Chapter Text
It was a peaceful day. Birds chirping at the sight of the sun revealing itself. The blazing sun's rays shined throughout Liyue. Signaling the beginning of a new day. The pathways were empty at first, then more people strolled to their respective workplaces.
It was an ordinary day.
Well, it was supposed to be.
If it didn't happen.
♡
Ningguang tapped her fingers as she gritted her teeth, leaning back on her chair. "Send in another team of Millelith soldiers to The Chasm. Make sure they evacuate everyone they can first. Do not hesitate to call for backup."
The Millelith general gestured a nod before rushing out of the office.
A brunette strolled into Ningguang's office. She wore a curious expression on her face. "Hey, Ning! I saw a Millelith guy or whatever come out of your office. Anything interesting that happened?"
The white-haired woman sighed, massaging her temples before turning her head to Beidou. "The Abyss Order was reported to be seen at The Chasm around 20 minutes ago. The Millelith is trying to evacuate everyone from the premises. So far, there are no reported deaths but there are many who are injured."
Ganyu interrupted the conversation, holding the paperwork firmly in her hands. "Ahem. Sorry to interrupt. Lady Ningguang?"
Ningguang faced Ganyu but her eyes were still wandering to Beidou. "Yes, what do you need?"
"I was wondering if you know where Lady Keqing is? It's required for her to sign these documents for the rebuilding of the Jade Chamber." She gestured to the papers she was holding.
Ningguang curled her hand into a fist as she remembered the conversation she had with the Yuheng ten minutes ago.
♡
Keqing crossed her arms. "Ningguang, allow me to join the battle in The Chasm."
Ningguang snickered. Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Haha. No."
Keqing scowled and slammed her palm on Ningguang's desk. "Civilians may be in danger and you expect me to sit here and do nothing?!"
The taller woman covered her mouth with her fingers which had caused a muffled laugh. "Keqing, please use your head. Do you think I would allow one of my greatest assets to Liyue's future to fight head-on in an unknown battle? Please, go back to scheduling the rebuilding of the Jade Chamber."
Ningguang tried to hide her concern for Keqing with a smug smile. Deep down, she doesn't want the Yuheng to get hurt. She’d take that secret to the grave, though.
Keqing walked towards the exit but stopped at the door. She chuckled wryly, her back turned to Ningguang. Curling her hand into a fist. "You've always thought of yourself."
"Pardon?" Ningguang questioned. Silently praying for her voice not to crack at this time.
She turned her head around and glared directly at Ningguang. “ Liyue is bound to crumble if we don't fight. You can't run a city without its people. If we don't fight now, the Abyss Order will think of us as weak. Who knows when they'll directly attack the harbor?! Hell, we should be glad that they only attacked rural areas!”
Ningguang was taken aback. She sat there speechless as Keqing forced a smile. Heavily sighing, she placed her hand on her forehead with the other hand latched to the door handle. "I'll go to The Chasm now, then." She chuckled wryly once more. " You know, there is a difference between you and me." She sighed. "I ran for this position to be of service to our people. You became Tianquan for wealth."
And with that, Keqing's footsteps sounded distant as she had rushingly stepped out of the office. Her heels clicked against the marble floor.
Ningguang slammed her right fist on the desk. Leaning her left cheek on her left hand while resting the other arm on the desk. Only then, did she notice that all eyes were on her. There were looks of shock, concern, and confusion just outside her door. She could hear the chatter amongst them. Glaring at the secretaries, they all turned their heads away from Ningguang's glare. She took a look amongst them. Ganyu, surprisingly, wasn't there. "Archons, out of all the times Ganyu would be late, it had to be now." She muttered angrily under her breath.
Even if it seemed like everyone was avoiding her eyes, she still felt people staring holes into her. She had stopped leaning on her chair and stood up to shut her door.
Until Baiwen, her secretary had shown up right in front of her door. Seeing her nervous expression, she raised a brow. "Speak of your concern, now."
"A lady named Beidou requests your presence however she hasn't made an appointment. She insisted that she is your acquaintance."
