Legacy | Genshin I. |

Chapter VII: Act XVII

Cw: mention of PTSD
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Scaramouche
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"You've actually managed to find this place. Congratulations. Hah. Barely two words in and you already look like you want me dead," the Sixth Harbinger, Scaramouche, said once he entered a room of exhausted figures who had just finished off fighting multiple Fatui agents.

(F/n) felt their body freeze up when they saw the familiar Harbinger right in front of the group.

(Y/n) scowled at the purple-haired male that held a cocky smirk on his lips.

"You're manufacturing Delusions..." Aether hissed out as he glared at the Sixth Harbinger.

Scaramouche raised a brow, an amused twinkle in his eyes. "Oh, so that's what this is about. I think you've got the wrong idea. I know how this looks, but I'm just here to follow orders. I'm obviously not the mastermind behind this. Aren't you two supposed to be pretty tough? What are you two waiting for, go get them."

(Y/n) watched as a smirk grew onto Scaramouche's lips as he ran a hand down his face, showing a glint of insanity inside of his indigo hues.

"You're getting all worked up over nothing. Pff, you've changed... You're getting weak," Scaramouche snickered.

"How can you say this is nothing?" Paimon rudely asked in nothing but pure anger.

Scaramouche pressed a finger to his lips and smirked once more. "How can you call it anymore? It's the way of the world. Human life is worthless. They were always going to die, with or without a Delusion. At least having one gives them a chance to fulfill their ambitions. Do you have any idea how useful the Vision Hunt Decree is to us? It took a lot of work to make it happen. Obviously, it was in our best interests."

The Harbinger then turned away from the group of four and stared at the sliding doors in front of him.

"Good news is, our hard work is finally paying off. Generating conflict creates a big market for Delusions. Now we just let the promise of power draw in the weak..." Scaramouche trailed off as he looked at the group once more over his shoulder, "For just a small price, they get the feeling of controlling the world. Trading their life for supreme power... pretty good deal, don't you think?"

"So the Fatui started the Vision Hunt Decree? You've been behind it all along?" Paimon asked in horror.

(F/n) eyes widened in horror as they watched Scaramouche bring out a small boxed remote control into his right hand, and clutched it.

(Y/n) gritted his teeth in anger as his Dendro vision lightly tapped against him.

Scaramouche turned to look back at the group. "From the outside, Inazuma looks pretty impenetrable, but on the inside... it's a land of opportunity. With a little effort, we were able to break them down from within. Eternity stretches things out over a long time. But each moment within it becomes all the more fragile. Take your friend in the resistance, for example. There's nothing you can do now. He's a lost cause. Just like a bubble on the water. Beautiful for a moment, then total destruction. The more it takes from them, the more tightly they hold onto it. And the more incompetent they are, the more determined they are to fight it! Hahaha, it's such a farce, you have to see the funny side," he laughed.

(F/n) shakily lifted a hand to their throat when they watched Scaramouche run a thumb over the controller he had in hand.

"Don't you dare mock Teppei..." Aether retorted back in anger.

Slowly, purple mist surrounded the group of four in tidal waves, cornering them at every angle as it swallowed the group's feet at ankle-deep.

"Hey! Aether, calm down..." Paimon exclaimed, trying to calm down her first father figure.