#its... uh

A single soul stumbles forward, shoved by the guards behind them. Chains are attached to their hands and feet, and around their neck sits an iron collar. The parts where the iron touches their skin is bleeding and bruised, red dripping down their collarbone. That’s not the least of their wounds, though. Their entire body is covered in scratches and lacerations. Filth and that same coppery-scented blood covers them, staining their clothes.

They raise their head, glaring at Ningguang stubbornly through their rats-nest of a hair. The one eye that peaks through the locks is glowing with a fiery rage. They attempt to spit on the ground near Ningguang’s shoes, and the crowd gasps with it’s own rage. All that comes out is salt, seeing as Ningguang had ordered it poured down their throat before the trial. The sinner had argued they hadn’t done anything. That they were all lying for no good reason, that they didn’t hurt anyone.

Ningguang barely stops herself from sneering.

Guards come up behind the criminal, forcing them to their knees. They cry out in pain, and the crowd cries out in pure joy . They muffle their screams, biting down on their bruised bottom lip. The crowd boos at this, and the Milileth soldier behind them kicks his boot into their back.

They cough at the shock, spittle and salt flying out of their mouth onto the stone floors of Yuehai Pavilion. Some of that salt stains the Pavilion’s holy ground, but it’s a worthy sight, seeing the imposter finally brought to their downfall. After all, they had traipsed around Liyue, confident and cocky in their appearance.

How dare they? Who do they think they are? Pretending to be their God.

Ningguang raises one clawed hand, and the people go silent.

“We will now recite the imposter’s many great crimes. Thank you,” Ningguang says, nodding to the pink-haired girl next to her. Yanfei takes a step forward, a malicious pleasure glinting in her cerulean eyes.

“Today, on the sixteenth of this criminal’s arrival in our city, we shall finally banish them!” Yanfei yells, raising one hand to the air, the other holding open her book of laws. The criminal’s eyes dart to Yanfei’s face, and then the book in her hand, eyes narrowing.

Did they not believe that they had actually broken any laws? Please . What a horrid act.

“Under our Creator’s sun, we shall honor Them! This-” Yanfei slings her hand down, pointing in the accused parties face, “This fake ! Shall know the punishment they deserve.”

Yanfei grins, her eyes curling at the edges. The imposter gulps, their head dipping slightly.

“Their crimes include- giving false coins to the local markets’ sellers! Assaulting three women and two men! Lying to the Milileth as well as resisting arrest from them too. And finally, the most heinous crime of all…”

The crowd quietens, and all that can be heard is the distant caw of a bird. Ningguang hopes that their Creator sees through the sparrows' eyes, that they see what they would do for them. Their love was eternal, and it would never waver.

So, the sinner must die.

“Wearing our God’s face!” Yanfei screams, and the people roar their agreement. The sinner struggles against their bonds, trying to cough out a response. But they can’t . 

They can’t do anything, simply waiting for death to come.

Once the crowd quietens, Yanfei steps forward. She leans down, her forehead almost pressing against the criminals. They glare up at Yanfei, and for a second she almost flinches back. There was a reason it was a crime to impersonate their God, because many had claimed control over Teyvat before with false gods and prophets. It was easy to fall to one who looked like their God, because their god was everything.

And for almost a second, Yanfei felt that she would easily fall beneath your gaze.

“Does the accused have any words of defense? Or should we just get this over with?” she says, and the criminal bows their head. A sound comes out of their mouth, raspy and weak, and Yanfei leans in even closer.

“What was that, scum?”

At those words, the criminal’s eyes flare, and they push forward against their bonds, smashing the front of their skull against Yanfei’s. Yanfei curses, falling backwards against the stones. Immediately the Milileth yank them backwards, but the criminal cackles a silent laugh anyway, a manic look in their eyes.

Yanfei stands up, nursing her head. Keqing, the Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing moves to her side, checking if she’s alright. Yanfei murmurs a quiet “I’m fine” to her, before looking back at the criminal.

