insurmountable | i'm dragging a heart that weighs a ton / holding out for not just anyone

[He's positive he knows what he saw. He was drunk, for sure, but there's no denying it.]

I might be second guessing myself right now if it weren't for the reaction of the crowd. Not to try to embarrass you, but you drew some attention. I grabbed you ask quickly as I could and took you back to the hotel so people couldn't get a good look at your face or worry too much about you.

[The whispers among the crowd were enough to send him into a mild drunken panic. Had their enemies been in the crowd, they'd been given more information on the both of them- something he didn't want.]

If you don't believe me, why don't you try seeing if you can bring forth that power to the surface? That's why we're here, after all.

[ she stares at him incredulously like he's just grown a second head right next to his original one. what is he even asking from her? lumine gives it a beat before she sighs, heavily and loudly this time around, unwilling to hide her exasperation over this.

can she just leave? now? before her temper gets the better of her again. ]

You're probably mistaking me for the other Lumine.

[ which admittedly is very, very vexing, her heart squeezing tightly in her chest. she doesn't know why she's feeling that way, but she chalks it up to hating being compared to someone else. how is this different from being compared to her twin brother? ]

I'm going home.

[Ajax stands there, not understanding why she would think that he was making a mistake here. He knows what he saw. He supposes it would be a hard fact to accept, especially since she doesn't remember a thing from the whole exchange.]

Wait. That's not it at all.

[He thinks for a moment, closing his eyes and letting out a deep breath.]

I know what I saw. And I know that you know I'm not lying to you. Just give it a shot, that's all I'm asking.

[ her expression shifts from incredulity to derision, letting out a scoff at that comment. not lying to her—sure. how many times has he tried to circumvent her asking for the truth in the past conversations they've had, with the incident at liyue the most glaring one?

but sure, she'll humour him. if only to prove him wrong and what he's seen was probably a figment of his imagination influenced by childe and lumine.

she holds out a hand, summoning a flurry of snowflakes into her open palm. it doesn't melt even in the warmth of her skin, the snowflakes piling up. ]

See? Cryo.

[He sighs. She's being difficult on purpose, he's sure of it. Folding his arms over his chest, he looks back at her unamused.]

Lumine, put your vision down on the ground away from you, and then try.

[Because it's easy to pull from the vision already on her person. To people like them, it's second nature- but finding that power from inside her won't be. He's not sure if he has to do something to force it out of her...though he'd rather not.]

[ look, they can both be unamused, then. lumine's been unamused since he's brought her to this sketchy, shady place, asked her to pick a gun and essentially told her that they're skipping all the red tape in getting her a permit for said gun. this isn't how she had pictured her weekend to be.

though, to be honest, she doesn't know how she was picturing this weekend to be, especially since she agreed to go with ajax. ]

If nothing happens, you owe me dinner for a month, [ she grumbles, as she crouches down, putting her cryo vision on the floor as instructed. ] Because this is such a waste of time.

[ she holds out her hand in front of her again, closing her eyes. what is she even supposed to summon? anemo? please. she gives it a few minutes before she opens her eyes, staring flatly at her empty hand. ]

See? Nothing.

[He'd bet half a million mora she didn't even really try. No, a million. He gets an idea- maybe she needs some prompts. Ajax does realize that he's asking her to summon something she didn't even realize she had, so this may need a different approach.]

Hmmmm. Keep your hand out, but try this.

[How to put this? Maybe describing what he'd felt the wind do that night might be the ticket.]

Close your eyes, and focus your attention right towards your core. Then imagine the wind beginning to whip around you, and bring it outwards from your center to swirl and expand until it's a tornado surrounding you, as if you were the vortex of a storm.

[It's a simple concept, he thinks. Maybe it'll help.]

Try it at least a few times. If it really doesn't work, I promise I'll follow through with dinner for a month.

