#cerberice: Act I

[descensionstar]

@cerberice ✧ Fortress of Meropide

it was... oddly like nothing had happened.

the Fortress of Meropide should have been a welcome sight, but it was a complicated jumble to put into words. that island... so distant to Teyvat; she'd seen friends there after some months apart, connected with others from worlds afar, found her brother... all of it felt too real to be a dream, and the Traveler was no stranger to nigh-inexplicable experience. and thankfully, when she'd awoken this time, it was in her cell rather than the Fountain of Lucine, so that was a plus.

whatever had... was happening —what was undeniable was that Fontaine balanced still on the precise. as much as she fully intended to serve out the full sentence, regardless of it being a means to an end, the nation was on a strict deadline and there would be nothing to surface to if they waited. so into the Duke's office she entered, already once returned from land. "you know why I'm here — we don't have the time to go through the formalities".

[descensionstar]

if Childe heard that, she imagined he'd laugh at the absurdity — he never took himself seriously, and outside his family, chances were few would pay note of him. but after seeing for herself the political bind Snezhnaya had trapped Mondstadt in, with so many Gnoses displaced, and Fontaine already on the precipice, she wasn't about to give the Fatui even a sliver through which to sink their claws in.

but outside of the grander picture, Childe was a friend. an odd one, but one nevertheless. a Harbinger he might be, he wasn't acting with malicious intent (at least, not since Liyue), and after the sight of him lost in the Primordial Sea, she couldn't quite rest. as much as a thrill-seeker he might be, who knew the chances of survive adrift under the ocean, he had Teucer and the others to think about.

she contemplated lifting the lid on that whale silhouette to Wriothesley prior to the meeting, but if he would hear it anyway, better not to waste his time with information he'd hear repeated shortly after. a nod gave the Duke his response — even if she wasn't ready, or apprehensive to hear whatever dire truths the Iudex might have to bestow upon them, they were beyond the time where hesitation could take a seat at the table.

through a grandiose hallway she matched the man's pace, giving a glance to those whose heads rose from stacks of paperwork, hoping to dodge any tedious procedure they might approach with. fingernails ran against the bulge of the Hydro Vision as they aligned with the door to Neuvillette's office — if he couldn't help shed anymore light, their path forward would grow increasingly narrow with fewer turns from the endpoint of Fontaine's destruction.

✦Monsieur Neuvillette, we're back,✦ Paimon announced as soon as she slipped through the opening crack between the doors. ✦and we're brought a friend.✦

"it might not be Childe, but we've learned of his movements in the Fortress prior to his disappearance". golden flickered to Wriothesley. "we can confirm he's no longer there — actually... it seems he's found his way into the Primordial Sea".

SILENCE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH, all the answer he needs to know that he hadn't said what she would hope. there was little he could do beyond preparations for the future, something he keeps held close to his chest, lest anyone may try to sabotage it for any reason. would she? he doesn't believe so, nor would paimon intentionally, but if the wrong words slipped... well, it was always best to be safer than sorry.

sunlight hits his eyes as he squints against its rays, lifting a hand to block it briefly until his eyesight adjusts appropriately, turning his attention to her thereafter.

❝ Childe, huh? That harbinger seems to have everyone running around. Must be pretty important, ❞ he offers a joke, another sense of his dry humor interjected as he walks along. ❝ But ask Neuvillette? I'm not sure what you could ask him that isn't already known. Unless you're holding out info from me this time, ❞ he continues, the thud of his boots carrying on as they make their way toward their destination. it was a long ways, but they eventually would make it, arms crossing over his chest as he stands outside the building in question where the iudex would be found.

❝ Well, here we are. Ready to ask him whatever you're thinking about? ❞

[descensionstar]

she'd been afraid of that. in all of Fontaine, its Archon and Iudex were the expected best sources to steer the nation through its crisis — and yet, neither had managed to grip the wheel with enough force to push back against fate. when asked, all beliefs turned back to them, whether out of faith or demand for responsibility.

brow furrowed, the Traveler's head remained low in contemplating anything she might have missed before the surface breeze would lay any shaded avenue buried beneath the waves. any info... anything. no matter how deep her thoughts ran, nothing surfaced. whatever exchanges were made through the journey upward, they fell upon deaf ears if either party attempted to rope her in.

the knot in her stomach grew ever tighter, the sense they were truly lost at sea... it imposed the same dread as the Chasm's pits, when the possibility they might follow the Yakshas' fate hung like a possibility growing larger and louder by the minute. the vertical catapult towards salvation had come about only by an effort which required everyone to play a part, and the surface had still been out of reach, requiring Xiao's sacrifice... and divine intervention to save him. if Furina couldn't, or wouldn't, perform the same, then...

the sunlight, gentle in warmth it may be, harshly opened the view to vast mountain ranges that loomed above water top. as they adjusted to the brightness, their aim turned toward the Palais Memonia, Wriothesley's query pulling her up from the waves.

fingers unfurled from the Hydro Vision upon which her attention was drawn. "we need to update Neuvillette on the situation with Childe — that was what brought us to the Fortress in the first place". deep blue glistened with solar reflection, a tether which ran out of length along the way. a hardened fixation upon the object and what it had shown before that line cut, frustration smoothed into astonishment. "—there's something I need to ask him about".

