Souls In Teyvat

Another day passed, and I was too tired to leave Mondstadt after that, so Guizhong told me to wait for another day, and I agreed.

I didn't hear anything from Amber or Collei, so I decided to leave a letter for Amber, saying goodbye and to tell her where could she find me. In any case, Jean knew everything about my standing in Inazuma so her letters would reach me without problems.

Now that Diluc's 'goodbye' was finished, and I planned to leave a letter for Amber, the next was Albedo.

I found him in the Alchemy shop.

"Hey Albedo, came to say goodbye" I greeted him.

"Hmm, I knew you were leaving, so I assumed you would say your goodbyes sooner or later" he said with his characteristic expressionless voice.

"Don't feel guilty about this Albedo" I said pointing at my eyes. "I did what I wanted and got what I wanted. I don't know about your circumstances, so I can't tell you to stop doing that 'Art of Khemia', but be careful. The thing I saw could raze Teyvat to the ground" I warned him.

"I know, I will talk to Alice about this" he nodded. He saw firsthand what merely looking did to me.

"Here" I gave him a book. "This is my present for you, to thank you for everything".

"Thank you" he simply said, and opened it to see what it was about.

"I asked Guizhong to write everything I told her to. 'I' wrote everything I know about souls, the differences between them, how to manipulate them, how the sealing works, and even everything I remember from 'looking', even if it's not much. I even included some possible ways to solve the problem of your 'artificialness'" I explained, while his eyes were shining with interest. He was an alchemist after all, and this book was quite convenient for him.

Even if I explained a lot of things he wouldn't be able to do, like sealing, it could help him understand things a lot faster. This book was something only I would be able to write, so it was priceless. It was the only one in the world after all.

"This is invaluable, thank you" he gratefully said, before storing it in his Geo Vision that briefly shone. I still don't know how it works.

"No problem, see you around" I joked, and Guizhong took me to our next destination.

It was the last one, as Varka already said his goodbyes. He was busy preparing for a long expedition that they were going to do soon, and he expected it to take some years.

Now, where is my Radiant Knight?

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I went to the library, where I was told she was in.

I stopped when I saw her soul trembling with something I wasn't able to recognize, something rare as I could recognize almost everything. Or absolutely everything until now.

"Guizhong, can you see what is she reading?" I whispered to her. "Her soul is doing weird things".

"Okay" she nodded and used her super vision to read aloud what she was reading.

"And he pushed her to the ground, penetrating her deep with his member and making her squeal like a pig, drowning in the pleasure he was---what the hell is this?" Guizhong blushed.

"That is called a porn book" I explained. "They give horny teenagers the much-needed mental stimulus they will later use to relieve their hormonal instincts".

"Why do those things even exist!?. There was nothing like that in my time!" she argued.

"That, dear friend, is the proof that humanity has advanced. Also, weren't the women in your time getting pregnant at 14? I wouldn't be so proud of your time" I replied seriously.

"Hmm" she nodded, but I saw her shame. Literally.

"Guizhong are you sur-"

"No, I won't read you those books" she quickly rejected my unvoiced petition.

"Wait another minute" I once again realized something. "You mean Jean is horny now?. Is that what those weird tremors mean?"

"...." Guizhong fell silent, but I could see her dismay. She and Jean were the ones helping me and they had a good relationship, and she knew that nothing good was going to happen to Jean now.

"Guizhong-"

"No"

"Yes, tell me if there is something between me and Jean right now"

"Yes, a lot of tables and chairs"

"Liar, wait here then. I am going to talk to my friend.

"Please-"

"No"

I carefully approached Jean, until I stopped just behind her.

"What is my sweet and naughty Knight reading?" I asked in a sensual voice.

"AAAAHHH!" her scream was delightful.

I touched a nearby chair and sat down, looking at her with a mocking expression.

"Come on, explain yourself" I demanded.

"This isn't what it looks like!" she quickly defended herself.

"Are you sure?. That sounded like a lie" she knew what I could do, so she got even more nervous.

"It's a coincidence!". Coincidence?. What is she talking about?

"Hooh, are you sure it is? It doesn't seem like that to me" I said, not having any idea of what she was talking about.

"I swear it!. It's a coincidence the protagonist looks like you!" she explained herself.

"...Jean" I calmly said.

"Y-yes?" she looked unsure of what my suddenly calm voice meant.

"I'm blind" I confessed. "I can't see the book".

"..." she froze, realizing how much she slipped.

"I knew you were reading smut, but until you told me, I had no idea of the protagonist" I continued.

