New chapter out.

This chapter sounded a lot better in my head.

Also, most likely shorter than my other chapters

Enjoy!

Siiiip

"Man, this is some good tea Miss Lisa." (M/N) complimented as he, Lumine, Aether, and Paimon drank the tea that Lisa had made for them.

"Thank you cutie, but you can call me Lisa." The Librarian smiled.

"Only if you call me (M/N)" The Toa of Life replied. "Being called cutie makes me feel weird and wary of you."

"Awww" Lisa pouted. "But it's fun."

"Lisa just drop it."

Jean deadpanned, the soothing aroma of the tea helping to calm her down after what she just learned about their dear Calvary Captain.

...Speaking of which.

She turned to looked at a completely bandaged Kaeya who was somehow drinking his cup of tea despite being wrapped up like a mummy after the beating the three women gave him.

(And somehow his eyepatch and a lock of his hair was the only thing that could tell you that was him)

Finding out that he was a descendent from Kheanri'ah was one thing, learning that his biological father 'abandoned' him in Mondstadt to spy on them for the glory of their ruined homeland might have set them off.

Which was actually not surprising, considering they trusted Kaeya deeply and this unexpected surprise left them reeling.

...And with the stress of Stormterror and the Fatui...they snapped and unintentionally let out all of their frustration on the poor guy since he was the only target for them.

"Okay, but I'm not picking it up."

...Splash!

"Ouch!"

Lisa yelled in pain of having the hot liquid splashed onto her face.

"Enough with the innuendos Lisa." Jean deadpanned. "We have more pressing matters to attend to."

"For example..."

Jean turned to (M/N): "How did you know that Kaeya is a descendent of Khaenri'ah?"

"That's right!" Amber piped up. "You knew instantly that he was a Khaenrian. How?"

"...What I'm about to tell you is strictly confidential and I will not be HAPPY if you tell anyone without my permission."

(M/N) coolly said, startling everyone in the room.

'Is he going to reveal his secret/Oh shit, PLOT!?'

Aether, Lumine, and Paimon thought to themselves.

"I...am much older than I look."

Causing the three that were in the know to fall down anime style.

'That's it!?'

The three thought to themselves, though that was also part of the truth when they stop to think about it.

"...I'm sorry, did you just say?"

"You heard me right."

(M/N) interrupted the stunned Lisa.

"Despite my appearance, I'm not some ordinary human just passing by."

"I'm an immortal being that has outlasted you in very many lifetimes."

Crossing his arms, he continued.

"500 years ago, I was there."

His eyes darkened as he remembered the images of destruction.

"I had unintentionally ran afoul of the Gods administering justice in the name of the Celestia and the Heavenly Principles."

"They tried to kill me, mistaking me for a resident of Khaenri'ah."

"Keyword: 'Tried'"

His voice coldly stated, the Monstadters trying to process what he had said.

An immortal human?

Was that even possible!?

(Certain Fatui Harbingers could probably confirm that immortality for mere mortals is possible)

'The sages back at the Akademiya would be having a field day if they found this out!'

Lisa thought to herself, remembering her time as a student at Sumeru Akademiya. She remembered just how obsessed and fanatical scholars could get in their pursuit of knowledge.

And heaven help anyone that got in their way or become a subject of interest.

'Though, thinking about it.' Lisa also realized. 'If they even tried to capture or experiment on him, he would kill them without hesitancy.'

'And while he's only revealing this secret about himself, the other three probably have some interesting secrets of their own.'

'...And if the sages tried anything with them...their deader than dead.'

(Just finished the Sumeru storyline and that is the understatement of the century. Though, since I know it just got released, and yeah I may have speed run it so I could get further knowledge for my stories. Don't worry, I'll try my best not to spoil it for those who haven't gotten there yet.)

"...So, what happened then?" Amber asked, hesitant yet curious about his experiences there.

"Well..." (M/N) started. "After teaching them a lesson, one they won't soon forget, I accidentally fell into a 'conversation' between Barbatos (Cue startled Mondstatders shock) and Morax."

Here (M/N) rubbed his forehead in annoyance.

