NOCTURN BRIDE • genshin Impact | ✓

CHAPTER TWENTY.

living was like a burden that haunted the apostle. a distasteful lie; a lie that haunted her memories ever since the day she'd set foot in teyvat.

but for a moment, it was a beautiful lie.

it begun, as a gorgeous lie — to say the least. when barbatos and rex lapis portrayed teyvat to be a splendid masterpiece of wonders, the kindness, the society, the community. though, the existence of teyvat is nothing more than a mere delusion. it existed, simply for humans to coexist and corporate.

but of course, only those up in the hierarchy had the power to command. for the low beings in the society, what is the true freedom?

they simply coexisted without knowing what their fate was. what would happen to them the next day, or the day after.

they simply existed as a form of entertainment for the heavenly deities to fiddle around.

now, the apostle had a vision. a journey she had wished to embark on, to cleanse teyvat and do a favour to let everyone escape their terrible lives. vanquish the corrupt system that the archons had implemented; making her life oh so horrible.

she was going to take everything she wanted — including the lives in teyvat — what's the point in respecting others property? the apostle wasn't planning on putting a polite facade and simply smile at the vile archons.

she needed to build distrust of teyvat onto others. of course, it was rather simple. making people despise and hate her, was as easy as making them like her.

meticulously craft a mindset of hatred towards the society inlaid, show the ignorance that the archons displayed.

"to create a peaceful world, precautions are necessary." dwindling with the ends of her bangs, the apostle let out an exhilarating sigh. "and the only way to create a society that everyone is happy about, wouldn't it be necessary to annihilate the ones that are unsatisfied?"

it is without a doubt, that genocide would be classified as a morally wrongdoing and ethically non-civilised.

ganyu and xiao however, did not question the apostle. her teachings, her ideologies, her perspectives — they embraced them instead — because for them, the apostle was someone who holds power and authority.

they; nothing more but a mere weapon ready to be discarded at any moment.

the apostle is absolute, and that was final.

but why? perhaps, it was a sort of animalistic instinct that told them that she is their master — similar to how humans differentiate the good and the bad, the pretty and the ugly, the damsel and the hero — she just brought a sense of authority that they could not refute.

"similar to an occurrence of natural selection." a game between a predator and its prey. the cycle of life was indeed fascinating! a shame that it didn't apply to the dead like her. "the strong survives, the weak dies."

wouldn't that classify the apostle being weak?

why of course! it simply meant that she wasn't strong enough to survive. to live in the cruel world, she simply wasn't enough.

so she needed others to live in her stead as her time remaining was limited.

yes, she had died. in fact, she is dead. she knew it wasn't barbatos's fault that he left her in the pile of corpses to rot and decompose — war wasn't a playground — as her body was mangled up in an unrecognisable manner, distorted and dismembered; she is undoubtedly death itself.

but a part of her couldn't help but despise him.

the way barbatos was far too weak. the way he couldn't protect her like a knight in shining armour. the way his epitome of freedom was flawed, far too flawed.

the concept of freedom was twisted in a way she couldn't imagine. freedom is a form of not being constraint; an ability that many took for granted. but in barbatos's eyes, intervention for the greater good was a form of restraint.

so he let her die.

but how- why did she come back to life? a question that constantly rung in her head like a never ending symphony.

though, the more the apostle inhaled the crude airs within teyvat, the more she understood why she was brought back — and who. well, wasn't it simple?

after all, when a death belonging to a descendant of the heavenly principal occurs; chaos and uproar up above in teyvat occurs.

she must live, regardless of her own choice. alas! at least the apostle found a reason why she wanted to live. not a reason, but more of an obligation.

if she lives once more, only then, could she die.

but before her departure, she had to cleanse the world. the cruel, hideous land of mortals tainted with unsightly and twisted ideologies; innovation, freedom, promises and whatnot.

she ought to rid them.

"once a new generation comes, they won't know what is war. let alone corruption." humming along the airy tunes of the atmosphere, the apostle bent down slightly, slender hand swooping over the delicate petals of a qingxin flower. "all we need to do is purify the people who oppose us!"

the apostle, a cunning jester; or a fool, some may call her. as if in a sarcastic awestruck manner, she admired the translucent petals. it reminded her of her youth, of innocence, back before when life was far too complex; it was simple, an easygoing lifestyle that she had wished it lasted ever after.

but her story didn't begin with a once upon a time.

"we depart to mondstadt in a week." with peering eyes that glued onto the flowers, the apostle sighed, before her hand gruesomely crushed the flower — that crumbled and disintegrated into bits of fallen remains. "then shall we begin."

"understood."

"excellent! as expected, you two are really the best~" the apostle let out a fleeting laugh of melody, praising the two adeptis that gazed at her with riveting eyes. "i suppose our quick catch up has ended! until we meet in the upcoming... revolution."

oh, she was their master. their king, their one and only master. shall they be her sword and shield to the upcoming chaos. but the apostle couldn't help but leave a snarky grin on her face as an anemo swirl surrounded her once more.

yes, indeed they were perfect soldiers and puppets for her to control. but the apostle couldn't help but laugh.

"ah, such fools they are."

the fact they'd mistaken loyalty as slavery amuses her.

━━━━━

( CHAPTER XX )

𝕸𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓  𝐢𝐢
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