I Plead, Your Majesty, For Forgiveness

Chapter 12

WARNING: Small warning of claustrophobia! Not too much detail but the visualisation might be an issue for some people!

Mistakes cannot be atoned.

-

[Name]'s footsteps alerted the Geo Archon even more as he took his own steps forward, gracing the earth below with large strides as his calculating irises drilled into them. Until he stopped, that is. His arms soon crossed over his chest as the eyes that glowered with settling fury narrowed, throwing off the Creator's senses as they barely caught the words that slipped from his lips. "Solidify." Their eyebrows furrowed at the simple word, wracking their brain for any inkling of what his thought process could be until they felt themselves back into something.

His elemental skill? The pillar? The pulsating geo element rumbled below, snapping their attention from the culprit as the usual shield of holding his skill surrounded them. Huh? They hesitantly held a hand out, melting their confusion as their eyes widened. The shield wasn't for them. Their palm pressed flat against the hues, shaking slightly as their heart raced from the realisation. Apparently not everything followed the logic of the game, and they were the guinea pig testing all of these features out.

The hues of yellow, gold and brown mixed as the elemental skill product closed in further. He wasn't going to give them a quick death either, huh? At least the citizens do. Saliva built up in their throat that flooded their mouth, causing them to swallow and do their best to calm themselves. The issue is that they panic - which is understandable -, and they needed to keep a level head. They let out a shaky breath as they hesitantly turned their back to the Archon, pressing their hand against the pillar only to find that it held smooth edges. All those times they accidentally climbed the construct meant nothing apparently.

"Fuck," they muttered under their breath as felt the air grow denser and warmer from the lack of space. Their eyes closed as they clenched their hand into a fist, slamming the side of it into the pillar in frustration as their mind frazzled. They needed to get out, they knew that, but how? It doesn't move with them, and they can't escape from the surroundings. They reluctantly turned their gaze back towards Zhongli's watching form, biting the inside of their lip as they felt their limbs tense and struggle as the bones threatened to snap by being so close at an abnormal angle. Geo construct, geo construct, geo construct. There's gonna be something I can exploit. All the times they messed with Ningguang's playstyle left another dead-end, Gorou's skill wasn't technically a construct, Itto's was a cow and Albedo- they paused. Albedo.

Their eyes darted down as they struggled, managing to shimmy their way down the dirt below as they winced. They soon managed to place their hand down, and let out a small sigh of relief as the flower construct began to form under their fingertips and - coincidentally - under their form. Zhongli's skill halted, slowly being forced back out once the supporting construct was created and let the Creator breathe. They let out a small yelp as they were lifted, clinging to the platform before they realised. Zhongli's skill was stuck to the height of the pillar. With a victorious smile, they hopped onto the pillar before dropping down. Their knees clicked slightly from the impact, earning a wince and a small stumble as they let their adrenaline guide them back to the waypoint nearby. "Order guide you."

"Oh, fuck off-" they whined quietly, picking up their pace as they recognised the voice line. They knew they wouldn't be able to find a way to exploit a meteor, so their best bet was to run and avoid the burst like so many enemies tend to do. Apparently, luck was on their side for once. The fragments of the meteor scratched at their skin as the construct broke apart once it hit the earth below, creating small cuts that appeared on their face and littered their arms; however, all they cared about was the fact they were alive. They stumbled over to the waypoint, slamming their hand onto it as their chest heaved. "Take me anywhere!" Their eyes closed as they felt the waypoint do as demanded, letting out a grunt as they hit the floor as they were transported somewhere else.

Their groan muffled as they slowly pulled themselves up from the floor, lifting a hand to their forehead as it ached and pained from the collision whilst their eyes glazed over with panicked and hurt tears. This was awful. They brought their hand down to their eyes to clear their vision, slowly taking in the sight of Lumine crouched in front of them. "Are you alright?" Her voice lay soft as her palm gently felt their shoulder, bringing them back down with their adrenaline as they sighed. They blinked a few times to rid of the feeling of their eyes sticking shut, noticing the wooden panels of Wangshu Inn.

"... I... yeah." They brushed it off, standing up as they dusted themselves off. "Can... can I ask what you're here for, Lumine?"

Paimon perked up at the question, diving into the conversation both metaphorically and literally. With startled eyes, [Name] stumbled back from the sudden face in their sight as the small pixie giggled. "We're looking for her brother!" The Creator blinked. "Well, we're here for the Rite of Descension too, but-"

"Woah, Woah, Woah, hold on a minute." Paimon let out a small whine about being interrupted, but allowed the Creator to gather their thoughts. "... wait, so... okay, let me get this straight. You recently dealt with Dvalin and got the Honorary Knight title, right...?"

"Yeah! Wait, how did you-? Hey! Where are you going? Paimon was talking!"

Without another utterance, [Name]'s feet led them down Wangshu Inn's stairs (they were incredibly tempted to jump off, but they don't have a glider) and towards the small village nearby to catch their breath and thoughts. "... So, Venti had his Gnosis then? And Zhongli still has his right now...?" They sat themselves down on one of the house porches, head in hands as their mind pounded and whirled. "What...?" They groaned into their hands, "but I had passed all of that in my save file? I was-... I don't-?" They fell silent with a small frown, "but Tor...? So, there's that?" Should I... go back to Mondstadt and see if it's changed? Dvalin was corrupted, right? So... so maybe Venti was too? But... that doesn't explain Rosaria or Diluc...

With a small pout, they laid back on the wooden porch as they sighed. Would it be a good idea? It'll probably really hurt to try, but... it would give answers, right? If Venti isn't different, then they know to just avoid the cities. And everything else.

"Aw... That means I missed Venti getting kicked by Signora..."