History repeats itself (a Genshin Impact OC insert)

Chapter 61 - Secrets

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The travelling trio and Dainsleif continue on their search through nearby ruins when they stumble upon more of the Abyss Order next to a Ruin Hunter. "Aether, with me!", Lyra shouts, taking out her sword, running towards the monsters. Aether nods, following suit quickly.

"Hmm, those two are quite in tandem...", Dainsleif mutters as he and Paimon watch them fight the monsters.

"Yep! They've fought together for quite some time now, so its not odd to see them fight so well together! But Paimon thinks that Lyra could also take care of all of them herself if she really wanted to," Paimon comments.

"Oh? Is that so..."

Not a moment later, Aether and Lyra have defeated all the monsters. "Wow... Besides the Abyss Order, Ruin Guards sure are active around here... Seems wherever we find an Abyss Mage hideout, there's often a bunch of Ruin Guards roaming around too. Is that just a coincidence, or...?", Paimon mumbles.

Dainsleif shakes his head. "There are no coincidences in the world. Everything is the fruit of seeds planted long ago. Just like your appearance in that tavern... Time is just waiting for those seeds to sprout," he says.

"But we only heard about you by chance...", Aether looks at him confused.

"Forget it. Just some needless musings," Dain waves off before going back on the situation at hand. "The connection between the Abyss Order and the Ruin Guards is by no means incidental. Rather, they are both branches that have grown out and up from the same roots below."

Paimon shoots him a confused glance. "'Branches'? 'Roots'? What do you mean exactly?"

"Both originate from an ancient nation that was destroyed 500 years ago – Khaenri'ah."

Dain's statement makes Paimon reel back. "Huh? Khaenri'ah?! Really?! The Abyss Order and Ruin Guards are left over from after the destruction of that nation?! Oh... speaking of Khaenri'ah, that's a really super ancient name..." she looks at Aether.

"oh, right. As one of your guides, Paimon should explain a bit here. A long time ago, the nation of Khaenri'ah was-" Aether cuts the Pixie off. "I know about Khaenri'ah..."

This makes Lyra look at him. "...what?", she breathes out. "Because I have memories of Khaenri'ah," he explains. Paimon takes a double take.

"You have memories of being there? I wouldn't have been as surprised if Lyra said that-" Paimon mutters the last part quietly, before continuing on normal volume- "But that nation was destroyed 500 years ago..."

Dainsleif looks at Aether with an unreadable expression. "Is that so? Well, everyone has their secrets. You did not pry into mine, so I shall not pry into yours... But if you would like to tell me, I will listen... so, the Khaenri'ah you saw, what was it like?" Aether looks at the ground for a moment.

'Well, I can't hide it from him any longer... Dain and Khaenri'ah... it's worth a shot. Especially with Lyra here... the person who woke me up... and that sea of flames...', he thinks to himself. After taking a deep breath, Aether tells them about the sea of flames he saw 500 years ago and the god they encountered. Lyra looks at him with a blank expression, not saying anything as both Paimon and Dain look deep in thought.

"So that's the complete story, huh... Paimon thought that you ran into that unknown god first..." Dainsleif hums in thought. "I see... so your first memory after coming into this world was being awoken by your sister from within that meteorite...", he says.

Paimon continues the train of thought. "It seems your sister woke up first, but the question is, how long before you..."

"And then your sister told you that the destruction of Khaenri'ah plunged the whole world into chaos and that you two should leave this worked called Teyvat?"

"'The destruction of Khaenri'ah'? She said that?" Aether sighs and nods, confirming their reiteration.

"That destruction you witnessed, that's... history from 500 years ago. It seems the first time you awoke in this world was indeed during that period.", Dainsleif states.

"Huh... so your sister must have understood this world better than you did because she woke up first," Paimon mutters. "And it was shortly after that, that you encountered an unknown god who blocked your path, so you couldn't escape...", Dainsleif says to himself aloud.

That's when Lyra speaks up again. "...I understand. When you awoke at that time and hurriedly tried o leave for another world, you didn't know anything about Khaenri'ah. But now, since you have come to gain some understanding of Teyvat, you are able to guess that the war you witnessed all those years ago must be the war that ended Khaenri'ah... am I right?"

"ah! If that's the case, you must've been flipping through all sorts of books during our adventure these past few months. Before going to Mondstadt, you had just looked at some vague materials. Later, we managed to get her a whole bunch of old books from all around Mondstadt and Liyue, but you told Paimon they were useless..."

"ah, so that's what you've been doing when we part ways for a while..."

"Yeah.... Anyways, so the whole time you were just trying to learn more about Khaenri'ah so you could find your sister?", Paimon asks.

Aether shrugs. "It's the second most promising lead after looking for the Seven, despite only having a place name to go on," he says.

At the same time, he spares a glance at Lyra. 'And I have a hunch that Lyra knows more about both of these leads as well, but... I don't want to be the cause of unearthing unpleasant memories... I'll just ask her when I feel the time is right.'

"Oh yeah... you can travel around the seven nations to find the Seven, but where can you go to find a nation that was destroyed 500 years ago...?", Paimon mutters.

"I probably know more about Khaenri'ah than all of you," Dainsleif reveals.

"Paimon doubts you know more about that nation than Lyra though...", she mutters quietly. Dainsleif gives her a questioning glance, but doesn't comment on it.

"Khaenri'ah was a nation without a god – not because it had a god that died or abandoned them, but because it never had a god to begin with. It was a powerful nation, built purely by humans, an unprecedented flourishing and glorious civilisation – it as the pride of humankind."

"a nation... without a god...?", Paimon whispers.

"Later events unfolded just as you remember – it was all destroyed... by gods."

Aether and Paimon look at him shocked, before turning to Lyra. "you mean that... Wait, Lyra... if Paimon remembers correctly, isn't it that when Venti mentioned a certain catastrophe that happened 500 years ago, you said you were present as well? Is this... is this why-"

"yes, Paimon," Lyra cuts her off with a sigh.

"500 years ago, the gods descended upon the world and brought desolation to Khaenri'ah. The 'pride of humankind' was uprooted and crushed, like a weed removed from the garden of the gods..."

Dainsleif looks at her in disbelief. "How could you have been there...?"

Lyra looks away, clenching her fist. "It is nothing of your concern, Dainsleif."

Paimon and Aether share a worried glance with each other, before Paimon speaks up again. "How could that be...? The history books don't say anything about that...", she says in connection to Lyra's words.

Aether nods. "What a dangerous world... I need to hurry up and find my sister."

Dainsleif shakes his disbelief away. "Yes, well, continuing to discuss the past now will only dampen our spirits. Let's keep moving. I will tell you more of what you want to know as we continue our search. That is, of course, if Lyra doesn't want to share more..."

Lyra only gives him a pointed look before walking ahead. Paimon and Aether don't waste another moment to follow her, knowing that certain past lives aren't something she wishes to remember, this one clearly being one of them. Dainsleif follows suit as well, keeping a close eye on the Fontainian traveller.

'Just what are you hiding from me, Lyra?'

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