"...." she was still frozen.

"So you are the only reason I know about how you were reading a smut book where the protagonist looks like me. Really, you should know better than to confess that" I shook my head.

"...." she was frozen, but I could see a wave of shame and anguish slowly building up.

"You are reading a sex scene where your best friend looks like the protagonist" I was going to keep going till the end. "Please, don't tell me the female character is blonde with blue eyes or I will get scared"

"...N-No...." she stuttered.

"Jean, I didn't even need to check with my ability to know that you lied" I shook my head again. "So you are reading smut in a public library, where everyone could see you, and a book where the 2 characters involved in what seemed to be a scene of rough sex are eerily similar to us. What am I supposed to think, Jean?" I said with a gentle smile.

"I- I- I-" she couldn't form a single word.

I saw her soul trembling in shame and embarrassment, the first time I saw a soul tremble this much.

Thud!.

"Kenshin, she fainted" Guizhong came over and explained.

.

.

After that little episode, I was ready to leave for good.

The JRK was doing extremely well, I said goodbye to everyone, and I was ready to confront the big angry dragon.

I had a lot of fun in Mondstadt, a different one from the one I had in Liyue those years ago.

I messed around a lot back then, but here I was more focused on my goals, and it was equally fun.

"Boy, aren't you going to say goodbye?" Signora appeared and spoke to me with her usual arrogant tone.

"Didn't know you wanted me to" I genuinely replied.

"Why do you assume so?" she asked again with a smirk.

"I can see your soul, I can feel it". Seriously, I told her time and time again.

"I'm not here to say goodbyes, but to sincerely extend an invitation to you. Come to Snezhnaya, you will be able to grow a lot stronger and fulfill every goal you may have" she seriously said.

"No thank you, I love my country, or maybe I should say I will love it. It's a mess now" I sighed, thinking of the current state of affairs in Inazuma. "But thanks to you I know that not all fatuis are the same. Of course, the ones in Inazuma are trash, but seeing your soul gave me another perspective" I mused.

"That's regrettable" she said and turned to leave.

"I should remind you, no matter how much time you wait, Barbatos won't appear before you" I told her, making her stop.

"I thought you knew him. Are you sure you want to tell me that?" she said with a smirk.

"If you ever win, is because he let you win" I mocked her, making her show an angry expression.

"Goodbye Rosalyn" Is what her soul was screaming.

"Wait, what-" she started talking before Guizhong picked me up, and we disappeared in a cloud of Dust.

.

.

"Was that necessary?" asked wryly Guizhong.

"Yes, it was fun, maybe she can start moving forward. As beautiful as that ice was, a jail is still a jail. And a caged soul is an unhappy one" I replied non-nonchalantly.

"Indeed, that's why my city is the best one" Barbatos materialized in front of us laughing. "It's nice to see you in the flesh, God of Dust" he greeted Guizhong.

"The honor is mine, Anemo Archon" Guizhong replied in kind.

"It should be your pleasure to meet me!" I felt excluded.

"Without a doubt" replied Barbatos, surprising me.

I didn't expect that comment said with such honesty.

"I don't know why you are that surprised. You were able to do the impossible for a friend, even making such a sacrifice. But the most important thing is that you never regretted it, not for a single moment. That's something everyone should admire, but even more so us Gods. We spent thousands of years in the world, and we sometimes then to forget what it means to live in it. I find myself slipping sometimes into the role of a spectator when the world is meant to be enjoyed" he sincerely said.

I never heard him speak so seriously.

"So seeing acts of selflessness like yours helps us remember that we Gods are also a part of this world, not only its protectors. Thank you for that and for all you did to help Mondstadt" he said with a dramatic bow. He looked at me again with a smile."But enough of that, tell me, was my city good?"

"Yes. Honestly, I think it's better than Liyue and Inazuma" I admitted.

"What?!" asked an indignant Guizhong.

"It's true" I insisted. "Humans are able to govern themselves, and setting aside some things they are doing quite good. There are a few bad apples, but overall I found the people in Mondstadt honest and open-minded".

"Of course!. They are my precious people after all" Barbatos cheered at my words.

"In Liyue, people are too hung up on the past. I can't even count the amount of books and stories about the past. Storytellers, jewelers, historians, writers, theatre plays...There are too many memories of the past there. It's not a bad thing, but I think it's hindering a bit the development of the people there at a societal level. Also, there are a lot of bad apples there" I said with a frown.

