insurmountable | you know i'm the type / type to risk my life, not afraid to die

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you know i'm the type / type to risk my life, not afraid to die

[Call it crazy, call it morbid curiosity, call it insane. A craving for battle, a craving to test his skills against the powerhouses of the Abyss, he follows a few Heralds into the portal they'd left behind as they whisked themselves away from the camp they'd set up for their next assault in Teyvat. He couldn't leave the Abyss without aid, of course, but if he could find his master once again, he'd be able to return to Teyvat. And maybe get a good sparring match out of her while he was at it. Either way, he's got his sights set on those Heralds who thought they were alone, announcing himself behind them as he brandishes his weapons with glee.

They look surprised. Good. That was the point.

The battle rages on for some time. They prove to be incredible foes, taking several on at once. One dies, cut down by the Harbinger- the others wounded badly. But what Childe hadn't counted on was that they'd get reinforcements so soon, and with more numbers, they manage to overpower him. The Foul Legacy Transformation still proves to be a large burden on his body, and with waning strength, he finds himself captured and chained. The remaining Heralds drag him to an incredible hollowed out ruin, one that looks like the very architecture of the ancient dynasty from Khaenri'ah itself. Finally, he's thrown to the ground in a room that clearly was made for some sort of royalty, his knees hitting the concrete hard.

His head bowed, he coughs up blood, knowing he'd really messed up this time. This isn't good, and he has no way out of it. His body is wrecked. It's taking all his strength just to keep from passing out, as he looks up and sees the leader of the Abyss...]

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[Looks like she's got everything under control. Interesting fighting style, it certainly is different seeing her work with a sword versus when they'd been fistfighting back in her quarters in the Abyss. But now he's in a dilemma. She's clearly here for something, obviously something that helps her achieve the Abyss's goals. And whatever it is probably has to do with that machine, given that she isn't completely destroying it immediately.

She's probably going to be pretty pissed at him for attempting to destroy what she's here for, but he can't really let that go. It might be for something that could potentially be used against the Fatui later, and they are trying to destroy the world, after all.

He begins walking towards her, giving her a friendly wave as she works to pry the eye out of the machine. There's no murderous intent coming from him at all, he's really not here to hurt anyone. He walks right up onto another one of the broken arms she's cut off, his thumb on his lip as he looks down at her progress.]

Hmmmmm.

[His polearm appears in his hand, and with one quick movement, he thrusts it into the center of the machine, destroying it and the eye along with it. The sentinel shudders, before falling silent.]

[ it all happens too quickly.

perhaps it's the lack of murderous intent from him that kept her guard down. perhaps it's the fleeting feeling of success when she finally manages to separate the destroyer's eye from its shell. whatever it was, she barely catches the polearm that slices through the eye, the weapon soaking her hand with hydro and blood when she misses, eyes wide. the automaton shudders beneath her, dying with a mechanical groan.

almost immediately, she whips around towards the harbinger, her sword pointed at him once more, the tip of the blade drawing blood from the softest part of his neck. her expression is impassive, and yet there's clear annoyance and rage flashing in her golden eyes. ]

Are you that lacking of attention from anyone, even your own Archon?

[ this isn't a great way to make friends with her, childe. ]

[He doesn't flinch as her blade procures a small stream of blood down his neck, barely even glancing down as she holds the sword once more against him. His own expression is one of indifference, though his body is tensed to fight her if need be. He'd enjoy it, but he knows now that a direct confrontation with her like a battle isn't going to accomplish his goals, but will only to scratch the never ending itch he's had to really face off with her in combat.]

Come on, not everything I do is attention seeking. Think about it from my point of view. I don't know what you needed that for, but considering the Abyss's agenda, how am I to know that it won't be used against the people of Snezhnaya one day? Against my own family, for that matter? I won't have their blood on my hands.

[He still doesn't budge an inch though, studying her to see if and when she tenses to try to remove his head from his body.]

[ lumine doesn't let up the pressure against his neck, even as blood trickles down the length of her blade, staining it red. ]

If I wanted to kill your entire family, I would've already done so and you'd only find out about it after it's over. [ she leans in closer, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly and her voice lowering to a soft whisper. ] You'll find that I'm not at all different from the Archon you serve.

