I Plead, Your Majesty, For Forgiveness

Chapter 3

The common can be lost as quickly as the valuable.

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The weakest fell, subjecting himself to the distress that others barely heard of. He was referred to as brave for how he decided to test the situation, but he knew the Creator would despise how easily he was defeated.

So all he could do was fight in their honour, to make up for his failure.

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The expecting gaze of the Alchemist became unnerving, almost as if he believed he deserved all the praise in the world for the helpfulness he displayed. He was right, but it was still a weird expectation to make so obvious. [Name] couldn't help but avert their eyes, bringing a hand to their forehead as they did their best to wrap their mind around everything he had told them. 

Whilst Tor believed [Name] created Teyvat, Albedo was insistent on the fact Teyvat had been created for them. They weren't sure if it was just due to the two's nature, but it was still an odd difference. "Your Grace?" His voice didn't waver, even after speaking for so long, but he had at least settled his tone. He didn't wish to upset them after all, not again.

"I..." They trailed off, unsure of what they could even say in response. They shuffled from where they sat, upon the desk that he had so generously cleared for them, as they sighed. "I still don't get it." He faltered, "it wasn't because of you!" They quickly spoke, noticing the defeat in his eyes, as they waved their hands to capture his attention. "I just... Give me a minute to process, okay? I'm sorta slow at this."

He was ready to refute the statement but, after seeing the exhaustion in their eyes, he decided to allow them the peace they needed. Silence seemed to echo from the absence of his voice, leaving nothing but an uneasy feeling of misunderstanding and insecurity that neither could shake off. He knew they said it wasn't his fault, but he couldn't help but chalk up the miscommunication as his own doing. He knew it was a flaw of his.

[Name] lowered their head, furrowing their eyebrows. It didn't make sense. Tor's offhanded guess seemed more accurate, which was strange as Albedo was known for his rational thinking and his educated guesses. He barely went into any other detail, focusing on the fact Teyvat was made for them: that every location was made especially for them, which couldn't be further from the truth considering the mountains are so inconvenient to climb. "I have..." They watched him perk up, "these powers, right?"

"Yes." He nodded, anxiously rolling his wrist as he realises the lack of information he had actually given. He said a lot, but a lot of nothing. "You are able to call upon this world to assist you." 

That felt wrong too. The world of Teyvat has done very little to actually help them, but assisted others by using them as a vessel. "Where did you find this information?" 

"It's common knowledge within Mondstadt." He hesitated ever so slightly, "at least... the books within the Knights of Favonius Library believe so. I..." He knew otherwise, didn't he? 

"Do you have any of those books?" With a reluctant nod, he busied himself with finding the borrowed books as he struggled to ignore the eyes staring into his back. They knew, didn't they? Was this a test? His gloved fingers gently caressed the spine of the book before his nails dug through the fabric and to the hardback book. Was he correct in doing this? "Albedo." His irises shrunk in fear from his name; his hands began to tremble; his legs froze in place.