paradoxical | genshin impact

30 : overdue.

Mona groaned for the nth time, getting up from the desk as she stretched out her limbs. It's been a while since she had to hunch over a solid surface, so she's quite unused to the strain. But the moment her eyes drifted back to the materials in front of her, the hydromancer reminded herself that time is of the essence.

No one knows when things are going to blow over. No one knows whether a forgotten nation is actually out for blood or not. But the best they could do is prepare for the worst.

Their temporary stronghold at the Favonius Library had to be relocated somewhere else. The Acting Grandmaster and the other knights have noticed something amiss in Librarian Lisa's abode, and because of that, Eula proposed to move their operations to another location. That being: the quarters of one Sister Rosaria from the Favonius Church.

Mona didn't exactly have the pleasure to make her acquaintance beforehand. All she knew was that the sister and Eula frequently kept in touch about all things questionable. She wondered if the Reconnaissance Captain consulted Rosaria before her missions... Either way, that was besides the point.

All she needed was a quiet space to sift through the mountains of records they've gathered so far. A few days ago, they'd been heavily preoccupied with studying the origins of the Eclipse Dynasty—Khaenri'ah's final line of hereditary rulers. Although Mona had the inkling that they'd already gone across everything they needed to know.

Captain Kaeya of the Knights definitely had a hand in this, one way or another, but something told her they were overlooking something. Something important.

That's when Mona proposed to look into Fontaine's records of Khaenri'ah.

"Fontaine?" Rosaria had asked with raised eyebrows. "What does that have to do with a country that fell during the Cataclysm?"

The hydromancer shook her head. "Nothing at all. This is more of a...personal concern."

Lisa spared her a sigh. "This is about your little bartender friend, isn't it? Captain Kaeya's lover? Jean knows her personally, and from what I heard, the little bird is from Fontaine."

"Does this have something to do with the vision you saw?" Eula asked. "I've yet to meet her, but if she has that much power over that spy..."

Mona hummed. "I'm never given visions that grim unless they mean something else. If my hypothesis is correct, then the two main players should be her and the Captain."

"So you're saying Kaeya and his little girlfriend actually go way back?" Lisa suggested. "Further than their own childhood?"

The hydromancer nodded as she closed her eyes, recalling the day she first met you in the cliffs of Cape Oath. The weather had been overcast at the time, making skies difficult to scry, but when Mona managed to glimpse at your constellation, she'd already figured there was something different about you.

"Pyxis Nautica. The Wayfarer's Compass," she muttered.

"Hmm, I can't quite understand what her constellation has anything to do with Kaeya and Khaenri'ah, but..." Lisa hummed before meeting her gaze. "She's the Compass for this year's Ludi Harpastum. Very peculiar, indeed."

"All the more reason to look into it," Mona sighed.

Eula raised a hand in question. "But what if that's all mere coincidence? We can't really afford any more drawbacks, Mona Megistus."

"Coincidences don't exist in the loom of fate, Captain. Everything happens for a reason." The astrologer sighed, still unable to forget how Kaeya's sword sunk into your chest during that split second vision. "But I wonder what could've happened for things to turn out like that... "