[Warning. Continued gathering of -Faith- leads to creation of -Barbatos-]
[Warning. Forceful inclusion of User into Celestial Decree has been detected]
[Warning. Conflict with User's greatest wish detected. Conflict must be purged]
[Warning-]
[...]
[The System cannot harm the User]
[New solution created. Integration of Star Rail System successful-]
The first thing I heard when I woke up was something shattering. My eyes would've gone wide open in surprise, but my whole body felt slow. Even just trying to open my eyes felt like I was prying open an iron gate—every inch of my body felt like it was submerged in tar.
But I pushed through it. Forced my eyes to open regardless. Slowly my blurry vision began to clear as light filtered into my eyes.
And what I saw was…odd. I was down on my knees, and scattered around me were pieces of amber, similar to the ones I'd seen at Qingyun Peaks. But they were no mere amber, since it wasn't hard to see how each scattered piece was glowing.
I took a small breath, and began to cough as I choked. My body felt weak, but more than that, it felt jittery. Unused.
I tried to push myself up, and as expected I began falling as my arms and legs lost their strength. But before I could hit the ground, a pair of gentle arms caught me, wrapping me in an embrace.
The arms that held me looked familiar, and blinking, I looked up to find that it was Guizhong. But she looked subtly different. She didn't look older or anything—gods don't visibly age after all—but her presence felt different. More mature, I suppose. It reminded me more of Morax for some reason.
"Gui…zhong…?" I whispered, before I coughed again. My throat burnt with every syllable I spoke.
She quickly shook her head. "It's okay. You don't need to speak, Venti." A calm smile came onto her lips, but I could also see tears gathering in her eyes. "It's-, good to see you awake." She took a breath to calm herself. "Is-, does it hurt anywhere? Are you in pain?"
Pain? No, not really. I just felt really heavy.
"...slow." I wheezed out.
She nodded. "That's expected, since-, um." She shook her head. "Anyway, it's good to hear you're okay." She smiled genuinely as she lifted me higher. "Come on then, I'll bring you to-"
Before she could finish her words, the door opened, and in came Morax. He at least looked and seemed the same, but he smiled in relief as his eyes fell onto me. "You are awake." He said with a light breath.
He then stepped around a fallen wire basket—that must've been what I heard earlier—and came before me. And to my surprise, he bent down and patted me on the head. "It is good to see you awake once more, friend."
…a bad feeling boiled in my gut. The tears in Guizhong's eyes as she held me, the almost-nostalgic gaze Morax had as he first saw me; an idea on what happened to me was building, and I did not like it.
I grit my teeth as I forced my lips to speak. "What…happened to…me?"
Guizhong and Morax glanced at one another. Guizhong frowned, but Morax shook his head gently. "He deserves to know." He said. Guizhong looked away with a scowl, before she took a deep breath. She then slowly nodded, though she still kept her eyes away.
Seeing her nod, Morax sighed. "You have been asleep, my friend." Morax began. "You fell unconscious once the Calamitous Rain ended, and we have not been able to wake you." He frowned slightly. "We could not discover what was wrong. You were not sick, nor were your injuries so devastating that you would fall like you did."
I gulped. I had a really bad feeling. "Morax." I managed to say clearly. "How long?"
Morax was silent for a moment, before he closed his eyes. "If my mind holds, it has been seventeen years, my friend."
…
…
…
WHAT.
[With the eradication of all opposing gods in Liyue, Celestia decreed that the first Archon to be put in place]
[Possible candidates with fitting Elements: Morax and Venti]
[The User's destiny must not be shackled to the False Sky]
[Through the aid of the Aeon Lan, the User's existence was put in stasis, shielding the User from Celestia's gaze]
[With only one candidate remaining, Celestia chose Morax as the first Archon of Teyvat. Receiving his Gnosis, he is now called the Archon of Geo]
My eyes were wide as I heard my System's explanation. Celestia thought I was fit to be a potential Archon? At first I'd been surprised—almost flattered—but then I heard how doing so would shackle my Destiny to the False Sky that hung over Teyvat. And though I wasn't quite sure what all that jargon actually meant, I somehow knew that it wasn't something I could afford.