Ningguang groaned and put her hand on her forehead. "Tell her to come to my office in ten minutes, now. If she asks why tell her that I need to gather my thoughts." She hadn't noticed but she had been glaring at her secretary the entire time.
"N-noted!" She stuttered out before rushing out of the office.
She aggressively slammed her door, causing a few gasps outside of her office.
She thought back on Keqing's words. "Damn it, what could I have done to make Keqing stay?"
However, no matter what Ningguang would have said, the outcome would've been the same. That's how it always is with Keqing.
♡
"Lady Ningguang? Are you all right?" Ganyu asked as she moved closer to Ningguang's face.
She snapped back into reality. "Ah, I apologize, Ganyu. I spaced out a little."
Ganyu had a worried expression on her face. "You should take a nap later. It eases the mind."
Ningguang couldn't help but feel obligated to admit what happened to Keqing.
"Keqing's at—" She paused. Rethinking her decision. "She's at The Chasm."
"The Chasm?" Ganyu repeated.
"Correct. I have tried stopping her but you understand how Keqing is, right?" She forced a smile.
Ganyu crumpled the papers in her hand. If she hadn't controlled herself, the pages would have torn into two.
"I'll excuse myself. Thank you, Lady Ningguang."
Hiding her worry with a fake smile. She sprinted out of the Pavilion. Scattering the papers on the ground.
"I'm sure Keqing will be fine now. In Ganyu's hands." 'I hope.' She added the last two words in her mind before sighing heavily. Ningguang stood up and bent down to reorganize the papers.
Beidou exhaled, breaking the moment of silence. "Say, Ning? You seem to care for Miss Yuheng. What a surprise."
She clenched the papers. "Ah well, we are just acquaintances, that's all."
Beidou chuckled with an amused look on her face. She wasn't buying that excuse but decided to save Ningguang from any further questioning. "I see. You think Keqing will be fine on the battlefield?"
"I'm sure she's fine. She has trained for years."
Even with her strong belief in the Yuheng, she couldn't help but doubt her even just a little.
♡
She rushed out of the Pavillion, running down the stairs, searching for a secluded place. She eventually found an alleyway with not too many people near it. That would have to do.
She coughed into her fist before whispering. "Adeptus Xiao."
A green-haired adeptus appeared out of nowhere and dug his polearm straight down which cracked the pavement. However, that didn't matter, right now.
He looked at the ground, his back facing her. "Ganyu? Why did you call? I don't have a lot of time."
Ganyu gulped. She was desperate. She needed to get to Keqing, quickly. She exhaled. "I need you to bring me to The Chasm, fast."
Xiao crossed his arms and furrowed his brows, leaning against the wall. "And why is that?"
Ganyu trembled, shaking Keqing's shoulders gently. "Lady Keqing, please, don't die on me. Not now. Not when we are finally getting along."
Keqing clenched her bleeding stomach, leaning her head on a boulder behind her. Gave a faint smile before mumbling. "Thank you, Ganyu." Before shutting her eyes as if it was the last time she would. She wrapped her arms around Keqing's body. Holding her tightly. Not showing any signs of letting go. She cried her eyes out, letting out stifled sobs. As she brought her lips close to Keqing's ear, she sniffled, then whispered words into her ear. "I'm sorry." She managed to stutter out before burying her face in Keqing's ear, crying once more.
Ganyu shuddered at the thought of her being left behind by Keqing in the mortal realm, leaving her everlasting feelings to be the only thing that reminds Ganyu of her.
She stumbled, leaning her back against the wall. Her heart threatened to jump out of her chest.
Xiao put his hands on her shoulders, shaking them gently. The same motion Ganyu did to Keqing in her thoughts. "Ganyu? Ganyu! Snap out of it!"
Ganyu snapped back to reality as she put her hand on her chest while inhaling and exhaling.
Waiting for her heartbeat to calm down before sighing and breathing in and out once more. "Xiao, I don't know how much time I have left. Please bring me to The Chasm, now."
He let go of her shoulders and shook his head. "How absurd." Placing a hand on his forehead, he scoffed. "Fine, I'll help you."
