Author's Note: Since I last wrote the last chapter, I've made some progress in Genshin Impact.
I finished the Prologue: The Stranger Who Harnessed the Wind.
I'm halfway through Chapter 1: Farewell, Archaic Lord.
XXX
Act I: The Outlander who caught the wind
Episode 1:The Black Moon and the White Fairy (II)
Chapter 2: Eidon and Archon
Plot: Bruce and Paimon have arrived in front of the Statue of the God Anemo. When Bruce touches it, a small accident occurs, but in the end he manages to achieve one of his goals.
XXX
POV Narrator
The Traveler and Paimon continued to travel forward, after a short climb, they left the beach and cliffs behind.
As time passed, the views of the ocean, sand and cliffs were replaced by green lawns, trees and other plants.
"Okay, let's take the road we planned!" Paimon exclaims with great enthusiasm, happy to have started this journey.
'She realizes that I have nothing planned at the moment other than traveling to the nearest city, based on what I find there I will plan my next moves.' Bruce thinks, having a more pragmatic and focused mind.
"Let's go to... the Statue of the Seven!" Paimon exclaims with a single geographical reference point in mind.
'The seven, a strange coincidence that the world of Ysatnaf and the world of Teyvat have seven main deities. Although the Eidons would be considered more similar to the Archangels or Beasts of Gaia who have real deities like Ishtar and Ereshkigal.' The Traveler thinks, finding this similarity curious.
As a Planewalker and Sorcerer, Bruce has gained a great deal of theoretical and practical knowledge of the cosmology of several worlds in the Multiverse.
Therefore, he is not surprised by the existence of Elemental Deities, being a rather common category, although it can vary between Spirits, Demons or Dragons that govern an element in a certain world.
"Follow me, BB!" Paimon shouts, having plenty of energy to expend, moving forward.
"Little Fairy, don't go too far, we have no idea what you might find on the road." Bruce said, picking up his pace, staying behind Paimon.
The Traveler is not a sociable or affectionate person, but over the course of two months he has unwittingly grown fond of Paimon.
From his perspective as a sorcerer, Bruce sees Paimon as a combination of an adorable pet and a support-type summon.
For these reasons and others he does not want to confess, the Traveler does not want to leave the Little Fairy alone in a wild land where she can get hurt.
XXX
Within minutes, the Traveler and Paimon stopped near the edge of a cliff that offers a wonderful view of this area.
"Oh wowwwww!" Paimon exclaims aloud, enchanted by the panoramic view.
From the area where they are located you can see how a large city arises that seems to have come out of the Renaissance era, with several villages in the surrounding area.
"Here is a city that could contain a library full of valuable information, I see there are quite a few windmills." Bruce said in a monotone voice, having found the first destination of his journey.
Bruce realizes that in front of him there is a landscape that seems to have come out of a painting and probably on Earth he would not find a landscape like that without traveling in time.
Unfortunately, the Planeswalker is not someone who is easily impressed.
"That's a statue of the Seven!" Paimon exclaims with great joy, pointing a finger forward.
From where the two of them are standing, you can easily see that a little further on there is a small lake with a small island in the centre from which rises a statue depicting the local deity.
'I can feel some kind of power coming from that statue, I really need to investigate.' Bruce thinks, still being able to sense magic and many other things.
The Unknown Goddess should have tried to seal all of the Traveler's abilities, not just the more obvious and frightening ones.
"There are some of these statues scattered around the land to show the Seven's protection of the world." Paimon explains, sharing what little he knows with his traveling companion.
"Paimon, can you figure out what deities this statue is dedicated to?" Bruce asks, having some idea what it might be, after all the windmills are an obvious clue.
"Of the seven gods, this god controls the wind." The little fairy replies, confirming the Planeswalker's idea.
'Just as I thought, the land mirrors its divine. On Ysatnaf, Shiva, the Eidon of Ice had her ancient temple in a land always ruled by snow and ice.
On Teyvat, the land of the Wind God is a windy place.' Bruce thinks, not too surprised at his discovery.
