Chapter V: Act VII

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Lies of the Abyss Mage
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"Welcome back!" Venti greeted cheerfully as he watched Diluc, Paimon, and Aether come walking into the tavern.

The bard took notice of the lyre and grinned. "Ah, this is the Holy Lyre! You managed to retrieve it! The pattern of flowing wind carved on the rosewood... and the strings still feel cool to the touch too. Oh, the memories..." He sighed.

"What do you think, Venti? Can you summon Dvalin?" Jean asked, noticing that a figure with (H/c) hair was nowhere to be found, and mentally sighed.

She honestly thought (Y/n) would be back from their errands, but clearly not.

"Although this lyre is the real thing, I doubt that it's going to work. As you can see, the lyre has been through a thousand years of history. Its Anemo power has run dry. In this condition, you couldn't play music fit for even Diluc's tavern with it..." Venti explained.

"Bards fight to get on the stage of my tavern. Don't make assumptions!" Diluc piped up.

"Is that really important now, Master Diluc!? And you – did you just borrow the Holy Lyre to play music for drunkards to hear?" Paimon exclaimed before turning to look at Venti.

"Ehe." Venti laughed.

"What do you mean "ehe"!?" Paimon huffed out.

"Anyway, we won't be able to call Dvalin with it. The lyre itself is fine, but the strings... You're up, outlander!" Venti states as he turns his attention to Aether.

Paimon floats over to Jean and tugs at Jean's sleeve.

Jean gave a questioning look, silently urging the child to ask her question.

"Where's (Y/n)?" She asked quietly, worry being heard in her voice.

Jean gave the other a reassuring smile. "He said that they had some important things to attend to. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to meet up with him soon, though." She whispered.

Paimon pouted lightly but nodded her head in disappointment. Just what was (Y/n) doing that they had to ignore this meeting the group was having?

"Are you talking about me?" Aether asked with a raised brow.

"Relax! It's not broken. It's just that the intensity of its Anemo power has greatly diminished. Traveler, do you still have Dvalin's teardrop crystal with you?" Venti asked.

Paimon floated back over to Aether's side. "Great! Try to use it on the Holy Lyre," Venti chirped as he watched Aether nod his head.

"Let me give it a try." Aether retorted before facing the lyre.

Reaching his hand out with the tear, Aether focused on both objects right in front of him.

The tear shimmered a few seconds before dropping straight into the lyre that glowed.

Venti's eyes sparkled in amazement. "It worked, as expected."

Jean gazed in awe. "This youthful glow..." She trailed off.

"Praising yourself? Really?" Paimon lightly accused.

Jean gave a disappointed look. "...I was talking about the Holy Lyre," she replied.

Venti turned his attention back to Aether. "Thanks to Traveler having purified the crystal, the Holy Lyre won't continue to lose power. That said, its power is far from replenished. It'd be great if we could get more tears," he states.

"We'll help," Aether states.

"How can we gather more?" Paimon asked.

"I can surmise that Dvalin will already be crying... Suffering alone in some deserted place..." Venti mumbled.

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