She nodded in gratitude. "I appreciate it, Xiao." He groaned, putting his hand on his forehead. "Whatever. Hold on to me tightly. Even if you're half adepti, you'll still be injured if you fall from such heights."
♡
Xiao panted. "Ganyu, you're here, now.”
She bowed her head. "I can't thank you, enough."
He looked away from her. "Don't mention it." He pointed at the purple-haired figure. "I think I see the Yuheng over there. You came to protect her, right? This is your chance. I'll wait here. Don't take up too much time. I can't stay here forever."
Ganyu was curious as to how Xiao knew that information but decided not to question it. She dashed away to the direction Xiao pointed at, as he leaned on the wall. "Maybe you'll be able to do something, I couldn't." He sighed softly as he crossed his arms. "Good luck, Ganyu."
His eyes turned to the side.
"Oh, an Abyss Mage. Do you dare to challenge me? The Vigilant Yaksha?" The Abyss Mage shot out a blazing flame at Xiao, giving him the answer he had secretly wanted. He furrowed his brows. "Fine, I won't go easy on you."
♡
Monsters cornered Keqing. One of them let out a shriek as they began to charge at her. She appeared to be severely injured. Her right arm was bruised and inflicted with burns. Her left arm was no better, with fresh wounds and cuts all over it, blood flowing down hastily. Her leg was slashed and decorated with more black and blue marks.
Adrenaline was rushing through Keqing's body. She was pushing her limits. She dodged the cryo attack as she clenched her sword tightly before stabbing right through one of the mages.
Ganyu instantly pulled out her bow. She pulled back the bowstring, trying to aim the arrow at the Abyss Mage's head. Ganyu had waited for the arrow to be cryo-infused before letting the arrow go. The frostflake arrow shot right through the Abyss Mage's chest before exploding, eliminating the other hilichurls around the mage. The monsters disintegrated before Keqing. Leaving only their weapons left. She lessened the grip of her sword as it fell from her hand. Keqing panted heavily before collapsing to the ground.
Ganyu ran over to the center of the Chasm. She bent down, looking at the gaping hole. “This must be where they are coming from.” She sighed before turning her head, pulling out her bow, blocking the mitachurl’s attack with her Amo’s Bow. Pushing the mitachurl away before shooting a fury of arrows into its chest.
Running towards the Millelith, she waved both of her hands out to catch their attention. "Retreat!" She screamed. Her shouting was deafening. It would have probably been heard all the way from Liyue Harbor.
One of the Millelith soldiers nodded their head and began to direct the others far away from the battlefield.
Ganyu dashed to Keqing and put her head under Keqing's arm. Dragging her over to where Xiao is.
Xiao looked at them and was shocked, to say the least. He unexpectedly leaped above them and plunged behind them. Ganyu turned her head in surprise and saw an Abyss Mage disintegrating. What was even more shocking was the wave of hilichurls who were chasing them down.
”Ganyu, do you trust me?”
She nodded her head quickly. “Of course, I do!”
”Jump into the crater in the middle, now!”
”Eh? Xiao? But—”
She was interrupted by a hilichurl attack that Xiao quickly blocked. “Ganyu, it’s our only chance! There is no way we’ll be able to fight them all off!”
“Okay, okay! Let’s jump in!”
Xiao hummed a response as he went down. Ganyu hesitantly jumped down, clutching Keqing’s arm.
♡
Ganyu caught a glimpse of their surroundings before they fell to the ground. Xiao was able to grab Keqing just before the fall and save her from any further damage.
She sat up and turned her head around and began looking at their surroundings.
It wasn't Liyue Harbor. There was nothing there that had the same aspects as Liyue. The pale moonlight glowed on them. A barbaric wasteland. Ruins were everywhere. By the looks of it, it seemed to be from some sort of lost civilization. The place was crawling with monsters, most especially, Abyss Mages.
Ganyu looked confusedly at Xiao who had just seen their surroundings too.
"Eh? Xiao? Where are we?
♡
Yuehai Pavilion is supposedly known for its quiet nature. But this time, Yuehai Pavilion was filled with shouts of the Tianquan. All the secretaries avoided even being in a close range of Ningguang's office.
