Faded Harmony

He Who Knows

Lyra, who didn't actually want to but had no choice since it was a direct order from Kaeya, headed around town, asking about the blond-haired traveler who had graced the City of Mond with his presence. People pointed her to the tavern, and she felt a vague irritation that Diluc hadn't told her. When she confronted him about it, he shrugged and said she hadn't asked, and that he had mentioned he was a wine connoisseur. Lyra wondered whether he was going to say something about the Knights of Favonius being inefficient again, and was pleasantly surprised when he had refrained.

Walking into the tavern, she glanced around, before hearing Charles from the counter. She quickly squashed down the disappointment that arose in her. "Anything you would like?"

"Not today," said Lyra, her eyes focusing on a blond-haired man she had never seen in the town before. "I came to socialize today."

Charles followed her gaze and nodded, before tending to the glasses on the shelves.

Lyra headed over to the corner of the room, making sure not to bump into anyone since fights did break out often, and Diluc wasn't here to save her. There was a strange energy about the mystery man, something that she couldn't place, a long-lost one that didn't belong to the seven elements of Teyvat. An anomaly, like her.

"Hello."

He ignored her and continued to sip his wine.

"Are you from Khaenri'ah?" she asked, setting the feeling into place.

He finally glanced back at her, his eyes holding annoyance. "Say that a bit louder for everyone to hear, why don't you?" He gestured to the seat across him. "Have a seat, but feel free to decline. I have no interest in speaking to a god."

Lyra stood frozen for a second as if Kaeya had attacked her again, before she sat down mechanically, both their eyes on each other, the way a predator would stalk their prey. The history books had said that Khaenri'ah was a nation of humans, destroyed by the gods, but that was almost five hundred years ago. She hadn't even been around that time.

"May I have an answer to my question?" she asked.

He gazed at her, his blue eyes dark. "I would rather this not be a one-sided conversation. For every question you ask—" he tossed a coin her way, which she caught with surprise "—I will ask one." She nodded as he continued. "I was a guard of Khaenri'ah, unable to protect it from the gods." His eyes held a hint of hatred, but Lyra decided that it wasn't aimed at her, seeing as she took no part in the battle.

"That was nearly 500 years ago. Are you perhaps immortal?"

His lips twitched upward, and Lyra realized that was a question. She tossed the coin back to him. "Who sealed you away, and who released you?"

"How do you know...?"

"I know everything I should."

Lyra nodded, deciding not to question him about his extensive knowledge. "I was sealed by Osial, the Overlord of the Vortex, in the Archon War many years ago. As to who released me, I'm afraid I'm yet to find out, but I'm quite sure someone's been experimenting with the Sigil of Permissions."

He pushed the coin across the table, and Lyra picked it up. "Yes, I was cursed with immortality, left to wander Teyvat. Now my goal, my sole purpose in life is to destroy the Abyss Order. Lyra flicked the coin back to him as he continued, catching the coin midsentence. "From what I hear, you are no God of combat. Why were you locked away?"

She considered his question, as the memories of the snake-like voice came back. "Because they could? Because I may have been a threat in the future? It's hard to say." He flipped the coin to her, and she caught it. She regarded the Mora, turning it over in her hands. "My friend was murdered and my house was trashed, probably because someone was searching for something. What did they want that was worth murdering over?"

His eyes softened by a fraction. "You already know the answer to that question."

"A gnosis?"

"They may have thought that all the gods had them. They appear to be misinformed, as only the seven have gnoses."

"So do you mean..."

"The Seven will have theirs stripped from them soon. It appears the Fatui Harbingers are collecting them for the Tsaritsa."

"The Cryo Archon." It was more of a statement than a question, but he nodded in confirmation.

She tossed the coin back to him, and the shadow of a smile passed over his face, as if he knew her next question anyway. "So why are you, a former goddess of Liyue, here in the City of Mondstadt?"

"Osial is sealed away, not dead. And I am no traveler; I have merely grown fond of this place."

"Of a certain person I may add." And that was when Lyra knew he hadn't missed her disappointment when she had seen Charles at the counter instead of Diluc. He pushed the coin across the table.

"What does the Tsaritsa want with the archons' gnoses?"

"Power. But for what purpose, I cannot say." Lyra tossed the coin back to him with a finality, that she knew he felt as he turned the Mora over in his hands before pocketing it. "My final question. Do you think the gods favor those with a Vision, or those without?"

Lyra was taken aback by the question, at the sudden change in direction. But his blue eyes said that there were no wrong answers. "Well, perhaps neither?"

He nodded and stood up. "Thank you for filling the blanks in my knowledge, Lyra."

"Your name?" she asked, realizing he knew her but she didn't know him.

"Dainsleif," he said, as he walked out of the tavern.

Lyra sat there replaying the conversation in her head, when Kaeya walked in, giving the door a backward glance.

"You just missed Dainsleif," said Lyra, walking to him as he headed to the counter.

His smile spoke of a secret the two of them were sharing, a secret that Lyra wasn't sure she knew. "Then we probably won't be seeing him again." He looked to Charles, who nodded even before Kaeya ordered 'Death after Noon.' He regarded Lyra again as he sat down in the high stool. "There was something I wanted to give you."

"What's that?" Lyra asked, her head tilted.

He scanned Lyra's eyes, before reaching into his coat and pulling out the piece of fabric, the one salvaged from the Dragonspine. Lyra's eyes darkened, before she shook her head and offered him a smile. "Thank you," she said as she relieved him of the cloth.

"I was thinking you'd like to have it, perhaps... bury it in the memory of your friend. The tree near the Statue of the Seven has always been regarded as a place with the power of Celestia."

She nodded, bidding him a farewell as she left, heading to the foot of the tree, the place with the power of the gods.

Someone placed a hand on her shoulder, as she whirled around, already knowing who it was.

"Need some help?" asked Diluc.

Lyra nodded, gesturing to the ground on the side of the tree. "I want to bury something."

He nodded, and together, they dug a small hole in the ground, the anemo crystalflies watching with curiosity as they fluttered past. Lyra gently placed the fabric inside, realizing that was all that was left of her friend, and Diluc closed the ground again. She left some dry Glaze Lilies on the makeshift grave, just so that she and Nocturna would feel Liyue again.

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