"That...may be true" Guizhong admitted. She couldn't believe that if all Adeptus and even Morax disappeared, the people from Liyue could make a 'good' society like Mondstadt had.

"Of course it is. My nation is the best there is" Barbatos looked convinced of that. "What about your hometown?" he asked curiously.

"I like Inazuma's landscapes the most. I like Mondstadt green spaces a lot, and I love the amount of forests there are. Liyue is also spectacular, but I prefer the calmness of the forests in Mondstadt. But Inazuma is special. There is something in the Sakura trees, the majestic Tenshukaku, the imposing mountain with the Shrine on top, and even the view from the Shrine. You can see everything from there. The beautiful Watasumi, the stormy Seirai, the imposing Tatarasuna...oh"

I suddenly realized that I wouldn't be able to see anything of that again. Last year was my last Sakura viewing party, 2 months ago were my last fireworks, and I wouldn't be able to see a festival again.

But that would come later, now I needed to say goodbye to Barbatos properly.

"Anyway, while I like Inazuma the most, it's people are the worst. People are murdering each other openly, and nobody wants to stop. If Morax decided to disappear, people would be confused and worried, but in a few years, everything would be okay. Barbatos already left a few hundred years ago, and they are doing good. But if the Raiden Shogun disappears.....we would probably kill ourselves" I grimly said.

"It's that bad?" asked a surprised Barbatos.

"It's worse. We are already in a civil war with Watatsumi, and the fatui are being fatui. And the clans only stopped murdering each other because I could catch them. Honestly, the Shogun is the cause of all this, and at the same time the only thing preventing a total collapse" I confessed. I didn't like how the Shogun was managing things, but I was a kid, and I'm not qualified to say anything about her.

"Beelzebub had it hard" said Barbatod with a pained look. "I still remember how she stood behind her sister in our meetings, always ready to protect her, so when the Cataclysm happ-".

"Barbatos!" Guizhong stopped him with a shout.

"Ops, hehe sorry, even someone as free as me sometimes slips up" he said with a smile while hitting his head "Tehe".

But I couldn't feel any remorse from him. This is his way of helping me, as he knew that I wanted to help Inazuma.

"Anyway" he continued. "From here on you will leave alone" he said with a smile.

"No you don't" I muttered while grabbing him. Barbatos was air, he only took a form when he felt like it, but even now he was pure air.

But when I grabbed him, I was rooting his soul in place, so he couldn't disperse like he always did.

"What else do you need?" he asked me, but I could feel his nervousness.

"You abandoned me last time. After all I've done for Mondstadt, you are not leaving me alone with the angry dragon again" I said with a dark face.

"Of course not, I will be there when you find him" he assured me.

"Barbatos, I can detect lies, even from you" I grimly said. Even now he was betraying me.

"Tehe!" he repeated the same stupid posture. That was the only thing he did when he said that abominable word.

"Tehe all you want, I'm not leaving you" I firmly said.

"Okay, then do your best" he mischievously said, and I shivered.

He couldn't 'dematerialize', but he was still wind.

Before I could realize it, I was looking down at the whole Mondstadt and Liyue. Probably.

"BARBATOOOS!" I was screaming like a kid, but I didn't care. This bastard was not leaving.

"If you are scared, you should release me" I heard him say.

"You asshole, when I find you I-" I suddenly saw a lot of threads of different colors around me.

If I saw them, they were souls. I counted them and saw 7 of them. What a coincidence right?

7, the same numbers as the countries in Teyvat.

7, the same number as the Archons.

7, the same number as the Elements.

Indeed, what a coincidence.

I looked to see where they were leading to, and saw something ama-

I was suddenly on the ground again, too stunned to think.

"Kenshin, whatever you saw, forget about it" Barbatos warned me seriously.

"*Sigh*, I couldn't see anything" I honestly answered. "I only saw 7 threads of what I think are the Elements, leading to a single place, but you dropped me before I could clearly see it".

"Good then" replied Barbatos.

"Can you let me see it again?" I asked him. I have a feeling that seeing this would teach me more about the most guarded secrets of the world. Celestia.

"No way!" he shouted. "I hope the dragon turns you into a paste in the ground".

And he left. He didn't 'materialize' now, so I couldn't grab him.

"Are you okay?" asked Guizhong, wondering about what I had seen.

"Yes, but a bit confused" I honestly admitted. "But I will ask Yae first about this. I have a feeling I should hear it from her own mouth".

"Probably" nodded Guizhong. "We can already see the Wangshu Inn. Are you ready?".

"No".