Ningguang put her hands together and stared daggers into the Millelith sergeant who was placing his hands together, bowing his head apologetically. "Lady Ningguang, none of us know where Ganyu and Keqing had gone. They, sort of, disappeared."
Ningguang struck her desk with her fist. Making the glass filled with coffee shake uncontrollably. "What do you mean by they disappeared?! Send out another search party now!"
As the sergeant rushed out of the office, Beidou nervously chuckled, placing her hand on Ningguang's shoulder. "Hey, Ning! Calm down a little. I'm sure they're fine."
She buried her face in her hands while sighing. "You're right. But I can't help but worry for them."
"I feel the same way but taking out your anger on a sergeant who has nothing to do with it is a bit much, no?"
They were met with an awkward moment of silence until Beidou broke it. "How about we grab some lunch? It will help take your mind off it." She suggested, with a hopeful look on her face.
Ningguang grabbed her paperwork and evened the edges out before responding. "Thank you. I think I can spare enough time."
♡
Strolling through Liyue Harbor, many were giving her weird glances but she paid no mind to them. Beidou abruptly stopped, catching the eye of the Tianquan. Ningguang raised a brow, confusedly. Beidou turned to her. "Would you like to go to Wanmin Restaurant?" She continued. "I heard they discovered some kind of tasty snack made of slime condensate."
Ningguang giggled and gave Beidou a sweet smile. "Noted. Let's head to Wangmin Restaurant. No guarantee that I'll consume the snack made out of slimes, though."
Beidou chuckled, brushing her hands against Ningguang's. "I knew you would say that! But c'mon! I'm sure it tastes good if it was added to the menu."
Ningguang let out an exaggerated sigh. She had tried to hide her laugh behind her fingers. "If you insist. However, do not expect me to like it, Captain Beidou.
"You don't need to be so formal, you know? It's not like anyone is here, anyway. I'm fine with you calling me 'Beidou.' In fact, It would be nice if you did so."
"Beidou." She continued. "Every single person that had noticed us had given us side-glances. It's safe to assume that they're avoiding us."
"First of all, that's not my point. Plus I'm sure that they're not avoiding—" Beidou said as she whipped her head around, wanting to prove Ningguang wrong. Only to see a civilian glaring at them. The civilian quickly looked away after meeting Beidou's eyes. "Heh, I guess you're right. What's their problem, anyway? Does it bother them that the Tianquan is going to have lunch with me?"
Ningguang almost let out a sigh. 'Seems like she hasn't heard of the rumors.' She thought.
Ningguang stepped back, away from the sun's blazing rays. Beidou basked in the sun's glow. It gave Ningguang a strange feeling. The sight made everyone lucky enough to see it, and feel warm inside. Or maybe it was just Ningguang who felt that fuzzy feeling. Her heart started beating rapidly as Beidou pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. For Ningguang, that scene was played in slow motion and kept replaying in her head. Her eyes locked on Beidou's face. She could feel her cheeks getting warmer and had almost buried her face in her hands. ‘Was it love?’ Ningguang silently thought as she shook her head. “Relationships are just a pointless endeavor.” She muttered to herself. Refusing to believe that was the case.
"—ing? Ning? Are you okay?" Beidou continuously snapped her fingers close to Ningguang's eyes.
Ningguang blinked, the scene stopped playing in her head, and she shook her head softly. "I apologize, Beidou. I believe I had spaced out again."
"You've spaced out twice today. Are you okay?"
She coughed into her fist. "Yes, I'm fine." She reassured. " Now, where were we? Ah, that's right. Let's head to Wanmin Restaurant."
Beidou had doubted her reply. "Maybe she's just exhausted from her work?" She mumbled to herself.
"Eh, Beidou? What did you say?" Ningguang questioned.
Beidou scratched the back of her neck, letting out a nervous laugh. "Ah, it's nothing! Yeah, nothing!"
Her eyes wandered around, looking for a plausible excuse. "We should hurry to Wanmin!"
She had almost let out a sigh. "Yes, we should."
Beidou decided to take the initiative. She gently took Ningguang's hand into hers. This sudden motion made Ningguang turn her head away. Her cheeks are now light pink.
