ׂ╰┈➤ 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐓 : ❝𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐘, 𝐈'𝐋𝐋 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐔𝐆 𝐘𝐎𝐔.❞
The beautiful Queen of Thorns. A descendant of a ruler of Celestia, yet never fought for it's divine seats laid for the false gods in the mortal...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
chapter thirty-six: “adrift in the harbor.”
(n/a: favorite chapter since I'm a ganyu main. also, there's a reason why the grandmother killed baal, makoto, instead of beezlebul, ei.)
—
“WHY HERE OF ALL PLACES?”
THE QUEEN questioned her former husband, staring at the storyteller in Third-Round Knockout. He chuckled and drank his tea while they waited for the Traveller and Paimon. Because of their help, they managed to get what was needed for "his" so-called funeral. In exchange, he'll treat them to a worthy meal...
"You don't like the atmosphere?" He questioned.
"It's not that... I never knew you liked hearing stories," she corrected.
"Am I not allowed to try new things, love?"
"I never said that. And don't call me love." She just averted her gaze and amused herself by listening to the stories the storyteller was saying. It didn't last long as Lumine appeared, "Oh! Hello, dear Traveler." She greeted her with a smile.
"Hi, Tsunotaro!" Paimon smiled as well while Lumine only looked at the food, seemingly down about something. "Don't mind her. Paimon thinks Traveler is tired!" The floating child said before settling herself above (Name)'s head.
"There's no need to order. I've already done so," the brunette assured. " 'Third-Round Knockout' isn't for lightweights, like those taverns in Mondstat. Here, the owner doesn't take such unorthodox orders as fruit juice."
"So, does that mean I can order wine this time?" Lumine questioned.
"I ordered some wine-fermented sweet rice balls for you if that counts. Ms. (n/n) ordered a bottle of wine earlier, but it seems she already drank it all..." He chuckled while looking at the empty bottle beside (Name)'s cup. "I see that Ms. (n/n) is fond of wine and beer alike. I never thought you were a drunkard," he smiled.
(Name)'s eyebrow twitched but forced a smile, "I'm no light drinker... One bottle won't get me drunk easily," she said.
"I guess I should have expected this..." Lumine sighed.
"If it's your liking, dear customers, I shall continue the tale of Lady Ningguang's chamber..." The storyteller, who goes by the name Iron Tounge Tian, said.
Paimon seems to like there's a storyteller, keen to listen as she played with (Name)'s little horns. Zhongli seems to be fond of this place because of the great atmosphere, besides the fine wine of course. (Name) just hummed while continuing to listen to the story, interested to hear the story about the one responsible for having her wanted by the Millelith...
"As you all know, high above the land of Liyue lies a pavilion in the clouds, a palace in the mist..." The storyteller continued. "What does it mean to have all-seeing eyes? This, my friends: Lady Ningguang's masterwork bridges earth and sky. Imagine, the weather is clear, and you gaze down from the deck at the world below. BEHOLD! The glorious sights of Liyue Harbor, stretching out far and wide."
They say that when Lady Ningguang ponders important affairs. She retreats to her Jade Chamber with none but her confidants in tow. Why bring the trusted three? To sift through sources, dig through documents... Looking for information. Piece by piece, facts and figures, and paint a picture on the walls of the Chamber. But well before the wall is filled, Lady Ningguang's mind is made up.
Have made every call and she has made every last document shredded. FWOOSH! She scatters the shavings out of her window. "Ah, look at them! How they billow in the wind like a sudden swirling blizzard" As the fragments fall, traces of text flicker before the eyes of the merchants of Liyue like ink stains in white snow. The saying goes: the rarest treasure in the land is the words brought by the paper snow. In the words of Tianquan have the power to move mountains and throughout the land knows it.
"Hm, strange... But reasonable," (Name) uttered.
"These are but scraps, and yet they guide Lady Ningguang's hand—such is their value. Merely grasping one or two of them will surely gift you a fragment of her wisdom—enough to stay a step or two ahead of your peers," Iron Tongue Tian showed them papers that he believes to be Ningguang's shredded information.
"Tianquan Ningguang... Don't you think we're hearing this name a lot?" Paimon asked, bothered. "Liyue talks about her, the Fatui hates her, she's most likely to hide the Exuvia, the one responsible for blaming Tsunotaro, and we saw her at the Rite of Descension. Paimon wonders what kind of person she is."
"... I want to say something unpleasant, but then again... She believes I'm the descendant of the Thorn Archon," (Name) whispered and Zhongli almost spat his drink. Lumine and Paimon gasped silently, "Don't ask how I knew it. If I have the chance, I would like to talk with her," she uttered.
"At last, I have found you! The ones who returned from Jueyen Krast," someone said.
(Name) looked above them and saw one of her children—the half Qilin Ganyu. The crybaby often sleeps together with her and Morax/Zhongli. The said child widened her eyes when she saw (Name)—confusion and loss between them. It's as if fate wants the Thorn Archon to reunite with the children she loves and spent (even though it's a small amount of time) raising them into who they are now...
"I'm not a part of the Millelith nor I'm claimed to take you as bounty. However, I'm an emissary of Liyue Qixing, secretary of the Yuehai Pavilion—I go by the name Ganyu. I was sent to meet you..." She introduced herself. (Name) still remembers those were the same horns the young Qilin used to boast (hers are smaller since it's a disguise, "Well... In concrete terms, I am the corporate secretary for Liyue Qixing. At the moment, I'm serving as the emissary of Lady Ningguang."
"... Hm, why did she send you, Ms. Ganyu?" (Name) questioned. "Funny to say we were just talking about her."
"My apologies, Ma—I mean, the ones who returned from Jueyen Krast. I am duty-bound and couldn't extend my courtesy to you in full," she apologized. "But I have with me a letter from Lady Ningguang. She extends a formal invitation to you in her capacity as the Tianquan. She invites you to her palace in the sky."
"An official invitation?" Lumine and Paimon asked at the same time.
"Lady Ningguang said this: Invite them to come here. I wish to meet them. At the Jade Chamber, together, we shall snip every one of those entwining dark threads." Ganyu said before disappearing.
(Name) got out of her seat, "I fear I must go... I'll see you soon in the Jade Chamber," she said before following where Ganyu went.
