History repeats itself (a Genshin Impact OC insert)

Chapter 10 - the 8th of the eleven Fatui Harbingers

~•~•~

Dvalin brings the group safely back to Mondstadt. They all part ways and the trio gets some rest. When the trio heads outside to the streets of Mondstadt the next day, they are met by Amber.

"Amber, it is good to see you again.", Aether greets her. "oh, honorary knights! You're back!" – "Yup! Hey, Amber, do you think we can catch up on getting that sticky honey roast?", Paimon asks.

Amber laughs. "you bet! How about you already head to good hunters? I still have something I have to finish real quick." The trio nods and the trio goes to good hunters. There they see Kaeya.

Deliberately ignoring him, they go to the counter. "Greetings, may I take your order?", Sara asks them. "why so cold? I've always thought that we enjoy quite the intimate friendship.", Kaeya asks them.

Aether is the one to answer him. "oh hey, didn't see you there." Kaeya laughs. "it seems your great battle sharpened not only your combat skills but you wit as well. A knight after my own heart. To bask the presence of Mondstadt's new big heroes is quite the moral boost. And that's coming from a knight."

Paimon scoffs. "sweet-talking sugar-coated captain Kaeya..." Kaeya laughs once more. "nonsense! I speak from the heart." – "what are you doing here?", Aether asks instead, ignoring Kaeya's comment. "just looking for a quiet spot to collect my thoughts." – "and here I thought that Jean dispatched the knights to clean up after the battle.", Lyra says while crossing her arms.

"thinking can be an arduous task, you know. Believe me, I'd much rather be taking out the trash." – "you're not wrong... sometimes when I have to think about things, I have to be alone, only concentrating on my thoughts. Still doesn't make it right to neglect your tasks...", Lyra mutters.

"So, whatcha thinkin' about, then?", Paimon asks. "the abyss order. A dragon wreaks havoc in Mondstadt, and the acting grand master leaves the city to combat the threat. Strategically, that's the perfect moment for the abyss to make their move.", Kaeya explains.

"If you were the abyss order, would you squander this golden opportunity by sending in nothing more than a few hillichurls?", he continues. Aether nods slowly. "you're right. It doesn't add up." – "to get to the bottom of it, I decided to wait. So, I waited and watched for their next move. Then the day you made all hell break loose in Stormterror's lair, just as the hillichurls cries sounded from the city gates. That same day, I saw shadowy figures lurking in the city itself.", Kaeya relays.

Paimon gasps. "inside the city?!" – "well, all the other knights were outside, fighting the enemy. As you can imagine, that left the inside of the city completely unguarded. Except for me, of course. And so, I approached the abyss order infiltrators for a bit of... hmm, let's call it fraternising. Through various means, I managed to gather some rather interesting intel.", Kaeya conveys.

"the situation is: the abyss order... they are united under a single leader." Lyra sighs. 'I already thought he would say that... as long as he doesn't know what the monsters of the abyss really are, it should be fine.', she thinks to herself.

"the abyss order has a leader?", Paimon asks. "yes. And it was this very leader who devised the plot to turn Dvalin into a weapon of war." – "what exactly did you have to do to find this out?!" Kaeya chuckles at the flying companion. "let's just say I'm blessed with certain linguistic powers. There's more... the abyss order has a name for this leader... they call her the princess." Lyra's breath hitches.

"Princess?", Aether asks. "Now, sorry to cut this intelligence briefing short, but I do believe I spy Amber heading this way. I think she's still angry with me for my absence from the defence effort during the attack... I'd better slip away before she notices me." With that, Kaeya disappears into the nearby alley.