"S-sorry, sorry." She stuttered out before letting go of her hand.
"Did I make you uncomfortable?" She asked while giving her a worried smile. "I'm sorry."
"No, no—" She replied. "It would be pleasant if we were to hold hands." She mumbled silently to herself. Resisting to urge to grip Beidou's hand.
Beidou heard bits of what Ningguang had said but not the entire thing. She decided to shrug it off and walked towards Wanmin. “Let’s go to Wanmin, now?” She asked.
Ningguang gently nodded her head and Beidou’s lips curved to a sweet smile.
♡
Wanmin Restaurant, arguably, had some of the best dishes. Many sophisticated restaurants cannot compare to the godlike dishes Xiangling made. After just having a whiff of her food, you’ll find yourself having a fourth serving. This is the reason why Ganyu had avoided even going near this restaurant in the first place. Rumors speculate that Xiangling had gotten a considerable amount of job offerings involving cooking but she turned them down for the sake of her father’s restaurant.
An indigo-black-haired girl let out a gasp after spotting the Tianquan. “Beidou actually brought the Tianquan here—” She mumbled before bowing her head before her unexpected guest.
“Welcome to Wanmin Restaurant! Can I get you guys anything?” She asked, hoping it didn’t seem like she was being disrespectful towards her new guest.
Ningguang contemplated as she looked into the menu. “I’d just like a simple dish. Something precise, pure, smart, and sophisticated."
Xiangling stood there in awe as Beidou nervously chuckled, placing her hand on Ningguang's shoulder. "Just get her some Black-Back Perch Stew. I'll have the Jueyun Chili Chicken."
She nodded her head softly, writing down the meals on a short, small notepad before dashing away.
Ningguang glared at Beidou intently before letting out a deep sigh, breaking the awkward moment of silence. "I assume-- Wait, no. I expect that this so-called 'Black-Back Perch Stew," She gestured her fingers. "meets my requirements."
"No need to be so uptight about meals! It's nice to try out different kinds of food."
Ningguang's cheek was pressing against her hand. "I suppose so, however, I'd like to stick to my taste--"
Both of their eyes caught the figure who was running towards them. The woman panted and let out a sigh before turning to the Tianquan.
"Baiwen, what's the matter? Has something urgent come up?"
"The Acting Grandmaster of Mondstadt requests your presence. They wish to discuss a plan against the Abyss Order."
Ningguang's eyes shot open as she quickly got out of her chair. "I apologize, Captain Beidou. Let us eat out next time."
♡
“We meet again, Mrs. Gunnhildr. Glad to see you again.” She gazed curiously at the mysterious light-honey-brown-haired woman. “And who may this be?”
Jean let out a sigh. “Her name is Lisa Minci. She’s my wife. She insisted to come with me to Liyue.” She placed her hand on her forehead.
“Jean! It was merely a suggestion. It’s not my fault you couldn’t handle my ‘persuasive’ tone.”
“Persuasive tone?! Your tone had to, at least, be somewhat suggestive.”
Lisa cupped Jean’s face with her hands. “So you thought of it that way? I didn’t realize how perverted you were. If you're so eager, then.." Lisa moved closer, her lips curving to a sly smirk as the Acting Grandmaster turned away, her cheeks turning to a light pink shade. "Lisa! That's i-inappropriate behavior!"
The two of them bickered as Ningguang amusedly chuckled. “Even the Acting Grandmaster has relationships too, huh.” She mumbled silently to herself.
Jean turned her head to Ningguang as she pushed Lisa gently away from her. "Ahem. I'm sorry about that. Let’s continue.”
The librarian bit her lip seductively. “Oh, Jean. Your serious tone is so—”
”Lisa! Not the time!”
Ningguang coughed quietly into her fist. Loud enough to catch the attention of both of them. “Sorry to interrupt this lover’s spat but I’m assuming you both came to Liyue Harbor to talk about the Abyss Order, yes?”
Jean quietly nodded her head as Lisa hummed in response. “I’ll just get straight to the point. We came here to form an alliance against the Abyss Order.”