After all, in his life as a Planewalker he has learned that there are universal constants.
"Paimon's not sure whether the god you're looking for is the Anemo God, but ... Paimon'll take you to the Anemo God's place first, and there's a reason why." Disse Paimon, cambiando subito discorso, non volendo mettersi in imbarazzo.
"Don't exaggerate little fairy, in my experience we have a very long journey ahead of us, walking or running we will eventually reach our destination." Bruce said, walking on the path that leads to the Statue of the God Anemo.
"You sound like an old man." Paimon said with an amused tone.
"In a few years I will be seventy, then a few more years and I will be a century old, the title of Wise Sorcerer or Veteran of a Thousand Battles fits me like a glove." Said Bruce, having the body of a teenager and the experience of a "Jedi Master".
"Seventy!?" Paimon exclaims aloud, incredulous at the Traveler's statement.
"Technically it would be 570 years, if I count the time I spent sealed, I might add a decade or two if I add the time spent in complicated situations." Bruce confesses, having some difficulty calculating his age.
"Paimon heard that in Liyue there are Adeptus, magical creatures, who can live for centuries or millennia. Paimon didn't imagine that BB would be similar to an Adeptus, but this explains a lot." The little fairy said, getting the answer to some of her questions about the Traveler.
"According to your dictionary I would not be a "Pure Adeptus", maybe a "Half Adeptus", I have a fair share of humans and magical creatures in my family tree." Bruce said, accepting Paimon's comparison of him and an Adeptus.
Without wasting any more time, the Traveler and the Little Fairy walked along a path to reach the Archon of Anemo.
Each of them thinks about something as they walk.
'Paimon hopes to find clues in Mondstadt to find BB's sister. I rarely see him happy.' The little fairy thinks, flying to help her traveling companion.
'I feel the presence of Leylines under my feet, some of these Leylines are making contact under the statue.
Was the statue intentionally placed under a leyline crossing or did its construction alter the path of the leylines, attracting them towards it?' Bruce wonders, managing to notice the features of the terrain with his 'sixth sense'.
Their march ended when they came across a small lake with a small expanse of land in the center and a statue in honor of the local deity.
"Paimon is worried, Paimon has never seen you swim in the two months we have been together on the beach." Said the little fairy, not knowing whether the Traveler could swim or not.
"A little water never stopped me." Bruce comments, approaching the edge of the pond.
"Then let's get to work!" Paimon exclaims, urging his companion to go for a nice swim.
"Before I jump in the water, I want to try something." Bruce said, stretching out his foot and placing it on the surface of the lake, as if to see what would happen.
The foot, instead of sinking into the water and getting wet, remained on the surface of the lake as if for him the water was solid ground.
The Traveler smiles faintly as he moves his second foot forward across the surface of the pond, then his left, then his right again.
Once you understand that the Traveler can still walk on water as if it were dry land, look up at the sky.
"You're a more obtuse goddess than I thought, you only targeted the bigger and more obvious things about me, but ignored the smaller ones. You don't know that the best machines are made of hundreds of tiny cogs." Bruce mutters with a smug expression.
To his list of remaining abilities, the following is now added: Walking on water.
"BB, you're walking on water, how can you do that!?" Paimon asks, quickly flying around the Planeswalker.
Bruce stops staring at the sky and continues walking towards the islet, wondering how to answer Paimon's question.
"I don't want to bore you with stories about my complex family tree.
Paimon, I can tell you that Vivian, the Lady of the Lake, a faerie of the Great Mother class, has blessed my ancestors and I am the fortunate man to receive the best of this ancient gift." Bruce explains, omitting to say much about the Lady of the Lake.
The Planeswalker doesn't want to tell Paimon that Vivian is the good, alternate personality of King Arthur's evil sister, Morgana le Fay.
How Morgana the Fairy used deception and her body to seduce Merlin, all in order to lock King Arthur's Wizard away for eternity in the Lands of Avalon.
