LANA|AR50

"He is, um-" Aether looked at Paimon as he scrambled for words "A Wangsheng Funeral Parlor employee. He's very experienced in Liyue's history and specialties such as ores and Archeology. He's a great friend of ours."

"I think we should let that be and try to move on. we don't know if there's anything dangerous around these items!" Paimon's suggestion made Aether let go of the mask as if he had touched fire. He didn't know what Karma could do without a body do eat from. Yet, Paimon and him shared a look. The little one nodded, helping him wrap his scarf around the mask. the energy seemed to dissipate from it, and it reminded the both of them of the gust of air that almost blew Paimon away for good.

"Let's keep moving. I'll explain to you what is a Yaksha properly. You all seem confused." Paimon scrambled to the opening, floating more cautiously as they approached the next tunnel.

"A Yaksha is a type of illuminated beast from Liyue, right?" Jean asked as she knelt down and watched the floor with a frown. These ores were seemingly the same as the ones where huge battles happen between "rock creatures", but only Paimon and Aether knew that, so the former started to speak.

"Yes, we've met some of them in our trip to Liyue! This seems like a place where something happened to a Yaksha too! This ores are very similar to the ones our friend told us about. He said a few millennia ago, fights with rock creatures caused certain reactions that create these ores. This might've been a big chemical reaction all along!" She said, floating around.

"I wonder what could have cause this." Kaeya sighed, heading to the entrance.

"Where are you running off to again?" Diluc asked with a quirked brow.

"Oh, I'm not running off. I just found our little companion's words very interesting. Don't you think it's best for us to keep a capable person by our side, like an alchemist? I'm heading to pick one up."

"Oh- that's. That's a good idea. Thank you, Captain." Jean said, with a small blush forming on her cheeks. Venti chuckled. She probably also thought he was going to run away to slack off.

"Put some faith on our poor friend. Let's keep going." Venti said as they got inside yet another cave. He turned around and watched Paimon and Aether giving each other suspicious looks "What are you two doing over there? Come here!" Venti waved.

He gasped. A single huge, white flower seemed to emerge from the floor. Despite the storm and the damage to the surrounding area, it seemed untouched. The flower took a big space in the middle of the cave, floor to ceiling. It could fit more than a person inside.

"This doesn't seem right. Bar- Venti, do you know anything about this?"

"Not at all. This clearly is related to the Ley Lines, but I've never seen something quite like it. Look, there's even resin coming out of the place where the petals meet - that's where the dripping sound comes from."

"You're right. Let's proceed with caution, I sense something inside the sprout. Maybe a creature?" Aether said, coming closer to the flower and looking at Venti, who used his anemo to rise him to the top. He decided not to touch the resin, gently using his sword to try and coax it open. It seemed to tremble and close even further. That was enough for Kaeya and Albedo to step inside the cave.

"That's quite interesting indeed."

"Told you so."

Albedo came closer after nodding at them, putting a hand on Venti's shoulder. "Let me handle it." He said, using his power from the floor. Everyone jumped to the side as the petals fell open, almost smothering poor Paimon in the process. The sprout opened to reveal a statue on the floor and a big pillar, as if the pistil was crystalized by the resin.

"The whole thing put together looks like a sundial, doesn't it?" Paimon floated closer, then snapped her little fingers. "Just like the one at the thousand winds temple!"

"You actually might have used up all of your intelligence on that one." Aether joked, nodding.

"Hey! Don't be rude to Paimon, that was a huge effort!"

Albedo stepped closer to the pillar, motioning for Diluc to come and help him light up the slightly dark place. Diluc lost track of his Claymore, cussing under his breath. Albedo's eyes widened comically. Jean moved from the statue to him in a quick motion.

"What is it, Albedo?!"

"Look from this side over here. It seems like..."

"A person!" Paimon shrieked.

"I've never seen anything like this before. Quick, go to the city and find Aether. Leave him and Paimon where they won't be suspicious and try to stay safe!" He yelled over the wind, jumping into the eye of the storm as Dvalin took off to Mondstadt.

The fissure was boiling as he dived into it, using blades made of wind to cut through the vines and gushing roots that grew out of the ground. The elemental reactions the sprout caused were making the climate change. Venti's hands bled as he pulled through leaves and strange grass, panting as his body got tired. When he cut the very last root, the wind simply stopped as the blossom shrunk and left a lonesome, dark hole that seemed like a tunnel close to the tree that was intact for some reason he only believed to be elemental energy.

The traveller and his companion came in shortly after, telling him that the people in Mondstadt were scared for dear life and the storm lifted more than one of these wind pillar around. He just seemed to stop the process at a similar time than the traveller did at the Temple and that people needed help. And so they went, after the bard healed himself.

Venti sat down on the concrete arch close to Dvalin's tower, panting hard as the dragon settled himself close, eyeing him.

"Do you feel alright? You do not seem to be in good shape."

"Is every-hah everyone safe?"

"Very much so. The Lion and the Wolf are safe, and the citizens seem to be working on the damage that was made. You should look out for yourself and be cautious."