[ it's easy for him to say these things when he's not the one trying to summon a damn power that he doesn't even have. it's honestly frustrating and annoying, especially when she can't even feel a bit of that anemo element he keeps insisting that she has. even her vision is reacting her to, tendrils of cryo element seeping in when she tries to visualise the elements.

lumine sighs yet again, wondering if a month's dinner is even worth the stress and exasperation over this. maybe she should've asked for a year ... but that would mean having to see him for the next twelve months.

that's practically torture.

but whatever, she closes her eyes again. tries to imagine what he's described: winds whipping around her, the vortex of a storm with her at the centre. she almost tells him that he's wrong, her eyes flashing open, when the wind billows around her, her skirt whipping around her legs.

lumine blinks, but before she can say anything, it dies down. ]

What ... just happened?

[He stands there as she tries again, nothing happening at first. Ajax wonders if she's really giving it a shot again, until he feels a peculiar breeze pick up, her skirt whipping around her legs and how the wind seems to swirl around her as well.

His eyes widen, brightening with wonder and excitement.]

Don't stop this time.

[Is all he says, smile wide as he looks at her.]

Keep going. You almost had it.

[ ... it's not helpful that his excitement is only fueled by the fact that she's suddenly manifesting these powers. after all, after seeing the vision set in natlan, it seems that the other lumine is capable of wielding all seven elements—or at least, resonating with all seven. that's going to be a problem for her.

lumine deliberately stifles the power, letting her hand fall back to her side. a moment later, she's bending down to pick up her vision, slipping it back into her pocket. ]

I'm heading back. This is getting out of hand, and you know it, Ajax.

[The smile fades from his face, replaced with concern, worry, and a bit of understanding- she hadn't really asked for this, and he pushed it on her. But, there's that nagging feeling that still won't go away, and the fact that someone had tried to kidnap her for some reason that he still hasn't gotten a clear answer out of her yet.]

Lumine, tell me, what happens then?

[He asks, softly.]

What happens to you if you walk away? You never told me what really happened that night. [He pauses, before saying what he thinks is an undeniable truth.] ...They'll be back, won't they. They just haven't made their move yet.

[The last statement is layered, his own emotions cracking through. Worry, concern, sadness- they all lie there, in the open for her ignore or listen to. He truly hadn't meant for this to happen, but his gut tells him this isn't over, and it's not their choice anymore.]

[ lumine's already turned back towards the door, her hand freezing when he asks her that question. that's true, she's never really told him anything else beyond the call she's made that evening. but to be fair, she's also kept it from aether, making him think that this is out of the deal he's made with the volkov family.

it wouldn't be a farfetched conclusion, after all: her brother has involved himself with fontaine's mafia family, and the enemies of said family would of course go after him or his loved ones. very logical, and it all makes sense.

unlike what's happening to them right now, where nothing made sense. none of the visions they've had had answers, filling them up with more questions instead. ]

The Volkovs have a lot of enemies, don't they? [ she starts slowly. she probably shouldn't say it out loud; she's in their territory, after all. who knows who's listening in. ]

People who were disadvantaged by your businesses, by underhanded means? Maybe some of them would've lost money, jobs, connections, even loved ones because of your family?

[His eyes narrow, but her line of questioning is valid. She's been a target of one of said enemies it seems, if anything that Aether said was the truth. This was dangerous ground to tread, but Ajax feels like she's owed an explanation. So, he sighs and decides to entertain these questions.]

I won't deny that we have brought hardship to others in some fashion, [he admits slowly, voice measured and calm.] But for whatever hardships we have inflicted, none of it should be related to the history of Childe and Lumine.

[He wants to make that clear. There's no connection to the Volkovs and Teyvat's ancient history. Not that he's aware of.]

We are the only connection to them, with the visions that are inflicted upon us. No one knows about this on my end. So, I do hope you have a point in bringing my family up.