The success in defeating Merlin had an unfortunate side effect on the Witch Queen: she became pregnant, and after the fall of Camelot, Morgan le Fay gave birth to Morgause Morgan, Bruce's great-great-great-great-grandmother.
The legacy of Morgan Le Fay, a house of perverted witches and sorcerers who created a dark empire in the lands of Brittany and an infamy that has lasted 1500 years.
To top it all off, the House of Morgan represents only a quarter of Bruce's insane legacy.
All four of Bruce's grandparents had long histories behind them.
"A lake fairy gave your family the gift of walking on water, very kind of her." Paimon exclaims, imagining in his innocent mind a little story that seems to come out of a bedtime story.
"Little fairy Vivian may be a kind woman, but Morgana the fairy is not.
When I was in Chaldea, I managed to summon all the members of the Pendragon family and their closest allies, resulting in an extremely awkward and tense family reunion.' Bruce thinks, remembering when he sat at a table between Morgan Le Fay and Artoria Pendragon.
'I should have put myself between Baobhan Sith and Mordred, better to put myself between the beloved adopted daughter and the despised biological daughter of Morgan Le Fay, than between the Witch Queen and the King of Knights.' Bruce thinks, remembering that he had to use Command Seals and containment spells to prevent a fight.
"Paimon is worried about you, BB, you look strange." Said the little fairy, who can pay attention to details when she puts in the effort.
"It's nothing, Paimon. I just remembered when I sat down to dinner with my "grandmother" and "great-aunt", it wasn't a pleasant meal for anyone." Bruce answers Paimon's questions, but at the same time keeps private information aside.
Speaking of lunch, Paimon puts a hand on his stomach.
"We'll eat later." Bruce states, predicting what Paimon was thinking as he reached the shore of the islet.
The traveling couple walked until they stopped in front of the statue of the god Anemo.
The monument consists of a stone pillar with an angel-like being on top, with an androgynous face and hair tied in two symmetrical braids. The statue holds a stone sphere in its hands.
"I'm not very impressed by this monument to the local deity, I've seen better ones in Greece or Egypt. But what can I expect from a statue left alone in the middle of nowhere?" comments Bruce, playing the art critic.
"The people who live here would not be happy to hear your words about the statue of the god Anemo." Paimon said, flying after Bruce.
"Give me a moment to touch the statue, I want to understand what material it is made of, then we go to that city." Bruce said, approaching the statue and reaching out with his left hand to touch it.
The Planeswalker's touch had an immediate effect on the Statue of the Anemo God, which began to glow, releasing a certain amount of Pure Elemental Energy, specifically Anemo Energy.
"I just wanted to use structural analysis, but I started something else instead," Bruce comments, placing a hand under his chin.
The Traveler knows that every time something starts to shine it is a sign that is either positive or negative, but always important.
The Anemo energy collected from the earth's leyal lines, through the stone pillar, reaches the statue of the god Anemo.
The statue's eyes and the sphere it holds in its hand emit an intense emerald green light.
Then from the stone sphere emerges a semi-transparent globe of pure Anemo energy and descends toward the Planeswalker.
"I have a feeling of déjà vu, it reminds me of my adolescence, when I passed the exam of an Eidon temple." Bruce thinks, taking a step forward towards the globe, sure of his instincts.
The globe enters the Traveler's body without any problem or discomfort.
Once again the effect is immediate: Bruce's visible eye lights up an emerald green, his body lifts a few steps off the ground, while the wind dances around him.
The entire show lasted only a few seconds, then Bruce came back down to earth.
"Paimon is speechless. Have you just been touched by the elements of the world?" Paimon exclaims, thrilled by the light show she saw.
"It looks like all you had to do was touch the statue to gain Anemo's power!" Paimon said, flying in front of her traveling companion who is extremely silent and not even looking at her.
"BB, are you okay?" Paimon asks, floating closer to the Planeswalker.
The Little Fairy notices that the pupil of Bruce's right eye is glowing the color of Anemo.
