The Ruins

"What took you so long?" Beidou's voice ringed on his ears.

Sai frantically looked around and said in astonishment:

"It really teleported us."

"How insightful…"

"This place… it's the real domain."

They were in some kind of heavenly ruins. Stones and debris were all around, and surfaces of golden material gave it a divine atmosphere. There were ruins of towers and of bridges floating in the air, like there was no gravity. But the fact that he could walk around normally proved there still was.

"This is amazing." Sai muttered as he approached the edge.

Even though he was practically a walking corpse, nothing could stop his amazement at the scene. There was no horizon to speak of, the sky being perpetually at dusk. He could see that everything was floating in this endless expanse. It was an awe-inspiring scene.

"C'mon, let's get going." Beidou urged eventually.

"..." He felt regretful, but walked after her.

It all looked quite similar to the insides of a particular domain in the game. The stairwell leading upwards, the lit torches, the golden details and the blue patterns he had seen before. Sai noticed with curiosity that the torches weren't really on fire, and they danced ghastly over their bowls.

When the duo reached the entrance of the enormous hall at the end of the staircase, they could see a leafless tree in the distance. It was surrounded by golden runes and all kinds of different symbols. Actually, the tall door-like things on each side of the hall also showed many patterns shining in bright blue. One of them resembled a bleeding eye.

It was a mysterious place.

Sai looked up and saw that the ceiling had broken off in several parts.

"What could even have happened to this place?" Beidou commented as she resumed walking.

To avoid being separated, Sai hurriedly stuck close to her. Differently from the pirate, he knew more or less what was coming, and he wasn't too happy about it.

"Be careful."

"That tree is giving me the creeps." Beidou commented.

They slowly walked towards the center of the hall.

Suddenly, blue light shone around them, in the shape of a square.

'Crap! It's starting!!'

As it happened, the door-like things were actually doors, and the one to their left gradually opened quite silently.

"It's opening." Beidou noticed.

Before Sai could say anything, several hilichurls appeared from the darkness, walking towards them.

"Hyaahhh!"

Light blue slimes of all sizes followed them, getting closer with each bounce.

"What the-"

Beidou was a little early with her exclamation this time. A hydro abyss mage teleported to their left, from the direction of the staircase, and another one to their right, in the direction of the tree.

"Sh*t."

In that moment, a loud but very low-pitched sound reached their ears from behind them:

"Bee-pee-re-rou!"

The door to the right also had opened at some point, and some strange mechanical pieces rolled from within. After they all reached the open hall, it began assembling into a flying monstrosity with impressive speed.

Sai managed to discern a few of those pieces, and he felt fear gripping his heart.

To the front, a wave of hilichurls and slimes. To their sides, abyss mages. And from behind… a Ruin Hunter.

They were surrounded. And buried neck-deep in trouble.

…

"What did you say?" The frigid woman asked with incredulity.

"M-my Lady. Viktor and five platoon members were buried under a crumbling hill at the south of Guyun Stone Forest."

"Buried under?"

"Y-yes, m'am. The rest of his platoon said that he was leading two strangers into the stone hill, probably in order to use them in the domain he had found. One of them was an Electro-Vision holder, and-"

"Stop. Did you say, 'domain'?"

The man reporting felt chills from her intense gaze.

"Y-yes, m'am. His platoon claimed to have found a domain several days ago, and he was in the process of exploring it. He had already gotten some artifacts and other treasures out of it."

He finished and stayed completely still. There was no chance of him moving a muscle without her command. She was infinitely higher up in the hierarchy than he was, anyway.

"The audacity!" She exclaimed after a few seconds, anger in her eyes. The kneeling man could only shiver and pray for the best.

Nevertheless, from an unknown source, the man gathered his courage once more.

"I was asked to tell you that Viktor was planning on giving you a uh… 'big surprise', after conquering the domain."

She looked at him again, her mouth curling in contempt. Soon, her expression was neutral again, and she continued:

"How many of his platoon are left?"

"There are 7 members left, m'am, currently on their way here."

"Seven!? He got more than twenty members killed in just a few days! Unbelievable… You said an Electro-Vision holder was there, right? What did he look like?"

"It was a tall brunette woman with long hair and an eye-patch on her left eye. She wore long earrings and dressed in red and black. The boy with her said she was an adventurer hired to protect him."

"Hmmm. And who is this boy?"

"He claimed to be a small merchant from Liyue Harbor."

The Fair Lady frowned and fell into thought.

"Eye-patch and earrings…" She mumbled.

"I'm sorry, My Lady, I couldn't hear you…"

"Whatever. Tell the rest of his platoon that they should go north to join Itaim's forces. And send this letter to Itaim himself."

"Yes, m'am."

"Do it quickly." She ordered.

Not one second later, the man was nowhere to be seen.

"Guyun Stone Forest… I should visit it myself…"

…

Sai and Beidou stared at the multitude of enemies with diverging emotions.

Beidou had a determined look on her face, while Sai was wide-eyed with desperation.

'I'm so dead…'