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starsofabundance · 2 years ago

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This sagau fic is so good continue with the good work @whispereons <3

Oracle!Reader Part 15

Part 1, Part 14

Mental health was really important, especially for someone like you whose will to live changed faster than a pendulum. A strong will to live without an actual reason made you swing wildly from suicidal thoughts to a death grip on life.

So even though logically it wasn't a good idea to visit the Dragon-Queller tree as Shenhe was still lurking around, and she was by far the most dangerous thing to your physical health, your mental health was taking priority after the clusterfuck of events that you just went through.

Staring out at the stretch of land required to reach the landmark, you cringe at the thought of the stamina needed to glide that far. It would be safer to glide in chunks for proper rest and control. It doesn’t take long for you to spot a small mountain below with a leaf puzzle.

With a shaky breath; you jump off the cliff and glide to the lower landing spot. The wind caressed your exposed skin, causing goosebumps to appear in response.

You feel Zhongli's prayer and emotions enter your body. In petty retaliation, you reject his offering and ignore the persistent prayers. It becomes background noise as the landing spot comes closer. In spite of the short duration, the journey seemed to go well until it was time to land.

Your feet skid across the rocks as the wind continues to push you. In a panic, you grab the leaf puzzle uncaring how the sharp edges cut your hands. The glider folds back into itself making you breathe a sigh of relief.

Your blood stains the green of the puzzles as you move your hand to hold the stem of the mechanic. A faint smear of blood covers it as you search for your next landing spot.

To your right, you can see a Hilichurl camp, the same one you used to escape from Shenhe. The Hilichurl camp on your left and directly below you were empty. It seems Shenhe didn't stop at exterminating just one Hilichurl camp, which was definitely not a good sign for you. If you glide here there's a large chance she'll spot you. And if she does, you'll be vulnerable to any attacks.

Deciding to climb down and travel on foot, you move down to grab the minor grooves of the rock. Suddenly, a sense of dread overwhelms you, almost completely identical to the one you felt when Yae was watching you in Inazuma.

Instincts honed from years spent surviving dangerous situations kicked into full drive. Scaling down the small mountain, your feet and hands groped the stone in search of any spots to grasp onto. Rocks and pebbles scrape your skin from your rush and anxiety grips your heart. More than once your limbs will slip and you're left dangling for a few seconds.

Finally, you land on the ground and roll to balance the force, avoiding any serious injuries. Worry quickly begins to settle into your bones at the lack of hiding spots. In a last-ditch effort to conceal yourself, you climb up the nearby tree, painfully aware of how the leaves will shake loudly and offer little protection.

To your surprise, there's no sound when your body shakes the tree, and the tree shifts to cover you more. Teyvat really couldn't make their affection for you any more obvious. That relief is cut short when the temperature starts to drop suddenly.

From your spot, you can see ice creep out of the Hilichurl's main building. It cracks and creaks with every inch of it being consumed by that frosty snow. Shenhe had to be in there and although you may be hiding, just how good would it actually be? She's an Adepti disciple, and Celestia knows what tricks she may have in store.

Her heels click with every step onto the clear ice, blood, and dirt covering the exposed spots of her body. The stab wound you gave her has slowed down into a minor stream of blood as she chews on medicinal herbs.

A large and deep wound you gave her healed so much in such a short amount of time. It's laughable. An injury like that would have left you decommissioned for a week at least, yet she's able to walk with no problem. Was this due to Teyvat and its vast magical properties, or just Shenhe's natural constitution?

Staying still and quiet, you continue watching Shenhe who walks down the Hilichurl stairs before crouching to the ground. Those empty iridescent eyes glow as she touches the ground as if trying to find something.

Frowning, you try to guess what she could be looking for. A certain herb? Something she dropped? Maybe a sigil? It's only when she looks at the barely lit brazier and the electro crystals on the side that you realize what she's doing.

Elemental sight!

All vision holders and those with sensitivity to elements can use it. That must include you since you're connected so heavily to Teyvat, but would that mean you're basically a walking ball of raw elemental energy?

Now nervous you watch Shenhe look in your direction and walk closer while staring at the ground. Shit, you must've left a trail all this time unknowingly. The only thing that can erase a trail is other elemental energy covering it up and it didn't look to be raining anytime soon.