Paimon waves his hand in front of Bruce's face without eliciting any reaction from him.
"Paimon is getting worried! Carmen, do you know what happened to BB?" the little fairy asks the crow with the eyes of ... Anemo.
"Carmen, you're in bad shape too! What should Paimon do?" Paimon exclaims, seeing that Bruce's crow is also catatonic.
XXX
While Bruce's body remains with Paimon, his mind/soul is elsewhere.
"It's been a long time since I entered my Inner World, I see that there has been an expansion." Bruce comments, finding himself in a place at once familiar and foreign.
"Cra Cra." Said Carmen The Crow, announcing her presence.
The blue-eyed crow chases his master literally everywhere.
"I wish you hadn't chased me, Paimon will be in a panic." Bruce said, as he petted the female crow.
During the two months spent together, the Traveler has understood that the little fairy has grown fond of him and cares about him.
'Tonight if I have time I have to make something sweet as a sign of apology.' Bruce thinks, showing the sweet side of his Kuutsundere personality.
Stopping to worry about the Little Fairy, the Traveler looks around, noticing that he is in an octagonal room, whose floor, walls and ceiling are made of ancient stone.
The room is lit by torches hanging high on the walls.
Everything about this place has the air of an ancient temple belonging to a fantastic people.
But the most unique thing about this room is not its shape, but its size.
This place is not meant for humans, but for much larger beings.
At first glance, the ceiling is fifty meters above the floor.
From where he stands, the Traveler can see the room's three attractions: seven enormous monuments dedicated to the gods of Teyvat and a cemetery of statues in the center.
"Carmen, stay on my shoulder, I don't know if we are in a new lost corner of my soul or if we have been invited to a metaphysical place." Bruce said in a calm tone, having a long list of such experiences behind him.
The blue-eyed raven nods, obeying his master's orders.
Without saying anything else, the Traveler begins to explore the place in search of answers, certain that his presence there has a purpose.
His first move was to turn and look at a huge ancient painting, so faded as to be almost unrecognizable.
But Bruce's good eye can make out the figure depicted on the wall: a large winged dragon with black scales and edges, enormous wings and a third eye in the center of its head.
"Bahamut, the Eidon of the Void. The firstborn of his kind. The guardian angel from which my paternal grandmother's family.
House Bahamut has proudly and honorably borne the name of this Eidon for 90 generations, counting back to me." Bruce said, recognizing the image of that dragon everywhere.
Seeing nothing else to examine on Bahamut's painting, the Traveler began walking counterclockwise, admiring each monument.
The Planeswalker notices a huge cryogenic crystal column with a statue on top.
The statue depicts a woman ■■■, dressed in ■■■ and a hooded cloak. She holds a ■■■ in her hands.
"■■■, The Crio Archon." Bruce said in an almost robotic tone.
A few seconds ago, the Traveler knew nothing of the Ice deity of Teyvat.
Now, simply by looking at the monument, the name and title of the deity appeared in his mind.
"If words come out of my mouth that I shouldn't know, it means something has happened to me. Are the Gods using me as a pawn in their games or have I been capturing information through my subconscious and my Mystic Eye during my half-millennium suspension?" Bruce comments, placing a hand under his chin, having two hypotheses to explain this phenomenon.
The Traveler knowing that he cannot solve this puzzle today, moves to the next monument, moving his head to the right, he sees a column of crimson gems.
At the top is the statue of an adult woman wearing a hooded toga, she is sitting inside a circle resembling the sun and in her left hand she holds a flame.
"Haborym, The Pyro Archon. I have a good feeling about her." Bruce comments, before moving on.
The Traveler turns his attention to the pillar made of sea stones with a statue on top of it of a beautiful young woman with long hair, dressed in a ball gown and a hooded cloak over it. She holds in her hand a strange sword that vaguely resembles a cross.
"Focalors, The Hydro Archon. I don't know why but this statue seems nice to me, it reminds me a bit of my dear Mira Yamana." Bruce said with a slight affectionate tone.
