Meraki

Part 2 Chapter 8: Contract to End All Contracts

After their victory celebration, Aether, Venti, and Sying began recovering from the injuries they had received. A few days later, they had gotten a letter, saying that Zhongli wanted to see them at Northland Bank. There was no reason to refuse, so the trio of travelers went to the Fatui run building. When they went inside, Zhongli and Childe were there talking to Signora. Venti hid behind Sying when he noticed the other Harbinger.

"You call this "cooperation between Harbingers?" Cooperation involves communication, you know." Childe shouted, clearly upset about something.

"Hehe, don't take it to heart, Childe. Besides, aren't you happy that you got to skip the formalities and bring chaos to the land? I'm sure you must've enjoyed that." Signora spoke. Childe let out a huff and crossed his arms. "Oh, it seems that some of your friends have arrived." Signora looked over at the trio standing nearby.

"Zhongli! Childe!" Aether called out as the trio walked closer. "Signora! What are you doing here?"

"Haha, it's you three. I believe we've met once before. In the City of Bards, was it? I'm glad you still remember my name." Signora told them.

"It's kind of hard to forget someone as ugly as you!" Venti insulted. Signora glared at him and the bard shivered.

"Ah, I imagine that it must have been rather hard for you to forget having something precious snatched from you." She mocked.

"We still have time to take it back!" Aether declared, moving forward, only to have Sying stop him.

"Don't let her get to you, Aether. We're still recovering from our fight at the Golden House." The Nova Archon reminded his friend. He gave a wink to Childe, who nodded his head in understanding. "Let's keep things peaceful, since there are two Harbingers present."

"Well, if it isn't Aether, Barbatos, and Star Seeker. This is our first time seeing each other since Liyue was nearly wiped off the map. This is certainly a bit..." Childe lied, thinking of a word to use. "Awkward, wouldn't you say?"

"Hmph. I knew we should never have trusted a Fatui Harbinger!" Aether announced, playing along.

"Aw, now don't say that. Sure, I may have misled you, but I never had anything against you personally. Besides, I thought we were getting along quite well together, didn't you? Except for that little tussle we had at the end, haha." Tartaglia laughed. "You see the real deceivers here are Signora and Zhongli. Curse them for leading me on." The act seemed to drop for a brief moment, and Sying noticed that Ajax was actually mad at the two next to him.

"Zhongli tricked you?" Sying questioned.

"Stop wasting time, Childe." Signora cut in before the ginger could speak. "There'll be plenty of time to chat once I'm through here. You remember the agreement, Morax. Now, if you would be so kind. The Gnosis, please."

"What are you talking about?" Aether inquired. Zhongli took a deep breath and handed the woman a glowing yellow chess piece. The Geo Gnosis.

"The contract is fulfilled. That which thou seeketh is now bestowed unto thee, for my promise is solid as stone." Morax spoke.

"I mean, I did have my suspicions, but to think Mr. Zhongli was the Geo Archon. Anyway, why give the Gnosis to the Fatui?" Aether questioned.

"Morax, you know what happened to me and my Gnosis, so why would you give it up like this?" Barbatos exclaimed.

"I do not give it for free. I give it as agreed upon in the contract, for it is a matter solely between the Tsaritsa and I." Rex Lapis responded.

"Don't you think you took it too far with the fake death thing?" Aether wondered.

"You wanted to see how Liyue would respond, right? It was all a test. So you used everyone here in Liyue Harbor to see the results." Sying commented. "Of course, you had a backup plan if things went wrong. The only reason you're giving up your Gnosis now, is because your nation can survive without you."

"That is correct. These things were all part of my plan." Zhongli confessed.

"Hey, what about me? Doesn't anyone feel the least bit of remorse for deceiving me? You've practically kept me in the dark!" Childe growled.

"Heh, I think that thanks would be more appropriate. You certainly played no small part in all of this. Wreaking havoc and turning the city upside down. The Lord of Geo ought to thank you for your performance, if anything." Signora said.

"Huh? Just whose side are you on, mocking me like that? Are you itching for a fight?" Ajax yelled.

"We were all equally fooled." Sying pointed out. Childe sighed as Signora spoke.

"Well then, with the Gnosis in my possession, I have no use for such idle chatter. We should return to Zapolyarny Palace and seek an audience with Her Majesty, the Tsaritsa. Come, Childe. A certain someone would like to see you again." She informed the ginger.

"Ugh, fine. I'll meet you there later. I'm not sharing a boat with the likes of you." Childe sighed.

"Hmph, do as you wish." Signora said and left Northland Bank.

"Ugh, that woman! I can't stand her!" Ajax complained.

"You did well, Ajax." Sying praised the ginger. "You, too, Aether."

"Thanks. I thought we were going to get caught for sure." Aether breathed as Venti came out from behind Sying.

"Now then, is there anything else you wish to ask me?" Zhongli questioned.

"What could possibly be worth a Gnosis?" Aether wondered.

"I would also like to know." Venti agreed.

"Realistically speaking, there is no such thing. My agreement with the Cryo Archon will be the last of my contracts as the Geo Archon. "The contract to end all contracts." As for the bargaining chip the Tsaritsa used to balance the scales, uncover that answer for yourself in your future journeys." Zhongli answered.

"Aether, our next stop is Inazuma, the land of the Electro Archon. I would skip that cursed nation, but I made a contract with you, so I'm going to keep it." Sying explained. "Of all eight ideals, Eternity is the closest to heaven. We'll have to find a way into Inazuma, since it's a closed nation right now. And I can't fly us in, because the Electro Archon and I are sworn enemies. Once I find someone to take us to Inazuma, I'll let you know." After that, the group attended the Rite of Parting and enjoyed the rest of their day with Zhongli. Little did they know, something dark was stirring in the Abyss.