Crossing your fingers; you yell internally to Teyvat to cover up your trail and hide your presence as fast as possible, praying that it would work. But there's no hindrance in Shenhe's slow progress to your location. What could be causing this? Teyvat wouldn't deny you unless it's something out of your control.

Forcibly calming yourself, you settle down to review anything you or Teyvat could be doing that's using elemental energy. This allowed for something that you were content to ignore, to spring up on you again.

A rush of dizzyingly love and admiration clouded your head as something darker in nature nipped at the back of your mind. Was Zhongli still praying and sacrificing pieces of himself to you? Was this constant stream of devotion the cause of your trouble?

You couldn't telepathically tell Zhongli to give up or get up to go tell him. Now at a loss on what to do, you stare at Shenhe who is but a mere few steps away from the tree. Something moves in the corner of your eye, making you perk up.

A barely alive Samachurl is killed by a Hydro-infused arrow to its already cracked mask. Not a single sound was heard from the attack. It seems you weren't the only one trying to hide.

If you can't hide something then the next best thing to do is to amplify something else to mask your presence. You order Teyvat to strengthen the presence of whoever is hiding, and watch as Shenhe immediately stands up.

Turning away from your hiding spot, Shenhe takes long strides to the back of the Hilichurl camp. Tilting your head for a better view, you watch as Shenhe uses her Cryo sigils to create a large spike of ice in where you assume was the person hiding.

A mirage-like figure runs out of the way and heads toward Shenhe with Hydro lacing trailing behind them. The figure just barely evades Shenhe's attack and wraps Hydro rope around Shenhe, binding her arms to her sides.

The skill wears off showing Yelan holding the Hydro rope that you recognize as her skill 'Lifeline'. Yelan yanks at the lifeline but Shenhe had already frozen it, causing it to break off. Shenhe begins to charge at Yelan again, making Yelan dodge. From what you can see, their fight against each other seemed to be continuing without a clear winner already.

Using their distracted state, you decide to finish off what had caused this fight. Zhongli's sacrifice comes to mind as the taste of the offering has become sickeningly sweet after all your rejections. The words of acceptance refuse to be spoken aloud in fear of the Wind hearing. Instead, it's kept in your mind where Teyvat can safely perceive your gospel and carry out your commands.

The sky silently grows dim as the shooting stars make their way past. Blood flies off Shenhe's spear as it cuts Yelan's calf. The attack's revenge comes back in the form of water whipping Shenhe's skin, leaving bruises. Neither see the gold shooting star disappear behind the mountain that no doubt entered the temple by the skylight.

The game screen pops up making you skip through it all without properly looking. You still weren't sure whether Zhongli would keep trying to offer you sacrifices. Hasn't he cut off enough body parts by now? The sky returns to its previous blue as the sun drowns out the lingering stars.

The fight comes to a standstill as both women breathe heavily a few feet away from each other. You lost your opportunity to flee due to Zhongli's offering which sucks, but at least you have something to gain here.

"The Traveler was proud to say that the white-haired Adeptus apprentice had learned to control herself. That must have been quite the overstatement."

Yelan's confident smile is shown to be quite the facade judging by the slight tremble in her right ankle. It's already been injured with what looks like a fresh burn mark. From what you remember, she has hereditary physical frailty, making her energy a precious resource. Using her as a diversion must have caused her to nearly overexert herself.

"How do you know the Traveler trespasser? Tell me, who are you to them?" Shenhe becomes more on edge at Yelan's words, and points her spear at Yelan.

"I'm a child of the family that runs the Feiyun Commerce Guild and an acolyte. I'm sure you'll recognize my brother, Xingqiu, as a good friend of your nephew. You know, the young exorcist who shares the same vision as you."

Staring at Yelan who smiles mysteriously at Shenhe's surprised but somewhat annoyed face, you have to try hard to not laugh. Yelan's use of identities was always underwhelming when you never saw her change clothes to match her identities, but this was gold.

