Genshin: The Archon War

Hero of Earth!

Upon arriving in the marketplace, Venti gasped softly.

"Wow... I've only ever heard stories..." Barbara hummed as they navigated to the Church. She knew it wasn't in the best condition. They may have Lady Noelle as their guiding light, but the Church was always a disaster and the Order was never in there. She gulped.

"Be ready. I don't know what'll be inside." They nodded as they slipped their bow into their hand.

"The stories say that this is the only Church to have darkness lurking, right?"

"Yeah... I believe so." They stepped in as hands stayed on their weapons. The good news was that nothing dared to near them as they reached the statue. The place didn't look good as she gulped. Venti hummed.

"Nothing... better than actually Darkness, I guess." She hummed as she knelt down.

"Let's see if we can get a sign." They nodded as she closed her eyes and prayed. A sudden yelp got her to get back on her feet.

"Bad idea-" She turned as a dark fog neared them. She frowned as a wind arrow was notched. "Let's see what we can do about this-" Venti fired the arrow, getting a gentle breeze to push the darkness back. "That's a start-"

"BOO!" The darkness scattered upon the word as someone bursted upon the doors. The duo jumped as the girl there giggled. "Ooh! I scared more than the dark. Silly silly silly." She went over with more giggles. "Are you two ok?" Venti put their bow away as Barbara smiled.

"Yes. Thank you miss-"

"Hu tao. And no need for the thanks. The dark thinks it's funny, but it's not." She scanned them. "I take it you're here for the Order?"

"Sorta. We came here to reach out to Lady Noelle." Hu tao giggled.

"Well, you won't find it here. The whole order fled to some sanctuary." She hummed. "Oh! Are you here about the prophecy?" The two looked at each other.

"Uh- yeah. How'd you-" She giggled.

"I'm Flame Blessed. Bennett sent out a message to all members saying that there would be a group." She pulled out a paper. "Lady Diona actually had it."

"Hm..." Barbara took it and opened it.

"As mountains carved by spirits of old
To guard and care for those of order and gold
Touching of heaven and light may the warrior stand
The Sanctum of Earth may be led by thy's hand"

"Sanctum of Earth..." Hu tao giggled.

"There's an Accountant who knows Liyue Marketplace like the back of his hand. Maybe he'll know." Hand. Barbara hummed at that word.

"Do you know where we can find him?"

"He should be out wandering. Let's go find him!"

~

They found the mysterious accountant as he started going around stalls. People were very grateful as he assisted with finances and other things. Hu tao led them over.

"Mr. Zhongli!" Hearing the sigh that slipped from his lips confirmed with Barbara that this girl was normally this insane.

"Hu tao. Don't you have work with the other Flames?" She stuck out her tongue.

"They told me off for an hour. I'm respecting it." She then grinned. "I have people searching for you!" He sighed again as she giggled. "Away I go!" She bolted like a kid as the duo glanced at each other. In a more presentable manner, Barbara cleared her throat.

"Mr. Zhongli, right?" He smiled as he turned to them. "I'm Sister Barbara from the Church of Mondsadt. This is Venti, the Hero of the Winds. We are hoping you could help us with our search."

"Of course. How may I assist you?" She showed him the paper.

"We are looking for the Hero of Earth. This is all we got from the Gods in context of it." He hummed as he scanned the paper.

"Ah... the Sanctum of Earth. That was made by a very kind Earth Blessed person. They made it to guard the Order of Liyue and the Council of the Marketplace." He then smiled. "I'm sure the creator may be who you are looking for. To find it, there is a path near the gates that lead to Mondstadt. There's a bit of climbing you'll need to do, but the sanctum is up there." She smiled.

"Thank you very much." She took the note back as they went.

~

After what felt like an eternity, they got up the mountain. Venti was able to get up with ease. Barbara was only lucky because she was not weak.

"My sister is going to regret pulling her sword on me after this-" Venti chuckled as they reached the sanctum. Barbara gasped at the sight. There was a more put together church, a fairly sized palace and a decent size village.

"An Earth Blessed person made this...?" Venti was in complete shock as they looked around. A voice came from behind them as they paused.

"Very much so. A power strong enough that mountains carved by spirits of old." Barbara halted upon hearing that. She had only shown two other people that paper. Even more so, only one person was matching the paper. She turned around as Zhongli went over. He smiled at the surprise on her face. "I didn't want to say anything before since we were surrounded by people and the darkness is a lot deeper down in the market. I needed to get the conversation above it." Venti, at this point, had turned around.

"So you knew it was talking about you?"

"There's only two other Earth Blessed people here in Liyue. I hate to say it, but they don't come close to that paper." He smiled as the ground beside him glowed. With little effort, a spear came out, entering his hand. "In any case, I'd be happy to assist you in your quest to defeat the darkness. Lady Noelle will appreciate my involvement." She smiled.

"In that case, we best get going."

~

Aether was still out. Lumine called Noelle to check him to see if they needed Kirara.

"It would be best to call her. It doesn't seem like a normal cold. I can care for him until she arrives."

"Thank you, Noelle."

She then went out with a sigh. She was going to kill someone.