Hold over Myriad of Worlds

The next day, I walked together with Ningguang toward the Jade Chamber in Liyue. Today, as always, many people were rushing around, but this time they were hanging decorations.

-"Rite of Descension will be happening in the near future, right? How's plan changed from what Zhongli told you before?"

-"He still plans to retire, but rather than die, he will move on to help with Hold ideas."

-"Hmm, I'll be sure to make him help us then."

-"I believe he will be ecstatic to hear that."

-"Then will he appoint a successor or something? I believe you won't simply let him leave."

-"During the ceremony, he will announce that Liyue will become part of Hold. He wanted to appoint you as the inheritor, but I talked him out of it."

-"Thanks for that."

-"To repay me for that, you will help me for the next few days."

-"I don't mind. So what I'm to do?"

-"Meet with people from Mondstadt, be guest of honor during Rite of Descension, and lastly, stop Fatui from interfering during that time."

-"Fatui? They still dare to plot against Liyue?"

-"They are fanatics after all. I'm also worried about Abyss."

-"Well, I can take a look into the Chasm. If we complete the Omniscia, I can make reading about it."

-"Yes, yes, a nice advertisement for your needs. Tingyun told me about that project, and I already accepted it."

-"Thanks for that."

-"We are here. Guests from Mondstadt will arrive the day before the Rite of Descension. Until then, you are free."

-"Are you my mother? But I'll take it. I want to walk around Liyue a little more."

-"Mother... Well, who knows..."

We parted ways. I went toward the harbor. The bustle here was even greater. Workers and seamen were unloading things from boats, and stall owners were shouting their offers.

Strolling around, I came across a strange sight. A tall woman looking like a ghost was looking around as if seeking someone. Most people subconsciously evaded her.

When she looked at me, her eyes lightened up, and she started approaching. I was surprised by her reaction as I had never seen her.

-"Hello, how can I help you?"

-"You are Adepti. Do you know where my master is? 

-"Your master?"

-"Cloud Retainer."

-"Xianyun? I know her."

-"Can you tell me where she is?"

-"Give me a second."

I opened my communicator and wrote to Xianyun.

Yue

Xianyun

<...>Yue

Xianyun

Yue

Xianyun

I decided to stop responding to the sudden marriage arrangement from the Xianyun. I looked at the poor girl who was almost sold by her master. 

-"I have written to your master, and she told me she had forgotten about you."

-"..."

-"You want to be sent to her?"

-"She'll probably get angry if I interrupt her."

-"Then what do you plan to do?"

-"I don't know."

-"Ehh... You can come with me if you want."

-"Yes."

Her absentminded look made me sigh. I continued on my stroll. From time to time, new ships would arrive while others leave. Yet sudden commotion swept the port.

A ship much bigger than others was entering the pier. Many people started moving toward the place where they would unload. Deciding to follow the crowd, I also approached.

On the bow of the ship stood a woman with a great sword by her side. The addition of an eyepatch made her look like a pirate. Under her orders, the ship quickly berthed and started unloading. 

Taking another look, I was about to leave, but I met a familiar face. Keqing was standing in front of the pirate woman and a few other people with her angry cat look.

-"Beidou! What do you take rules for? We are right before the festival, and many ships want to enter the port, yet you..."

-"What? They made way, so I went first. That's all."

-"That's all?! We are at almost full capacity here. What if you had no place to berth? Your ship is big enough to block the entrance to this part of the port. Did you think about that?!"

-"Ah, chill out. Everythin' went well, so no harm done."

-"You!!! Ahhh... I can't!"

-"Be careful. The cat is about to scratch."-I interjected.

-"Yue!!!"-Keqing turned around and rushed at me.

-"Heh. Nice one, boy."

I dodged a few attacks from thunder until Keqong blew some stem off. 

-"Calm now?"

-"..."-Keqing looked away, but the red on her ears betrayed her.

-"How about explaining what's going on?"

-"What is here to explain? I'm getting a fine."

-"How about stop getting them?"

-"Nah, too burdensome."

-"Then I know all about the situation."-I looked at Keqing-"Just take her money. She won't learn."

