Fragment Of Delusion | sagau

[taste of freedom ii]

(a/n): bear with me, this is a reader insert but for now the only ones that will be 'on stage' are the canon characters (both playable and npcs). Of course, the reader still exists as a character but, unless i mess with the pacing, they'll appear later on for lore reasons. btw, i'm trying to increase my word count💪💪(send help, i can't do this anymore. If someone knows how to yap without ruining the pace, please share your wisdom. I'm on my knees, please). Anyways, I've got a little favour to ask, could you choose who the traveller should be?

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Much to her chagrin, Lisa's words were truthful: a break was what she needed. It was baffling, the way Mondstadt's countryside seemed more bright than she remembered to the point her eyes were aching.

The greens were greener, the lights more bright and the whites more luminous. Although winter's colours were dulled, for some reason however they seemed more vivid than she recalled. By the way she peered around like a child that sees for the first time the world, with a mixture of curiosity and amazement at what they see, Jean was sure that at this point even those branches and trees knew that she had spent more time in her office rather than in her own house.

Following the road that she recalled being labelled as safe and the subject of a myriad of patrols, she came across a group of acquaintances. "Oh? Jean! Paimon didn't expect to see you here" she greeted her with a wide grin.

A smile that could be described as embarrassed formed on her lips. "I just made sure to take a break from work" she said with such credibility that no one would've thought of doubting her truthfulness. Her eyes briefly lingered on the young woman that quietly listened to their conversation a few steps away. "I didn't expect to see you here, Traveller" Jean commented, getting back to the conversation.

"We went to collect some local specialties and we met Mona along the way" hearing Paimon's words, the aforementioned astrologer sent her a polite smile. "She was going to take a look at that researchers' camp so we decided to tag along!" she grinned. "Maybe we'll even fin out something for our future journeys"

"Researchers?" Jean questioned.

"Yeah, haven't you heard? Some students from Sumeru came to study the sky"

"Uh..." she smiled without adding anything. Although she knew that the recent meteor showers in Mondstdadt had caused havoc through all the superstitious people in Teyvat, the news that the Akademiya itself sent some of its scholars and students to investigate those phenomena was completely new to her. On the other hand, many in Mondstadt believe that she, as the Acting Grand Master, was omniscient and omnipotent as the Creator themselves.

"Paimon wondered" she spoke after a while as the group headed towards the woods near the camp's location, breaking the silence that fell after no one had anything to ask nor tell. "Will we ever meet the Creator? We wanted to meet all the other archons during our journey..."

Jean shook her head. "I don't know much about them but I heard it's hard even for the archons to contact them" her eyes shifted on the scholar with a pointed hat.

"That's right" Mona spoke after noticing that both the Traveller and Paimon seemed to be waiting for her to interfere. "But it's not everything. According to the scriptures 'They' are not even in Teyvat and all we can do is just wait for them to descend. But this is how the old hang interpreted them, of course"

"Don't they mention anything when they will come?" the Traveller made one of their rare interventions before Paimon could even speak.

"There are various prophecies but, they change depending on the 'fragment'" she explained, recalling her master's teachings. A brief silence followed Mona's words as the two processed the information. However they were quick to emit an "eh? in unison. "They say that the original creator was so powerful that they needed to split their power into five fragments in order to descend" she added.

Paimon sighed. "...So it will be super hard for us, huh?"

"I could help you with those prophecies, if you want. I still have some of the old hag's books about Them"

The two lit up before bursting into thanks and praises. the astrologer, for her part, had that expression of satisfaction of one who is aware of being greatly admired by someone. The conversation deviated once again, as distance that separated them from their destination grew shorter and shorter under the traveller's guide.

After a long walk that seemed to take them to the furthest reaches of civilisation, they managed to catch a glimpse of their destination.

In the distance, at the exit of what could have been called a forest in warmer seasons, a camp of adventurers appeared. Shivers took possession of her right arm, once their pace slowed when they were near their destination.

Placing both her hands inside her pockets, Jean regretted that she had not brought anything with her to help her against the cold of the Stormbearer Mountains.

In the distance, the camp appeared as one of those abandoned tents often found in the wild. Once they arrived, however, her impression was soon disproved.

Her eyes, she noticed, had indeed failed to catch a glimpse of the adventurers patrolling nor had she heard the indistinct words uttered throughout the camp in, what seemed to be, a union of sumerian and the common language.

A adventurer with mondstadtian features intertwined his gaze with hers, as she brought her steps to a halt. Sparing her a quick greeting, he marched inside a tent before coming out with a woman.

"Greeting" the foreign woman welcomed them. "I am Setaria, the head research. How can I help you?" she spoke with a flat voice, vaguely reminiscing that of the snezhnayan receptionist puppet.

After exchanging pleasantries and the reason of their visit, Setaria chose to show her guests around before letting them do as they pleased.

Most people in the camp were friendly towards them. So much so that Jean suspected that if one of them asked, even the scholars would take their time answering them. However, considering how the traveller preferred to talk to other adventurers and that the astrologer seemed to be aware that the people in the Akademiya usually despised her profession, no one dared to ask the scholars anything.

"would you like to stay the night here?" this question was posed by Sataria to the traveller during a moment of rest. "After all, you are right here in the late afternoon and travelling these roads at night can be dangerous.

Meeting their gaze with Jean and Paimon and getting an affirmative answer from both, the traveller nodded. "It would be alright for us but... I'd ask our other companion"

The woman nodded. "Alright, the adventurers have already prepared the tents you'll be staying" Setaria said as the traveler left to search Mona's whereabouts. "Madam Jean, would you like to be escorted to your tent?"

Jean frowned at the formality, having asked presently to be addressed by her name. Nevertheless she followed her.

Considering her tent's size and how the head researcher must've given out the order of building the tents not so long ago, she couldn't help but be astonished at the adventurer's speed in building.

The tent was large, capable of accommodating perhaps four people. Inside, her hosts had made sure to give her everything to ensure her comfort. Feeling her limbs on the verge of giving out from exhaustion, she laid down on her momentary bed, waiting to be enveloped in the veil of slumber.