The Planeswalker advances while halfway across the chamber.
Bruce observes a column of leaf-green stones with a little girl on top wearing a hooded cloak too big for her, sitting on a plant like a woodland fairy, with a small ball in her hand.
"Buer, the Archon Dendro. I imagine he is the youngest Archon of all the Seven Gods of Teyvat." Bruce comments, continuing on his way.
The next pillar is made of purple gems with a statue of a long-haired woman dressed in a kimono and hooded cloak on top.
On his back, nestled centrally between his shoulder blades, is a large gray ring and attached to it are five shime-daiko drums positioned beside and above his head.
In her hands placed on her lap is an oval mirror.
"Beelzebul, the Electro Archon. My intuition tells me I'm going to have a blast with her." Bruce comments, stroking the handle of his ceremonial knife.
Despite all the misfortunes that have befallen him, Bruce is always willing to fight a worthy opponent, whether it be with magic or sword.
The Traveler walks towards the penultimate monument, shifting his gaze, he sees a huge column of yellow-orange crystals, decorated with the Teyvat coin, Mora.
At the top of the most expensive pillar in the world is a statue of a handsome man in a hood, sitting on a throne made of blocks and holding a cube.
"Morax, The Geo Archon. Just because you're holding a cube in your hand is a bonus point for me. I don't know how to explain it, but your statue reminds me of the wise kings I've met. It makes me want to compare you to Gilgamesh in his Caster form." Bruce comments, getting a good first impression from the Morax statue.
Bruce walks toward the last monument of the Teyvat deities, stopping before the great pillar of emerald green stones that emit a light breeze.
"Barbatos, the Archon Anemo. Looking at your statue, the image of Astolfo appears in my head, this is both a good and bad sign." Bruce said, placing a hand over his heart.
When it comes to men, petite and feminine boys have been a bit of a weakness for the Traveler.
Stopping to stare at the statue of Barbatos, Bruce turns and begins to walk towards the center of the room, where the "graveyard" is located.
In the center of the room there is a large line drawn on the floor, forming a large circle.
There are only two things here: stone statues and weapons stuck in the ground.
The Planeswalker doesn't immediately cross the line, he stops at the edge and looks at what's inside.
"I feel like I'm watching a scenario where Medusa won the Holy Grail War." Bruce comments, taking in the view, managing to keep his emotions in check.
In front of him are dozens or even hundreds of statues of Servants he has summoned throughout his life, depicting each Heroic Spirit in a fighting stance.
Among the statues are 108 weapons of various shapes and sizes, each anchored to the ground, covered with a layer of stone and chains.
The chains are clearly meant to prevent the weapons from being drawn at all costs.
Bruce's keen eye has spotted statues of some of the Servans he has a relationship with: Altera, Nero, Tamamo-no-Mae, Astolfo.
The sight of these statues broke Bruce's composure for a moment.
"My Servants and my Royal Weapons, stripped of their splendor and dignity, imprisoned and chained. If I had no reason to burn the sky, now I have one." Bruce comments in a cold voice, tightening his grip on his staff.
The blue-eyed crow remains silent, but his eyes are completely devoid of warmth: it is clear that Carmen is on the same wavelength.
The Traveler stepped over the line, walking through this "graveyard", without looking at the statues of his Servants, or he would lose control.
Bruce can never lose control of himself, because when he does... nothing around him survives.
The Traveler walked past the statues of queens, warriors, sages, assassins, champions of justice, saints, artists and many others who have earned a place on the Throne of Heroes.
He soon reached the center of the "cemetery".
The Planeswalker stops before a grim sculpture depicting an individual he knows very well.
The sculpture that stands in front of the momentarily uninhibited Traveler is quite grotesque and terrifying.
A chaotic and disordered mass of creatures that seem to have come out of humanity's worst nightmares, piled on top of each other, as if fighting to get to the top.
Above the mountain of monstrous bodies is a great throne made of tendrils and tentacles.