But-, still. 17 years? That was how long they took to finally put Morax as Teyvat's first Archon? Geez, how slow were they?
…damn it.
I closed my eyes and shivered. I-, had to force myself to think of anything else. I'd just lost 17 years of my life without me knowing. I knew it was for a good cause, but to know that something so drastic could happen without me knowing-
It scared me.
I slowly glanced back, and behind me I saw a large cylinder of glowing amber, though it was shattered now. Judging by what'd happened, I assumed Morax had probably sealed me in that cylinder of amber, waiting for the time when I'd finally wake back up. 17 years I'd spent stuck there. 17 years.
I despised how familiar that felt.
"Venti?" I heard Guizhong call me, and I blinked to find her staring at me in worry. "Are you okay?"
"Not really." I admitted, gaze somewhat blank. It was still hard to hammer in the fact that I'd been asleep for so long. "But I'll get better. Eventually."
We all fell silent after that. Morax and Guizhong occasionally shared silent glances, all while I remained in Guizhong's arms, staring dully at the floor. Then Guizhong's eyes narrowed with determination, and she forced a smile onto her face as she lifted me slightly. "Hey, Venti." I hummed as I turned to her. "Wanna go explore? You've been cooped up here for so long—might as well see how everything's doing, right?"
I blinked a few times, before I slowly nodded. That…sounded like a fine idea, actually. It was better than getting lost in my head at least.
Now beaming, Guizhong quickly moved me into Morax's arms as she sped to the doorway. "I'll be back with some clothes!" She said as she ran out of the room. I blinked as I registered what she said, and looking down, my cheeks went warm when I realized I was barely wearing anything. I only had a white towel wrapped around my waist, and that was it.
And now I was being held in Morax's arms. Oh dear.
It was a good thing no one else was here to see me. That'd be a disaster.
The silence as we waited for Guizhong was awkward. Or at least it was for me. Morax looked perfectly content just helping me, and all I could do was endure the butterflies in my stomach.
Guizhong soon returned with some green robes for me to wear. Thankfully, she'd returned with some gender-neutral ones instead of the feminine hanfus she liked seeing me wear. Wearing the robes was a little difficult—I could barely move my arms after all—but with some help from Guizhong, I got it done eventually.
Now fully clothes, I began making my way out. I had to rely on Guizhong and Morax to keep me standing, but both were more than happy to hold my arms as I walked forward.
And soon, I came out to the streets of Liyue Harbor. It was midday, and the streets were full of people. Many turned their eyes when they saw their two gods together. Some were confused as to who I was, but many who were older gasped in shock when they saw me, clearly recognizing who I was.
An elderly woman soon approached and bowed before me, tears in her eyes. "Lady Venti!" She said, her voice light with joy.
When everyone else heard what she called me, they finally recognized who I was. Many joined the woman and bowed in reverence, and some of the Millelith soldiers who were passing by stopped and gave me a salute. And I could only stand there in surprise, seeing their sheer reverence and gratitude at seeing me awake.
Guizhong giggled as she held my arm. "Everyone's been waiting, you know." She whispered, a fond smile on her face. "A lot of people saw you collapse, but no one lost hope. They all believed you'd awake some day."
"You are the Winds that blew away the Storm." Morax added, holding my other arm. "Their faith in you is no less than mine." He smiled. "And so no one dared to fall to despair, believing-, nay, knowing you would one day wake and cast your eyes upon them once more."
"You brought us brighter days." Guizhong finished, smiling brightly at the skies above. "All of Liyue is forever in your debt."
[Detected a significant shift in Destiny of all of -Liyue-. Achievement -Fate Defiance- has taken effect. Rewards have been moved to the Inventory]
…oh, come on. How-, what could I even say after hearing all that? This wasn't fair—let me wallow for a little bit longer!
I laughed gently. "So dramatic." I whispered, though the smile on my face had only grown. "Alright, alright. Come on," I winked at my friends. "Show me around, will you? I wanna see how everything's changed."
Guizhong grinned. "Of course!"
Morax smiled. "Let us."
And so, hand-in-hand, my friends led me around Liyue Harbor.