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Chapter 15 : a Seal of Storms
🕑 Added 2024-08-12 17:14:49 +0000 UTCOrion was heading to the Adventures' Guild thinking about the people of Mondstadt who were unaware of the danger he had averted, and whom this peaceful scene contrasted to the chaos and danger of--he had faced recently. If somehow that person appears in here, these people would be in grave danger. I cannot afford to stay in this city much longer. I need to take the fight to him, but first, I must get stronger and learn to control my powers.
Walking up to the Guild, Orion saw Katheryne, as usual on her dex next to the entrance, welcoming adventurers one by one as they passed through the entrance, seemingly full of life in her colorful uniform. It was not long before he reached her, to which he said, "Hello, Katheryne."
Without skipping a beat, she replied to him with her usual greeting, "Ad astra abyssosque! Welcome to the Adventurers' Guild."
Before Orion could say anything to her, Katheryne handed him a book.
"Here's your very own Adventurer Handbook," she said, smiling. "Inside there are details when it comes to monsters and the usual beings you've met."
Orion received the book. He was scanning it through. "Wait, since I'm an adventurer now, what's my rank?".
Katheryne's eyes widened slightly. "Oh, silly me! Here you go." She handed him a badge. Orion glanced at it and saw the inscription: Pyro Polearm User - S Rank.
He observed the badge, and you couldn't see any slight excitement or pride in his eyes—a simple stare with an indifferent expression. "Thanks," he said and pocketed the badge without much thought. Then, as an afterthought, he asked, "What about the others?"
Katheryne nodded. "Of course they got theirs a while back. You're actually the last person to get yours."
"I see," Orion replied, sounding thoughtful. After a short moment, he posed his question, "Do I have a task right now?"
Katheryne grinned and nodded. "Yes, Sir Diluc left a note for you. He told once you've prepared yourself that you should go to Stormterror's Lair and meet him there."
Orion raised an eyebrow at Katheryne's words. "Stormterror's Lair?" he repeated, rolling the name off his tongue. The place was a mystery to him; he did not know why it was important or what had happened. He feels unease. If Diluc has left a message to him here, then it would have to be something big and important.
"Yeah, I can find it with my map," Orion said, knowing full well that it wouldn't be quite so easy as following some directions. The lair was a place of power, and unknown territory lay before him.
Feeling his hesitation, Katheryne added more. "While the Dragon of the East, Stormterror, was dealt with by the Traveler some time ago, the lair is now sealed once more by a storm of fierce winds. What the Adventurers' Guild has mandated is that anyone of A to S rank could go and investigate, and if possible, dispel this storm. Many have tried, but the storm remains. It's one of the most challenging tasks we have at the moment."
Orion weighed her words carefully, measures of risk against reward. A place sealed off by storm, tied throughout history to one of the most powerful beings in Teyvat. It read like precisely the kind of challenge he needed to grow stronger. And if Diluc wanted to meet him there, then it had to be related to the answers Orion sought.
He nodded instinctively. "Yeah, I'll take it. Two birds with one stone, I guess."
Katheryne smiled, though the corners of her eyes showed concern. "I knew you would. Just be careful, Orion. Stormterror's Lair is no ordinary place."
"I will," Orion replied with finality. He spun around and started walking. Already going briskly towards the city gates, Orion's mind was already on the mission ahead. Closer to the gate, he saw that Mona and Fischl were just entering the city. Their eyes met as a spark of recognition crossed Mona's face; her eyes lit up, and before Orion could react in surprise, she rushed over, holding him in a tight hug.
"You look well," she said, a mix of relief and teasing in her voice. "Glad you're on your feet, you know, after everything we went through."
Orion smiled and briefly returned the embrace. "It's good to see you two in one piece," he replied, looking over at Fischl and Oz, who watched silently.
Mona pulled back, crossing her arms with a smirk. "Next time you decide to play the hero, at least try not to get yourself killed. It would leave a bad taste in my mouth if you died after we have left you there."
Orion chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, yeah, I'll keep that in mind. No more close calls, by the way, have you seen Bennett and Emily?"
"Bennett's doing okay, as usual, but haven't seen Emily around," replied Mona, and there was a hint of concern in her voice.
Her words pierced Orion with guilt. So much had happened to Emily, and having her go through it all alone gnawed at his conscience. He could do nothing to help her at that moment—nothing but this revenge, his only solace. He pushed the thoughts quickly out of his mind as he spoke, trying to force a smile onto his face. "I see you are coming back from the task," he said in an effort to lighten the mood.
Just then, as Mona began to respond, out front stepped the dramatic form of Fischl, raising one hand. "Verily! The perils which beset us were most grueling, a veritable maze of danger and intrigue! But as always, we emerged victorious, for we are those whom fate has chosen, led by the stars and the fates themselves!
