My Dear Friend | Chilumi

The Storyteller

Lumine and Paimon walked out of the Inn that morning , light-hearted and preppy. She was genuinely interested in Zhongli's story , but she also saw an opportunity to talk to Childe . She was looking for reasons to justify not hating him. At least be on a neutral stance, even if neutral was a small word for all the mixed feelings she experienced in his presence. She wanted him to share more of his true colours, even if she was scared of what she could find under his childish persona. She was also scared to be a little bit too much like him sometimes, to find parts of her in him. She had already experienced his maniac side when he attempted mass destruction by reviving the old God Osial in an attempt to get the Archeon of Geo out of hiding. Only to have his backup plan fail miserably while also experiencing a complete anhilation by the traveler. That part of him scared her. But then he would turn around and do anything for his brothers and sisters, when he talked about his family, another side of him showed up. Something felt different when they were together. Whatever was inside of him was definitely not inherently evil , but he was definitely not a hero. In any case, she would see where the day would lead her.

A fog covered the harbour that morning and the air was chilly. The sun was peeping through the clouds, indicating the weather would get nicer later in the day. They took the scenic route along the port, admiring the calm sea and feeling the air getting warmer as their walk got close to their destination. They passed next to the
Adventurers guild, Kathryne was there , as always. She stood still , but her eyes moved to follow the Travelers as they passed by. She is really weird. Lumine thought. Once they arrived at the tavern, they picked a table and ordered a tea set in advance for the others. The wait was short as Zhongli walked up the stairs first , and Childe joined them a few minutes after Zhongli. Everyone seemed happy to be there. Lumine broke the ice and started questioning Zhongli about the adeptus.

"How this you come to fight alongside Gang Ming Zhou ?"

His fingers holding his chin, he began his story.
"During the Archeon wars she was one of my generals. She fought and won many battles, she always pushed me to the edge and gave me insight I never would have imagine into battle strategy. She would sometimes be irritating, pushing me to the limits of my patience so that I would bend to her will of war. In the end , I would not have become the God of Geo if it wasn't for her natural talent in the arts of battle."

The God seemed reminiscent of the past times, reliving his old life from aeons ago. He did not seem to relish the war , but more about his time alongside his friend.
Tartaglia also seemed very interested in Morax's story, but for different reasons.

"Oh to have been an aspiring God during the archeon war. The battles , the bloodshed , the power available to the taking. I would have loved to be the last one standing." He seemed lustful at the thought of power. It sent a chill down Lumine's spine. His eyes screamed of determination and desire, hued Darker than usual.
Something was definitely not right in that man's mind. But then in an instant, his eyes returned to the dull ocean blue that she could usually see, and his menacing grin turned to a light-hearted, but nervous laugh.
Lumine looked at him, obviously concerned for his mental well being.

"What ?" He asked in a harse voice. His mood had switched yet again.
Lumine was now assured something was wrong with him. No sane person goes from murderous, to happy to broody in a matter of minutes. She was definitely going to explore that later.
Zhongli didn't seem to take his comment to heart and looked at Lumine, ready for another question.

"So what happened after the war? " Paimon asked in her place.

"Well, most of the fighting had stopped, my people and I were in Liuye harbour, some of them stayed with her or established themselves in other regions of my territory. For her, the war had never stopped. Any one who dared attack her people were met with a swift death. Sometimes, she would assault potential opponents before they could make a move. And one day, the people she fought so hard to protect, some of them turned on her, viewing her as a tyrant. They killed her. Or at least that's what they though. I didn't find out she was dead until many years later. I was told she was sealed in a tomb she has made in advance years before her death. She had kept the location in utmost secrecy. Only few of her followers knew where to find her. I didn't bother to look , as I was occupied with other important matters at the time. It is a deep regret of mine to not have looked for her earlier. In the end, her survival in the tomb, sealed with her own magic, only accelerated the erosion of her mind and body, driving her to madness no doubt. Death was her only possible solace from her torment."