Meraki

Part 4 Chapter 11: The Fourth Descender

With the power of the Dendro and Electro Gnoses, Aether and Nahida were able to go to Irminsul. They found that Irminsul had been corrupted and the only way to fix it was to make everyone in Teyvat forget about Greater Lord Rukkhedevata. Nahida did so, and now they were back in the present time. Aether tried to move Luna, but she wouldn't let go of Scaramouche. Nahida said she'd take care of it later, and that they should check on Sying. When they exited the laboratory, Sying was carrying Collei in his arms. They were both covered in blood, but they were alive.

"Sying! Are you okay?" Aether called out, running over. Sying gently put Collei down, and she held onto his left arm.

"I'll be fine. I'm just a little banged up. Collei's safe now too. Did you take care of everything on your end?" Sying wondered.

"Yeah, we beat Scaramouche. How are you feeling Collei?"

"Terrible." She admitted, trying to give the Traveler a smile. "I'm glad you guys came."

"I'm glad to see you safe. Nahida, we should get Luna and get out of here." Aether told the Archon. She nodded as a high pitched ringing sound filled the room. Aether fell to the ground and Sying turned around. He put Collei behind him as Dottore came into view.

"I've been waiting here far too long. But finally, I have the chance to be with the three of you. All the precious time I wasted has finally paid off." He said. Collei stuck her tongue out at him in defiance as Sying let out a low growl.

"What have you done to Aether?" Nahida questioned.

"Just a type of sound wave that can quickly put defenseless people into a dream. As I expected, it doesn't have any effect on gods." He looked over at Collei. "Or you."

"Shut up! You don't get to talk to Collei after what you've done to her!" Sying snarled.

"I'm here to negotiate with you, Kusanali. Naturally, I won't do anything dangerous that could potentially damage our relationship." The Doctor told the Dendro Archon.

"Negotiate with me? I heard you had already left Sumeru. Why are you here again now?" Nahida asked.

"I" left Sumeru, but "I" also stayed in Sumeru. Even the God of Wisdom is restricted by the habits of cognition. How disappointing."

"You had a segment leave Sumeru, right?" Collei chimed in from behind Sying.

"That's correct. You're smarter than I gave you credit for. Perhaps your so-called father did teach you something after all. Now, indulge me, Dendro Archon, how do you find my method of seeking knowledge?" Dottore stated.

"It's an insult to the very concept of life. Life inherently has many rules and restrictions, each with its own significance and reason to exist. They can't be broken on a whim." Nahida replied.

"Good. Amazing, even." The Doctor laughed. "Indeed. It's difficult for humans to make peace with themselves, not to mention one from another time period."

"Since you were in the Akademiya and Sying had rescued Collei, why wait until now to show up? You very well could have stopped us and helped that "fake god."

"Simple, let me ask you this: Would any staff member ever help the subject in the middle of an experiment? It was my experiment, so why should I interfere with the results?"

"Is that all this is to you? Some kind of twisted experiment? Human lives are not something to be messed with!" Sying roared, his tail moved angrily from side to side as he spoke. "My daughter is not for you to use. And neither are my friends."

"You're just ignorant, adeptus of Liyue. Luckily for you, my experiment failed and the conclusion is disappointing." Dottore walked over to the three of them. "Now that the experiment's over, it's time to tidy up the equipment and reclaim any useful materials. For example, the Gnosis. Lesser Lord Kusanali, you're an intelligent Archon. I'm sure you understand the disparity in our combat abilities at this time. And your friends are too weak from our fight to assist you. Besides, you have no way to use that Electro Gnosis in battle."