvillette moved his attention from Zhongli to the female human, Zhongli turned on his heels and bolted (yes, he could have teleported away, but then his secret would have been spilled right here in the crowded centre of Yilong Wharf). Call him a coward, but he would prefer to continue enjoying his retirement instead of dying. He preferred to live.
He had just made it to the outskirts of Yilong Wharf when he felt that peculiar sensation of being attacked. It was a feeling he had not felt for a long time –
The (retired) Geo Archon twisted out of the way of a jet of water, turning on his heels as he threw up a shield to protect himself from the following attack. When the water dispersed, he looked up and saw a stoic-faced Neuvillette stand at the Wharf’s entrance, right hand raised. Behind him, the humans came running, and Zhongli knew that his secret was about to be exposed quite spectacularly.
“It matters not where on Teyvat you are,” Neuvillette said softly, his tone leaving no doubt that he would keep his promise, “I will find and judge you, Deus Auri.”
Zhongli clenched his had around his polearm (when had he called it into his hand again?).
“Papa?” Étoile asked, confusion colouring her sweet voice.
“Will someone please explain what’s going on here?” Miss Navia panted as the four women reached them. “Monsieur Neuvillette?”
“You should leave,” said Zhongli, “his grievance is with me.”
Director Hu stepped in between them. “I thought you’ve never met before?”
“We have not,” Neuvillette confirmed. “But that is unnecessary, considering who and what he is.”
“What do you mean?” Miss Clorinde asked.
Neuvillette narrowed his eyes before growling lowly, “One of the usurpers who owe a debt that can only be repaid in blood.”
Yes, Zhongli was truly and utterly fucked, to borrow the common vernacular. But Liyue and his adepti would be able to survive without him, small comfort as it was for him. Hopefully they wouldn’t mourn his actual death too much.
“Uhhh,” Director Hu made. “What?”
The Iudex glanced at her. “You would know him as the Geo Archon.”
Silence spread, with the humans having various degrees of disbelief written all over their faces. They gaped at Neuvillette, then Zhongli, before exchanging glances.
“Didn’t he die?” Miss Furina finally asked.
Zhongli sighed.
“You’re… Rex Lapis?” Director Hu repeated. “I mean, I always suspected you to be an adeptus, but the Geo Archon? Aiya! You organised your own funeral!”
He sighed again, his eyes never straying from the Hydro Dragon. “After ruling Liyue for three thousand and seven hundred years, it was time for me to retire. This is an age for humankind and… I was tired.”
“You’re… Rex Lapis?” Miss Furina whispered. Then she shook her head. “No, wait. Why does Neuvillette hate you?”
Zhongli fell silent.
Neuvillette gave a soft scoff. His incredible eyes flickered to his daughter before hardening, apparently coming to a decision. “Because he wields a stolen Authority and calls himself a god. He… is from Celestia.”
“Uhhh,” Miss Navia made.
This would not end well. Zhongli needed to leave, right now. Without a way for Neuvillette to trace him, which meant regular teleportation was out of question. He raised his hand and drew a string of sigils into the air, one that would take him away –
Neuvillette shot water at the sigils right as they activated –
Oh, by Celestia.
The last thing Zhongli saw were Neuvillette’s wide eyes, then everything faded to darkness.
***
Jing Yuan I
The state of the Luofu was a mess, if he dared admit it to himself. And if Jing Yuan was anything, it was honest with himself. Ever since the Stellaron had somehow entered the worldship, his Master had returned, and the Trailblazers somehow had found a supposedly nonexistent world – well. All the Mara flaring up was causing him a headache.
Jing Yuan sighed deeply as he stared out of the Seat of Divine Foresight, tuning out the incessant rambling of his Lieutenants. It was nothing he hadn’t heard or read before. Besides –
He narrowed his eyes. Were there… He blinked. No, he wasn’t seeing things. Jing Yuan whirled around and sprinted out of the war room, barking orders all the way. Yanqing appeared at his side when he boarded a starskiff. Fu Xuan was already there, her arms crossed.
“What is all the fuss about?” She asked.
Jing Yuan raised an eyebrow at her as the ship started moving. “You don’t know, Master Diviner?”
She crossed her arms, lips pursed. “No. For whatever reason, what’s is happening is shielded from my sight.”
Interesting. Jing Yuan hummed lowly, his gaze directed at what had caught his attention. “We won’t make it.”
Fu Xuan huffed. “No. I did notify the healers.”
“If there’s anything left for them to heal,” Yanqing muttered.
Jing Yuan winced as the two bodies hit the floor. No human could survive that deep a fall. As the starskiff got closer, three things became clear, however: there was no blood whatsoever, one of the bodies was moving, and there were actually three beings lying there.
