I Plead, Your Majesty, For Forgiveness

Chapter 22

Btw, if you're vegetarian/vegan/can't eat seafood, you can change the meat in a meal for the alternative :) Tartaglia wouldn't force you to eat something you wouldn't/can't after all <3 and if you guys don't believe in the whole planets in retrograde or tarot, please don't be bashing it in the comments or whatever. I intend to give [Name] particular fixations and references, and this is one of them considering I'm quite knowledgeable on the matter. I'll always end a chapter with a quick notice on any intentional references if there's any missed but this'll happen more in the future when they're more comfortable. Thank you :)

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The power of the Creator never failed to surprise him. Most of his recent years had been filled with whispers and ushers about the newly acquired information about the deity that had yet to reign. Although, the information was scattered across the realm of Teyvat and below to the point Her Majesty, the Tsaritsa, was beginning to grow frustrated. Ajax — Or Tartaglia as he was referred to — recalled the moments of her gentle nature falling, succumbing to her irritation as she orders the older Fatui Harbingers to gather information. Admittedly, he was one of the few who failed to believe her utterances. There was no better deity than her, he assumed, so she must be testing their loyalty.

It wasn't until the Sixth Harbinger, the Balladeer, refuted the Cryo Archon with his bitter comments. The room had never been so silent, or cold. Everyone knew of the Sixth's puppet origins, but even he shuddered from the temperature. Tartaglia hadn't heard anyone refuting the Creator's existence since. This was more of a delusion, everyone realised, so they had to tread carefully before they receive punishment. Even then, the youngest Harbinger wasn't convinced.

His belief only arose once he was blessed — not by a Vision as he already wielded one — but by a bow. He had been struggling with mastering the weapon and assumed that one of the others had mocked his abilities. But then the bow changed after the next few days to a stronger one as he felt his strength build-up. He was never one to care for the weaponry he held, but the gifts bestowed upon him felt incredible: divine even. At first, it was the initial strength he held, boosting the damage of his attacks to cut deeper with his Hydro blades and pierce the skin with his arrows — even when he threw them in frustration.

The second bow focused on the frequency of his ability to improve, landing harsher and more powerful hits upon his enemies and training dummies more often.

The final bow assisted the extent of his attacks, swapping quantity for quality, but — as he learned the previous skills — he combined the two for quality attacks relentlessly. He had never mentioned it to the others, excitedly showing off his new bows as he wandered the twists and turns of the Fatui base. He noticed the only one who realised was The Balladeer, but the wounded puppy kept his tongue bitten to not disrespect the Creator in Her Majesty, the Tsaritsa's, presence. That's what he deserved, Tartaglia thought, his attitude had to be knocked down a peg.

Although, it never crossed his mind that the gifts were a symbol of the Creator's Will. Not until he heard them, that was.

『 "Seriously? How many bows do I need to give you? Can't you just crit once?" 』