At the head of the low lacquered table sat a regal figure whose presence demanded attention. Her violet hair cascaded over her eyes of the same hue that held a gentle, unwavering calm.
"What are your thoughts, Ei?" she asked with a soothing voice, a benevolent expression on her face.
Nom, nom, nom
With puffed cheeks in between her bites of mochi, Ei answered "He should focus on one discipline first. Right now, his approach is scattered, rather disappointing." She simply said what was on her mind.
Saiguu leaned forward, resting her chin on a folded sleeve. "He is likely between sixteen and twenty. Barely an adult, even by mortal reckoning."
The comment drew Ei's gaze. She set her plate down, the porcelain clicking softly against the wood. "He thinks too much, has no experience to let the body take control over the reactions."
"When you were his age," Saiguu added with a slow, knowing smile, "you were eating dirt after every skirmish with the oni clans. Makoto spent half her days binding your fractures and scolding you for leaving your guard open."
The air around Ei tensed. She turned her head slowly, eyes narrowing. The memory clearly struck a nerve, but before she could retort, the figure at the head of the table intervened.
"Enough, Saiguu." The Raiden Shogun's voice was soft but carried the weight of a ruler's decree. "We have revisited that history enough." She turned to Ei, her tone softening. "But she is not wrong, sister, although your assessment stands, you sound quite critical of the boy."
Around the table, Xianyun and Yae sat in quiet observation. Both were accustomed to divine company, but this gathering felt different. This was not a shrine meeting or a casual reunion. This was the inner council of Inazuma, weighing a mortal's fate like a piece on a go board.
In truth, Xianyun felt uneasy. The topic remained outside her comprehension, yet it directly concerned her protege.
"How long until he becomes a threat you would take seriously?" Saiguu asked, smoothly shifting the topic before Ei's mood could sour from being reminded of her comedic past.
Ei exhaled, "Three centuries, perhaps. A hundred, if I drilled him daily without reprieve. But I fail to see the point." She was still pouting, though she tried to hide it.
"A hundred years… It does not hurt to try." Makoto tapped the table in contemplation, sharing a glance with Saiguu, who nodded in silent agreement.
'Huh?' Both Xianyun and Yae found themselves questioning the direction the conversation was going and the meaning behind the words spoken.
"This One wishes to inquire as to the purpose of this discussion," Xianyun said, her voice calm but edged with steel. "You do not convene a private council without cause."
Makoto's gaze lifted. "Has Morax ever spoken to you of the term 'Otherworlder'?"
"This One is unaware." Xianyun humbly answered, but her their eyes met in a silent confrontation nonetheless..
"Then listen carefully. Both of you." Makoto's voice deepened, carrying the quiet authority of one who had shaped her own nation. "You have undoubtedly noticed the anomalies surrounding Alexander. His sudden appearance. His unnatural aptitude. His control over the elements.
The Raiden Shogun led the conversation, to which she received nods from the receiving end.
"It is for a reason that he is an 'Otherworlder'. There have been few in passing to grace the lands of Teyvat and the Celestia above. This has been since the inception of this World's history. All of them are powerful beings, usually of conceptual or divine origin from what we understand." She let the last sentence roll off her tongue with an added note demanding attention.
Yae stared, her usual composure fracturing into blank confusion. The image of a reckless boy complaining about sore shoulders and refusing to share his food, refused to align with the scope of Makoto's words.
Xianyun, however, closed her eyes. Fragments of their shared experience aligned: the boy's control over 'space' to store his items, his speed of growth not unlike a being intimate with their own element such as herself with Anemo, his lapses of focus and staring into the void. But most importantly – his lack of a vision that contradicted his use of multiple elements.
"And a 'Traveler'?" She asked, still shelving around the different theories and conclusions in her great mind.
"Those are the ones who linger in our World," Makoto clarified. "Some have apparently simply passed through. Some… seeked to conquer. To bind realities to their will."
"Conquer?"
"Conquer. That is all I will say on the matter."
Xianyun bowed her head slightly. "This One thanks the Shogun for her candor. But such warnings are never given without intent." She may not be shrewd, but she is wise.
"You are perceptive, Cloud Retainer of Mt. Aocang." Makoto's expression shifted, the benevolent mask giving way to quiet strategy. "I have a private proposition for the God of Contracts. I ask that you deliver it. Alongside Saiguu."
"Wait, wait, wait." Yae's voice cut through the room, sharper than intended. "Are you telling me the thick-headed fool is immortal? Why didn't he say so?"
The Shogun, ever lenient with this little fox, didn't mind the interruption. "Perhaps he himself is unaware of the fact. Perhaps he thought it better to remain a secret. Either way, it does not matter, for we knew since the beginning." Makoto replied.
No one questioned Yae's sudden loss of composure. Except for Saiguu as her eyes narrowed.
'Is that why she returned alone that time?' Saiguu's mind spun through years of a subtle withdrawal, uncharacteristic hesitations since the brat returned AND the quiet distance that had grown between them.
Slap
Everybody turned to look as Saiguu smacked her forehead in shock, exasperation and excitement, feeling all three at the same time. Her shining eyes and teasing smirk contorting the already mischievous face even more.
Badump
Yae felt the shift in the room before she saw it. A cold premonition coiled in her stomach. 'No. Absolutely not. I should have stayed at the shrine. I should have never come here.' Her mind raced, already drafting three different escape routes, all of which felt utterly futile.
'Puhahahaha, she is acting like a child all over again.' Saiguu was enjoying seeing Yae squirm under her gaze.
