Meraki

Part 2 Chapter 0: The Rite of Descension

For the rest of the year, Aether, Venti, and Sying stayed in Mondstadt and worked on rebuilding Khaenri'ah. Now the Rite of Descension was approaching in Liyue, so the travelers began making their way to the land of the Geo Archon. Currently, Sying was hanging on to a statue of the Eight because Aether needed to resonate with Geo and he didn't want to enter Liyue Harbor.

"Sying, why don't you want to enter the Harbor?" Aether asked.

"My brother lives here and I don't want to see him." He answered as Venti tugged on his tail.

"You have a brother?"

"Yeah, and I hate his guts."

"Astral, we're gonna miss the Rite of Descension!" Venti said, grabbing the back of his coat and pulling him off the statue.

"Shut up Barbatos." Sying growled, as the bard and the traveler dragged him into Liyue Harbor. When Sying made it through the gates of the Harbor, his clothes changed to fit Liyue's culture. His clothes were white and black with a large yellow star on the back. A dark blue chinese dragon was designed on his shirt and sleeves.

"How did you do that?" Aether inquired.

"Oh, it's just magic I set up. I want to blend in with the nations I visit, but I end up standing out due to the colors." Sying responded, standing up. He smacked Venti on the back of the head as payback for his tail being pulled. Paimon flew in front of the group.

"Aether, if you wanna find the Geo Archon, this is the only chance you'll get all year. Guess it's a good thing I brought it up last year, otherwise we wouldn't know where to find Liyue's Archon." Venti stated.

"Do you know when it starts?" He questioned.

"It starts today. Once a year, Morax bestows upon the people of Liyue his divine prediction, which guides them on how to run Liyue for the coming year. Last year, the Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing gave the divine prediction." Sying explained as they walked.

"Liyue Qixing? What's that?" Aether wondered. Sying was about to speak when Venti cut him off.

"You see, Liyue is the land of contracts, business, and trade. The Liyue Qixing are the seven leaders that control the nation." Barbatos informed the boy.

"Morax oversees everything in Liyue. After all, he is the oldest Archon out of the Eight. I'm the second oldest. We're five years apart. Barbatos and I are 3,395 years apart. Since Morax is the oldest, the people of Liyue trust his keen sense of strategy, which he stole from me." The adeptus mumbled the last part to himself as they neared Yujing Terrace. Aether went to make a wish while Venti and Sying stayed behind. It seems Ningguang will be in charge of the Rite this year. Aether and Paimon returned a few minutes later and the foursome waited for the Rite of Descension to begin.

"There's so many people." Aether breathed.

"We should go to the front so we can see." Venti said. The group managed to push past the crowd to the front, so they could get a clear view. Ningguang stepped forward.

"The hour is upon us." She announced. She created orange gems with her Geo Vision and placed them inside a large altar behind her. A beam of light shot up into the cloudy sky. Red lightning flashed around the crowd as a brown chinese dragon crashed onto the stone altar behind Ningguang. The crowd began to talk amongst themselves as Ningguang checked on Rex Lapis. Sying stepped forward a bit before Venti grabbed his sleeve and shook his head.

"Rex Lapis has been killed! Seal the exits!" Ningguang commanded. Millelith soldiers marched over as Aether looked around confused.

"Looks like the Millelith are talking to people who got too close. I doubt the killer was in the crowd though. Whoever killed Morax, they are very experienced." Venti said.