[ lumine shakes her head, waving all of those away dismissively. he thinks there's no connection; he assumes there's none. because he wasn't the one held at knife-point that evening, listening in to dumbasses who can't help but spill whatever plan they have.

she supposes it's because they thought she'd be gone anyway, her life snuffed away by whoever placed a hit on her head. ]

Can you say that those grudges other people hold towards you and your family are ancient?

[ if it was a figure of speech, then she wouldn't have dwelt on it for so long. wouldn't have batted an eyelash over it. but the way it was said that night didn't feel like a figure of speech. ]

I've always wondered by I was targeted instead of Aether. I thought that maybe it's because we've been seen together too much lately, so perhaps they thought they could use me as leverage against you and your family.

[ some form of weakness to cow him, even if it's been clear that their connection has been tenuous and superficial at best. ]

But see, if it was just some grudge about your family, then why would one of them call me the Traveler?

[At first, he doesn't understand what she's saying, and it's clear on his features that he doesn't. Aether had said there was a grudge against his family, to which he wasn't surprised, not in the slightest. Even he too, had direct dealings with the deaths of many people who would stand in the way or disrupt their business dealings. But ancient isn't the word he'd use.

Ancient is a word he'd use for their counterparts. Not his family.

So it's when she tells them that one of them called her the Traveler, that his eyes widen in surprise.]

What exactly are you trying to say?

[It's said with more curiosity and confusion than any kind of possible implication. His words aren't angry, not at her. Angry that perhaps someone had been snooping around his office, hacked his computer, any one of those things.]

Why would anyone assume the Traveler is you? There's no way they could know. The only reason we know is because we've heard Childe call her that himself. Do you really think they are assuming you're her simply because you share the same first name?

[ oh archons, he's not thinking. he's not thinking at all. and she can feel her temper simmering beneath the surface again, palliated only by the vision pressed against her palm when she's slipped her hand inside her pocket. any further, and she might just freeze the entirety of this room. ]

Why indeed, Ajax? Why would anyone call and assume that the Traveler is me?

[ he's right that they only know of this because of the visions they've been having. he's also right that they might've just assumed that it's because she shares the same name as her. ]

Unless there's someone else involved here other than us. Someone with an ancient grudge, not against your family but against those two. Have you ever considered it? Have you ever thought about it? That maybe, just maybe, there's another force at play here that we don't know about and yet you keep sticking your nose into this business?

Lumine.

[He stares back at her, feeling his own temper begin to rise, but he pushes it down. He doesn't particularly like being accused of something that he doesn't know nor think is necessarily his fault.]

You have to calm down for a second. Who would have a grudge against them? You're making a lot of assumptions here.

[Stepping forward, he puts his hands up, as if to reiterate that she needs to hold on a second, calm down, and think about this more clearly.]

Childe and Lumine died over a thousand years ago. Who holds a grudge for that long, and why? Who even lives that long to remember what they did, back then?I've barely found a hint of information that would merit anyone taking action against you or I for something they had done in the past. There's a lot we still don't know.

[ lumine wonders if he knows how the grudges and the anger of gods, even after millennia have passed, still lie in wait within the earth of teyvat. she wonders if he knows that his counterpart's archon had blatantly opposed the gods of celestia. she wonders if he knows how her counterpart had opposed and fought the same gods with their twin sibling.

she wonders if there are things that he's aware of, things that he's researched about. probably not, because such stories have not been written in text, and the only person who's ever told her such is a man who seems much, much older than he looks.

zhongli had seemed like he had so much to tell her that day, and yet he also seemed like he was hiding things from her. deliberately left gaps in his recollections of history. ]

Did you know that despite gods having the ability to die or be killed, their grudges never go away? Their emotions, their power remain effective, even after decades, centuries, millennia have passed. They have the ability to spread strange diseases, contaminate the land, afflict people with darkness ...

[ lumine turns away from him again, pulling the door open so she can leave. ] The Traveler had openly opposed the gods a thousand years ago with their twin sibling. I wouldn't be surprised if a grudge against them still remains.

