To Jueyun Karst

The people around me, including Ganyu and Noelle, were in a state of panic. Their reactions were to be expected though. I mean, a god just died before our eyes. Ganyu's panic was more apparent. She was in a contract with the very same god that is now lying before us.

"How… Who would do this?!" she said, anger and frustration visible in her face.

So this was that bad feeling I've been having, but who would do this? Wait, is Signora or any of the Fatui Harbingers the ones who did this? I tried confirming it by trying to feel the energy of the body. I was looking for the Gnosis of the Geo Archon. However, instead of feeling it, I could now see it. I looked at myself to see how this worked. There was an outline of golden and green light surrounding me while Ganyu had light blue and Noelle had gold. Seeing this, I looked at the other people. The normal people had nothing at all. Lady Ningguang had gold seeing that she's a Geo bearer. I looked at the corpse beside her and noticed it. There was nothing at all. No trace of Elemental Energy or the so-called Gnosis. Venti still had his Elemental Energy, so why didn't this body?

You could argue that it was because it's dead, but that won't make sense either. It's only been a minute or two since the body landed, so the energy should have been there. Especially since this is a god we're talking about. The Elemental Energy would have been more than that of an average Vision bearer. Which means two things. Either this body has been long dead or that this body was a fake. If it is the latter, I need to know the reason from the Geo Archon himself.

"Aether, your eyes are glowing purple and look kind of like a dragon's eye. Why is that?" asked Noelle.

Purple? What? Actually, this is weird. This isn't my Elemental Sight. That can only see traces of Elemental Energy in the environment and not people or other living beings. Wait a sec, did she just say dragon's eye?

I took out my phone and used it as a mirror. That's when I saw it. This was the very same appearance of the eye that was on my sword. Although, the color was different. Could I be drawing power from the sword?

"You there! The one with glowing purple eyes. Come with us." said a male voice. When I looked for the source, it was a Millelith.

"Eh? Why?" I said, feeling a change to my eyes.

"Ah, it's back to normal," said Noelle.

When Ganyu heard this, she snapped back to reality and stood in front of me. Noelle followed suit as well. If the other girls were here, it would look like I'll be protected by a wall of girls.

"Are you thinking of him as a suspect? I'm telling you here right now that he didn't kill Rex Lapis." said Ganyu.

"Miss Ganyu, we didn't mean it like that… he was just suspicious so we were planning on questioning him," said the Millelith Guard.

"Well, I guess that was suspicious huh. Here's the reason for that though…"

I explained to the Millelith Guard that I was investigating the body to look for Elemental Energy. I didn't tell them about the Gnosis. I told them that the Elemental Energy is already long gone, which means that the body has already been dead for a long time.

"I see, thank you for the information." said a womanly voice from behind the Millelith Guard.

It was Lady Ningguang. Looking closely, apart from the features I said about her last time, she has red eyes and wears a red tassel decoration atop her head that lays between her eyes. I didn't know why I didn't mention this last time, but her bun is accessorized by a black hairpin.

"I haven't introduced myself yet, have I?" she said.

"It's okay, I already know. Ganyu told me." I said with a smile.

"You're different. Most of the time, people either bow before talking or speak with a respective tone. You just went and spoke to me casually." she said with a smile.

"Wait, am I supposed to do that?" I was getting a bit nervous now.

"Ahaha, no. I think this is better. A change once in a while is good after all." she said with a smile that caught me. My face was heating up, I'm sure about that.

Oh no, not again. She may even have a lover already. I mean, that isn't much surprising since she is very pretty. Ah, what the hell am I thinking?! Focus, a god just died and this is what I'm thinking?! Control your breathing. Alright, I think I'm fine now.

"Who do you think could be the culprit, Lady Ningguang?" I asked.

"I don't really know either. For someone to be able to kill Rex Lapis. That is something I haven't thought about yet. We should ask the Adepti first. Also, just call me Ningguang, will you?"

"Oh, okay." I said.

"Then, we'll be going to Jueyun Karst?" said Ganyu.

Jueyun Karst is an area where Adepti live. I wonder what it looks like. I talked with Ningguang and Ganyu for a bit while Noelle just listened in. I was actually pretty excited because I'll get to go somewhere else with Ganyu and Noelle, but my hopes were put down.

"I'm sorry but Ganyu will need to stay. This unprecedented event will surely stir panic, so we'll need all the help we can get." said Ningguang. Then after that, Noelle received a call from Amber saying that the Knights of Favonius will help with calming down the citizens as well. Which means, Noelle will stay as well since she is training to become a knight.

"Are you going to be okay? You can call me if the Adepti needs some sort of confirmation, okay?" Ganyu looked worried, so I gave her a pat on the head and reassured her.

"I'll be fine."

"Aether, I think this will be helpful…"

Noelle leaned in closer and told me exactly how she creates her shield so that I could have a base for mine. I gave her my thanks and also a pat. I was just about to bring Paimon, but I think it'll be a bit dangerous since this is an unknown land to us. I don't want anyone to get hurt.

---

On my way to Jueyun Karst, I came across something known as a Geovishap Hatchling. I was trying to avoid it, but without warning, it started to head to me.

It curved into a ball and hit itself on the ground. Using the bounce it gained, it targeted me. However, I was already prepared. Thanks to Noelle telling me how she makes her shield, I could easily make my own. However mine was a lot different. It was a small flower floating around me. It may not look like muck, but when an attack gets within 2 feet away from me, the flower will produce a large version of itself to block the attack. Once the attack hits, the flower will explode and knock the attacker back.

When the Geovishap was just 2 feet away from me, a flower blocked its attack and sent it flying. I took this as an opportunity to cut it down, but it was way more durable than I thought. I didn't stop attacking though, I struck it over and over again until my sword gave a purple glow. Once the now glowing sword hit the Geovishap, it was cut clean in two. However, instead of turning to dust normally, it was like it was being eaten away by something. I didn't mind it though as I continued on moving.

Ningguang told me to head to Moon Carver first, so I did just that.

"And who might we be? Those that dare enter Jueyun Karst." said a mysterious voice. When I looked around, I saw something resembling a deer. However, it looked more… majestic? Ah, this must be Moon Carver.

"Ah, wait a sec."

I took out my phone and video called Ganyu. I told her about the situation and she said to just leave it to her. I presented the phone to Moon Carver. Ganyu started to explain everything and when she got to the part where Rex Lapis was assassinated, Moon Carver yelled in anger. I could understand his reaction. Things went on smoothly though thanks to Ganyu.