Sitting on the throne is a statue of Bruce, dressed in a more archaic style; on his person are several objects that look like fine weapons and magical grimoires.
But most importantly, the Bruce statue features typical dragon/demon features, such as claws, horns, wings and a tail.
At the center of Bruce's statue's chest is a seven-layered spherical structure containing a brilliant light, his Planeswalker Spark.
Surrounding the throne are statues of "women" who are not as grotesque in appearance as the monsters at the base of the sculpture, but who are clearly not human.
Around the legs of the throne is a statue of a woman with the appearance of a vampire.
To the left of the throne is a statue of a child resembling Tiamat.
To the right of the throne is a statue of a woman with the features of a dragon.
Finally, leaning behind the throne, are the statues of two beautiful adult women.
The statue on the right depicts a woman dressed as a warrior with a pair of angel wings, while the statue on the left depicts a woman in an evening dress with a pair of raven wings on her back.
Carmen looked carefully at this last statue.
"I am now certain of where I am, in my Inner World, in a room that embodies the seal imposed by that Unknown Goddess. However, I believe that it has undergone an involuntary change over time." Bruce said, having more or less understood where he is.
"That Unknown Goddess had no idea what kind of monster she was facing, she had to kill me when she could." Bruce states, placing a hand on his chest, never having had a problem calling himself a monster.
"Instead, in his arrogance, he sealed my greatest powers and then cast me into the Void, two grave mistakes. Seals deteriorate over time and I am a Void Child, just like Bahamut, his exposure does me more good than harm." Bruce said, his cold tone melting and a terrifying smile appearing on his face.
"My origin is evolution and metamorphosis, whether through physical, mental, spiritual training. Natural or artificial methods, I must evolve, reach the next stage!" Bruce proclaimed, displaying a fire of madness that he often keeps to himself.
"My journey of Vengeance has now truly begun. The Wind of Freedom has come for me, and I will not go mad until I am free from this seal and have cut off the head of that Unknown Goddess!" The Traveler proclaimed before his statue.
At that moment, a globe of pure Anemo Energy burst forth from Bruce's chest, traveling towards the statue representing him and striking the sphere in the center of the statue's chest.
CRACK!
CRACK!
CRACK!
A crashing sound reverberates throughout the room, as if an earthquake were occurring.
A crack has formed in the first layer of the sphere, holding back all the power of the Planeswalker's Spark and more.
But the noise doesn't just come from there.
One of the links in the chain holding one of the Royal Arms has been damaged.
Finally, a crack formed on the face of a Servant statue, transforming its serious expression into a mischievous smile.
"The first step of a journey of a thousand steps has been taken." Bruce mutters, grinning like the devil, turning towards the monument to Barbatos.
The pillar supporting the statue has cracks.
On the wall behind the Barbatos monument, a mural has appeared depicting a harpy-like creature with two pairs of wings on its upper and lower back, wing-like protrusions on its head, clawed hands and feet, and white and green feathers covering its body.
"Garuda, the Eidon of the Wind. The first woman among her kind and the second eldest, she who bears the title of Queen of the Winds and the Sky." Bruce comments, identifying the being that appeared in the mural.
In the world of Ysatnaf, Garuda is an entity that can be considered in earthly terms a combination of Zeus, Aphrodite, and Apollo.
"The Seal imposed has weakened, even if the break is less than 1%, it is more than enough to awaken Garuda's blessing. Let's see if it responds to my command." Bruce said, starting to run towards the Monument to Barbatos.
Once close enough, the Planeswalker raises his right hand and points it toward the representations of Barbatos and Garuda.
"Garuda, come to me!" Bruce shouts loudly.
Soon after, the Garuda painting begins to glow and releases a violent gust of wind.
XXX
Bruce blinks and comes back to reality.
The first thing he notices is Paimon hugging him, muttering nonsense.
"Paimon, whatever you're doing you can stop it, I've come to my senses." Bruce said, announcing his return.