"That Morax fellow is like a machine; following orders blindly without thinking or caring about who he's killing."

This time, he sighed.

"According to Barbatos, per Celestia orders...ALL OF KHAENRI'AHS PEOPLE WERE TO BE ELIMINATED."

"DONE TO THE LAST MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD."

Jean, Lisa, Amber, and Kaeya shivered at the cold anger radiating from the immortal male.

He was pissed.

"Most of the Gods did as was told without questioning it, the Anemo Archon had been asleep at the time and was only awakened when the winds told him of the tragedy unfolding. He tried to reason with Morax to no avail, he took his orders seriously."

"But, when Barbatos was forced to move aside so Morax could swiftly kill the two children that the Anemo Archon was trying to protect. I, more or less, stopped him...by accidentally hitting his head with mine as I fell from the sky."

...

...What?

"Seriously?" Amber gave him a WTF expression. "You knocked out one of the strongest Archons by hitting his head with yours?"

"It's not the weirdest thing that's happened nor is it the first time that it happened so don't worry about it."

(M/N) waved off their concerns as though it was something that happened everyday.

'It kind of does happen rather often when we fall into a new world if you think about it.'

Mata Nui offered his two cents in.

'He's probably cursed with that kind of bad luck when landing.'

Ignika said. 'I mean, isn't that his shtick? It happened quite often with his old friends.'

'Well...that is true.'

Mata Nui agreed.

'Both of you shut up or so help me!'

"What happened after that?"

Jean unknowingly interrupted the mental conversation (M/N) was having with his tenants.

"After the Anemo Archon told me what was going on, we secretly gathered as many Khaenrians as we could."

"We were able to relocate them to a safe haven beyond the Gaze of the Divines. And beyond any known map ever written of the world."

Kaeya gasped, but his bandages muffled the sounds so only (M/N) heard it.

'More of our people are alive and thriving?'

Kaeya was in a state of shock.

Ever since he was a kid, he had always believed that the remaining survivors of Khaenri'ah either became cursed, or would slowly succumb to the curse that plagued the last of Khaenri'ah descendants.

...After all, isn't that why he was force to leave everything behind?

"This is where you must stay. You're our only hope."

"Forgive me, Kaeya."

The last words that his biological father left him, rang harshly in his ears.

'Does this mean...that everything I had done for my forgotten homeland was in the end unnecessary?'

THAT was what hit him the most. If that was the case, then...

"Would it be possible to establish a connection with them?"

Jean question startled him out of his thoughts, as he gave his utmost attention to the mysterious male answer.

"If this was any other nation, the answer would have been a highly probable no."

(M/N) began, unintentionally causing unease with the rest of the group.

"But, thanks to the actions of the Anemo Archon, the survivors had rebuilt their lives and their descendants hold a special thanks to Barbatos for helping me save them. I think that with Mondstadt, they will be willingly to trust and open trade with you."

"The other nations? Who knows?"

(M/N) shrugged.

"I might be immortal and they most likely will see me as their ruler, even though I already given them leaders to rule in my place. But even I don't know how well they will react to the other nations knowing of their existence."

"Though, the islands they are on have their own defenses and no doubt that the Khaenrians have also further their alchemy and technological capabilities. Adding my own protection and Barbatos spells, the Gods themselves would have a hard time trying to destroy them."

"Thinking about it...they might be able to reintegrate with the rest of the world as a new nation."

"...Of course, this is all hypothetical." He said. "I haven't been back for centuries due to...unexpected surprises."

"So, I don't know how much has changed since I last checked on them. I'll have to bring you to them once we settle the issues with the dragon."

"Issues with Stormterror?" Jean looked startled. "But I thought you said-?"

"Thinking about it, I just realized that I only destroyed the source of his anguish." (M/N) pondered, rubbing his chin. "I just can't shake the feeling that this isn't the end of it all. Not to mention, we still don't know the reason why he attacked in the first place."

...That was true.

Stormterror attacks were strange, erratic, and hard to understand.

For what reason did he have to turn his back on the nation he once swore to protect?

