Genshin Impact | "The Last Night in Aaru Village" | Alhaitham x Lumine

A Force in Teyvat, Part 1

 A Force in Teyvat, Part 1

Elica

The whole day felt like a fever dream. In a span of several hours, Elica had not only witnessed the opening of the Khaj-Nisut but also the revelation and the disappearance of the man responsible for it. Thereafter, another stranger appeared who claimed to be a toy seller but wielded two gnoses. He had drawn its powers to produce a portal next to the throne and jumped right in like it was the most normal thing to do. Those were only the beginning of the shocking events that transpired in the ancient structure.

Their bodies swayed as they sat on a wagon bed installed atop a desert sumpter beast. The docile creature trudged along following a group of eremites who guarded them on foot. She clutched her cloak closer to her body, feeling the chill of the desert night air and surveying the people who were sitting next to her in silence. Opposite her was a serious chap who had introduced himself as Cyno, the General Mahamatra of the Akademiya. Beside him was a lass who called herself Jeht. They had two other friends named Dehya and Candace marching in front of the beast together with the eremites.

She watched the Mahamatra's alert face as she recalled the turn of events in the Khaj-Nisut.

"So, he really went in thinking he can somehow revive the Traveler... And he also said he is the Scarlet King's successor before vanishing?" Cyno asked.

"Yes," Elica confirmed. She clutched her cloak tighter.

The man suddenly flinched and instinctively covered his ears as if he had heard a loud noise even though the throne room was completely silent other than for their voices. His face cleared quickly, then he turned to her as she watched the man in rapture. "We need to evacuate this place, madam. I... I'm not exactly sure, but I think something is about to happen."

"Um... okay... but what about Alhaitham? And that man who disappeared into the portal?"

Cyno blinked. "What man? Another person came here other than you and Alhaitham?"

"Yes," she said in a shaky voice.

Cyno paused, obviously running his memory. "Is this person from Snezhnaya?"

"I don't know. He didn't say. But his bloody outfit does scream Snezhnayan fashion to me..." she said contemplatively. "Oh wait, I remember! He introduced himself as a toy seller. His name is-"

A deep throated howl rose from the depths of the Khaj-Nisut. The ground began to shake and the man who was on his knee fell off balance as Elica crouched down in fear. Sand dripped from the cracks on the walls and Cyno whipped his head around to see what was happening, both of them on high alert in case any of the pillars break which would lead to the collapse of the ceiling.

"Archons, what's happening?" Elica cried.

"Madam, there is no time. We have to go now!" He helped the lady to her feet as he got up. They rushed to the hole at the far end of the throne room which was the only way out, legs trembling from the continuous quaking.

As they were about to jump, Elica stopped in her heels, her cloak fluttering around her. Cyno looked to her with urgency. "Wait the bloody hell! I forgot my pack!" she said as she groped her back in alarm. The sorceress had left her bag on the spot where she had been slumped for a long time.

"Can't you just leave it behind?" he asked loudly.

"No, I can't! I have valuable items in there!" she yelled, trying to be heard from the incessant wailing of the Khaj-Nisut. The both of them turned and she sprinted in haste to retrieve the pack, grabbing it by the roped sleeve without thinking much until her eyes fell on a mound on top of the throne. She did a double take and immediately perceived it was a body of a person. Alhaitham.