[ her visits to snezhnaya without his knowledge are more than enough to support that bluff. but even she's not cruel and merciless enough to do that, to repeat the same actions that celestia had once done to the children of khaenri'ah. she doesn't think she'll be able to do it at all. but this harbinger needs to know better than to instigate her ire.

she pulls her sword back, swinging the blade to shake off his blood, and turns away from him. ]

... Stop pestering me. I've already returned you to Teyvat. What else do you want?

[His eyes narrow at the threat to his family. Though he does believe her- if she wanted them dead, she could certainly have it done. But as it stands, and given that she's threatening now, that means she hasn't touched them. And, there's a part of him that doesn't believe she'd do such a thing. If she was, wouldn't he be dead already?]

I wasn't here looking for you, actually. I was doing some of my own work in here, given that this place has been abandoned for some time now. I just heard you enter, and followed you to this machine here.

[He reaches up to wipe some of the blood from his neck. That might leave a mark for later.]

Though, now that you bring it up, I do still wonder why you returned me here in the first place, and even returned my Vision to me...it's been on my mind for quite some time you know. Not that I don't appreciate it, of course.

[ work? what work?

he himself confirmed that the place has been abandoned by its owner, something that her mages have reported to her. what kind of work does a harbinger have in this place? a part of her wonders if intelligence has been leaked somewhere down the road, but it doesn't seem like he's her target here despite being present during the same instances that she's shown up in the ruins.

lumine jumps off the broken arm of the destroyer, lightly landing back on solid ground and dismissing her sword into a flurry of gold. ]

Has someone told you that you think of stupid things?

[ why would he let that linger in his mind? a normal, sane person would've simply accepted the gesture of goodwill and moved on with their life. ]

Now, what do you mean by that?

[He hops off too, trotting up to join her at her side. He doesn't think he wastes his time on stupid things at all. He doesn't have time for that.]

I think I'm entitled to wonder about how certain things come to pass, after all. Especially when they involve someone of your stature.

[Since when does the Abyss Princess just let a Harbinger go?]

My brother said the nice lady had a warm smile. Now where would he of gotten that idea from the one who wants to destroy the world?

[ ... why is he following her? does he not have somewhere else to be, other things to do? he's certainly becoming more and more of a bother, which makes her almost, just almost regret returning his vision to him. if only because his lack of motivation and ambition has turned him docile, less inclined to pester her.

then again ... ]

Is thinking of stupid things an inherent trait in your family? I'm starting to think that it is.

[ did she smile at that little boy? lumine doesn't entirely remember. all she remembers is dropping the glass orb into his tiny hands and giving him a quiet reminder to tell his brother. that's it. ]

Hey, that was uncalled for.

[She's really trying to deflect, isn't she. He continues to follow her deeper into the factory, passing by ruin guards he'd already destroyed enough parts of so it didn't activate and try to kill anyone. Other ruin guards look like they've been completely destroyed, that he'd fought weeks before.]

I don't think I'm wrong in my thinking. You showed me an undeserving amount of compassion, and don't think I'm about to forget it.

[He doesn't say for what reasons he won't forget it, he doesn't say what he thinks. He'll let her guess. Will she regret being nice to him forever? Probably.]

[ she stops in her tracks and whirls at him, annoyance simmering beneath her skin ever since he's started to follow her. ]

One gesture of kindness, and it has you wagging your tail, seemingly begging for more.

[ what happened to his spite, his scathing remarks at her? what happened to calling her a bad sister to aether, a villain for wanting to destroy the gods? and here she thought she was doing him a favour for returning his vision, doing aether a favour for releasing his friend. ]

What makes you think that my actions are not disingenuous and calculative? That they're not meant to ensnare you, turn you away from your Archon?

[ because it's clearly working in her favour—even if she doesn't want it to. she's done with him, unwilling to deal with his unrelenting stubbornness. ] Just go away.

[He doesn't let her cold shoulder turn him away, only smirking and stopping right in front of her. He's not unused to people who act this way, though their actions are usually a little less sympathetic than what he's seen from her.]

You could be leading me right by the nose down a path that ends up in my betrayal to Her Majesty the Tsaritsa.

[He says it as a thought, as if that would ever happen. But sure, he accepts that might be the plan here. But he knows himself well enough that he doubts there's much that could turn him.]

But you can think whatever you want. I'm not some dog that you can just feed a treat to and thinking I'm forever loyal. But...

