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Chapter 33 : Khaenri'ah and the Divine
🕑 Added 2024-09-13 16:37:16 +0000 UTCOrion hesitated a moment longer, his arms still loosely wrapped around her. Much as he wanted to stay like this, basking in the rare, intimate moment, he knew they couldn't avoid the others forever.
Taking a deep breath, he loosed his hold and let Eula slip off his lap. "We have to dress up first," he said with a small chuckle, which was supposed to lighten the mood of the atmosphere. Standing, he stretched, his body still sore from earlier, before snatching up his clothes off the floor.
Still with that playful glint in her eyes, Eula rose with all the grace of a cat from the bed and started dressing herself. While she buttoned her top, she cast a glance in Orion's direction. "You know… it's not every day I wake up to a situation like this."
Orion laughed nervously, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, well, I'm still trying to figure out how that happened in the first place."
Eula smirked. "You were unconscious, groaning in your sleep. I tried to help keep you warm and. well, you know the rest."
He raised an eyebrow at her, his eyes skeptical. "Right." he said slowly, a thread of suspicion in his voice, though the faintest tug of a smile worked its way onto the corner of his mouth. "That sounds a little too convenient."
Eula shrugged, still light and playful with her tone. "Believe what you want, "
Orion swallowed and felt his face heat with the image. "Right. Thanks for that… I think."
Once they were both dressed, Eula gave him a final once-over, satisfied with his attempt to regain some composure. "Are you ready now, or do you need more time to calm your nerves?" she teased, crossing her arms.
Orion grinned sheepishly. "I think I'm good to go."
They stepped out of the room, and Orion's mind whirled with what had just happened. It was more than just the physical closeness they'd breached, a line he hadn't known was there to start with. Now every step they took toward the others felt like he was coming back to some reality that suddenly seemed a great deal more complicated.
As they drew near the great hall, it was met with a symphony of voices and movement. Diluc already sat at the table, his eyes darting over to the pair. He betrayed nothing in his face, though at the edges of his lips, the faintest hint of amusement played.
"Feeling well-rested now?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
A blush crept up Orion's neck, his nodding quickening as he muttered under his breath. "Yeah, much better. Thanks.".
Eula passed Orion with grace, her strides smooth and fluid as she walked directly to the table Diluc was occupying. She plonked herself across from him without any hesitation, her face calm and collected. "Diluc, since Orion's now awake, I'll be taking my leave. Jean will probably scold me, but like I care," she said with an apathetic tone.
Diluc gave a small, knowing smile. "Of course," he said, the hint of amusement dripping from his voice. "I was just about to kick you out anyway."
Eula raised an eyebrow, smirking in response. "How considerate of you.
Eula stayed her leave and turned back to Orion this time serious. "One more thing. Those scars… the strange ones that appeared then disappeared. Did you have them before?"
Diluc still sat and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I noticed them too. They didn't look like normal scars. More like… cube-like runes. Never seen anything like it."
Orion froze as a wave of shock washed over him. 'They saw it?' he thought, his mind racing. 'Those marks appeared again… but why? The only other time was after my fight with the emissary, and now after using my light powers…' He stood silent for a moment, lost in thought, troubled by the pattern.
Eula broke into his reverie. "Orion, are you lost in thought?
Diluc also added, looking at him curiously. "You alright?"
Snapping out of it, Orion blinked and slightly shook his head. "Yeah, I was just… remembering something." He took a deep breath and said, "I know what you're talking about, but I don't know what those marks are. I gotta find someone who'd know. Something is telling me… this isn't simple." There was a trace of unease in his voice, as if the weight of a mystery loomed over him.
Eula and Diluc exchanged a look of concern was well and truly written across their eyes, but neither of them spoke another word, contented still to let Orion work out his mind in silence.
Orion turned to the two and gave an assuring smile. "Don't worry, I will handle it if the time comes," he said with a tint of humor.
Eula hitched one brow, her eyes glinting with teasing. "Who said anything about worrying over you?" she teased, her lips curling into a smirk. She made to leave but suddenly swiveled back, darting over to Orion one more time.
Leaning in close, the heat of her breath sending shivers across his ear, she whispered, "Well, it's time I go, Orion. Keep in touch, don't be long"
Before he could answer, Eula just straightened up, gave him a short but meaningful look, and with that, she was out of the manor of Dawn Winery, leaving Orion and Diluc's company.
The moment the door closed behind her, Orion cast his gaze to Diluc, who, again, sipped on his coffee, eyes closed and the faintest smirk on his face.
Orion frowned, raising an eyebrow. "What?"
Diluc didn't even open his eyes, only took another languid sip before responding with a nonchalant, "Nothing."
Orion rolled his eyes. "..." Orion sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thanks for taking care of me."
Diluc gave him a flat look. "I didn't. I only provided a place of stay. Eula and our dear friend Rosaria handled the rest."