As the starskiff came to a halt, Jing Yuan was able to make out even more details. Two bodies were male, one a young girl. One of the men was clad in mainly browns, blacks and golds and had black hair that faded to gold at the tips. The other one was wearing robes in different shades of blue, black and white and had incredibly long, silver hair. He was curled around the girl who had long, black hair and wore an intricate blue and black dress.
And then, impossibly, the man with the dark hair started moving, a soft groan leaving his lips. He pushed himself upright, then opened his eyes, and Jing Yuan forgot how to breathe. Those eyes were the most beautiful gold colour (more so than Jing Yuan’s own eyes, admittedly), shining with intelligence from his incredibly handsome face, accentuated by a red eyeliner. That golden gaze looked around, took note of the other two figures lying on the ground beside him before falling on the starskiff Jing Yuan was on.
With a fluid motion that should have been impossible for someone who just took a three-hundred-meter fall, the man rose to his feet. His body was lithe, but there was most certainly more to him than met the eye. Jing Yuan could feel some kind of power from him. Then he said something, but it was not a language Jing Yuan was familiar with (it didn’t distract from the shivers-inducing low timbres of his voice).
“My apologies,” Jing Yuan tried in the common language of the universe. “We don’t seem to understand you.”
The man frowned.
“Could it be that he doesn’t have a synesthesia beacon?” Yanqing asked softly in their native tongue, and the man’s eyes widened.
“Do you understand me now?” He asked, a strange accent to his Xianzhou.
Mild surprise spread through Jing Yuan and a smile found its way onto his lips, while at his sides both Yanqing and Fu Xuan stiffened. “Indeed.”
The man hummed and the lines around his eyes softened. He opened his mouth to say something, but a low groan from the other man interrupted him. Jing Yuan noticed with interest how the conscious man’s face became guarded and his entire posture tense.
And then the man on the ground opened his eyes as he pushed himself up, and Jing Yuan forgot how to breathe. The dark-haired man (and he really needed to find out their names, nameless male 1 and 2 were not a good long-term solution to call them) was incredibly handsome. This one, however, was the definition of ‘beautiful’. Well, ‘beautiful’ might be an insult to him, actually. His eyes only accentuated his noble looks, with their unique silver-lilac colour.
Nameless man 2’s attention immediately went to the little girl and he checked her over, the relief palpable when he apparently found out that she was fine. Only then did he look around, and Jing Yuan did not only find out that his white pupils were rhomboid, but that he also had pointy ears. Not like the Vidyadhara, but rather human-shaped with pointy ends. He said something, his voice soft and deep, and the black-haired man replied.
“They do seem to speak my native language,” the golden eyed one said, and pointy ears frowned, eyes narrowed.
“Hm,” Pointy said, displeasure twisting his lips. “What a coincidence.” (He had an even weirder accent, akin to that of a non-native speaker. But Jing Yuan could not identify it.)
Jing Yuan cleared his throat. “Could I trouble you for your names?”
“I am Zhongli,” the dark-haired man said, and his lips quirked upwards despite his still tense posture.
“Neuvillette,” the other man replied as he gracefully rose to his feet, cradling the unconscious girl in his arms. “And my daughter, Étoile. May I inquire as to who you are and where we are? These lands are unfamiliar to us.”
Jing Yuan exchanged a look with Fu Xuan, and he could see his thoughts mirrored in her gaze. He raised an eyebrow and she crossed her arms, to which he couldn’t suppress a smirk. She huffed in annoyance and looked away, a clear ‘go on’ radiating from the air around her.
With a soft chuckle, Jing Yuan turned to the unexpected and undoubtedly mysterious guests. “I am Jing Yuan, Arbiter-General of the Xianzhou Luofu, the worldship you are currently on. These are Master Diviner Fu Xuan and my retainer Yanqing.”
“The Xianzhou Luofu?” Zhongli repeated slowly as if savouring the words. He looked at Neuvillette, and the taller man frowned slightly. Then they started a heated discussion, and Neuvillette’s voice got progressively colder and colder while Zhongli’s got dangerously close to a growl. Then, Zhongli snapped something and gesticulated at their surroundings, and Neuvillette pressed his lips together. When the latter spoke up again, his tone was flat but lacked the previous fury.
Zhongli’s posture immediately relaxed and he turned to Jing Yuan, his incredible golden eyes shining warmly. “Our sincerest apologies. It does seem that we accidentally ended up on a different world during a… magical mishap.”
Neuvillette scoffed, but he somehow made it sound elegant. “Indeed. We need to find a way back as soon as possible. Some of us have responsibilities that cannot be easily assumed by another.”
Zhongli hummed thoughtfully.
These two definitely had something going on, some kind of history that had them speak in threatening tones to one another. And yet, here they seemed to agree on what to do.
It had been a while since something truly unexpected had happened, something neither he nor the Divination Comission had foreseen. And Jing Yuan really wanted to unravel that mystery.