[He tilts his head at her, still wearing that same smirk.]

I'm very intrigued with you; I'm starting to lose track of how many times you could have killed me by now. So has it really only been one gesture?

[Why is that?]

[ his face is so irritating to look at that she wonders how her twin brother can stand it. aether must've lost his mind, allowing this man to tag along with him during his journey across teyvat. so a part of her thinks that he mustn't have a choice either, the way she doesn't have a choice with him stalking her like this. ]

Your interest will get you killed one day, [ lumine murmurs, averting her gaze from him. ] And I'm sure Aether ...

[ whatever she wants to say next, she stops, pressing her lips together. there's no point in telling him more, is there? she starts walking once more, feeling even more annoyed. ]

... Leave. I'm sure you have better things to do than follow me around.

[He really doesn't have that much better of stuff to do at the current moment, with things in Liyue being as calm as they were. But she doesn't need to know that.

But, what was that about Aether?]

I can tell that you miss him.

[Yeah, he did call her a bad sister and all. But, he knows what happened five hundred years ago- and from that time in the Abyss, he gets why she's doing what she's doing, even if he doesn't agree with it.]

I do see him from time to time. Since you don't see him for whatever reasons you have, do you have anything you'd like passed along?

[ aether's name sends a pang of loneliness lancing through her, but she says nothing further. a part of her wonders if he resents her for telling him to continue his journey across teyvat. after all, they could've just left this world upon reuniting, needing only each other to go on. that's how it's always been with them.

but her reports say otherwise, her brother seemingly in high spirits despite the obstacles he's met. he's clearly well, still searching for ... ]

What would I need to do to have you leave me alone?

[ honestly, doesn't he get exhausted by her deflections of his questions? she certainly does. ]

[Ah...looks like he might of hit on something there. That's an interesting look on her face. But hey, that's a concept he can understand, quite well actually.]

Don't go dismissing me quite yet. I can't really let you roam about in here unattended, as much as asking you to fight me would be the one thing that might encourage me to do as you ask.

[If only they'd been somewhere else, that didn't require his attention.]

So I'm afraid you're stuck with me for the time being. We could make the most of it, you know. I'm really not a bad guy.

[ she doesn't see the reason why she can't walk around this factory unattended, especially when she's more than capable of taking care of herself and handling whatever else is lurking around the corner. the mere fact that he wants to fight her proves her point enough, but he somehow has concluded that she needs his company to make it through this place. ]

That's quite rich, coming from the Harbinger who decided to wake an ancient god and drown an entire city.

[ not a bad guy? who is he kidding? she's at least not claiming what she's not, unlike him who clearly needs to work on his skills at convincing people. ]

I have no interest in "making the most" of things with you.

You got me there, [he laughs, though there's an underlying irritation at the whole thing. Set up to fail, having to take all of the blame for it, unacceptable. He'll still get even with Zhongli for that, somehow...]

But surely you understand, yes? Doing what it takes to accomplish the mission set before you means taking actions you may not necessarily agree with.

[He really didn't want to do that. But he thought he had to.]

Don't you make those kinds of decisions on the daily?

[He imagines so; somehow, he's not sure if she'd want to just kill off innocent people either, if being around Aether is any indication.]

[ lumping her in with him. that's even more irritating than having her undertaking get foiled in front of her. ]

And yet I still don't claim myself as a saint despite making those decisions.

[ those were difficult choices, choices that others shouldn't make. others who won't be able to deal with the burden of its consequences. lumine would rather that her hands are the ones stained with blood than anyone else's, willing to carry this war she started against celestia by herself. ]

[He spreads his hands out, mock offended.]

Now, when did I say anything about being a saint? Just because I'm a bad guy doesn't mean I'm a bad guy, you know.

[He thinks for a second.]

Hmmmm...well, since it seems I've made you a little perturbed with me, why don't we have a little sparring session? Exercise usually helps get the tension out, and we've got plenty of room in here. You'd get the chance to punch me right in my face, if you wanted.

You make less and less sense with every passing minute.