Yelan's awful haircut was so similar to Xingqiu's that it was already a running joke that they were related in some way. Adding in the fact that her clothes are Liyuen style for upper-class citizens, her lie of being Xingqiu's sibling is pretty believable. Of course, it would only work on Shenhe who has no idea of the well-known families in Liyue.

It never really made sense that she switched identities so many times in her story quest while not changing her clothes. It's always better to have higher quality identities rather than a huge quantity of them. Especially with such flashy clothing. But maybe you're the hypocrite here considering you're wearing a gold-accented kitsune mask.

"What did you come for then?" Not even doubting Yelan's words, Shenhe merely asks for the archer's reasoning.

"I was sent here on a job for my father." Shenhe nods blankly before turning around to leave. But Yelan is quick to catch up and rests her hand on Shenhe's shoulder. Yelan only smiles at Shenhe's suspicious glare.

"You shouldn't be so quick to leave ya know? Have you never heard of the 'Explain in turn' tradition?" Confusion crosses over Shenhe’s face at Yelan's words and the icy woman turns around fully.

This... This was way too easy, Shenhe didn't even understand the concept of paying for things! Isn't it unfair that Yelan is about to take full advantage of Shenhe's so-called 'pure' child-like mind?

"It means to be honest and explain to the person you asked a question, your own response to the question." So she's gonna confuse her on top of it? "For instance, I answered your question on why I came here therefore you must tell me why you came here."

Shenhe stays silent and still as she stares at Yelan. Until she points to the hilichurl camp.

"I was exterminating the demonic stains that reappeared in Jueyun Karst when a pest attacked me. People come and get hurt while I work all the time but this was a first, that one hurts me so obviously. I'm sure it's another strange custom that I don't care to learn. Perhaps the Traveler can explain when she comes back..."

Shenhe's tone goes from harsh to soft at the mention of the Traveler. You curse the Adepti out in your mind for failing to explain who you were to Shenhe. This whole situation could have been avoided if they had. Sure, you would have still stabbed her, but you could have explained the situation away.

Yelan smiles out of Shenhe's line of sight which makes you worry about what she could be planning. What was her true reason for coming all the way out here?

"What a coincidence, my job involves searching for someone too." Shenhe raises an unamused eyebrow in response as if asking 'So what?' Yelan sighs in what sounds like a mix of exasperation and fondness.

"Someone let loose some geovishap hatchlings in the city. Which means they have some influence over elemental creatures. Did the person you are looking for have a similar attitude?"

The memory of the words you spat at Shenhe comes to mind. Shenhe hasn't forgotten either judging by her expression hardening.

"They said some... strange things. But seeing as they were able to come this deep into Jueyun Karst by themself, they might be the same person."

"Why don't we work together then? You lost them once already." Yelan glances at the wound you left on Shenhe with a condescending smile. "I saw you tracking them earlier, telling me how will be beneficial to you."

She falls silent at the question. It seems Shenhe isn't willing to give it up to Yelan. But if Yelan is as sneaky as she is told to be in the game, she'll find a way to drag it out of the cool disciple.

Yelan's smile drops as she removes her hand from Shenhe's shoulder and circles her slowly. That friendly tone drops into a neutral melody in accordance with Shenhe's coldness.

"Not willing to speak on the matter? Then I suppose we'll work separately. It's just a shame that I won't be able to tell you what happened to Chongyun that day."

You see Yelan make calculated steps in your direction to act like she's leaving, as Shenhe's expression changes at the last words. A Cryo Talisman is whipped out and a Cryo maiden blocks Yelan's path.

The Cryo coats the base of the tree forcing you to cover your mouth in fear of the condensation being visible. Yelan smirks from her spot as Shenhe begins to succumb to her rage.

"Tell me what happened. Tell me everything."

It seems not even the red ropes can contain her violent nature during times like these. You would hate to see how Shenhe would react to you 'hurting' the Traveler, considering her strong connection to them.

Would pulling Shenhe before your sudden migration to Teyvat make this better or worse?

Yelan turns around to face her and makes slow steps to meet Shenhe again. Your feelings toward Yelan have always been a bit muddled due to your similarities to the special intelligence officer. The loss, grief, lying, and use of multiple identities. All the things you shared should have made you love her and dub her your favorite character, but that only worked on paper. Your life couldn't be more different to hers.