"Always so serious-hah," He clutched his side, chuckling as he laid on top of the feathers on his friends' back, resting his throbbing head and thinking about Zhongli and the storm that spread over to Liyue.

The amount of strength he used that day was too much for his current form, so he just laid there as the dragon made its way over to Windrise as promised after they had finished setting tables, windows and doors back up.

There was a small amount of people in there. Diluc, Jean, Aether and Paimon, along with Kaeya.

"I'm glad you're here and safe," he said. "Thank you, for those who stayed. I think there's a hole we can get into in here. To find out more"

"I'm here with Kaeya to ensure you'll all be safe, so if you want to investigate, we are more than willing to, but we need a plan to cover the ground when we can, and we need to know what to expect." Jean said, making Diluc scoff lightly and stare elsewhere, clearly bothered by the meaningless chatter that would ensue.

"Aw, c'mon. We can just get into it," Paimon said, their curious gaze staring into the void as they approached the tunnel. Aether sighed and pulled her leg back lightly.

Kaeya changed the subject to the musician, however.

"I must confess, what you did to the storm was no small feat. You must have been handling your powers for a long, long while now." The Captain said, smirking dangerously.

Venti's eyes peeked into the hole as he made an excuse.

"Well, as you see, Lord Barbatos bestowed this vision upon me," he said dramatically. "So I used it to the best of my abilities to try and stop it from blooming. Shall we?" He didn't wait before he jumped in, floating around as Kaeya made ice appear on the floor and slid right under him as he flew around. Paimon reached him as they slid around the curves and ended up in a empty chamber.

There was a strange, rather disgusting hole on the floor. He could see some roots from the big tree and an extension that seemed blocked. Diluc cleared his throat and looked at Venti, and he nodded. Diluc sent a flame that the bard fed with his wind. Kaeya made the favor of freezing the floor so they wouldn't burn themselves. Inside of the hole, there was nothing more, nothing less than a mask and a kimono. Paimon flew over, curiously poking the wooden pattern.

"Aether, look! This looks so familiar, doesn't it?"

"That looks like an adepti mask!" Barbatos blurted out, but soon closed his mouth and watched as Kaeya crouched and carefully held it into his hands. "It would only make sense. Such power must have reacted with the faint energy from these relics. The mask is even buzzing... But it seems like that was here long, long ago. This is going to get interesting."

They scrambled with ropes synchronized their steps with the anchor as she patted Little Yue's head and tucked him to bed. He seemed uneasy, but Beidou's confidence soon made his lashes bat a little slower as thunder roared outside and the ship rocked harder than it usually did.

"What is that green thing on the sky, Beidou?" He asked.

"It's nothing but a good ol' storm, little guy. Go get some rest and let us handle the tough business. There's nothing this sea has got that we can't sail through." She closed the door, taking her place as the boat rocked harder. She looked at Xiangling and nodded her head to keep him company. She nodded with determination, but her face was contorted in anguish while she closed the door behind her where the staff that didn't sail was taking shelter.

"Let's move forward!" She roared over the pouring rain that suddenly started to prickle her skin and fog the vision, but the crew kept making preparations and Beidou took the helm, holding it steadily as the ship rocked, came to a halt and lunged forward as she ordered. The crew ran here and there, helping guests and merchants alike as sweat formed on Beidou's brow and washed away with the torrential downpour.

They sailed for a few minutes with no signs of stopping. Beidou smirked as the storm seemed to fade away little by little from view. When she gave a relieved sigh, however, the ship shook to the point where she could see it sinking to the ocean bed. She shook the thought and huffed, gripping the wheel again.

"Fuck, bring it on!" She growled.

The spiral in the sky was definitely from Mondstadt, the wind gusts were whipping around Liyue like crazy and her heart leaped as she feared for the people in the Inn, the Harbor and for her crew, but she kept a strong grip on the helm as a wave bigger than the ship threatened to hit. Her eyes shone a dangerous glint as she roared again.

"Brace for impact!"

The crew ran and held onto the nearest ropes and masts around them, holding their breaths and closing their eyes. Beidou spun the helm around wildly and winced as the weight of the piece caught up to her and the wood seemed to nearly break. The ship creaked with the effort the wild maneuver put on the structure.

The wave seemed to grumble when it hit.

Beidou gasped and closed her eyes, feeling her grasp on the wheel hardening out of instinct as her hands all but moved on their own accord through the pain the water caused when it hit her and the cuts appearing on her hands. She heard the scream of her crew when her head slammed against the wood. Her eye patch fell off. The sound stilled, the rain seemed to be far behind. She coughed and water came out.

"Cap! Cap! Are you alright?"

"Captain!" "Beidou!"

She sighed, tying her eye patch back and looking at them, her nose bleeding.

"I'm as good as new. Are you guys alright?!" The crew roared as she lifted her scraped hands. Xiangling cried in relief, the waves calmer than ever far away from land.

Little Yue ran from the inside of the boat, crying hard and held onto her dress, everyone cheered.

She felt the last remnants of a gentle rain clean the blood on her face, but her mind was still clouded.