[Ajax pauses to listen, taking in all she's said. Ancient grudges, and their effects left on the land around it- that wasn't something that came up in any of the research he'd done when he was looking into the history of the mysterious Harbinger who shares his face and name. Neither did it come up when he'd found material about the traveler. The legends of the gods were just that to him, legends, so he hadn't considered that such things could truly manifest. Let alone against them.]

Don't go yet.

[He reaches out to let his hand fall onto her shoulder, unsure at first of what to say.]

If that's true, then you're in more danger than I even thought previously. And if that's true...

[He looks down, eyes scanning the ground for nothing as he tries to find the words.]

Then I don't think whatever poking around I've been doing would have mattered. If there's an ancient grudge against them...they would have come for us eventually anyway. It just so happens they've already found us. Perhaps we're their descendants...that would explain why they look like us. Though it still doesn't explain how our siblings have the same names as well. It's too convenient, don't you think?

[ she didn't want to believe it either, the stories she's read in books simply just that: stories. legends, myths—traditions passed down from generation to generation to explain the different and strange phenomena in the past. sure, visions somehow are still granted to certain individuals, but she's always assumed there were other reasons for it.

in a way, it feels like they've uncovered something they shouldn't have uncovered. even if it's unwittingly dragged them into it with no rhyme or reason.

lumine opens her mouth to respond to him, to tell him that yes, it's all too convenient and doesn't he find that strange? but words seem to fade on her tongue, their surroundings shifting and melting once more as it has time and time again. she wonders what kind of vision it is this time around when she freezes, eyes widening.

the sky above her is painted red, dark angry clouds swirling in its vastness. and before her, the pure white landscape, charred and torn into pieces, is littered with unmoving bodies. even the air smells like fire and death, burning her throat as it fills her lungs. she's on a battlefield.

lumine! aether's face swims into her view, haloed by golden light despite his cheeks being smudged with what looks like blood and soot. what are you doing standing here? we should go! ]

Aether ... [ her twin brother grabs her hand, pulling her down a white path. her other hand is curled around a sword, gold and silver. ] Where are we going?

[Childe runs alongside them, his mask on his face, his clothes a different color than past visions, bearing the black and red of his delusion. He answers her question instead, voice tense.]

We must hurry ahead to aid the Tsaritsa. Even now, she fights the usurper god on her own. Given the destruction we see before us now...I'm not sure how well she may be faring, gnoses or not. Come on, you two! We've no time to waste!

[His movements reflect the electro power he wields now, leaping effortlessly over fallen friends and foes alike, shaken at the sight of the sky above them having changed from that pure blue to such a threatening color. Other parts of the land suddenly explode in places in a bright light of elements clashing against one another, of which he's sure some of those fights were between Celestia's generals and the other archons.

One such light glimmers and shatters in the sky over and over again, an incredible battle taking place up ahead. Childe knows instinctively that Her Majesty is there, fighting. And he has to get there at all costs.

As they arrive, it's an incredible show of power as the Cryo Archon wields the power of all seven elements, striking the usurper god with all her strength and taking blows equally as devastating in return. Childe's eyes go wide as he watches, pride swelling within him for her as she fights. But it's a losing battle, the Tsaritsa losing ground and taking too many blows where her opponent doesn't seem to be slowing down.

And with one misstep, a spear lances through the sacrosanct Cryo Archon, her face contorting into a look of hatred and surprise. Childe looks on, unable to believe what he's seen, and fears that now they'd all die when her body shudders and breathes its last breath. But the usurper knows better than to let her death be the end of them all- with its power, it seals the body before it can explode with incredible power, which would have destroyed everything and everyone within its radius.

The sound of her divine power is deafening as it slams against the confines of the seal as she dies, and the light it emits from within the cage is blinding.]

Get down!

[Shockwaves radiate through the cage regardless, threatening to cast them hundreds of feet away if they lose their footing, and the Harbinger grabs a hold of the twins as the force hits them like a truck. Though once it settles, he counts his lucky stars that they're all still alive, breathing heavily and looking up in despair.]

