Chapter Text
“I see… You appear to have overridden their mental faculties with your own consciousness,” the harbinger slowly walked towards the Dendro Archon, keeping his gaze locked at the panicked girl behind her making her escape.
The corner of his lips curled. “To possess such a powerful mind…” He leaned closer to the archon’s face, never taking his eyes off of the figure quickly becoming smaller as it disappeared. “You must be… the God of Wisdom.”
He would let her get away.
For now.
It had been weeks since she had her first encounter with the Second of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers. The pit in her stomach lingered still at the memory of the ominous tension between them and how it made her blood run cold.
He frightened her more than any archon, more than even the god that had separated her from her brother. How was she supposed to save Nahida and go up against the Sages with someone like him at their side?
She was no closer to figuring out a plan even after all this time had passed. Neither Cyno or Al-Haitham had any information on the exiled scholar, so it was up to Lumine alone to come up with a way to help Nahida and put a stop to the Harbinger’s plans.
After hearing rumors of a few Fatui lingering around the area, she found herself back inside the abandoned hospital used to treat Eleazar patients.
“D-Did we really have to come back here?” Paimon never let up on her blabbering despite being so anxious. Lumine didn’t mind as it distracted her from her own anxiety.
“We have no other leads… All these notes give me a bad feeling. I feel like they have to be related to that harbinger in some way.” She had no proof, but something about this place gave her the same foreboding sensation she felt that day.
“Besides, we have to put a stop to whatever the Fatui are doing here anyway.” Lumine stared at the collection of notes she had assembled from around the hospital. They all read about different patients suffering through horrible experimentations by a doctor whose name was censored with each mention.
The details of the experiments were also redacted, forcing Lumine to try and read between the lines to figure out what may have happened.
‘Speciman IV’s new skin and new left arm have recovered well…limb functions restored…Sample III is the best material for the third phase…could not be recycled for materials… Specimen IV’s symptoms disappeared completely… It is possible to use… to control the elemental content of a person’s body without relying on elemental power… Humans have unlimited potential…’
Lumine and Paimon remained silent as they slowly realized what was done to these people.
“Lumine, I’m gonna be sick… I’ll be right back!” The fairy flew past her with her hand to her mouth, and before Lumine could even respond, Paimon was gone.
Well… There goes any distractions.
Lumine shook her head to get back to the task at hand. She thought about the writings on the walls she had encountered in the nearby underground cave. They were written by the same Abbas mentioned in the notes. He had mentioned the wicked doctor. Why was this doctor’s name crossed out?
And then it hit her.
Collei had told her about a doctor that “treated” her Eleazar. How she was placed in the Fatui’s care and endured horrific experimentations.
Her gut feeling was right.
The doctor in these notes was the same harbinger she came across that day.
“It really is such a shame…”
Lumine froze. She felt her breath escape, her eyes widening in terror when she suddenly felt a large figure lean against her back.
“Specimen IV was so close to getting cured when he decided to escape, and after I worked so hard to get his new arm to work…” Dottore whined as he stopped above Lumine’s shoulder, feigning interest in the notes she was holding.
Alarm bells went off in her head. She could feel her heart beat painfully in her ears, every cell in her body screamed to get away. But she couldn’t move.
“My experiment was a success anyway, so no matter,” he said in a low voice, slowly running his hand against Lumine’s stiff arm.
Move. Move. MOVE.
He grinned against her ear and whispered. “Were you looking for me?”
As soon as she snapped out of it and went to move away, she felt a dull thud.
Blackness.
“Female specimen… presents early 20s… Digestive system incomplete… Reproductive system presents normally…”
Lumine could only make out a few words. Head pounding and heavy eyelids made it difficult for her eyes to fully open and adjust. As she came to, she could feel a cool sensation against some sort of metal. Her eyes struggled to adjust to the bright, fluorescent lights glaring down on her.
She could hear the faint sounds of machinery whirring, keyboard clicking, and other odd things she couldn’t attribute the sounds to. Was that… humming?
“Excellent… Excellent!” The voice steadily became clearer. “Specimen presents immeasurable elemental content. Out of this world, literally. Hahaha!”
Her eyes opened fully, still unable to move her now awakened body.
“Oh?” He stopped and poked his head into Lumine’s line of sight. “Anesthesia wore off already? Well of course a human’s dosage wouldn’t be enough, you’re an alien after all!”
Anesthesia?
“Silly me. I haven’t done anything too invasive yet though, so no worries.”
Her sensations gradually came back, but her arms and legs failed to move far despite her best efforts. Was she tied down?
“What’s going on? Where’s Paimon?” Her voice was weak and timid, exposing her frightened state.
He smiled, mask covering his eyes, limiting her ability to gauge his true expression. “I assume you’re talking about your little fairy friend… She’s in good hands.” He paused before continuing again, sighing. “There’s only so much I can learn just from watching you.”
What was he talking about?
“Your heroic deeds in Mondstadt moved me… so I had to see for myself and kept an eye on you ever since. You’re a curious little thing.”
