"Well, that's my wish, but I dare not ask for it."
"Heh, that's got the same style as the old man, nicely done."
Gongku smiled and raised his glass.
Wendy also smiled, clinking her glass against his.
The two of them enjoyed the wine, using the wind of Mondstadt as their appetizer. Before long, they had downed nearly half a bottle.
Then, Gongku finally got to the point.
"Wendy, how much do you know about Visions?"
"Hm, I know a bit, but not too much. Are you talking about that dual colored Vision you have there?"
"Yeah. Yesterday, during the battle, I accidentally triggered the second element in this Vision."
He took the Vision from his waist.
Split down the middle, the left half bore the symbol of Dendro, and the right half glowed with Pyro.
Wendy sensed it for a moment, then shook her head. "This Vision doesn't carry any trace of Celestial power. Where did you get it?"
"I'm still figuring out how to answer that."
Gongku cautiously opened up the system interface.
Sure enough, Wendy didn't see the transparent, floating screen at all.
"It's… probably from some strange world. The world itself is incredibly tolerant. After analyzing Teyvat's elements, it created this Vision based on that understanding, and it ended up in my hands."
Wendy raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting that answer.
He had thought it would be some laboratory creation, like the Delusions.
"May I take a closer look?"
"Of course."
Like the other characters, Wendy was someone Gongku had reached level 10 friendship with in the game.
At the moment, their interaction felt more like two old friends. It was less about romance, more about camaraderie, something that put Gongku at ease.
Wendy took the dual colored Vision and closed his eyes.
A pure breeze brushed over every inch of the Vision.
After a few seconds
Wendy's brow furrowed.
Boom!
The Vision suddenly gave off a small explosion, flying from Wendy's hand and returning to Gongku's waist.
"Are you alright?"
Gongku cast a healing spell on him.
It was hard to believe that such a mild blast had actually cut the Wind God's hand in countless places.
Golden blood flowed down.
"I'm fine, Traveler," Wendy said, his expression more serious than Gongku had ever seen. He stared intently at Gongku. "Can I ask you to channel your elemental power again? But this time, bypass the Vision, use your raw instincts."
Gongku didn't know what Wendy was trying to pull.
But as one of the original Archons of Teyvat, one of only two left, if Wendy looked this serious, there was clearly something big going on.
So Gongku held out his palm.
He reached for the mysterious energy inside himself.
Gradually, a green and red glow emerged.
Like drifting smoke, the two colors wound around each other in a double helix in his hand.
"I knew it!"
"What is it, Wendy? Is something wrong with my elemental power?"
"No! There's nothing wrong at all. In fact, it's almost too normal. That's not something any human could control, it's a brilliance even purer than that of the gods."
Wendy glanced at the obedient Vision hanging at Gongku's waist. "I've only ever seen that kind of power once before."
As he spoke, his eyes flicked meaningfully up to Teyvat's sky.
The Heavenly Principles?
Gongku understood immediately. It was unexpected, but it made sense.
After all, Teyvat had been ruled by different forces over time, the original Seven Dragon Kings had become the Seven Archons of today. In that endless cycle of power, it was no wonder that this elemental power he wielded, mimicking the world's earliest forces, was different from what existed now.
"So you're saying… I shouldn't use elemental power in this world at all?"
"No. You're fine using it. If I hadn't observed the primordial elemental flow in your Vision up close, I wouldn't have noticed any difference at all."
Gongku latched onto the key point. "Oh, so you mean… this dual colored Vision is acting like a filter, converting my original elemental power into what exists in this era?"
"Exactly. That little explosion just now was my attempt to reverse that conversion, and your primordial energy instinctively pushed back."
"Fascinating. Thanks, Wendy. Looks like coming to see you was the right call. Here, let's finish off the rest of this bottle—I'll consider it my little gift to you."
"Haha, are you sure? Well, I won't say no."
Wendy quickly stashed the half-bottle of Dandelion Wine. Then, as if something had just occurred to him, a sly glint lit up his eyes. In that mischievous bard's tone of his, he said:
"After all, your power is the same as his. So… why not just become the Heavenly Principles yourself?"
...
On the road from Mondstadt's Archon Statue to the Knights of Favonius headquarters.
Gongku pondered the meaning of that bard's parting words.
Become the Heavenly Principles?
He figured that, like Liyue's Zhongli, Wendy must have reached some kind of agreement with the Tsaritsa. Someday, someone would have to challenge Celestia's authority.
But the Heavenly Principles and the Archons were always playing their own games. Who'd have the last laugh was still up in the air.
Then again, if Wendy saw in Gongku the same power that could create worlds… maybe he wanted to pull Gongku into his own plans, to stack the deck in their favor.
"Seriously now," Gongku muttered, "I just came to get them to help me fight the Ender Dragon. How did I end up being roped into usurping the Heavenly Principles themselves?"
He made a wry face, because he hadn't outright agreed or refused at the time.
The Tsaritsa and her people had their own five-year, and even ten-year, plans. By the time they came to fruition, he'd probably already be the 'gatekeeper' that could wield both creation and destruction.
By then, the Heavenly Principles would be nothing more than a minor nuisanceso, mething he could crush with a flick of his wrist.
"Traveler, is that you?"
A lively voice snapped Gongku out of his thoughts.
First to appear was a headband with rabbit like ears. Then, standing there with a bright smile, was a slender girl with long, flaxen hair.
"Amber? It's been a while."
"It really has! Oh, and what about Ying and Paimon? They were looking all over for you."
"Thanks for asking. We've reunited. Ying and Paimon are resting inside the Serenitea Pot right now."
The Gate of Teyvat was basically fixed to the Serenitea Pot's pocket dimension these days, so it wasn't a lie to say they were resting there.
"That's wonderful. I'm glad… No, I hope they can truly rest. So, Traveler, are you here to see Acting Grand Master Jean today?"
"I am. Judging by that look on your face, she's not in?"
Amber tucked a strand of hair back, the wind rustling her bunny ears. "Yesterday, Eula reported that the Whispering Woods were suddenly teeming with powerful monsters. So this morning, Jean took Kaeya and the others out to clear them out."
"Ah, typical Jean, always working hard."
Gongku's expression turned a bit awkward.
After all, it was technically something his second wife had caused. He'd just have to find some excuse later to help clean it up, consider it covering for Ying's mess.
But before Gongku could say anything else
Amber's cheeks turned bright red. She shifted her gaze shyly and said in a soft voice,
"Um… Eula also said… that the Traveler has some… improper relationship with Ying and… Miss Keqing of the Liyue Qixing… Is that true?"
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