#and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna cry | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

viatrixtravels-a · 4 months

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!! WARNING: this post contains dark content including mentions of blood and character death !!

Everything written italics and indented was sent to me by an Anon. I enjoyed reading through it so much, I wanted to make a proper post out of it. This also allows me to insert a read more because it is incredibly long.

Everything went well for you. Thanks to Cloud Retainer, you were able to meet Aether. Well... for a moment at least... So you decide to go to sleep.

"Goodnight, Paimon."

"Mmh, goodnight, Traveler! Sweet dreams!"

Closing her eyes, the blonde drifted off into a deep slumber...However, her dream would end up being anything but sweet.

***

You awaken in a strange place. You look around and you see people. A crowd of people. Possibly in the thousands. All looking at you. Among the people was a familiar face. Standing guard alongside his comrades adorned in clear white ornate armour. The mask that once covered half his face absent. The stars he had for irises flickering alongside the rest of his people. You then hear "The Descender has come" The voice coming from an important looking person wearing a crown. A king perhaps.

(Descender...? What do they mean by that? Are they talking about me...?)

With her brows furrowed, Lumine took a step forward.

You wander around the place. It's unlike any place you've seen before. Horseless carriages are driven by engines of fire. Buildings that made those in Fontiane look primitive. The sky... Well, there is no sky but rather a rocky 'ceiling' with light bursting through. A huge mechanical worm -like creature burrowing around. You see... Ruin Gu- No Field Tillers playing with children and giving them flowers and even a mechanical crab that is being operated on. All around the people were enjoying their day to day lives. The feeling of freedom from the gaze of the heavens is a bliss that is unlike any other It seems that the serenity will last forever.

(What a strange place...It is unlike anything I have seen in Teyvat, or any of the other Worlds my brother and I visited prior to our encounter with the Unknown God...)

*Doom has come...* All of a sudden... the same place you emerged from. A rift had formed, bursting through reality and what came forth were Abyssal Hounds. Countless numbers of them bringing forth the dark power from beyond this world. Turning once noble warriors into shadowy husks. Imprisoning them in their own armour and corrupting their minds to become mindless slaves of the Abyss. There was no mercy... people were felled by the very warriors that swore to protect them and were being slaughtered or were devoured by the hounds. Such a grizzly sight as you see a young woman get ripped apart by some hounds. And yet there are those who resisted. That familiar blonde haired Knight with his most loyal men, fought fiercely as they slew both their own former comrades and any Hounds that came their way. The Field Tillers now turned war machines, unleash their firepower on their Abyssal Foes but in turn leaving a wake of destruction on the people and the city. As you look around the great cataclysm, you could only feel sorrow, pity, and sadness as you see the familiar blonde haired knight grasping a dying comrade. Did these people really deserve all of this? Did they deserve to be destroyed for unleashing great evils on this world by accident?

It all happened so fast, the blonde barely had any time to react. Of course - being the seasoned warrior she is - Lumine had immediately pulled her own sword to help fend off those Rifthounds, but it was to no avail. It was as if her attacks could not even land and instead the silhouette of her sword simply went right through them without dealing any damage.

(No...No, no, no...!! This can't be...! What is happening!? Why is this happening...!?)

*FLASH!* A bright light. You look into its direction and you can just make it out. Seven figures. Seven Dieties standing firm on the now helpless city and nation as more and more Abyssal Creatures pour from the rift. You can also make out one particular figure. The one that took your brother away. She conjures familiar looking cubes down as she commands the other dieties to bring an end to this madness. The archs of lightning that slice anything in it's Path. The Tidal Wave that washes and drowns away the sins. The Fire that purifies and destroys all its path. The Malestrom that blows away mountains. And the rock that brings order and judgement on all evil. Perhaps to save this world, this nation must be sacrificed. Perhaps that is why God has abandoned its people to a terrible fate. For Teyvat to survive, this nation will have to fall. And now you see the aftermath. All that's left of the wonderful city... a river of magma and fire... the ground caved in. Those familiar cubes... going into the center of the destruction. You can only cry and go down on your knees. You feel weak...

(Please...Make it stop...This is just too muchー!)

A voice. "Lumine" It's coming from behind. You turn around to see... Aether. You blink and now you find yourself in an empty plain with the moon shining in the sky. You walk towards Aether. "You still have time" Aether says "You can still save this world, Lumine. For me and for everyone you hold dear" He then walks to you and holds your hand. "Only you... can stop him..."