"BB what happened, you were still for ten minutes. Paimon was worried about you." Paimon exclaims, clinging to Bruce, as if she were a child who has just seen her parent pass out.
"My mind or soul, depending on how you look at it or what you believe, was sent somewhere to learn new things and learn some tricks." Bruce replies, as he strokes the Little Fairy's head to calm her down.
"Paimon is confused, but is BB okay now?" asks the little fairy, still clinging to her traveling companion.
"Yes, I'm fine, Carmen is fine too." Bruce said, shifting his attention to his shoulder, where Carmen is in perfect condition.
Paimon slowly loosens his grip on Bruce and floats back to a reasonable distance from him.
"Paimon, she's curious, did you say something about an old trick?" the little fairy asks, wanting to change the subject and pretend she hadn't been so worried about Bruce.
"I'll give you a little demonstration. Carmen, could you step away?" Bruce asks, unable to put on a little show with Carmen on his shoulder.
The blue-eyed crow flaps its wings and heads towards the head of the Barbatos statue.
The Planeswalker steps away from the little faerie and the blue-eyed female raven, not wanting to harm his two companions.
For a moment nothing happens, Bruce thinks about the feeling of Garuda's power, slowly a green light comes out of his right hand.
'The feeling now is like getting back in the saddle after a long vacation,' Bruce thinks, feeling a sincere sense of joy.
By waving his hands in front of him, Bruce generates a powerful gust of wind, displacing the water in the pond and creating a small wave that crashes onto the shore.
"I'm a little rusty, I just need some practice to get back into shape." Bruce said, losing all trace of his previous joy.
The little fairy applauds briefly at Bruce's little demonstration, then approaches him.
"No matter how much they wish, people in this world will never be able to gain powers as easily as you." Paimon said, quite sure that no other person had ever touched the statue of the Anemo God and received Anemo powers.
"You are wrong little fairy, touching the statue of Barbatos did not give me anything, instead it weakened the seal imposed by that Enemy Goddess." Said the Traveler, being able to feel inside himself how a crack has formed, around 1/7 of the seal.
"Even though it was a small crack in the Seal, it allowed me to awaken something I worked hard to earn. The Wind of Garuda of Ysatnaf, but with the addition of a drop of Anemo of Teyvat." Bruce said, stretching out his right hand into a fist, summoning pure Anemo energy around his fist.
"Paimon is confused, who is Garuda?" asks the little fairy, not understanding what her traveling companion is saying.
"As you are Paimon, I come from two worlds, Earth-2126 and Ysatnaf. On the second world, Ysatnaf, exist the Eidons, seven powerful beings created directly by the Mother Goddess during the early days of Ysatnaf. The Eidons have a purpose in the cosmology of Ysatnaf and each of them is connected to an element of nature. Garuda, she is the Eidon of the Wind." Bruce explains the basics of the Ysatnaf phateon.
"When I was 15, I set out on a life-or-death quest to find the Seven Lost Temples of the Eidon, where I would face a trial before the Eidon to receive his Directed Blessing, a fragment of his power." The Traveler recounts the elements of his first great adventure on Ysatnaf.
"So the Eidons are the Archons of your world?" Paimon asks, only understanding this from his traveling companion's explanation.
"Pretty much, yeah, I think." Bruce said, noting the superficial similarities between the two phateons, but there are certainly many underlying differences.
"Did touching the statue restore your strength?" asks Paimon, who is rather inexperienced with seals, blessings, and how to recover them.
"It's hard to say offhand, but I think I've gotten stronger, maybe 8.5% or 9%?" Bruce confesses, not too sure how much of his strength he's restored with a simple touch of the Statue of Barbatos.
"What I have now is just a small fragment of the Fragment I received from Garuda and have cultivated on my own over the years.
The Barbatos statue was a start, but it is not enough for a full awakening. I need to meet Barbatos in person." Bruce declares with determination, his fist curled in the wind.
"Paimon changes our travel plans. The primary objective remains to find Adeline, but at the same time I must meet all Seven Archons of Teyvat. They are the key to breaking the seal and returning to full strength." Proclaimed the Traveler with pure determination in his gaze.