Rosaria-the name stirred a faint memory in Orion's mind, a shadowy vision of a nun, stern of visage, keeping vigil as he struggled to wake. "Rosaria? I think I remember. I'll have to thank her when I get the chance."
Diluc snorted, leaning back. "Good luck with that, she is rather hard to find."
Orion chuckled, and then his face turned grave. "What about Dvalin? Is he alright?"
The smirk disappeared from Diluc's face as he set his cup down. "I cannot speak directly with him, but I have people out there watching. He has been flying around Mondstadt like... he is searching for something."
Orion frowned. "Searching for what, I wonder?"
Diluc got to his feet, his expression grim. "I wish I knew."
As Orion shifted in his seat, he winced a little, trying to move his arm. "Man, it's still a bit sore," he said wryly, clenching his fist and releasing it several times as if to shake off some stiffness. Diluc paused for a moment, his smile gone as another thought crossed his mind. "I feel like. I dragged you into this mess, and for that, I apologize."
Diluc turned to him, his eyes sharp but not unkind. Orion cut him off before he could speak more, his tone of voice sincere but firm. "What are you talking about? Everything I did was my choice. Taking that commission, answering your call, choosing this life as an adventurer-it was all me. I decided to do those things."
Diluc said nothing for a moment, then nodded slightly; the respect for Orion palpable. "Fair enough. Just remember, we're all in it together now."
Orion leaned back as his mind raced for his words, "I'll help Mondstadt find its Archon, and from there I will continue onwards. If he's truly one of the divine, he might have some answers for me."
Diluc crossed his arms, looking contemplative. "I hope he does. Either way, Kaeya should be back soon with useful news."
"Right," Orion nodded, nodding toward the door. "He's been away for a while, hasn't he? Where did he go to anyway?"
Diluc started pacing slowly around the room, his footsteps soft against the wooden floor. "The ruins of Khaenri'ah," he said, his voice almost reverent.
But the name struck a chord in Orion, something uncomfortably familiar. "Khaenri'ah. I believe I remember that name from somewhere."
Diluc froze at the window, his gaze fixed on the dying day, and his voice took a grave turn. "It would be odd if you didn't. Khaenri'ah. it is the place where everything changed, the land swallowed by calamity, lost nation which never had a god to protect it. Its ruins still echo with the weight of the cataclysm that has torn the world asunder, a kingdom buried beneath the sins of its past, forgotten by time but never by history. The echoes of that place. they yet reverberate through Mondstadt and all seven nations."
Orion didn't utter a word; he just sat and took in the heavy words, feeling the weight of loss emanating from them. Khaenri'ah-merely the mention of the name stirred something unsettling inside him.
Diluc's gaze remained out of the window, but his voice continued in all seriousness. "When Kaeya left, he told me that he was going to meet someone there. Someone powerful. But he did not tell me who it was. I'd go myself, but Khaenri'ah is far too dangerous-even for me."
Orion raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't that just be as dangerous for Kaeya?
Diluc shook his head; his voice came down a notch, "Normally, yes, but Kaeya is different. The truth is. he's Khaenri'ahn."
Orion's eyes widened, like he was hit with a shockwave. "What? Kaeya?
Diluc turned toward him, his expression conflicted. "A long time ago, when I found out, I was consumed with anger. I thought he was a spy, sent to destroy Mondstadt from within. I even considered killing him for it. To me, it was betrayal-all that I stood for, everything my father fought for. But I was wrong."
The weight of his confession hung heavy in the air as Diluc continued, his voice thick with regret. "Kaeya wasn't a spy. He was just a boy and Khaenri'ah was long gone. He was raised here-in Mondstadt-alongside me. Whatever connection he has to that place… it doesn't make sense or matters anymore. And in my anger, I only hurt both of us. I wounded our bond and shattered what little trust we had left."
Orion had nothing to say while the pang of Diluc's words echoed in his mind, too well aware of how deeply the truth had scarred his soul.
Orion took the weight of the revelation with a contemplative expression. "That's a lot to take in. Khaenri'ah must be a tragic place.".
Diluc nodded seriously. "It is. The fall of Khaenri'ah was only the beginning. Then came the Abyss Order, and although one thing is crystal clear, that some kind of link existed, for now the truth is veiled. The Abyss Order is a large organization and enigmatic; its deeds are far from ordinary.
He leaned back, and a look of discomfort crossed his features. "They've been acting strangely lately, haven't they? Those recent encounters with them were a little too much for just random attacks. Someone or something is at the helm, organizing the Abyss Heralds and Lectors. It can't be that simple. There's something deeper going on here, and I fear what we're seeing is but the tip of the iceberg.
Orion's face turned deep in thought as he suddenly spoke up, "Could it be Celestia? That name keeps ringing in my mind. Dvalin was repeating that while he was chained."
Diluc widened his eyes with surprise. "Dvalin... said that?"
Orion raised his eyebrow. "Is that name of great significance?"
He leaned back, his face pale, as he began to speak. "Allow me to share what I know about the Divine.."