She struggled against the straps tying her down to what she now could discern was an operating table.
He tapped his finger against a syringe, using his thumb to push out a few drops of the blue liquid. “No need to be scared, my little star. I’ll be gentle.”
As he pushed the needle into her veins, she felt her body relax and her heart rate slow down. A wave of relief coursed through her.
He placed his gloved hand on her stomach as he watched her blood pressure stabilize.
Why could she feel his hand against her skin?
Oh.
“Your beautiful dress is being cleaned, don’t worry. I took it off carefully.” He suddenly stated, as if he had read her mind.
She felt her cheeks heat up, but strangely couldn’t muster up the energy to care too much. What the hell did he inject in her?
Lumine watched him closely. He was looking intently at a screen displaying a whole bunch of numbers she didn’t understand. He wasn’t wearing his feathered coat, only a deep blue dress shirt.
He actually dressed really well, she thought. But he didn’t appear as though he was from Sumeru like some of the scattered notes implied. Maybe Fontaine?
She cursed her wandering thoughts and took a mental note to remain focused. Whatever Dottore gave her had made her way too relaxed. She needed to leave this place and fast before he began doing Archon knows what to her. But how was she supposed to do that? She was strapped down to a table in an unknown location next to the second most powerful Harbinger.
Lumine made the realization that she was going to have to wait until Dottore leaves to make an escape. Until then, she was going to have to endure whatever happened next.
She was at his mercy. And what little she knew about him did not paint him as merciful.
“What are you going to do to me?” She might as well prepare herself.
“I’m so glad you asked,” he chuckled. Dottore moved his hand from Lumine’s stomach and started gently running it upwards, lingering a bit along her bare chest and then stopping as he cupped her cheek.
“I’m going to make you my little project…” He leaned in, leaving little space between him and Lumine. “I’ve had enough of watching you from afar. I want to learn everything there is about you, your motives, your memories…”
“Why…?”
He tilted his head as if confused as to why it was even a question.
“You shine brighter than all the rest. You’re not precisely human… But you can help me unlock human potential.”
Human potential for what?
Dottore moved his hand to curl the longer strands of Lumine’s hair. “Together we can break these tragic boundaries.”
She was more confused than before. Boundaries?
He backed away from her face and hummed. “I’d love to indulge in this some more, but that’s it for now. We have an audience with the Tsaritsa.”
Despite below freezing temperatures outside and a lack of clothes, Lumine felt sweat rolling down her forehead as she walked. She felt like she could throw up.
The injection was starting to wear off.
Apparently she wasn’t the only person in Teyvat with access to teleportation devices. Her hands struggled against the cool steel cuffs keeping her hands locked behind her back. They must have had a weakening effect she thought, as something prevented her from materializing any elemental energy whatsoever.
Dottore pulled on the chains wrapped around her neck and led her through what she could only describe as a frozen palace, with colossal crystals and icicles decorating every corner, from the floors to the high ceiling sitting several meters above. Natural daylight, though dulled by the heavy snow and gray skies, shone through the numerous windows, serving as the only source of light throughout the entire building.
After ages of following Dottore’s lead, they finally stopped before a towering double door which immediately creaked open at their arrival, revealing two Fatui agents paving the way into an enormous ballroom.
A ballroom where hundreds of Fatui were gathered, bursting in applause at their entrance while the Tsaritsa quietly watched, seated in the end of the room in an elevated platform, shadows masking her face.
Metal clicked as Lumine desperately struggled against her cuffs and chains, attempting to cover up however way she could, her thighs rubbing frantically. She was completely exposed to hundreds of eyes with no way of concealing anything.
Tears pricked the corners of her now widened eyes.
Dottore pulled her closer to the Archon, grinning from ear to ear as he reveled in the cheering. He stopped past the stairs before the Tsaritsa, bowing slightly before giving Lumine a twirl and facing her towards the audience.
“Do forgive the overdue offering, Your Majesty,” Dottore announced before turning to the audience.
“I present to you, your new god!”
The crowd erupted in even louder applause, eyes glued to the helpless figure who could only watch as frigid tears rolled down her hot face, eyes now narrowed in fury and humiliation.
White electro leaked out of her hands, stunted by the crippling handcuffs. It was as much as she could muster, and what a pathetic attempt it was.
There was no fighting out of this.
The Tsaritsa remained silent in observance as Dottore continued in his speech, detailing some of the deeds Lumine was known for and how fruitful she would prove to the Fatui. He boasted about her powers and capabilities, even lecturing on her origins as an alien being.
The gallery oohed and aahed with every revelation. Lumine had been a legend among them since rumors spread about her defeating Childe and Signora.
She was an international sensation, even being renowned as a celebrity in places like Fontaine.
With her by the Fatui’s side, there was nothing they couldn’t achieve. Glory and prosperity in the New World was peaking over the horizon.
The Traveler was the Sun, embodying that hope.
And she shone brighter than any star.