-"Don't surrender so quickly!"

-"You must understand. It's not that she doesn't understand. She does and ignores it. She doesn't want to learn, nothing you can do."

-"On whose side are you in, Yue?!"

-"Side of reason?"

-"Aghh! I'm done!"-Keqing threw her arms up.

-"Nice sketch. Take care of your girl, boya."

-"Who is his!!!"

-"Don't you? Even those bored men from my ship can't flirt so well."

Seeing the hair of a red-faced cat start rising, I decided it was time to cut the subject short.

-"OK, stop teasing her. Let's get you situated to allow you to start unloading. I believe that everybody here doesn't have much time as the festival approaches."

-"You're right. Time to go and get the permit."

We moved toward the office. Along the way, I learned the names of Beidou's crew, yet only one person person attracted my attention. His name was Kazuha."

-"You come from Izanuma? From what I heard, living there is quite hard right now."

-"Yes, sadly. Shogun closed herself in her castle, pursuing idea and not seeing people suffering."

-"Eternity, huh? As someone cursed with Permanence, I can tell that it's not so great."

-"That may be. All I know, people are starving. How can they think of Eternity when tomorrow is uncertain."

We talked more about rebellion happening on the Isles while the rest were solving the issue of permits. Some time later everything was done, and we parted ways, promising to meet during the ceremony.

I left with Shenhe still following me. We entered a nice-looking restaurant and requested some dishes. After leaving, we continued to walk aimlessly, until I received a message from Ningguang.

Ningguang

Having decided on plans for the evening, I turned to Shenhe.

-"Do you have a place to stay the night."

-"No."

-"How did you survive until now?"

-"?"-Shenhe tilted her head.

-"Nevermind. I'll take you with me. Ningguang must have some free room."

I took us both to Ningguang's side. After explaining Shenhe's situation, she gave her one of the side rooms. After she left, we sat in the garden and poured ourselves a drink.

-"So what do you think of Liyue?"

-"I wish I had a home like this. While definitely not perfect, its lively people are happy. Eh, I'm happy to be here."

-"Then I'm glad."

-"I'm grateful to be able to meet you all. While Hold may be a place to gain the power to most, to me, I'm happy to meet someone who sees Yue, as not an emanator of Finality, a scion of Permanence, or an abomination of Abundance."

-"It must been hard to have no place to call home."

-"To be honest, if you never had a place like that, it's not hard to drift from star to star. To me, it's seeing familiar people age and die that is hard."

-"Immortality."

-"Yes. That's why I consider it a curse."

-"If I ask you to make me an immortal, would you do this?"

-"You directly ask a question like that. I can only say that I would if you wished for it, but I would be against it."

-"I see."

-"Why do you ask?"

-"I was just thinking. Reading about the history of the Xianzhou Alliance and talking to goddesses changed my perspective."

-"I see. Well, to be blunt, I'm happy to meet other truly immortal beings like gods. This also made me consider my own position on others becoming immortal."

-"Hou. If I asked you before, would your answer be different?"

-"Yes. I would never think of creating immortals."

-"Yue. I will pursue immortality."

-"..."

-"I can tell you that both Elysia and Nobunaga will think similarly. Not to mention Jingliu, she often goes to Ruan Mei and Mobius."

-"Sigh. It's not my place to dissuade any of you. Just be sure what you wish for."

-"We will."

-"Then that's good."

We talked some more before Ningguang went back to her room. I stayed alone for some time, looking at a floating island under a false sky.

Morning arrived, and so did work. There were still three days before meeting with guests from Mondstadt, so I decided to check the Chasm. 

Together with Shenhe, I teleported to the edge of a massive pit. It was under seal, but I ignored it and went directly inside. 

Underground was a cave system, manifesting fire for Shenhe to see the surroundings, we started walking along one of the paths. After some time, I started feeling a foul aura.

As deeper we went stronger, that aura became, and soon walls and ground were sporadically covered with black 'mud'. While not dangerous to me, it possesses the power to absorb any form of energy, be it elemental energy or even life force.