[ ... is this normal for any harbingers? it doesn't seem so, based on the reports she's received. the others seem to be a little less incoherent than this one; could just he hit his head far too many times getting into brawls.

lumine supposes it wouldn't hurt to indulge him, also feeling a little irritated by his presence and the fact that he's still following her around. a sparring session isn't something she's unused to, just something she hasn't done in a while. she doesn't stop walking, however, even as she considers his suggestions, instead lifting a hand in front of her just as a thoughtful expression crosses her face.

tendrils of abyssal energy slowly creep up behind him like living vines, slithering on the ground. keep yapping, childe, and she'll have your ankles ensnared and this sparring match over in a second. ]

...Oh. Is that how it is.

[His battle instinct is pretty sharp, and it's not as if he wouldn't notice those tendrils behind him. He looks to her while he walks alongside her, body now tense, and ready to move at a split second's notice.]

Is that a yes then?

[His eyes shine brightly, hoping so. Even if she tries to ensnare him, he'll do his best to dodge and fight her anyway.]

[ she doesn't want to get his hopes up too much, does she?

lumine finally stops her tracks in the middle of another room, littered with ruin guards, many of which he's yet to deactivate. a mistake on his part, really, to try and challenge her in a place containing ancient technology from khaenri'ah. she might not even need to pull out her sword for this, she thinks as she watches several orbs light up in the dimly-lit hall like lanterns during liyue's festivals. ]

Think what you will, [ she says as she shifts her attention towards one of the ruin guards lumbering towards them, the mechanical giant kneeling in front of her and offering her a hand to climb onto. ]

But I'll let you play with them first.

[ she turns her head away as a cluster of missiles fire at him. ]

[His eyes immediately widen. One after one, the ruin guards activate once someone enters their vicinity, and he has to take a step back as she climbs into the hand of one of them that offers her a ride. Incredible that she can control them, and he hadn't even seen how she managed to do it.

His mind now races on how to deal with this sudden problem. There's a lot, and he can see two graders stand up from the back as well. He can't let her out of his sight, but it's going to take at least a minute to clear all this up. He's got to work fast, he can't lose her in here.

Good thing he's not injured this time.]

Don't miss the show, now.

[He says as the missiles rocket towards him. He moves, lightning sparking all around him as he moves from one opponent to the next, until an explosion of dark energy throws some of the ruin guards backwards as he transforms. No time is wasted in his assault, machine after machine being ripped apart. The graders both aim their lasers at him, firing constant beams of energy that he has to dodge while destroying more guards just to move across the room.

Seconds tick by as he fights, machines getting slammed into walls, joints being destroyed, until he finally reaches the graders who manage to hit him with a full blast of their beam. He won't let that stop him however, taking the damage but pushing through it as his blades fly through the air to lodge themselves into the eyes of each respective machine- they fall finally, as he breathes heavily from the effort of fighting and from the burden of the transformation.

He looks behind him, to see if she'd escaped in the fray. He feels as if he'd taken too long.]

[ an entire minute is more than enough for the ruin guard to take her out of the room and move her to another section of the factory. slow as they may seem while walking, they can cover more ground with their size. but that's just a ploy, lumine slipping down from his mechanical hand to go down a different path while the automaton continues its way through the factory.

let childe follow that lumbering piece of metal once he's done fighting while she finally gets to explore this place and find the other sentinel that's still intact.

it doesn't take her long to find another room, hidden behind a panel of sliding doors, where several machines seem to be slumbering, littering the floor or hanging from the ceiling. none of them stir in her presence, as if realising who it was that's come to visit them. her eyes dart around in the dimly-lit hall, finding a hint of glowing red-gold. ]

... And here I thought the reports were mistaken.

[ buried under the wreckage of other robots, an intact sentinel orb still attached to an unresponsive body. she summons tendrils of abyss energy once more, cutting away its pieces and prying it from the pile. ]

[He has to hurry.

His body is wrecked, but he can't afford the speed loss of returning to his original form, so he has to push it a little farther.

He moves down the hallways, teleporting from one point to another. He sees the ruin guard, but no Lumine- so he's got to turn around. There was a fork in the road at some point, and he finally darts down the correct path and finally finds that hidden room. He hadn't known it was here to begin with, not being the Harbinger that had built the factory, but he bets she's in here.

But it seems he's too late. She's already got what she came for.]

N̠͉͜g̢̘͓h͍̝-͓̦̙!

[A circle of electro energy appears under the eye, and he's trying to summon electro blades to fall upon it to destroy it, but he's tired. He isn't moving as fast now, and every second is crucial to see if he can stop her before she can get away with the piece of machinery.]

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