A mix of admiration and envy churns within you.

"The Geovishap Hatchlings were loose in the city as the Millelith guards chased them. A few people got hurt and your dear nephew wasn't one to just stand by. From what Xingqui told me, he got roughed up and is still healing."

Shenhe's grip on her weapon loosens and tightens at various moments of Yelan's altered story. As if trying to decide whether hurting Yelan for being the messenger of bad news would be worth it.

"I was tracking down that vexation using elemental sight. They have a rare trace that almost completely blends in with Teyvat's regular and numerous Ley Lines. It's quickly disappearing as well.” She spits out the insult with venom while putting away her weapon.

"An elemental trail that mimics Leylines is something that only appears in mystical beings. It's almost unheard of." Yelan says more to herself as her eyes glow and she examines the ground.

In a few seconds, Yelan closes her eyes and rubs them tiredly. "For whatever reason, I can't seem to pick out any. You may be able to tell the difference due to your connections to the Adepti."

You watch the two women as they talk and idly wonder if you could use elemental sight too. A vision isn't necessarily needed, nor is it a guarantee that one can use elemental sight. So there's no harm in trying, right?

Figuring out how to do it is the real problem.

Several minutes pass before you manage to activate it by simply blinking in rapid succession. The world changes to a grayscale as elemental energy becomes more apparent.

And to your immense relief, you do not have a bright gold trail. In fact, you could only pick yours out due to the fact you felt an instant sense of recognition. But the longer you have it on, the more your head begins to ache.

Turning it off the same way, you clutch your head in hopes of easing the throbbing sensation. This skill was not going to be useful in any regular scenarios. Too little reward for such an easy and large drawback. Storing the information for later use is best.

"If I don't track them down quickly then they might try to attack someone else next. Like the Traveler. Pairing up with you seems to be the only viable option."

Shenhe's voice brings you back to the important conversation that you were supposed to be eavesdropping on. A gleam of curiosity can be seen in Yelan by the slight posture change at the mention of the Traveler. It seems Shenhe's codependency on the Traveler wasn't something only you were interested in.

Staying quiet on the matter, Yelan focuses on her mission or whatever her real motive is. If only you could have avoided entering the Yangshen Teahouse that day. If only Keqing wasn't so damn suspicious of you, you could have politely excused yourself from the scene and avoided drawing Yelan’s attention, or rather bring any more attention to yourself.

"Then it's settled. You'll track down where they might be and I'll stay here to hold down the fort." You aren't surprised at Yelan's decision to piggyback off Shenhe's work. Her energy must still be recovering after the initial fight with Shenhe.

Shenhe begins to walk back to the spot that she was originally at when tracking you down, making you nervous. Something had to be done. You could take on one and escape, but both of them? You had no chance in hell.

Biting back the groan of frustration at being pushed back to square one, you began to think hard about how to escape. It was times like these that you truly missed hair dye, wigs, and colored contacts.

Unexpectedly, pressure floods your body and the weight settles into your chest comfortably. Feelings of longing and intense yearning make your head spin as the warmth can nearly be tasted. A fever-like haze consumes your consciousness forcing you to rest your head on the tree branch for coolness.

Just what did Zhongli cut off this time to force such a large offering onto you?

Smiling widely, you accept the offering and the opportunity to escape. The sky darkens as shooting stars fill the sky. Now that they aren't fighting, both women look at the sky with curious expressions.

"So it really did happen." Yelan mumbles as she puts away some dice. Shenhe stands up and walks in her direction while keeping her eyes on the dazzling star shower.

"The Creator must be active, the star showers have been happening frequently." Yelan notes as the gold star appears. You don't miss how both women pay close attention to the gold shooting star as it makes its way to the temple hidden behind the mountain.

"That star’s path… The area where it landed has some traces of the nuisance." Shenhe mutters seemingly in a bad mood as the sky lightens up to its natural blue.

"Then let's not waste any more time. It seems they are trying to escape back to Liyue Harbor." Yelan speaks with a hint of annoyance and leaves for the area. Shenhe follows her but not before a whisper is caught by your attentive ears.

"Why not me, your grace?"