"You told us a personal, dangerous secret that would cause havoc if it ever got out." Lisa talked. "Therefore, I think it is only fair that we tell what we know of Stormterror."

"Or maybe we should call him by his true name: Dvalin."

"Dvalin?"

That had the Travelers confused at the name.

"The dragon has another name?"

Aether blinked confused at that statement.

"...Sounds better then Stormterror."

Lumine deadpanned, gesturing for Lisa to continue.

"As a child of Mondstadt, it is rather hard to talk about it. But yes, Dvalin is his true name and he was once one of the members of the Four Winds that protected Mondstadt."

"The Dragon of the East."

She proclaimed.

"...If he was one of your protectors, then why has he turned his back on you?"

Lumine pressed, worried if they were getting involved with shady people.

"As I mentioned before, it's not that easy to admit." Lisa turned, a look of guilt on her face, same with the others. "Some time ago, maybe a few centuries, he was engaged in a fierce battle and fell asleep after he had won. When he woke up, we..."

"Showed your respect by treating him like trash."

Aether put his hands on his hips, staring disapprovingly at them.

"...Yes."

Lisa confirmed.

"But still," Paimon said. "Even if that was the case, couldn't Dvalin just leave? Paimon thinks that would have been the better choice than to inflict harm on the people he swore to protect."

"You would think."

Amber nodded. "But, some time after he was, more or less, banished he suddenly became aggressive towards us."

'If I was treated like that I would do the same to be honest.'

(M/N) to himself.

"Not to mention, he has become more powerful than he was originally."

Jean spoke up: "We think he's using his former comrades temples to draw power and increase his own."

"So, we need to destroy the source of his borrowed power to weaken him then?"

(M/N) surmised.

"Yes." Jean confirmed. "Will you help us? I know we have nothing that you would want in return...but"

"I'll help." (M/N) interrupted. "If only because Barbatos has proven to be a good friend. Might as well help the short stack pet dragon find reason again."

'...Is the Anemo archon really that short?'

The Mondstadtors thought to themselves.

"Anyways." Jean shook her head.

"Amber"

"Yes, Ma'am!"

"Take the Travelers to your house and rest up. Starting tomorrow, I'll have you guys split up into teams and deal with the three temples of the other former members of the Four Winds."

"After that, we'll discuss our next plan of attack."

"Roger!" "Got it" "Fine with me" "This should be fun."

With that said, everyone proceeded to leave and do their own things.

Preparing themselves for the arduous task up ahead the next day.

Done. Not one of my better chapters, but it helps to move the story along. Meant to finish writing this chapter yesterday since I was in a good mood after getting Nahida in her banner!

And for once, I didn't have to spend any money to get a character I really wanted. Then again, I had been skipping other banners and saving my primogems to get her (I've had enough of Polearm users thank you very much. I'm sorely lacking in good Polearms for them as well). And when the stupid maintenance finally ended, I got her.

...In both my main (Iphone) and alt (PS4) accounts. Why I have two? Originally when I first downloaded the app, I played as Lumine on my main because I guess I was kind of uncomfortable with Aether wearing a crop top(?) and showing his stomach (even though his game self didn't have a slight muscular build like his character card had) in the game.

I got over it with all the male characters/npcs revealing fashion style, so I was finally able to buy a PS4 on my Amazon (after scrolling through countless offers to make sure I got a legit, brand new PS4. Don't really trust already used gaming consoles that much.) I played as Aether...and got more luck in getting five star characters. Jean and Diluc being good examples, still haven't' got them on my main account.)

I guess since Alhaitham banner won't be until next year from what I heard, I'll continue saving and try my luck on getting Scaramouche as well.

...I'm half tempted to do a solely Genshin Impact reaction fic to show those asshole 'sages' the consequences of their actions. They got off too lightly is all I can say, since I don't want to spoil the storyline for those who haven't completed it yet.

Though, if you don't care for spoilers then you do you.

I will say this: Alhaitham friend is annoying and I'm hoping that he's not going to be like that if Hoyoverse has us interact with him/make him playable. Though it might just be me.

Have a good day/night!