Collecting samples to analyze later, we continued until arriving at the place where the source of the aura was located. It emanated from a small altar with offering incense.

Shenhe took out a talisman and started to exorcise nearby ghosts. I decided to take a closer look at the altar. It was built in honor of a warrior who passed away here.

The shattered mask was a centerpiece of this memorial. It was also the source of the foul aura. Shenhe's strength was too low to exorcise this mask, and as I don't have any abilities that can do that, we were in trouble.

Deciding to use the traditional approach, I have taken out personal Omniscia given to me by Fu Xuan. After a short preparation, I started making reading on the mask.

Strengthening divination with the path of Finality, I uncovered the past of Yaksha, who was the owner of this mask. While he was a tragic hero, what interested me more was the aliment that killed him in the end.

Karma. It represents consequence, luck, and relation. Some consider it a force of justice, others as a shackle that needs to be cut off. But on one thing, everybody agrees. Karma is the essence of the past.

Yakshas are cursed with the power to absorb the Karma of defeated opponents. As such, Karmatic debt accumulates, affects their luck, later spirit, and in the end, even 'self', turning them into monsters. It has similarities to Mara but is a more powerful 'Law' of existence. 

Deciding to pursue this avenue in the future, I grabbed Shenhe and teleported us back outside. Deciding to get some advice, I found a person versed in the mystical side of Liyue.

Yue

Zhongli

Yue

Zhongli

Yue

Zhongli

Yue

For the rest of the day, I had nothing to do, so I spent the time studying the influence of Karma. The next morning me, Shenhe, Zhongli, and the last Yaksha, Xiao, and the funeral parlor director Hu Tao, gathered together. 

I teleported us back to the deepest place in the Chasm. When Xiao saw the mask on the altar, he was visibly saddened. After giving him a moment to grieve, we started preparing for a ceremony.

It's hard to realase Karmatic bounds. For a living person, it would be similar to erasing their past. For those who have already passed, it is much easier but still requires some special methods.

Zhongli decided to use one of the more direct methods, the burial ceremony. Putting dead to rest. It's an abt description of why proper burial is important, and because Liyue is a land rich in spiritual beings, experts like Hu Tao are needed.

While Hu Tao was performing the burial, we were to defend her from any manifestations of evil spirits that may appear. They were not strong opponents, so I focused more on understanding how the ceremony worked.

Because the accumulation of Karma was so great, only in the middle of the next day we're able to fully exorcise this place. We returned to the surface and decided to have a meal.

-"I can't believe that old Zhongli called me to perform burial on Yaksha. Also, Yue, if you ever need some good place to rest, I'll give you a discount!"

-"Thanks, but I rather won't be needing a grave."

-"Everyone thinks that, but when the time comes, they rush to me and have to pay full price."-Hu Tao shook her head disappointed.

-"Hu Tao, don't talk about such a subject while eating."

-"I know, but I have to make money, as a certain person sends me bills to cover."

-"Ehem, I reduced the number of times I do so."

-"That's true, but your debt is almost big enough to bring me to ruin. If not for Ningguang's help, the funeral parlor would be repossessed."

-"..."

-"Now I know never return to Liyue if you don't have to. You are on the run."

-"Yes, I was looking for him but was unable to find him until he appeared and made me work."

We finished our meal and parted ways. I took Shenhe to Jade Chamber, and while she went to her room, Ningguang and I, again decided to drink a little.

This time, we talked more about ourselves and slowly became closer. It wasn't until well over midnight we decided to end our sitting. Biding good night, I returned to my room and again delved into the workings of Karma.

Morning arrived, and as today was scheduled as a meeting with Mondstadt, we decided to stay in Jade Chamber and pass the time playing a recently popular card game. 

While I was more interested in the strategy of the game, Ningguang started planning how to sell those cards to a larger group of people in random packs rather than directly. I was once again impressed with Ningguang's business acumen, but I felt an uncomfortable feeling of irony when thinking about it.

The group from Mondstas arrived just after dinner time, so we decided to welcome them with the meal. I decided to cook while Ningguang went to greet them. A few minutes later, she returned with five people and one flying object in tow.