She's gone...no...

[ lumine instinctively pulls aether's arm as well, quickly drawing her twin brother close when that spear pierces through the cryo archon. she's not the first archon to fall, after all, and she's more than aware of the repercussion of the death of one. and it seems that childe has predicted the same thing, tugging the both of them against him to once more steady their footing.

when the dust finally settles, cold air seemingly swirling around them, she can see the look of despair in his eyes. the archon, after all, was someone he admired, someone he looked up to; she was a beacon to him, someone who held a place in his heart that even she could not completely occupy. her hand brushes against his cheek beneath his mask, wishing she could ease the burden of his anguish. ]

Ajax, [ she whispers softly, pressing her forehead against his. ] I'm sorry ...

[ they can mourn the dead later, however, when they celebrate their victory. her twin brother, his gaze averted as if to give them a moment's privacy, tugs at her arm to pull her back to her feet. the usurper god hovers above them, its attention locked onto a portal opening somewhere to their side. a man in black and blue steps out, followed by a hoard of strange creatures.

dain is here. c'mon, you two, while the usurper god is—

aether's sentence gets cut off when the sustainer of heavenly principles step out in front of them, blocking their path once more, as she once did five hundred years ago. her brother brandishes his sword, his expression full of determination. ]

Aether—

[ ajax, take lumine and go! don't worry, i'll be right behind you, sister.

lumine glances back to see wings emerge from aether's back, her brother disappearing in a streak of light hurtling towards the goddess. but even before she can change her mind to help him out, she's parrying a blow with her sword, the flash of light powerful enough to wipe them out. the usurper god has turned to them, its full attention now directed at her.

the gems on her clothes glow purple as she directs electro energy through her body, zipping across the landscape to land a blow on the god. ]

[Taking a deep breath, Childe tries to compose himself following the Tsaritsa's demise in front of his very eyes. Lumine's touch helps soothe his anger, but doesn't completely quell it- the minute they're back up again, he looks to this usurper with rage filled in his heart. He swore he'd see the Tsaritsa's will fulfilled, and it's now that all they'd worked for had gone up in smoke, just like that...and Her Majesty would never be able to reach her goal of peace.

But at least she died like a true warrior. That's the only consolance he can take from this.

He stands with them, determination set on his features, glad to see the support that's come in the nick of time following the former leader of the royal guard. He doesn't respond to Aether, the adrenaline of a new and even more exciting fight pumping through him, turning back to their foe who has already initiated the fight with them-

-and he's blown back by the power of the strike directed at Lumine, who's parried it and begun her own assault. Not one to stand on the sidelines, his transformation begins, hydro and electro energy surrounding him as he pulls power from the deepest part of his core, a dark energy that he's learned to control that manifests in a familiar dark armor. That abyssal power surges through him and outward, as he joins Lumine in her fight, soaring through the air effortlessly to coordinate an attack towards this usurper with a dark celestial blade that cries for the blood of the god that has strangled Teyvat for as long as the very Seven have been alive.

His blade strikes against another blinding flash of light as the god blocks both of their blows, unimpressed with the two of them floating in front of them as if they had any chance of defeating it.

Join the rest of your world in destruction.]

C̼̺͕o̡̦̻m̡̺͜r̦̙͖a͚̪͖d͔̠͙e̞͙̝,̪̪͙ w̞̠̠h̠̼̫y͉̟̝ d̺͚̟o͕̙̦n̢͉͓'͚̫̞t͖͙͖ w̫̼͜e̞͓͕ s͖̫̪h̻̫͍o̠͎͔w͕͎̟ t̡͇̺h̟̠͓i͍̻̺s̼̻͉ f̝̠͎a̼̟͎l̪͕s̢͉̞e̻̫͉ g̢͚̻o̞̞̠d̢͖͜ w͎͙͜h̡̻͕a̡͇̞t̡̙̝ t͚͖͓h̢͔̟e͖̝̫y̡̞̠'̞̞͔r̡͖͎e͚̟͎ u͕̙̘p̡̪͉ a̟͔͜g͔̦͖a͔̠i̘͙̝n̡͎̝s͓͍͇t͕̝̺.̢

[It's a dark, frenzied laugh that come out of him, excited for this battle. He begins his assault, to join her with her own, to bring this god down- and he's loving every second of it.]

