Rising Storm || Genshin Impact

51: Excessive

hey guys i literally dont play genshin anymore and i completely forgot where i left off for this story but tbh i wanna continue cus i want to list this as a passion project for uni applications also i rlly miss writing fantasy shit so this is def not gonna be the level of writing quality i wanted it to be when i first started (cus i literally forgot what i wanted to write) but here we go ! (this is the chapter i deleted before but i like reworked some stuff)

"Master Jean!"

Sucrose burst through the door to Jean's main office. There, the Acting Grandmaster sat nervously at her seat, fingers intertwined with her head hung over the backrest. She seemed to be in the middle of a conversation with Venti, who stood beside her with a stern look on his face.

"Sucrose!" Jean immediately sat up. "Agh, come in and warm up. It's pouring outside. Please, don't catch a cold."

Albedo followed into the room shortly after, an amethyst pendant dangling in his hands.

"We have leads on Y/N," he said calmly, showing Jean the necklace in his palm. "We found it in the middle of the woods near Cape Oath, just past Dadaupa Gorge."

"The Gorge?" Jean muttered, blinking. "Down south? Why would she have strayed so far from the city? And at night, nonetheless."

"People in the city say they saw Y/N leave with a smile on her face. It seemed that she was simply going on an evening stroll. Nothing was off-putting about her at all." Sucrose shrugged.

"Marjorie - the shop owner - said she gifted this necklace to Y/N after she helped with a commission," Albedo uttered as he handed the piece jewelry to Jean. "She was in a good mood when she left, but judging from the tear in this necklace's string, Y/N must've ripped it off her neck in anger."

Jean shook her head. "This doesn't make sense."

"It does, Jean," Venti suddenly butted in. "It's all adding up."

Albedo raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Venti walked over to the group, his eyebrows furrowed in guilt. "Jean, this is what I came her to tell you."

He turned to Albedo, "You are correct, she did leave the city just to take a walk. I met her near Starfell Lake, we had a talk..."

Venti took a deep breath. "She asked me a question, I didn't give her the response she wanted. She stormed off after that."

The room stood silent.

"Are you implying that she left Mondstat out of her own will?" Albedo spoke up.

Sucrose's eyes widened. "Mm, but that can't be! Y/N is Mondstat's Honorary Knight, she's done so much for the city! Surely, she won't just leave because she wasn't satisfied with an answer to her question?"

"I don't want to believe so either, but we must take her emotional state into consideration," Venti protested. "The question she asked was about a promise I failed to keep. I lied to her, and just maybe, these are the consequences...."

Albedo looked confused. "Let's take this slowly. What was the question she asked?"

"Why don't I have a Vision yet?"

Y/N's desperate voice, the image of her pleading eyes; the memory rushed into Venti's head, but he quickly shoved it away.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you. You'd ask for the answer," Venti muttered, shaking his head.

He chuckled bitterly. "Frankly, I don't even know the answer myself. Still, I find it hard to believe that someone as dutiful and passionate as Y/N would completely abandon their work over something like this."

"But it's not an impossibility," Albedo muttered under his breath. "We don't know exactly how Y/N is feeling, or what feelings she may have been suppressing that could explain why she lashed out in such a way."

The rest of the group turned to look at each other with worried looks on their faces.

"Perhaps a continuous sequence of minor, yet cruel events had left a harmful impression on Y/N's heart," Albedo continued. "Who are we to assume that these effects weren't strong enough to change Y/N's mind?"

...

The walk to Zapolyarny Palace was surprisingly, not too bad. The barren land was frigid with a thick blanket of snow covering every inch of the ground. Against the cold, harsh wind, Y/N was forced to walk. But with the pleasantly thick jacket the Fatui had given her, the traveler couldn't feel even a fraction of the blistering weather. She was comfier and cozier than she'd ever been.

"I don't like this," she murmured under her breath. But the puff of warm smoke from her mouth gave away her words.

"What, don't tell me you're still cold?" Childe jeered.

"No," Y/N spat. "Actually, yeah. I'm the coldest I've ever been. I'm just surrounded by Fatui for Archon's sake."

Just then, the guard that was escorting Y/N gave a sharp tug on her restraints, to which the girl yelped at in surprise.

"Ha!" Signora snickered. "Well I suppose you better start getting used to us then, hm?"

She leaned closer to Y/N's year. "Don't you worry, little girl. Your little Knight friends aren't coming for you. We've made sure of that."

When Y/N was finally met with the palace's front gates, she stood with her jaw agape in shock.

Behind the shiny, golden bars stood an astoundingly massive castle; about ten times the size of Mondstat's cathedral, Y/N estimated. The wall were coated in icy blue and regal violet. Layers of sharp, pointy towers surrounded the main palace in a coil that resembled the Tsaritsa's silver crown.

The area was heavily armed with soldiers dispatched in every corner. Compared to serene, carefree atmosphere of Mondstat, Y/N could've easily mistaken this place for a military encampment.

(im making this shit up idfk what the palace looks like LMFAO)

"Impressed already?" Childe smirked.

Y/N's jaw immediately snapped shut.

Suddenly, the gate opened with a shrill creeeek! The soldiers led Y/N down a hallway with glassy floors and mulberry walls, which were lined with gold-framed portraits of Fatui alumni.

They stopped when they reached a pale, white double doorway. Faint silver patterns were carved into the smooth limestone. Y/N thought that doors of this architectural caliber were a bit excessive for the dungeon she was about to be thrown into.

"A dungeon," Y/N thought. "Surely, that's what this is. A dungeon. They'll throw me in a dungeon."

The guards opened the doors to expose a suite worthy of the Tsaritsa herself.

The king-sized bed had lavender curtains draping from a golden roof. A crystal chandelier hung from a dome-shaped ceiling, painted with intricate, ambrosial designs. There were delicate paintings, huge mirrors, silk pillows and everything. There was even a grand piano, not that Y/N knew how to play.

"This is your room," Signora said.

Y/N just gawked.

"This..." she stammered. "Is a very excessive dungeon indeed."

The guards threw her onto the soft, white cushions of her new overly lavish bed. Signora let out a satisfied 'hmph', switched off the lights, and walked away without sparing a glance.

"Well, she seems busy," Childe snickered. "But I will be more courteous. Go to sleep, Y/N. We'll see you in the morning."

Y/N heard their fumbling footsteps as they left the room and began to move only when she heard the door hinges creak shut. She sat up in her bed with her eyes wide open.

"What the fuck."