As this was going on, Xianyun and Makoto were talking about the details that needed to be conveyed to Morax, mostly about Alexander's prowess, character and potential.
But for the last part, Makoto handed out a sealed scroll. "For his eyes only." The benevolent ruler's voice turned commanding. Xianyun nodded in understanding, the warning as clear as it could get.
"Ei." The Raiden Shogun then turned around to look at her sister.
Nom, nom, nom
Sigh
"Stop being a glutton… Consult with Cloud Retainer on the boy's profile. Draft a training regimen. Make it as demanding as you see fit."
Xianyun furrowed her eyebrows, "That would be unnecessary. Alex requires sufficient rest and freedom of movement. His is a creative mind, it often wanders, thus it cannot be shackled. In his behaviour he is most like a mortal. Being too harsh and demanding on him would be detrimental to his growth."
She was surprisingly firm and loud in this assessment, leaving no room to argue, even to the God of Thunder radiating gentle authority right beside her.
"This One respects your Authority, Baal, Raiden Shogun of Inazuma, but Alexander is under my protection and he is my protege. This One does not fail to see you wish to use him as a tool, but it will be allowed because the rewards outweigh the dangers. For he would choose the same himself."
Finally, the room truly felt the pressure of one of the closest Adepti that helped Morax shape Liyue into the Powerhouse that it is today.
Makoto has spoken to Barbatos and felt his free spirit that imbued the Anemo element. The ancient woman in front of her summoned Anemo with a tint of a harsh natural disaster that contradicted the seemingly gentle element.
It was a warning of her own. One that the Raiden Shogun couldn't help but take seriously.
"Have the boy ease into it, he will get lost in the routine as long as it's interesting." Saiguu offered to mediate, supporting both of the narratives, especially now that a certain Shadow Guard was about to intervene and start an actual fight.
"If you are successful in this endeavour, then This One will not interfere." Only then did Xianyun leave to join Ei's side as they began speaking of her student, the atmosphere still charged with slight tension.
Makoto leaned toward Saiguu, her voice barely above a whisper. "Are you certain he won't vanish again?"
"He won't," Saiguu replied, her smirk returning. "First, he'd wait for Xianyun to return. Second, he's training under the finest martial mind in Teyvat. And finally…" She turned her head towards Yae in a mischievous manner, and the Shogun followed the gaze. "Yae?"
"The very same."
"You want her to lead him around by the nose?"
"Oh please, honey traps are ancient past. Those two like each other."
"They do?"
"I am willing to bet my pipe on it."
"Yae doesn't seem like it."
"She needs a push, is all."
"You are going to play matchmaker for the children?"
"Sounds fun, right? Wanna join?"
"I would, if I didn't have so much work…"
Kkkkkk
If Alexander heard this unpleasant and stifling nasal laugh, he would hit Saiguu's head and be done with it.
Smack
Thankfully, Makoto wasn't one to ignore an opportunity to hit the generator of troublesome ideas, Celestia knows it needs a good shake every once in a while.
"Do not let your amusement compromise our plan, however early it is. But… do keep him close to her. Some bonds are key to growth and excellent tethers to an idea."
Saiguu's grin turned sour. "Noted, Shogun. Noted."
"Don't let the Adeptus get wind of this, I fear she has enough influence for Morax to pay us a visit in a confrontational manner." Makoto hinted at Xianyun, as she talked with her little sister.
"Oh dear friend, since when have we become so dark minded?" The Guuji joked, self-depreciatively.
"Since we began answering for the lives of our lessers and their futures. Never forget that a single misstep can cost us all our progress." The Shogun whispered her final words as she looked out the window.
The scene showed her domain, the Capital she built and the mortals that mingled inside of it.
.
.
.
At the same time as the meeting was going on, the point of interest himself was busy soaking in an onsen, trying to relax and get his mind off the chaotic mess inside his head.
The hot water did little to quiet the storm. Turbulent thoughts never ceased and with them came both stress and anxiety.
What was his goal? Did he have a purpose? Is he failing?
'Should I just let the flow carry me forward? Does it even matter if I try to steer towards my own future?' He kept on repeating in his head.
But he kept on hitting a single roadblock in this cycle of thought, 'What is the future that I want?'
Splash
A splash echoed in the quiet enclosure as he dragged a hand down his face. Years ago, he'd wanted to be a knight. Before that, an adventurer. Then blacksmithing had consumed him, and for a time, that felt like enough. But the wanderlust hadn't died.
Is there something wrong with him? Or is this how it should be?
He wanted to be powerful, but he didn't travel to seek quests from important events. He wanted strength, but he preferred comfort to training.
Thud, thud, thud
"Argh, enough!" A burst of anger jolted through him as he hit his head repeatedly with his fist in an attempt to get rid of these poisonous uncertainties taking root.
Sigh
He exhaled, letting his head rest against the cold rock. The contrast of the steaming water and the chill against his skull was welcome. Above him, the sky was clear, indifferent to his turmoil. His youthful face, usually so quick to smirk or scowl, now looked hollow in contrast to the sunny day.
He thought that if Xianyun were here, she'd tell him to stop overthinking and pick up a hammer. If Yae were here, she'd laugh at him for acting like a dramatic child.
'Fuck it. I want a drink.' It had been ages since he'd let himself truly unwind. The last time was before the system, before Teyvat.
Chuckle
Even before he could legally do it. Thinking back on the times he would get together with his classmates to drink cheap vodka made him miss his home, even if a little bit.