Chapter Text
The day started with an adventure with the traveller to the desert, and of course, Kaveh’s whining.
“It’s so hot! Couldn’t you hire a wagon or something, Aether?” Kaveh’s whines echoed throughout the bleak sand dunes surrounding them.
“Unless you are willing to reimburse the traveller for the funds to hire one, please stop your screeching. You are hurting my ears.” Al Haitham glared at the architect, who glared right back.
“Then put those oh-so-amazing headphones of yours to good use- oh no, oh no, that was NOT a cue for you to put them o- HEY! I’m still talking to you! Haitham!”
Aether chuckled lightly upon seeing the argument between the Acting Grand Sage and the Light of Kshahrewar. Despite the heat, the two still remained as… harmonious as ever.
(But a small part of the traveller’s brain wished that they would keep it down. Maybe he will ask for the former scribe’s headphones later. The heat of the blazing sun and their arguments - which have occurred more that he can count during their journey, - was really doing a number on his sanity.)
The Adventurer’s Guild had recently posted a commission, claiming about a new, unexplored ruin that recently revealed itself far into the desert. Not many could solve the runes, nor be willing to make the trek that far, but Paimon was willing to sign the traveller up upon seeing the big stack of zeros that were a part of the commission rewards.
(“Paimon, are you even coming at all? Don’t you hate the desert?” Aether asked in annoyance.
“Yeeeaaahhh… Paimon isn’t joining, but Paimon enjoys good food even more, and you can surely treat Paimon to a grand feast after the commission!” and with that Paimon twinkled away to whatever place a Paimon twinkles away to.)
Although Aether was well-versed in desert exploration, he enquired the help of the former scribe and the architect with his journey. Although Al Haitham wanted nothing more than to spend his day lazing around and indulging in a good book, Kaveh’s immediate agreement resulted in both of them joining the traveller to the far side of the desert.
“Soooo…. Aether, where’s this mysterious ruin?” Kaveh looked over the traveller’s shoulder, raising an eyebrow at the map the short man held.
Aether squinted; his face contorted in confusion as his eyes followed the messy red line that showed their path. “Hmm, nearly there, we just need to take a right at this rock pillar, and then there should be an underground entrance to get there.”
At last, after Kaveh complained about the sand in his shoes, and Al Haitham pausing randomly to study ancient runes in the scattered ruins, the three managed to make it to the entrance of the ruin. The structure was tucked away behind large rocks and stalactite-like pillars hanging from the roof. The entrance was adorned with ancient symbols and patterns, all covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs.
Aether dusted away some dirt that covered the runes. “Well, here we are! Al Haitham, do you think that you can help me figure out how to open the ruin?”
The Acting Grand Sage showed nothing but a nod to signal his agreement. He walked over to the symbols, eyeing them in silent curiosity.
Kaveh, on the other hand, paced around the large door of the structure, admiring the architecture and the patterns before him. He was itching to sketch something in the presence of such a magnificent place, but he came on this trip to escape the stresses of that life, even if for a little while. He sighed, before once again eyeing the ruin with sparkles in his eyes. His eyes glossed over the entire place, trying to see if there was anything that could give them a clue on how to open the ruin.
“Ah…, I think I recognize this language. It seems a bit different from the old language of the desert, but similar nonetheless.” Al Haitham placed his hand on his chin, his head slightly down in thought. “The language here is where the symbol represents a sounds, whereas the old desert language had each character represent an idea of sorts, which-when combined- created more articulate and complicated ideas. The characters were utilized for the past people’s lack of knowledge, which was only reserved for those of higher standin-”
“Okay Haitham, we get it, you nerd. Can you pleeaassee tell us what the runes mean instead?!” Kaveh huffed.
Al Haitham sighed in annoyance. “I was just about to mention that, be patient.”
(Kaveh and Aether looked at each other, clearly disagreeing with that statement.)
“The runes mention two sounds… Hou and Kai. So together its… ‘Houkai’ or ‘Honkai’”.
Aether rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “‘Houkai’…‘Honkai’… why do they sound familiar?”.
“Beats me. Besides, we still haven’t discovered the way to get inside the ruin.” Kaveh looked around, his eyes scanning for miniscule details that just may help them. “Oh, look! A dendro monument!”
Al Haitham and Aether made their way over, and saw that it was in fact a dendro monument. Aether smiled at its presence, but shook that feeling away upon seeing Kaveh’s distressed face.
“Kaveh? What’s up?”
“Umm… its just that, I observed this room earlier, and… I didn’t see this dendro monument before.” The architect gulped.
“Perhaps train your eye to notice important details immediately, Kaveh,” the former scribe scoffed, summoning a small amount of dendro to activate the monument.
“Oi! I’ll have you know I have the most perfect eye for detail and- WOAH!” Kaveh stumbled, nearly falling flat if it wasn’t for Al Haitham catching him.
The whole cavern shook as the door for the ruin rumbled open, vibrating the room and forcing the three to hold onto something steady (that something for Kaveh being Al Haitham).
At last, when the shuddering finished, and the large door fully open, the three stumbled their way into the ruin.
“Well, that was easy!” Aether grinned, brushing off the dust from his shoulder.
“Almost… too easy, right? Isn’t there usually some sort of clearance or puzzle or something? It’s almost suspicious.” Kaveh observed, looking towards the gate they just went through.
“Hmm… there’s certainly some truth to that.” The former scribe agreed.
“Haha! At last, the Grand Sage notices my very obvious intellect!”
“Acting Grand Sage, Kaveh,” the Grand Sage grumbled.