Bruce says he now has two goals to achieve, but he didn't mention revenge against the Unknown Goddess, but that will happen towards the end of his journey.
"You want to meet all Seven Archons!? That means traveling the length and breadth of Teyvat!" Paimon said aloud, certain that such an undertaking would be arduous and time-consuming.
"This won't be the first or last time I'll have to explore a new world. Little Fairy, do you still want to be my guide or should I go alone?" Bruce asks, not wanting to force anyone to follow him far and wide.
"Paimon does not abandon you. On the contrary, Paimon, is happy that you want to travel to Teyvat, he will be able to eat dishes from every nation." Said the little fairy, seeing the positive side of such a journey.
"I'm glad you want to be my guide, Paimon. Now where are we going?" Bruce asks, letting the little fairy do her guiding work.
"If we continue west from here, we will eventually reach Mondstadt, the City of Freedom." Paimon replies, offering his knowledge of geography.
"Mondstadt is the city of wind, because it worships the god Anemo. So perhaps, since you have received power from the god Anemo, you can find some clues there." Paimon expresses his opinion.
"As good a plan as any. Little Fairy, do you know another interesting fact about Mondstadt?" Bruce asks, mildly interested in the City of Freedom.
"There are many bards in Mondstadt, with any luck one of them might have heard news of your sister," Paimon said with a positive attitude.
"Let's see what Mondstadt has to offer." Bruce said, starting to walk across the surface of the lake, heading towards the City of Freedom.
"Then let's move!" Paimon exclaims, pumping his fist in the air and flying next to Bruce.
The blue-eyed crow also begins to fly above the heads of the two travellers.
XXX
Back at the lake shore, Bruce and Paimon received a warm welcome from some slimes.
'The Teyvat Slimes are almost adorable.' Bruce thinks, gripping his staff like it's a weapon, which it is.
Paimon, at the sight of the slimes approaching, simply vanished into thin air.
'The Little Fairy isn't a fairy in name only, she has a few tricks. Well, I don't have to worry about her during the fight.' Bruce thinks, before sprinting forward.
His first move was to stab a slime with his staff.
Then, with a strong, fast movement, the stick came out of the right side of the Slime, which had been reduced to a puddle.
"Carmen!" Bruce yells, touching a component of his walking stick, lengthening the metal shaft and making it more like a bo staff or a spear.
The female crow swoops down from the sky and approaches the slimes, opens her beak and breathes fire.
The Planeswalker swings his right hand, creating a gust of wind that increases the power of the flames; the combined attack hits the slimes squarely.
Bruce approaches the remaining slimes, skillfully swinging his weapon and destroying the little monsters in seconds.
The Planeswalker, seeing no more enemies, raises his right hand to the sky, calling for a wind to put out the flames and prevent a forest fire.
Carmen lands on Bruce's shoulder, as he returns his walking stick to its normal size.
With the waters calm, Paimon returned to the scene, fluttering over the puddles that are the remains of the defeated slimes.
"Aww... Paimon is so jealous! Why doesn't Paimon have awesome fighting powers!?" said the little fairy jealous of the fact that Bruce has fighting skills and she doesn't.
"Because if you were a warrior fairy you'd be with me and Carmen, facing countless monsters of every shape imaginable. I'm sure that's not your style." Bruce said, certain that the little fairy is not built for conflict.
"You're right, Paimon is made to be an excellent guide and an unmatched taster." said the little fairy, focusing on her talents.
XXX
A few minutes later.
The travelers continued walking towards Mondstadt, but an unexpected event occurred on their way.
"Is that a dragon!?" Bruce asks out loud, watching as a beast appears above his head.
This mythical creature will cause him a lot of problems in the near future.
Continues...
XXX
Update: 8/3/2025
XXX
Author's Note: I hope you enjoy this chapter, I wrote a little more than expected.
Question of the day: What is your favorite MiHoYo game?