“...I see! So be it, then. For these many crimes, and being found guilty for all of them…” you scream out your rage at her words, but still no sound comes out, “The sinner will be sentenced- to death !”

The crowd screams, the sound echoing louder and louder, as the criminal continues to struggle against their bonds. Their wounds weep even more fresh blood at their struggle, but nobody cares to stop them.

After all, they’ll die soon. Might as well make them suffer a little longer.

Ningguang nods her head, agreeing with the punishment, and a hanging post is brought forward. The rope swings back and forth in the midday sun, casting shadows over the criminal’s face. Their already malnourished form grows even paler, the realisation dawning on them that today they will die.

They struggle harder against their bonds, as the Milileth guards push them forward to the wooden bringer of death. They scream again and again, but they still can’t make a single noise. And yet, the very earth here’s their call.

And Teyvat answers its God’s screams with its own.

Ningguang looks up when a crackle of thunder echoes through the Pavilion. The sky rapidly darkens above her, black clouds rolling above them. Another flash of lightning comes down, striking the mountains nearby.

The people begin to stur, murmurs filling the crowd. Yanfei fidgets slightly, her eyes moving away from the criminal. 

“We must be quick! A storm is coming in, let’s get this done now!” Keqing announces, and the milileth drag them forward even faster. They struggle as hard as possible, their bleeding and swollen feet scraping for purchase against the stones of the pavilion.

A single drop of rain splatters down in front of the criminal, and they look skyward as well. AS if that was what the sky was waiting for, a sudden torrential rain encompasses the city. People start shrieking, many slipping on the now wet grounds. The water from the gutters starts flooding over the side, and soon it’s rising past ankle height.

The criminal looks down at the water, their reflection shining in the chaotic flooding. The milileth let go of their arms, and they collapse into the water, spluttering against the waves. They can barely push themselves to their feet, their feet slipping again and again. Finally they stand, watching the hell that is unfolding around them with an open mouth.

The water has poured over the sides of the city, creating a waterfall of epic proportions. Lightning strikes down a tree nearby, and despite the rain and wind clashing against it’s side, it still manages to catch fire. The flames spread quickly, and soon Liyue is on fire as well. 

The people are screaming, as the torrent pulls them down the cliff-face and deep into the ocean's depths. For some reason, the water doesn’t push them, and they stand alone in the chaos.

They blink when they realise their pain is disappearing, looking down at their body. As the rain slides of their form, it heals the cuts and bruises. Wounds sew themselves shut, and blood is washed away, cleaning them.

And they watch as Liyue is washed away, Teyvat’s wrathful vengeance.

“You!” the criminal’s head snaps up, away from the carnage and death, to the one who started it all. Ningguang stands strong against the storm, her vision alight. Her hair has been freed from it’s up-do, and it flies wildly around her. She points one finger at the criminal, her face glowing with rage.

“You did this!” she screams, and the sound barely makes it to the criminal, the rain shielding them from her anger. But they still hear her words, and their teeth gnash. Distantly, the earth rumbles, mirroring the imposter’s fury.

The criminal licks their lips, the rain water moving to heal their throat. They take a deep breath then, and sigh out in peace when the last of their pain disappears.

“No… I didn’t,” they say, their voice barely above a whisper, but still, everyone in Teyvat hears their words, the sound echoing to all corners of the land.

Ningguang falters at the words out of their mouth. How- ?! They should have been mute! Had she not done enough?! Should she have cut out the sinner’s tongue?! As the very earth around her creaks and rocks, she wonders what it is she did that angered her God.

Another voice, just as loud, just as echoing whispers in her ear. But this one doesn’t come from the sinner, their mouth sealed shut as they watch the Liyue Tianquan forced to their knees.

“Foolish. Why did you not consider…”

It’s at that moment, that a thought occurs to her. Ningguang had seen many things in her life, she’d seen Osial crushes under her own sacrifice, she’d seen the end of the era of Morax, and she’d seen the world bow before her feet.

But as you walk towards her, the torrent parting for you, she realises something.

“...That they were the truth?”