The Archon's Domain [Oneshot]

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When I opened my eyes, I was in a field of cecilias. The wind blew softly through my hair as I tried to remember why I was there. As far as my eyes could see, only Cecilia and butterflies mingled. There was no human in sight, and I wondered if I was dead.

Would my dearest friend come for me?

Would they leave everything behind for me?

Would my lover remember me?

I do not know, for I can only hope that they are not sad anymore. I hope all their sufferings cease with my end. May they find peace in themselves and forgive those with wretched hearts. I sincerely hope that they find it in their hearts to forgive me.

When I looked at my reflection in the nearby pond I found that I looked completely different from my real form. My blue eyes reflected strongly against the calm waters and I felt thankful towards the last piece of my being. My eyes are the ones that I was told to be the most beautiful and I would be forever grateful for being able to have some sort of similarity.

From there, I spent centuries travelling. Helped as many people as I could on road, I went from place to place offering a lending hand. And then slowly I started forgetting my very being. What made me, me? It did not matter anymore. I was truly happy to be of help.

When the great Archon War finally ended, only corpses were left behind. Any semblance of normality because of the War was thrown out of the window. People began to scramble to find their way in the new era, rituals to honour the dead were held in some places while other places had forbidden humans from touching the dead.

Before long, plague infected the lands. The cries of Humans went unheard, the Archons too busy to stabilise their lands. It went on until someone finally found a cure, the Archons whom people thought had betrayed them administered the cure themselves. And before long, they each found the newfound respect of their people. They were revered, and Shrines and statues were built in their honour.

And me? I continued travelling throughout the lands, becoming afflicted with human diseases but always making a full recovery. It was very strange but I stopped questioning it eventually. My body was too weary to question the eventual passage of time around me.

I watched on as civilizations began and ended, the only thought in my mind throughout the centuries was to find my purpose. My memories had withered away leaving me with nothing to go on with and I began asking myself when it would all be over.

A few centuries later, I met a doctor; he never came off as malicious, but an utter lack of compassion permeated our conversation. He had a madness in him that I had never seen in others, a thirst for knowledge. He did things according to his own amusement, never heeding others. He was a curious little thing, deeply intrigued by the strange machinery and the Seven Gods as people came to know them. His questions were sometimes borderline on hearsay, asking about a civilization that was never under the authority of any of the gods.

I later learned that he was called Zandik, a researcher from Sumeru Akademiya. Many hated and revered his knowledge during his stay at the Akademiya.

A few years later I realized that he was growing too out of control, the child that I looked after due to my own amusement and entertainment had begun to experiment on children. When I finally realized what was happening, it was already too late for me to stop him. He had grown too strong for me to stop him, I was only satisfied when the Aranara had taken the children away from the cruel experiments. There was a man named Abbas who was supposedly 'saved' by Zandik by some 'special' methods. He was the first one to be cured of the deadly disease called Eleazar but Zandik's ways left him with no choice but to ask for my help.

I tried to help him as much as I could, I wanted him to leave even though I myself was under Zandik by that time. I had nowhere to go and my blood was somehow useful in treating his disease. I learnt that my blood was extraordinary in a way that was never seen before. My previous wishes to leave ended when Abbas came begging for the help of me who was just another one of Zandik's experiments by that time.

Later he wanted to create a god from my flesh and blood, I had vehemently disagreed. A god was not something a mortal should delve into, neither was it something that could be created just because someone wanted to.

However, my wishes went unheard and I had fallen into a trap.

When I woke up, I found myself alone. The facility looked aged and dirty. Plants and mosses were covering every surface. Being immortal did not mean that I would always be healthy because when I took a step away from the cylindrical container that had held me all this time I found myself falling over. It took me another few weeks to gain enough energy to not kneel over at every step.

I was afraid that Zandik would still be alive, I never underestimated him after falling under his power. When I went outside the hidden facility I found myself in ruins it took me another three days to find signs of human life only to come face to face with none other than Zandik himself.

Without a moment's notice, I ran away, I knew that I wasn't strong enough to fight him or anyone for that matter. I was barely able to handle him back then winning against him at this time with this body was impossible. I found myself running through mountains and cliffs. Endless valleys and mountain peaks greeted me during my run and I couldn't help but feel that it was familiar. I had no recollection of ever coming to this part of Teyvat and yet it was as if I knew this place like the back of my hand.

I wanted to explore this mysterious feeling a bit more but the thought of Zandik kept me on my toes.

When I finally went out of the mountains the nostalgia started weighing heavily on my chest, until I couldn't breathe.

It might have been my imagination but nature seemed to be welcoming me, there was a sweet feeling in the air but the heavy feeling in my chest didn't wane. On the horizon, I noticed that something was sparkling and as I got closer and closer I found that it was an ocean.

When I finally set foot on the harbour what greeted me wasn't the crowd of people going on about their ways but a pair of amber eyes that seemed to be dripping gold.

And for some reason, everything suddenly felt right. 

I was finally at home.