She shook her head in disbelief, squeezing her brother's hand. "No, Aether. Don't say that. We've always fought together, haven't we? In that case, why not this time? I don't know who this 'he' is you are referring to, but I'm sure that if we work togeーー"

Before Lumine could finish her sentence, she was once again blinded by a bright light. *FLASH!* Aether is gone. In fact you got transported to... Liyue? Yeah this is Liyue harbor. But there's something wrong. The buildings are all ruined and on fire. The streets are filled with rubble and are cracked. There are bodies. Bodies of both Millileth Soldiers and Liyue Citizens alike. All of them are horribly mutilated with their own blood spilling into the streets. Among the fallen are familiar faces. You see Chef Mao carrying a lifeless Xiangling in his arms. Crying all the way through. Gaming had been crushed by fallen debris while you see Qiqi telling a deceased Baizhu to "wake up". Yelan's body was found next. Pierced by multiple arrows from her own bow and shortly after you see Yun Jin, Chongyun, Xinqiu and Xinyan. All of which were killed in certain ways.

The blonde felt her heart drop and stomach turn as she clapsed one hand on top of her mouth just to prevent herself from throwing up on the spot.

"Lu...mine" You look down to see a dying Hu Tao grab at your ankle. "We... failed. We couldn't... stop him..." You try to help her out but her breaths become weaker until... her heart stops... and she goes limp.

(Him? Who is 'him'...? Who could be so cruel to do all of this?)

Why is this happening? Why first Khaenri'ah and now Liyue? What was going on?! Who was 'him'?! You want to find out but not before seeing more people you recognize fallen. Keqing had her throat slit. Her dead eyes staring ahead into nothing. Beidou had went down with the Alcor but Kazuha was now hanging on a rope. Ningguang was left alive however, although she's been tied on top of the Jade Chamber while being tortured into seeing Liyue fall. Xianyun was kneeling in sorrow and pain as she held the bodies of Ganyu and Shenhe.

Lumine was on the brink of having a full panic attack, her breathing increased as she clutched her chest while praying that all of this would soon end.

"Everyone...They're..."

No.

Not everyone. There was stillーー

You hear fighting! And you hear a familiar voice. It's Xiao! It has to be! You run around to see where he was and finally found him at the docks fighting some Abyss Heralds. He manages to slay a few of them but gets injured in the process. He kills one more but then... his lance was shattered and he got stabbed in the abdomen.

"Xiao...!!"

There is no way. Xiao was strong. He would never fall to that scum of the Abyss. He falls to the ground as you run towards him. "I am... sorry Lumine" You try to make sense of what he's saying but he then grabs your hand. "We couldn't save this world... from destruction" He goes limp... At first you feel sadness but then anger as you want to kill the Abyss Heralds but then your attention is drawn upward to the sky. There are multiple rifts and like before, rifthounds are pouring through and there you can see... Zhongli.

(Zhongli...!?)

"Zhongli...! How did this happen!? How could you let this happen!? The people of Liyue, they've all been...!!"

It was then that she realized that something was off. He was not moving nor reacting to her words. No, this was not the Zhongli she knew. He too had fallen victim to this mysterious entity which had turned Liyue into a sea of blood. He was floating but almost by force and he appeared to be paralysed as he couldn't move. In front of him was a dark cloud coming from one of the holes. Zhongli was trying everything he can to move but he can't, and then suddenly. Something comes out of his chest. Was that the Geo Gnosis? It had to be. Cause nothing else looked like that. The Gnosis went into the cloud and Zhongli then disappeared into golden mist which was absorbed by the cloud. Dark eyes from the cloud now look to you. "What was taken from me... Will be mine once more..." A voice came from the cloud. It was pure evil. You are dragged forward towards the cloud by an invisible force. You try to break free but you can't.

"Ugh...! Let me...go...Ah!"

As you are forced forward, you see not only the Geo Gnosis but all the other Gnosises. Lined up next to each other. "My power will be mine once more..." "The Usurper... will... pay..."

It was then that Lumine jolted awake, her body drenched in sweat and breathing heavy. She was in her room at Wangshu Inn - where she would always stay during the Lantern Rite. Everything was back to normal, but those horrid images were still very vivid inside her mind.

"Haah, haah..."

"Nn...Lumine...? What's wroー"

In an instant, she threw her blanket aside and dashed out of the room - not even bothering to put on her boots or get properly dressed despite the temperature being quite cold at night during this time of year.

"Lumine!? Hey...!! Where are you going!?"

She just ran and ran and ran, not even knowing where she was headed. Little pebbles and branches dug into the skin of her bare feet, scratching them up. However, she could not even feel the physical pain over the aching over her heart.

"...Ah!"

Suddenly she tripped, falling face first against the ground before remaining completely unmoving for a while.

"..."

After curling up into a small ball, she cried into the night sky, letting all of it out.