DEAD ENDS WERE EVERYWHERE ONE LOOKS, some blockade that is meant to keep so many from resolving the conflict, like ducks sitting in a pond and awaiting for the proverbial bullet to strike. no matter how many times wriothesley has turned what puzzle pieces he had, they never fit quite too well together. so, when he's praised as smart, he cannot help but feel a bitter irony, much like what his entire life has done to him even up until this point in time.

❝ Smart, huh? I think you're giving me a bit too much credit for this one, ❞ he contests, feeling it accurate enough. his mind could hardly be called dull, yet he was merely just a man, one with humble upbringings that could hardly contest with the divine. ❝ Finding a solution isn't my forte in this. If Neuvillette hasn't been able to assist, then there isn't much I can do myself. ❞

beyond making preparations for saving whoever he can once the rapture comes for them all, a plan that so few know of as to not cause much interference. ❝ Not unless you have any other info I should know about? ❞ something to aid in that fresh perspective that they deem so necessary from him.

gears clank against one another as they finally make it to the library itself, the duke offering a few instructions to the guards, some fair warning that he would be departing for a short while to tend to business. and before long, the streaming sunlight greets all three of them as the surface comes into view, one hand lifting to defend an icy gaze from the glaring daylight before it can affect him too deeply.

❝ So, where do you have in mind for the first stop? ❞

[descensionstar]

she nodded in unspoken agreement for his suggestion. it wasn't often she was openly restless, so he'd needn't be as perceptive as the famed Duke to identify the signs and respond accordingly. a step backwards upon which her heel turned gave start to the stroll toward the spiralling staircase. a tight tension teased crushing her heart between under its stress — no matter how challenging each nation prior had felt, there was always a direction, an ascent in need of scaling to overturn the problem. even besting the Raiden Shogun — she knew what was necessary.

Fontaine... no resolution came to mind. all pointed grimly to the prophecy's completion, and no matter what avenue they ventured, that muddied picture became no clearer. even Neuvillette and Furina... they didn't couldn't shine a light.

"we keep hitting dead-ends. a fresh perspective might help. I get why you feel it's better you stay here, but who can load an entire country as their world falls apart? they're spread too far across the land... there will be enormous casualties". fingers curled inward, a fist tight enough to tremble. she'd never wanted to feel that powerlessness as when Dunyarzad disappeared... and yet here they were.

✦come on, Wriothesley, you're smart — you've got to know something that can help us figure this out. all of Fontaine is counting on us, Paimon doesn't want to see it all washed away.✦

ARMS CROSS OVER HIS CHEST, the proposal something he hadn't considered. truthfully, there were only a few convicts he would concern himself with in starting a riot without his presence, those opportunists that always lurk within the darkest shadows. ❝ 'So far' being the keywords in my previous statement, ❞ he corrects upon the commentary of the prophecy, regarding that her statement means she has a plan of some kind. or, at the very least, an inkling of figuring one out that benefits everyone.

more thought is given to paimon's invitation, icy gaze shifting to glance where the ship would be located within the facility itself, wondering if it would be tended to well enough in his absence.

❝ Not unless there's another unfortunate turn of events, no. But I'm not sure what help I can be at the surface. ❞ the decision was difficult, especially when people needed him here, too. ❝ But I can spare some of my time if you have something in mind for me to do. Let's walk and talk. It'd be better for us to get a move on early if we're traveling to the surface. ❞

[descensionstar]

he'd been so forthcoming with that motion towards the island that it had taken her by surprise — it solidified that the experience had been (or was) no dream, but that she were not the only one who recorded it within her. they might address it at a better time, once the waters receded, once she knew he'd be there to converse.

"i haven't done anything yet. not until we get through the prophecy safely".

cosmic eyes flitted between the two, detached from the mention of another world with the presumption the Duke had determined Teyvat to be a relaxing time for the Traveler compared to endless wandering between stars. despite the impending doom, he was still pretty calm — and that was something she both lauded yet couldn't wrap her head around.

✦the primordial seawater shouldn't get in now, right? why don't you come to the surface with us? Fontaine needs everyone it can spare — the inmates aren't going to riot without you around.✦

BEING BROUGHT BACK SUDDENLY WAS, in some ways, whiplash for the man who has done well to adjust to so many things. one moment he'd been on some island unknown to the likes of teyvat until their arrival and, the next, right back in the very office which he'd come to call his home for so long now. well, alongside an unexpected guest who had been allowed a chance to explore for the time being, leaving him on his lonesome as his doors are opened to the arrival of the traveler.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀really, when would people learn to knock—

❝ No leisurely visit this time? Even after being whisked away to a foreign land for a little rest and relaxation. Had it been, I would've offered you a spot of tea. I'm going to start thinking all that matters is just business at this rate. ❞ which the tea itself sounded swell right now, given the situation, and yet... ❝ That was a joke, of course. But I know why you're here. Usually I would prefer to go through all the propers, but given all you've done for Neuvillette and Fontaine so far, it'd be quite the obstruction of justice were I to abide by that little rule. So... this one stays between us, right? ❞