[ his transformation no longer fazes her as it once did in the past, lumine simply giving him a nod as she too summons her wings as aether did. she wonders if it's something the sustainer had not predicted or seen, her seal on her original powers fading as time passes. it's certainly a question that she'd like to ask her if she's still alive by the time aether is done with her.

in any case, there's no time for her to think about other things, especially when their attacks, as coordinated as they are, seem to be ineffectual on the usurper god.

lumine quickly darts down to avoid a tendril of celestial energy, strange cubes erupting in its wake to try and imprison her. she's seen those before, and her years in teyvat have taught her how to avoid them; they're not at all different from some of the abilities of the creatures, after all.

she runs a hand along her blade, silver steel suddenly coated with electro on one side. she turns it over, running pyro on the other side. she can smell the scent of ozone in the air, electricity reacting with fire, as she once more charges towards the god and sends an arc of intertwined elements with a slash of her sword.

it seems to react to it, affected by the elemental reactions of teyvat. good, it's still bound by the laws of this world, even if it's appointed itself as its sovereign. in retaliation, it sweeps an arm to brush her off, sending her hurtling back to collide against a pillar.

she can feel several bones cracking, her rib definitely taking the brunt of that blow, and she can certainly taste something metallic inside her mouth. but before she can get back up, there's another sweep of golden energy moving towards her.

lumine summons a geo construct to block it, the rock cracking easily under its power ... ]

[Fighting this god is giving him thrills he'd never thought he'd ever be able to feel. The sensation of surviving and striking at such a strong opponent is intoxicating to him, using the full scope of all of his experience and strength to fight alongside Lumine against their foe, his blades whistling through the air as they both throw themselves into the heat of this battle. Almost nothing they do seems to be all that effective, Childe's mind flipping through possibilities and strategies to try to crack through this defense the god is putting up.

Hydro and electro energy come raining down to follow up to her own attack, Childe laughing maniacally as electricity seems to race across the water, electrocuting the god as Lumine slams into a pillar.

It may only be because of this short distraction that there's a few seconds for Childe to understand exactly what's happening in front of him.

He blinks out of existence as that energy is launched right at Lumine, appearing next to her as the geo construct finally explodes. His abyssal blades come up to block, the energy slamming against them with a strength that he hadn't prepared for, his muscles burning with the effort of keeping it from slicing the two of them in half. With one motion, he swings his blades outward, the energy dissipating with a shockwave that rocks him, gritting his teeth with the effort as the celestial cape he wears billows in the wind from the impact.

And in a flash, the god appears in front of them both. Instinctively, Childe thrusts his blade forward toward them, aiming for the middle of their chest.

The diamond-shaped spear that appears in the air lances downward at the same time, striking him through the stomach. It sears through his armor, through his organs through to the other side, the tip so dangerously close to Lumine that it almost touches her. Blood drips off of it, and the Harbinger falls from the sky, as the god stumbles backward.

Abyssal energy swirls around the wound Childe has created in the god, his blade sticking out of it. It looks downward at the mortal with incredulity, unable to process that such an inferior being has inflicting such a permanent and terrible blow. But Tartaglia hits the ground with a loud thud, landing on his side and not moving for several moments.

His vision blurs, not dead, but he can feel his own life begin to ebb away. He doesn't have the strength to look upward at first, trying to conserve his strength for a second. He's done for, and he knows it, the sight of the spear through his middle making him laugh. Ah...so this is how it ends, is it.]

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