So she does feel some strong emotions toward you as the Creator. She had spoken about the Traveler at every turn that you were starting to believe otherwise.

Once you're sure they're far enough, you drop out of the tree with intense relief. With no time to waste, you turn back to the Dragon-queller tree and run.

Canceling this pit stop and teleporting back to the city would be the correct and smart decision. But after all that hiding and work, you were going to see that tree no matter what. The orange leaves above you were witnesses to your stubbornness.

Walking across the small stretch of pink flowers on green grass, you notice patches of blood. Those were probably made during your chase with Shenhe. It makes you think back to her and her reason for hunting you down.

Unlike the majority of the Acolytes before this, Shenhe was going after you in hopes of protecting the Traveler rather than getting revenge for herself. All thanks to Yelan and her lies, unfortunately.

Either way, Shenhe was a huge bother to have, it'd be best to find some way to set her sights on someone else or find a way to deter her. Yet the only thing you can truly use is the traveler. Just why did Shenhe feel so attached to the Traveler in the first place?

Your distracted form leaves the sea of Sandbearer trees and coral flowers to be overshadowed by the Dragon-queller tree. The sun bears down making the orange-yellowish leaves shimmer not unlike the Cor Lapis you've seen before.

Stepping through the puddles of clear water, you continued to gaze up at the landmark with amazement. The winding bark and branches had blue crystalline embedded into them. The glittering of the aqua-colored crystalline was nice, but also subdued compared to the leaves surrounding it. Perhaps it would be better seen in the moonlight?

In any other situation, you would just sit here and enjoy the nice day. Maybe a picnic, or challenging yourself to climb the tree while awaiting the night to see the tree in its full glory.

But you have limited time. Just coming here was a problem on its own.

You stop at the tombstone, or rather stone monolith that reads out a warning to anyone who has gotten this far into Jueyun Karst. It serves as a reminder that there really is a dragon underneath you at this very moment. It shouldn't be surprising after you had literally spoken to Beisht, a goddamn Leviathan. But a thrum of excitement still urged your body to move.

To get closer to the entrance to Azhdaha.

You would need more powerful allies. More elemental creatures that could recognize you like Beisht. Azhdaha is on par with Zhongli, therefore the gnosis won't affect him as it does the Adepti. The only thing you truly had to worry about was the erosion.

All other excuses entered your mind as you crept closer to the entrance. Yet, right as you're about to go around the rocks to see the entrance up close, Teyvat brings the sound of speaking to your ears.

"Those traces were old, that means they must have came over here rather than the other way around." Yelan's smooth voice filters into your ears from the direction of the Sandbearer trees.

Anxiety fuels you to open the map and find a teleport waypoint to escape to. Yet an overwhelming sensation of love, loyalty, and obsession hits you like a truck. It leaves you breathless and gripping onto the tree nearly nauseous from the sickening saccharine.

"They may have gone back to where I first met them, it's through the opening next to the Dragon-Queller tree." Shenhe's stoic voice is accompanied by Yelan's hum in acceptance.

The time you had left was rapidly diminishing. Even if you tried to teleport now, it wouldn't work. It'd be the same scenario as when you first tried to teleport away from Shenhe.

Holding your head in pain from the clash of soft mind-numbing love and bitter possessiveness, you run into the entrance that leads to the Dragon-Queller's basement.

Does that make Azhdaha a basement dweller?

The seal glows softly with a hum as you stumble closer. Now safely tucked inside, you prioritize the mental toll Zhongli's sacrifice has been giving you.

Accepting the offering with a hazy mind, your body slides against the rocky interior until you sit on the ground. What a relief it is to finally be able to hear yourself think. The new consequences of the sacrifices were really inconvenient. The only reason you don't regret it is because it got Zhongli off your ass.

Now with a clearer mind, you open up the map and find the teleport waypoint near the city. Unfortunately, you're interrupted in the midst of selecting it by a rumble on your side making you glare at it in annoyance.

Red eyes permanently etched into a glare stare back at you. Heavy clawed feet are stomped in place making dust and rocks fly into the air around it. The pillars surrounding the geo dragon shake with force as you watch baffled.

This Azhdaha was the one the lores and description described. As large and tall as the mountains you had been climbing and gliding before with a tree tail rivaling that of the Dragon-Queller.

