Omniscius II [Genshin Impact]

53: Glad You're Not With Him

Tying up loose ends is difficult to accomplish, especially if the thread stretches far and entangles with itself. Even if she understood the reason, there were things Soleil still couldn't believe at this point in time.

"Kunikuzushi...," Soleil uttered while gazing contemplatingly at the board full of maps, pins, and pinned papers, "I don't like what you're up to this time."

With the Gnosis in his possession, there's only one goal he could possibly hope to achieve. It has always been the same all these years: have a heart. Become a god.

But how? To become a god is a feat only a certain number of individuals could hope to achieve. The Puppet may know many things, but tampering with the divine is not one of his specialties. If anything...

Soleil's eyes narrowed in realization. There is only one place—one person—he would knew could understand the fundamentals of a Gnosis and the work of divinity...

"Dottore," Soleil whispered grimly, eyes faltering. Was that why Dottore was keeping himself busy in Sumeru recently?

She remembered the glint of sadness and desperation in Nahida's eyes. Dream as it may be, it was still within the little god's power to manipulate. To be able to reach out to her so far from Sumeru...

"Sumeru is not safe anymore."

Naturally, Soleil thought seriously. Where Dottore walks, a dark shadow bordering madness and intellect follow.

The God of Dreams sent her a message. But why? What did she hope to achieve in visiting the dreams of a woman so far out of the nation?

"What did you want to tell me...?" Soleil whispered. Even if it concerned Dottore, what was she expected to do? She wants nothing to do with him anymore.

Nahida has her reasons, but maybe Soleil didn't know enough to follow her train of thought. As hesitant as she is to deny the little god, there was nothing she could do at the moment.

Besides, she had other things to tend to. Soleil sighed and released the curtain to fall, draping the board of threads and clues.

She looked over her shoulder as she regained calmness. "If there's something you need from me, now's the time to say it," she said, "There's no point standing there like a creep."

It was silent. Childe chuckled wryly as he stepped out from behind the door, scratching the back of his head apologetically.

"Sorry. I came to check on you, but I didn't want to disturb you in the middle of your thinking mode," he said. Soleil sighed.

"You didn't have to. I was just contemplating my next move," she said. "'Our' next move," Childe corrected.

"Heh," a small smile touched Soleil's lips as she looked away, "Right. I guess I should be thanking you for joining me in this predicament. You didn't have to."

"Like I would pass on an opportunity to see you work on the battlefield," Childe's lips curled in amusement as he approached Soleil.

"An opportunity for us to work together finally presented itself, but it won't last long. So don't be afraid to take advantage of my strength," he grazed Soleil's chin with a forefinger as he smirked down at her, "Use my power as you like. It's all yours this time."

Soleil's eyes flickered with unreadable emotions as she met Childe's eyes. She touched the mask adorning his head gently.

"You're lucky I don't intend to abuse the authority you're giving me," Soleil said amusingly, "The fact that you're Fatui prevents me from running you dry until you become useless."