“Hey, look!” Aether pointed further down the corridor, showing more runes and symbols. “There’s some more stuff over there, maybe we have to figure those out to progress.”
“Well, then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” The architect took his partner’s hand and speed-walked towards the other end of the passage.
“Ugh great, if I’m gonna be a third wheel at least don’t leave me behind!” Aether yelled after them.
Kaveh eyed the paintings that covered the wall, all deteriorating from the force of time. They showed a mysterious pink energy that seemed to corrupt the very earth and everything in it. At the same time, it also showed humans who used it for their benefit to help defeat that very same energy. It was an interesting study, to say the least. Though, the architect had no idea what this energy was. He only assumed it had to be that cataclysm that occurred a couple centuries ago, but the depictions didn’t match the history that they were taught.
“Ah, Haitham, how’s things going so far with the runes?” Kaveh walked slowly towards his boyfriend, watching and laughing silently at how curious and deep in thought the man was.
“I found another word. ‘Herrscher’. And from what I can see, it means a human being who has harnessed and mastered ‘Honkai’ powers that are a manifestation of their destructive emotions.” Al Haitham eyed the symbols, as if staring at the runes will somehow answer the million questions that are buzzing around in his head.
“Yeeaah… I totally know what you're talking about…oh!” Kaveh pointed to a rune that seemed to be covered in more dust that the rest in the room. “What about this one?”
The architect brushed the debris away from the symbol, and immediately regretted it, for the rune suddenly lit up.
Suddenly, the floor collapsed underneath them, with Kaveh and Al Haitham falling with it. The former scribe tried to summon a vine to catch him and the architect, but to no avail. The vine had nowhere to latch onto. Meanwhile, Kaveh tried to summon Mehrak to create a shield, but the suitcase did not answer his summons. The two fell into a pitch-black void.
“Guys!” Aether could be seen huffing and panting at the edge of where they fell, slowly getting smaller as the pair kept plummeting to the darkness. “I’ll get help, I promise!” and with that, the traveller ran off.
At some point, Kaveh and Al Haitham had blacked out. Perhaps the darkness surrounding them fused into their sleeping conscious, unaware that they were not awake. However, the two were forced into the waking world by the force of them thudding onto the ground.
“Oof!” Kaveh fell right on his back. Surprisingly, it didn’t hurt at all. Meanwhile, Al Haitham seemed like he had broken every bone in his spine, judging by the silent grimace that he held on to his face. To Kaveh, he knew that it meant that his boyfriend was in pain.
“Haitham, are you okay?” Kaveh scrambled towards the Acting Grand Sage, checking his back for any injuries. Once again, however, there seemed to be nothing broken, and the only pain the grey-haired man experienced was the pain of the landing.
“I’m fine, we should get up and check our surroundings.” He got up slowly, brushing of dust from his knees. Kaveh did the same, trying to summon his suitcase, but once again, it did not answer him.
“Ugh… Mehrak, where are you?” Kaveh glanced around the area they landed in, and gasped. “Where are WE?!”
“No idea.”
“Wow, thanks, Haitham, I am so enlightened after everything you’ve calculated about this place.”
The two were stuck in a small lane-way, with white fences adorning either side (though those weren’t in best shape), and grass bushes underneath them. Large white buildings could be seen in the distance, much like the architecture in Fontaine. However, everything in this place screamed of foreign-make, not anything like the stuff in Teyvat.
“Hmm… I’m not sensing any leylines in this place.” Al Haitham looked at the ground below him, scrutinizing it intently.
“Yeah, and how does a Harvatat student know how to search for leylines?” Kaveh looked Al Haitham up and down in mockery.
“Unlike someone, I do not limit myself to the abilities of one Darshan.”
“Hey! You take that back! I-”
The architect was cut off by an ear-deafening roar that echoed towards them. They whipped their heads towards the source, only to be faced with multiple white looking monsters, with glowing pink lines adorning them.
“Um… I don’t think they are very friendly!” Kaveh whispered.
Al Haitham, meanwhile, tried to summon his weapon, or dendro power, but to no avail. “I can’t bring out anything to defend us. I think our best order of business is to-”
“RUN!” the architect grabbed the former scribe’s wrist roughly, before running as fast as he can in the opposite direction of the monsters.
However, after a little while, there was no other way to go. The lane finished at a dead end.
“Shit! What do we do now?” Kaveh turned around, facing the monsters that were slowly but surely approaching them.
Al Haitham did not reply, his breathing heavy and sweat dripping from his forehead. He glanced around nervously, and Kaveh knew what this meant; the former scribe was out of ideas as well.
One of the faster beasts started to approach them, its echoing screeches causing the pair to wince.
The two closed their eyes, bracing for the impact, the pulsing power of the monster seemingly inches away from their face-
Only to be met with a deafening screech of pain and then silence.
Al Haitham opened his eyes, but Kaveh still shut his eyelids tight, afraid of what is to come.
“Blondie, you can open your eyes now!”
The architect hesitantly opened his eyes, which then widened at what he saw. A man dressed in white clothing, with red hair, stood in front of them, with two guns held in his hands. He looked much like the captains that rode the boats in Fontaine, but this man here seemed much younger and… fierce. Any remnants of the monsters were erased, which meant that the man had gotten rid of the beasts.
“You seem pretty shocked there, Kaveh, you doing alright?” The man turned towards them, smiling as he stowed his guns away and patted his shoulder.
He then looked at the former scribe and smiled as well. “And then, you must be Al Haitham right? Hmm… you really do look like them...”
Al Haitham pursed his lips into a tight line. “How do you know our names?”
“Well…let’s just say it’s a long story.”