"Benevolent Creator!" Azhdaha cries out as he smashes his body at the surrounding seal with force. You can feel the ground shake from where you stand outside of the lair.

Was Azhdaha calling you the creator, or calling out to the creator? At this rate, Yelan and Shenhe will come over to investigate. You either have to calm Azhdaha or escape now.

"Beloved Creator, forgive me! Forgive these wretched eyes that refuse to acknowledge your grandeur! This body you carved of Geo, jade, crystalline, and the leylines of all minerals recognize you!"

So he does recognize you, it's his eyes that seem to have some sort of problem... That's right! How could you forget? Zhongli crafted him those eyes. But would that make it dangerous or safe to enter?

Your finger hovers over the teleport button as you stare at the rampaging dragon with wariness. Azhdaha sees it and only fights more.

"Your grace, please don't leave me in this isolating loneliness! These eyes are made by that traitor Morax. I beg of you, do not punish me for the wrongdoings of that traitor. I have lived this life fearing that one day I will succumb to this dreaded erosion before getting to feel your presence. I cannot even enjoy the sight of you with these cursed eyes of mine!"

If a dragon could cry, then that's exactly what Azhdaha was doing. Blue crystalline leaves glowing trails from his eyes down his jaw. Standing up you close the game screen and turn to face him.

"Rest, Azhdaha, I have arrived to see you. Calm yourself and settle in place, lest you attract company that will force me to leave." Your empathetic yet stern voice has an instant impact.

His tantrum stops as crazed murmurs leave him in a string of rumbled praise and thanks. You push past the seal and enter his lair. Making slow and careful steps, you walk toward Azhdaha who is surrounded by pillars serving as a border.

The opportunity of taking in another lonely and devoted elemental beast into your care was too good to pass up. You may even gain useful information or items like you did with Beisht. The serene and imposing smile you held as you walked closer to the mountain-like beast was nothing more than a cover-up for your greed.

So uh, I'm back! I really wasn't kidding about the school taking up a lot of time thing. I'm sorry if this isn't as good as previous chapters. I had to stop writing for quite a while to start school. Plus, this part is shorter since I wanted to give you guys more content. Shenhe is back with the added addition Yelan. I tend to group up most characters to help the flow of the story. And I mostly put these two together due to the funny comics they're featured in. Mind you they won't have the same dynamic as the comics, it was just inspiration for them to work together. Thanks to my editor for doing this soon enough for me to post right now. And I will not make any promises to be faster with the updates, but I do hope I can get into a new rhythm of writing to fit my school. If your username is in italics, that means I couldn't tag you for whatever reason! Taglist: @vvyeislazzy, @nikqi, @the-dumber-scaramouche, @etherisy, @yourlocalstranger123, @ra404, @iruiji, @goldenglow149, @haru-tofuu, @lsleepysimpl, @bebobeboben, @yuyuzi-ling, @amidst-the-tempest, @resident-cryptid, @mxd1zzy, @mochicurls21, @nervouseaglelover, @thedevioussmirk, @yumuramma, @kwqsla, @undecidingfate, @ehjane, @game-savvy, @akiramirae, @sielt, @fluffy-koalala, @formacoon, @sxftiebee, @khxii-i, @ursinaw, @chuuya-brainrot, @sweetbills, @kazuchaos, @snowfoxnix, @bluebelony, @conspicuous-mayonnaise, @pencil-of-ashes, @ghostlyintervention, @taiformaifoe, @goaudduck, @carminerin, @maddysflowers, @zenith-of-all-zenith, @crazydreamcat, @leafanonsforest, @grimreapersscythe, @leylanx, @sapphireknown, @help-whatdoimakemyusername, @zhonglisfruityass, @mer0n37, @victoria1676, @mochinessss, @sinnful-darling, @emilymikado, @pix-stuff, @esthelily, @luxie963, @emmbny, @millienolife, @kbar1013, @xxblackroses623xx, @chxrlxtteee, @aludicpoet, @yandematic, @atrcclovsxoxo, @0lshadyl0, @esthelily

#genshin sagau #sagau #x reader #genshin impact

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