Oz coughed, balanced on her shoulder. "What mein Fräulein means to say is that we had a few troubles and needed the help of Lady Mona Megistus to finish the job. "
Orion couldn't help but chuckle at their interaction, their repartee lightening his mood just a bit. "Sounds like quite the adventure," he said, nodding to Fischl. "Glad you had Mona with you to help out.
"Fear not, brave warrior!" Fischl declared dramatically, her eyes sparkling with pride. "For no challenge can be too great when the Prinzessin der Verurteilung and her loyal subjects join forces with one of such legendary prowess!"
Mona just shook her head. Her smile was fond on her lips. "It wasn't anything we couldn't handle together," she said, a bit more down to earth.
Just as he was turning to go, Orion turned and said, "First one's up for me."
Mona showed her interest. "That's wonderful! What's your first mission?"
"Stormterror's Lair," Orion replied with a matter-of-fact demeanor.
Mona responded immediately, laughing. "Stormterror's Lair?! as your first task ? that place... It's a lost cause. Even I, being an A-rank Adventurer, turned down that quest. Whatever got that place sealed again seems even stronger than before. Good luck, Orion—you'll need lots of it."
Orion just shrugged. "It wouldn't hurt to try. Maybe I'll just brute force my way through it.".
Mona giggled once more at the resolute attitude. "Wouldn't that be a sight." She changed the pitch of her voice and smiled sincerely. "It is good to see you again, Orion. Take care."
With that, Mona and Fischl continued their way into the city, leaving Orion to his task. He looked at his map and saw Stormterror's Lair lay in the Brightcrown Mountains. Wryly sighing, he muttered, "I'm clearly terrible at navigation," and tucked the map back into his bag.
Not wanting to get lost, Orion had decided to follow his instincts. "I'll just do this," he said, and with a burst of Pyro energy, he propelled himself into the sky. The ground fell away beneath him as he shot upwards, high enough to see the horizon. Scanning the landscape, he spotted a huge dome in the distance, surrounded by a raging storm of winds.
"That's gotta be it," he muttered to himself, squinting at the sinister view. "That place looks terrible. what the hell is that?"
To him, it had seemed a wild, fierce, and considerably worse storm than he had expected. If that was what he saw from a distance, how hard and full of danger it could be when it was nearby he did not know. There was no time to turn back now. He braced himself and set his aim to Stormterror's Lair, ready to face whatever lay ahead of him.
As Orion flew through the air, he couldn't help but think, "At this point, I wouldn't even need that glider from Amber. I could just do this." He flexed again, sending massive spurts of Pyro energy in all directions and blasting himself ahead with increasing speed. The wind whipped by his face, and for one second, he felt exhilarated to fly like this. But the more his speed increased, the more his panic heightened. "Probably I should slow things down a bit; I'm not yet used to this," he thought to himself, trying to control it.
He didn't have to fly for more than a few minutes to reach Stormterror's Lair, but instead of the lair itself, there were monsters below him, right over the path. It was disturbing; it was no everyday crowd of Hilichurls and Lawachurls. It was like an army preparing to shift out. "This doesn't look normal," he thought, his expression hardening as he slowly began to realize something.
Orion tightened the grip on the polearm, his legs remained alight with Pyro to hold his aloft position, and he took his gaze on the general mass of enemies below. While he focused, the color of his eyes began to change: first they turned to a deep yellow color, and then they became pure and ethereal. A rush of Cryo energy into the polearm and around the blade formed a cold, blue aura around its whirling edge.
The great hunter Orion plunged from the sky, gathering speed now, hurtling for the earth. The wind whistled around him in blues of scrambles as he streaked across the line of vision like a comet of fire and ice. Just before impact, he flipped his polearm downward.
As Orion touched down, his polearm struck the ground with a loud crash. The impact of his landing sent waves through the ground, and then a wave of ice burst forth from the point of impact, engulfing everything around him, turning Hilichurls and Lawachurls into statues—bodies encased in thick layers of ice.
"Not quite the landing I had in mind, but still effective," Orion grumbled to himself as he looked at the frozen enemies around him, satisfied.
Drawing his polearm from the earth with a quick jerk of his arm, he funneled his Pyro into the weapon, flaring it red as he readied himself, packing it chock full of force on the blade. With his full might, he forced a slash through, sending a thousand-foot wave of fire crashing down on his frozen opponents, melting and purging them in that very moment.
As the flames died down slightly, Orion's senses tingled with danger. A Lawachurl, its body clad in stone armor, had crept up from behind. Yet, Orion's reflexes were fast, and he leaped high up into the air, somersaulting over the head of the towering creature.
He twisted through the air, angling his polearm so that he drove the point down into the Stonehide Lawachurl's head—a move that easily penetrated the thing's thick armor. Orion landed in a crouch, pulling free his weapon as the Lawachurl fell lifeless to the ground.
"Nice try, filth," Orion said coldly, almost disgustedly. He wiped the blood from his polearm cleanly before fastening it back onto his back. Now, the field was silent, except for the residual flames that were crackling and the creaking of melting ice.
