A lost friend's journey

Chapter 2

"And what about the other Archons, Venti? Do you think they would know about my sister's whereabouts?"

"Oh, them?"

Talking about the Archons wasn't Venti's favorite topic for sure. But he liked to think it wasn't a conversation that would bring him pain the way it used to. Did he feel betrayed? Not really, he knew the others didn't like him. But it hurt, because he never expected them to lash out on him. Well, he disappeared, so he wouldn't annoy them anymore.

Venti put his hand under his chin, pretending to think about traveler's question. Those red cubes he talked about... They could only belong to one person. They were her signature after all. She was the only one to use them, to create cubes that served as weapons. Only she could be the one traveler was mentioning, the one who made Venti shudder merely by her mention, the one who gave him the impression she was watching, following in his shadows waiting for the perfect moment, that one moment he would show her his weaknesses to strike him down and remove him from existence. After all, she was always watching everyone and everything. She was the one to make sure things on Teyvat were as they should be. Well, as they should be to her and the other despicable beings she was working with.

He was but a mere Archon however. He could never hope to rebel alone against such a force. He would end up crushed and killed twelve times before he could even raise a single finger, summon the smallest of winds. They always had the higher up, constantly a few steaps ahead. Outsmarting them was impossible. Rebelling against them was a suicide mission. That's how overwhelmingly terrifying Celestia was.

And so for the sake of his friend and his beloved nation, he had no other choice but to put on a sad and sympathetic smile on his face for the sake of the traveler. Albeit genuinely feeling sorry for his newfound friend, he could not afford spilling his secrets. He had already said too much by merely mentioning that things such as gnosis existed. It was absurd how cautious and paranoid he was being, but he had no other choice.

He wasn't free of his words or his actions. He really had no other choice but to lie. He could only hope the traveler would discover on his own the dark secrets Teyvat held close to its heart. But he would not interfere. Venti would not endanger Mondstadt for selfish desires such as his own. It wasn't even debatable.

"I'm not sure, this God you described doesn't remind me of anyone, and doesn't correspond to any of the Seven. Strange..."

How he wished he could tell traveler that it was all a lie. A gigantic lie twisted over and over to please those who supervised the gods. Venti's mouth would be sealed. He vowed five hundred years ago to never bring attention to himself and by extension, to Mondstadt. Venti would rather die than see his precious nation suffer the same fate as the innocents' who's lives were taken by force at the hands of creatures who were scared of what mere humans could do without a God.

Venti wanted to scoff. How pathetic.

"I... see."

Immense guilt filled Venti, but he made his mind a long time ago. He would not resign now when it finally seemed like he was doing the right thing.

"Oh but don't feel so down traveler, it is worth asking them!" he hurriedly tried to comfort his friend, not wanting to be the cause of his sad mood. "After all, I am the youngest Archon, they know waaay more than I do, that's for sure!"

It wasn't necessarily true. Venti... Venti had some tricks up his sleeves. He knew for a fact that some of the mysteries that were buried with lost nations as time passed remained alive in his memories. But he would never admit it. It would destroy all the sacrifices he made only to see his people thrive, independent of their God and, most importantly, free.